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Walk on the Moon (Naruto SI)

Reader mode
SixPerfections said:
The mission to Hidden Rock had been a resounding success. Despite a nagging fear that Virulent and Dagger would be discovered – perhaps even eventually tracked back to her, and wouldn't that have been fun to explain?...
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How is she going to actually use any of the jutsu that nobody outside of the Rock Village should know (like the fire armor or fire dragon jutsus) without this happening? Won't that be fun to explain? It seems she has gotten her cake, but can't eat it. Even the Sarutobi jutsu has this problem. I am kind of waiting to see how, not if, the hammer falls on her.

Ms. Yamanaka: "Honey, where did you learn a technique like that? Students your age don't have access to stuff like that."

Rei: "Uuuuuummm..."

Repeat scene with any teacher or local chunin/jounin.
 
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Jade Isentry said:
That said, There are a few problems with it in this scenario. We already know that ninja can be restrained/tied-up somehow without them simply henging into a thinner shape and slipping out of the restraints. I assume that whatever is being done to make this possible would be used on captured kunoichi.
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The hands would be restrained so they can't make hand seals.

It wouldn't be effective for long, though, since the ninja do training to escape from being tied up.
 
Jade Isentry said:
How is she going to actually use any of the jutsu that nobody outside of the Rock Village should know (like the fire armor or fire dragon jutsus) without this happening? Won't that be fun to explain? It seems she has gotten her cake, but can't eat it. Even the Sarutobi jutsu has this problem. I am kind of waiting to see how, not if, the hammer falls on her.

Ms. Yamanaka: "Honey, where did you learn a technique like that? Students your age don't have access to stuff like that."

Rei: "Uuuuuummm..."

Repeat scene with any teacher or local chunin/jounin.
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The explanation of "The genius prodigio in jutsu reinvented the wheel out of boredom" works wonders as long as she doesn't confirm the alternative, i.e. "I didn't reinvent shit, I just stole from others. Probably from you too, btw."
 
IvanDead said:
The explanation of "The genius prodigio in jutsu reinvented the wheel out of boredom" works wonders as long as she doesn't confirm the alternative, i.e. "I didn't reinvent shit, I just stole from others. Probably from you too, btw."
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That only works if the jutsu is something very generic that anyone might need or follow a probable path to inventing. Lots of people might need and make a wheel, since that's almost the only real solution to a common problem. A lot, if not all of those jutsu described are very specialized and creative. More like making a wheel with a very specific and intricate crest emblazoned on it. "That's copyrighted!" the rock village cries out. "Off with her head!"
 
Jade Isentry said:
Even the Sarutobi jutsu has this problem. I am kind of waiting to see how, not if, the hammer falls on her.

Ms. Yamanaka: "Honey, where did you learn a technique like that? Students your age don't have access to stuff like that."

Rei: "Uuuuuummm..."
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Somehow I doubt Rei would be caught red handed in the situation you're imagining. If her excursion into the summoning realm and her heated confrontation with a jounin level opponent have taught us anything, it's that Rei tends to overprepare for any potentially volatile situation. This could be through making up a series of convincing alibis, creating false evidence, or altering the jutsu to differentiate it from its initial form.

Lets not discount that it's also unanimously agreed within Konoha that Rei is a prodigy, a remarkable one at that. Being the youngest person in history to attain a summoning contract and recently creating a technique that neutralizes an entire branch of ninja arts. If you follow this train of logic it's not too much of a stretch to believe that she is capable of using a C - ranked fire jutsu, which is essentially a glorified flamethrower.
 
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Three things to keep in mind:

1) Stealing jutsu from enemies isn't going to make you popular with that specific enemy and it'll probably get you killed if you're caught in the act, but it doesn't seem like the sort of thing that would get everyone to come after you. By and large, even more direct and egregious attacks, like attempting to kidnap children with unique bloodlines, doesn't seem to earn concerted retaliation. Something like stealing knowledge that the enemy's supposed to be good at keeping secret might even earn you praise.

2) There's more than one way to steal a jutsu. Rei went with the direct approach of stealing the scrolls, but there's also the indirect approach of trying to reverse engineer it from observation or descriptions and there's no real way to tell the two apart from the end result. So, if anyone calls her on the origins of her jutsu, particularly the Sarutobi jutsu, she can claim she saw and/or heard about them and thought it would be interesting to reverse engineer how they worked. She already has a reputation for doing this with the summoning jutsu and it's hard to legitimately censure her for that type of theft (otherwise the Uchiha would have been in much worse shape).

3) Stealing jutsu is only an issue if a person who recognizes the jutsu and cares about its origin sees you use it. Seriously, with the number of fire using ninja and the strong link between dragons and fire, how many variants of "and then she created a blast of fire in the shape of a dragon" do you think their are? My guess is a lot. Similarly, why would a Mist-nin care if she has a couple of techniques a sand-nin clan uses (as an example), beyond it being another dangerous in her arsenal?
 
Ayashi said:
She can also use them to strengthen her minions. The fire aura jutsu seems like something that would help her rats a lot whenever for example a rat gets cornered and can't flee.
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Do you think the rats wouldn't be keeping a copy of that stuff for themselves already?
They don't think of her as a master, but rather an adoptive sibling who gives the family a unique 'in' to a whole other world of shit to take and people to shank, as well as potentially a strong fighter to help defend them.
I have no doubt that they're volunteering resources to help her grow stronger on a priority mix similar to the following - 10% 'she's family, making her better and safer is good', 30% 'she's our future nuke, maybe', 60% 'Whatever knowledge we steal, we can use to strengthen the rest of the Family as much as it strengthens her'.

Or, put another way, Worm voiced the perspective that anything scroll-or-bookish belonging to a member of the family was reasonable for another family member to borrow without asking with no real consequences. That was the whole problem of perspective that led to stealing a Sarutobi jutsu.
 
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Jade Isentry said:
Haha. yeah. Henge is one of the most under-utilized, underappreciated jutsu in the series. The number of times the entire story would have gone COMPLETELY differently because any of the characters with a speck of brains would have just used henge in thus-and-such a way is mind-boggling.
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Honestly, I have to assume that it's another Jutsu that Naruto's high levels of chakra let him cheat at. Not that he's doing a special henge like some people have posited, that's silly, the Toad Boss wouldn't have expected him to be able to grow claws if he had some special ability no one had seen before, but that doing things like growing claws or turning into a shuriken or changing in any way out of your default human body shape take lots of energy (which the Toad Boss would know Naruto had because the kid could summon him). Kind of like no one else spams Shadow Clone, because most of them can't and the ones that can probably think they have better uses of energy. This would also explain why Kiba's clan have a special henge variant that gives them claws and heightens their senses, because doing that with the normal henge is tricky and inefficient.

That's not to say it isn't underutilized (it still is) but that probably part of the reason it is is that everyone's used to seeing it done with the limitations small amounts of chakra expenditure put on it and most of them learn it when they're starting out and have relatively low chakra, so they develop habits that stick with them later.
 
Zerul X said:
know it's a large part of the fannon, but I'm not sure how realistic some of those "realities" really are. In particular, I feel like "taking liberties" with enemy kunoichi is the type of problem that would sort itself out relatively quickly as a fair number of them are going to be very good at making your life some kind of unpleasant and short
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People act against this kind of logical incentive all the time IRL. Tons of laws about not murdering people and how you're gonna be in big trouble if you do, and yet people still murder. Likewise with rape. People don't do crimes because they're stupid (well, sometimes they do) they do them because they think they can get away with it.
Zerul X said:
the strong link between dragons and fire
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This is an Asian setting. Dragons are water-associated, not fire. That's not to say that Naruto's element system directly corresponds with the IRL Wu Xing (it clearly doesn't, two of the basic elements are completely different) but dragons being associated with fire would be unusual in this kind of setting.

edit: yes I know that there are dragon techs in all five elements. but dragons are not fire in asia at all, is what I want to say. western preconception
 
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cezyou said:
This is an Asian setting. Dragons are water-associated, not fire. That's not to say that Naruto's element system directly corresponds with the IRL Wu Xing (it clearly doesn't, two of the basic elements are completely different) but dragons being associated with fire would be unusual in this kind of setting.
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I think people will use dragons for any elemental technique in Naruto. At the very least both water (Zabuza) and earth (Orochimaru) dragon shaped techniques are used and I imagine there's more I don't remember/haven't seen.
 
hey Six!!
Since Rei will be training with Gai can we expect her to do the weighted clothes training because i am imagining her casually dropping weighted clothes like this https://imgur.com/JzOMJkX during the exams to show off.
 
Hey Six!!!!!
when is the next update? As i can't wait to see Rei interact with Guy.
 
Do not necro. This is against Rule 7.
Soooooooooooooooo
When can we expect an another update?
 
siddharth1998m said:
Soooooooooooooooo
When can we expect an another update?
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...
Every time you bug an author with whining like that the update gets pushed back a couple of months. Also, god kills a catgirl. Please think of the cat girls!

So in the famous immortal words: "Patience you must have my young Padawan."
 
Once more, do not necro. This is against Rule 7.
Hey Six, longtime fan here (I usually read ffnet and have just gotten into SB/SV/QQ), and can I just thank you for your decision to include all these cute girlcrushes in your story? It does my poor lesbian heart good.

On a more serious note, do you think there's any way for Rei and Hinata to have a relationship? The age difference is less of a factor because of how Rei's maturity scales with her physical age (so it's not like she's a 30 year old wearing a 12 year old's skin), but the complete and total dependence Hinata has on Rei, mixed with the growing dependence Rei has on Hinata, might cause some issues down the line.

Like, Rei's current plan, last time we heard it, seems to be leaving Hinata behind in the village as a way to maintain influence. Now obviously that would emotionally and psychologically destroy Hinata, but I think that Rei doesn't realize it would probably destroy her as well, given how much she seems to lean on Hinata as her one true confidant. I think the scene where Rei realizes she can't leave Hinata behind is going to be very interesting (and potentially extremely sweet and gay). Not gonna lie, I am heavily rooting for the pairing because the codependency and domme/sub vibes tickle pretty much every single kinky bone in my body.
 
Prognostic Hannya said:
Hey Six, longtime fan here (I usually read ffnet and have just gotten into SB/SV/QQ), and can I just thank you for your decision to include all these cute girlcrushes in your story? It does my poor lesbian heart good.

On a more serious note, do you think there's any way for Rei and Hinata to have a relationship? The age difference is less of a factor because of how Rei's maturity scales with her physical age (so it's not like she's a 30 year old wearing a 12 year old's skin), but the complete and total dependence Hinata has on Rei, mixed with the growing dependence Rei has on Hinata, might cause some issues down the line.

Like, Rei's current plan, last time we heard it, seems to be leaving Hinata behind in the village as a way to maintain influence. Now obviously that would emotionally and psychologically destroy Hinata, but I think that Rei doesn't realize it would probably destroy her as well, given how much she seems to lean on Hinata as her one true confidant. I think the scene where Rei realizes she can't leave Hinata behind is going to be very interesting (and potentially extremely sweet and gay). Not gonna lie, I am heavily rooting for the pairing because the codependency and domme/sub vibes tickle pretty much every single kinky bone in my body.
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I would like to not that Hannya is new and thus doesn't know about the no Necro rule.

I ask that as a new poster she receive leniency and mercy and just get a warning.
 
Chapter 48
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Chapter 48

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As Rei raced through Konoha's roofs to training ground seventeen as fast as her legs could take her, a part of her on the inside was cackling like a mad woman possessed.

I can't believe this is finally happening.

Funny, Rei had always thought that when this moment came it would leave her feeling resigned and resentful, bitterly enduring it as another necessary evil in her life goal of total independence and freedom. And, to be fair, that was most certainly part of wildly churning maelstrom of emotions that had ignited to life inside of her. However, she was shocked that part of her was also practically giddy with excitement.

It was bizarre.

For as long as she could remember she had been dreading this moment. Dreaded the moment when she would become an official spy, mercenary and killer for the Hidden Leaf. It was a profession where there was no such thing as retirement or quitting because you happened to be unhappy with the company. To serve until you were dead or broken or otherwise no longer useful and all your best years were spent was what she had just signed up for. So why couldn't she stop the manic grin that had taken over her face?

It was disturbing. Though on general principle Rei tended to avoid too much introspection, the fact that some part of her seemed to be genuinely happy about becoming an official ninja and she had no idea why left her feeling deeply unsettled.

Is it because I can finally put all my training to use? Is it because I'll finally be able to see the world outside the walls of Konoha? Maybe because I'm now closer to my goal than ever before?

While all those things were indeed very good in her mind, it didn't ring true as the reason why her heart was racing with a wild thrill and why it was all she could do to stop herself from publicly breaking out into laughter that would have made her look like a mad woman.

Rei shook her head to try and clear her thoughts. Doesn't matter. Get your head in the game. You've got far more important things to be thinking about right now.

She and Neji had been going all out in preparation to put on a hell of a show, after all. Some of it they hadn't actually been able to try out rigorously due to the potential dangers involved. Still, with their combined genius Rei was certain they could pull it off, even if it would technically be their first time trying some of their strategies all-out.

We're going to blow his socks off. Or perhaps I should say, his leg warmers?

Rei jumped off a second story roof right at the edge of where Konoha's buildings gave way to the training grounds, Neji right on her heels. Rei took a moment to glance at her friend. Unsurprisingly, his expression was blank and stoic, as was his habit. What was he thinking? How did he feel about this new phase in their lives, about becoming a ninja? Was it simple and clear cut for him or was he in some way feeling as conflicted as she was?

She didn't have long to ruminate and ponder these questions. Less than a minute later, the two of them came to a stop at the very edge of training ground seventeen.

To her complete lack of surprise Gai, in all his green bodysuit glory, was already waiting for them on the far side of the clearing.

Now that she had the time to study him, Rei wasn't exactly sure what to think of her new sensei. His iconic outfit was a lot more subdued than in the story she remembered, the green being very dark and suited for the forests around Konoha. He not only wore leg warmers but also arm warmers which she didn't think he'd worn in the story, both sets colored an orange so dark it could also have been called brown. A standard Jounin vest and his Hitai-ate tied around his waist like belt completed the outfit. As far as looks went, Gai was somehow both what she expected and at the same time not. He looked like a real human being, solid and professional and real, instead of just a caricature who was played for laughs like he had so often been in the story.

Gai's assessing gaze turned to Neji, then to her, the smile that seemed to almost be his default expression when interacting with people never leaving his face.

"The two of you made good time! Come over here, we're still waiting for the third member of your team to arrive."

His voice was rich and deep, and he also wasn't shouting at the top of his lungs (unlike what the story had insisted he did). Rei fixed her expression into a polite smile and began to walk over to their new sensei. Though she wasn't nervous, exactly, it was still a comfort to have Neji instantly fall into step to her left and half a step behind. Despite their differences they did (and hopefully always would) have each other's backs.

At the edge of the clearing and under the shade of tall trees, the two of them came to a stop a respectful distance from Gai. His body language and expression were friendly, but his eyes were assessing. Rei did her best to just seem politely interested while returning the favor. Best to make a good first impression, after all.

"So, the two of you graduated with the best scores in your year, and by somewhat of a wide margin," began Gai. "Did you find it challenging?"

So, small talk that doubled as a way to get a feel for their personality while they waited? Easy enough to navigate.

Neji surprised her by beating her to the punch and answering first.

"No," he said bluntly, something in his gaze challenging. "The academy curriculum was a joke."

Well, you're not wrong, but learn a little tact Rei though with some amusement.

"Huh," muttered Gai thoughtfully before turning his gaze on her. "And what about you, Rei-chan? What did you think of your time at the academy?"

Rei very carefully didn't react to being called Rei-chan. It wasn't inappropriate for her sensei to address her that way after all. It just didn't seem respectful enough to her. She didn't like it. However making a big deal about it now would not be a great way to make a first impression.

"I would have graduated after a couple of years if it wasn't peacetime, or if my parents had allowed it," Rei said easily. "If Nao-sensei hadn't allowed me self-study I would have died of boredom. Neji's right, it was largely a waste of our time. I'm hoping for a much more challenging curriculum, now that I'm a Genin."

Gai's smile widened, his eyes suddenly shining with an intensity that almost made Rei want to take a step back. "So, you're eager to work hard then, are you?"

Rei hesitated for a moment before looking him firmly in the eyes nodding sharply. "Yes. You're never going to find someone more dedicated to working hard to reach her goals than me. That's a promise."

Gai seemed to approve of her response, but before he could say anything they were interrupted by the sound of noisy running and someone clumsily trampling their way though the underbrush. A few seconds later Rock Lee burst through some bushes less than ten feet away from them, his face red with exertion and his clothes soaked with sweat. He ran up to them and came to a stop right next to Gai, dropping his hands to his knees in exhaustion and panting for breath.

"I – I – I made it, Gai-sensei!" Lee managed to get out through gulps of air.

Rock Lee… did not make for an impressive sight. Nor one that elicited much optimism in his abilities for that matter. Being so obviously exhausted, even if he had to run clear from one side of the village to the other, said some rather unflattering things about his current level of conditioning. The boy was wearing something that looked like a tan and brown kung fu uniform that was currently soaked in sweat, his hair a messy mop of longish black hair on top of his head. A Konoha forehead protector was displayed proudly on his forehead and Rei, uncharitably, couldn't help but wonder if he actually deserved it.

After all, he had been dead last in their class, and could not even perform any jutsu. If it wasn't for the foreknowledge that he would eventually become a strong and talented ninja in his own right, Rei would have been thinking that Gai and the academy teachers were insane for letting someone like Rock Lee into a Genin team. Let alone her Genin team.

While Rei made sure to keep her expression neutral, a glance to her side showed her that Neji hadn't bothered. The look of harsh judgment and utter disdain on his face directed squarely at the third member of their team would have probably made Lee flinch if he had been paying any attention. Rei had to resist the urge to sigh. I knew he wasn't going to be thrilled with this team set up, but this might end up being even worse than I thought.

"Right!" said Gai, clapping his hands together. "Good job giving it your all to make it here, Lee. Now that the team is all here, introductions are in order. The typical introduction will do. Name, likes, dislikes, hobbies and dreams."

His declaration was met with silence, and varying levels of enthusiasm among the Genin now under his command.

This didn't seem to dissuade Gai in the slightest though.

"So! I suppose it's only fair that I go first to demonstrate how it's properly done," said Gai before clearing his throat and taking a slightly more serious expression. "My name is Gai Maito. I love difficult challenges, training and I am connoisseur of all things curry. I dislike paperwork, tragedies and people who waste their heaven-gifted potential. My hobbies are studying and refining martial arts, ikebana and physical fitness. My dream is to pass on everything I know to the next generation and mentor many fine shinobi during my career while helping them realize their full potential. Now, who wants to go next?"

"Oh, me, me!" said Lee, raising his hand in the air as if they were still in school. Rei kept trying not to judge him but it was getting harder. "My name is Rock Lee. I dislike people looking down on me, and I like super extra hot spicy food! My dream is to become a strong ninja of Konoha and prove that I can be a great ninja even if I can't use normal jutsu."

He totally messed up his introduction, Rei thought, feeling the vague stirrings of despair. How difficult was it to follow simple instructions?

"Excellent," said Gai, and Rei couldn't help but wonder what at all had been excellent about it. "Now who is next? What about you, young man?" their sensei said, turning to look at Neji.

Rei turned her head to look at her partner, just long enough to catch his disdainful look at Lee before turning away and beginning his own introduction with forced serenity. "My name is Neji Hyuuga. There aren't many things I like. I dislike weakness, inefficiency and general foolishness. I have no hobbies since a hobby is, by definition, a waste of time. My dreams… well, my dream right now is to master all the techniques of my clan's fighting style."

Rei looked at Neji assessingly, curious about his response. It was clear to Rei that Neji was initially going to say something different about his "dreams" before catching himself and going with something more socially acceptable. Or not, since a Branch member was not supposed to learn all of the techniques of the Hyuuga. It was perhaps telling that in that moment Neji very studiously avoided catching her eye.

Lee looked at Neji with something like amazement while Gai nodded with that same smile on his face that somehow always at the very least appeared genuine. "Downtime is important, and hobbies can be useful and may be done during downtime, so I'd ask that you keep an open mind about acquiring a fulfilling hobby going into the future. But good job nonetheless." Then Gai turned to her, his eyes both friendly and assessing. Rei took that as her cue.

"My name is Rei Yamanaka, as I'm sure everyone here already knows," Rei began, an amused and confident little smile tugging at her lips. "I like learning, training, sparring and ninjutsu. I dislike having my time wasted, bullies and mediocrity. My hobbies include poison crafting and scheduling time to hang out with my precious people. As to my dream… well, my dream is to reach the pinnacle of the ninja world and become the first Kage level Yamanaka to come out the Yamanaka clan in centuries. Preferably within the next five years, if at all possible."

Rei watched Gai carefully for his reaction, but was instead distracted by Lee suddenly yelling loudly in completely unnecessary fashion.

"Josh! You really want to be Hokage?" Lee exclaimed, pulling her attention to him. He was looking at her wide-eyed, like he somehow couldn't believe the audacity of what she was saying.

"Not really, no," Rei said to him dismissively, feeling slightly annoyed at the interruption. "Hokage isn't the kind of title I'm interested in. I'm already slotted to become my clan head. Becoming a Kage level nin is more than enough."

Lee looked genuinely puzzled by her explanation. "I don't understand. What's the difference?"

"I can't believe you're this ignorant," Neji said, cutting into the conversation. His tone was cold and superior. "How can you not understand such basic concepts? How do you expect to be a shinobi if your brain is as atrophied as the rest of your ninja skills?"

Lee actually jerked like someone had slapped him at Neji's hash rebuke. Lee's flabbergasted expression only seemed to harden Neji's own expression even more.

Rei frowned at the exchange. This first team meeting was not getting off to an auspicious start, to say the least.

"We all start off at different skill levels in different areas, Neji-kun," cut in Gai, taking a lecturing tone with that smile still on his face. "In the end all of us here in this team will become exceptional shinobi so long as we invest the proper dedication and hard work."

Neji didn't reply, but with the look of deep skepticism on his face he didn't really have to. Lee for his part took in Gai's words with rapt attention, so much so that Rei could easily imagine his eyes shining with adoration.

"So what are we going to be doing, sensei?" Rei asked evenly, tasting out the last word on her tongue.

Rei didn't miss the subtle assessing look he gave every one of them before turning to face her, the smile on his face growing even bigger. "Well young Rei, the truth is I cannot officially accept you as my Genin cell. At least, not yet. There is one more test that all of you must pass before you can truly become official Genin of the Leaf."

There it is.

"What do you mean?" Asked Lee, gawking at the much taller man. "Didn't you say I graduated already? Why do we have to pass another test?"

Rei and Neji shared a look. They'd known about it, of course, the fact that there was one more additional test. Most students hadn't. Apparently, that included Lee. Gai took Rei and Neji's lack of reaction and Lee's gawking in stride without missing a beat.

"What I mean," Gai began, his expression turning serious. "Is precisely what I said: there is one more, hidden test that is kept from academy students. That is a test that is to be administered by your assigned Jounin before being allowed to become an official team. Failure of this test means going back to the academy or being relegated to the Genin corps. While there is nothing wrong with being in the Genin corps, opportunities for advanced training and advancement will be much more limited in that career track. So this test is important. Do you understand?"

The question was directed at all of them, but Rei got the impression that is was more than anything directed at Lee. The boy in question looked numb, maybe even a little betrayed, before hesitantly nodding to Gai. She and Neji were, predictably, rather unphased by the revelation.

It was all bullshit, of course. Maybe for a regular Genin squad what Gai had just said would be true. But for her and Neji? Especially her, the heiress of one of the powerful ninja clans of Konoha? Even if she actively tried to throw the test, getting put in the Genin corps was impossible. And even if Lee tried his hardest to bomb the test, it was supposed to be pass/fail for the whole team due to Konoha's somewhat unique emphasis on teamwork. No matter what all of them would be passed as a matter of course. This last test was just a formality, a pageantry to give some illusion of even handedness and impartiality. For some reason, the idea of being automatically passed on this final test without any standards of skill or ability being factored in irritated her somewhat.

"Relax," Rei found herself saying, turning to look at Lee. "You're not going to be expected to do the basic three or anything else you're unable to do. You wouldn't have been hand picked if you didn't have what it takes. Give it your all and you should be fine."

Neji gave her an odd look. Rei just glanced at him and shrugged, not really sure what had prompted her to go out of her way to reassure Lee. The third member of their new group looked at her with surprise, before giving her a tentative smile. "Gosh, Rei-san. Do you really think so?"

Well, he had passed this test in the story to join Gai's original team, hadn't he? "Sure," Rei said with a bit of forced cheer. "Just don't get in my way and everything will be fine, all right?"

Lee looked a bit uncertain at her response, but really, she was just giving him fair warning. Even though he had potential right now Lee was kind of useless.

"What is the test?" asked Neji, speaking up and addressing Gai for the first time.

"Oh, nothing fancy," replied Gai. "A bit of this, a bit of that. What I'm most interested in is assessing your skills, abilities, personalities and potential to work well with others. As such, the thrust of the test is a 3-on-1 battle. The three of you versus me."

Rei and Neji just nodded at this as a matter of course, while Lee began sizing up the very powerful and intimidating looking Gai with naked trepidation. The Jounin turned to Lee and gave him another of his brilliant reassuring smiles with teeth that seemed just a bit too white. "Don't worry, you won't be expected to beat me. I am an elite Jounin, after all! No, so long as you give it your all everything will be fine."

Lee smiled tentatively back and looked at least somewhat reassured. Rei for her part had to conceal a frown. As long as you do your best, you win? They were supposed to be ninja. Ninja didn't get participation awards. Also, shouldn't Gai be trying to ratchet up the pressure instead of going out of his way to put them at ease? It was bizarre, completely at odds with how she'd been trained, and Rei wasn't sure that she liked it at all.

"With that being said," continued Gai after a moment, his expression turning a shade more serious as he looked at each of them in turn. "In this test you will be required to come at me with everything you've got. The only failure here will be holding anything back. And yes, that means that in this test you must come at me with intent to seriously harm or even kill. If you cannot find the resolve to come at me with your all then there is a good chance that the life of a ninja is not for you. In that case I will fail you, and those who fail will definitely lose the opportunity to study with me or any other Jounin for the foreseeable future."

Between the three of them, only Lee looked shocked by the news. "B-but Gai-sensei!" Lee said. "Can we really do that? What happens if we kill you by accident!"

Gai's smile stayed on, but all of a sudden his face hardened and darkened all the same, in that moment making their sensei suddenly look a hundred times more intimidating. For the first time Rei felt she was catching a glimpse of the elite merc and killer of the Hidden Leaf that was one of it's very strongest members. In spite of herself Rei found herself feeling a little bit intimidated, fear and adrenaline shooting up her spine.

"Don't worry," Gai said, his voice dropping an octave. "If you three kids manage to kill me, then that's fine. Getting that sloppy just means I would have died in my next mission anyway."

Gai blinked, and just like that his terrifying face and the oppressive feeling lifted, gone so fast that it almost made Rei wonder if she had imagined the whole thing in the first place.

"Not that any of you will manage, however. I'm an elite Jounin after all! So you have nothing to worry about!" Gai said, sounding cheerful and normal again while giving the three of them a cheesy thumbs up.

"Now huddle up, you three. As of right now you have five minutes to plan. After that the test will begin immediately." Gai pulled out what looked like a kitchen timer and set it to five minutes. Rei looked at the timer suspiciously. It had been a long time, but wasn't that what the timer Kakashi had used in the story had looked like when he was testing his students? Did the two of them share that thing or something?

"Your five minutes start… now!"

000

Gai walked away towards the other end of the clearing casual as you like, leaving the three of them to sort things out on their own. After he left the three of them looked at each other, and by unspoken agreement (and differing levels of reluctance from various members) the three of them walked toward each other until they were standing in a roughly equidistant triangle. Rei eyed her new teammates. Neji was doing his very best rendition of a stone masked Hyuuga, but Rei had known him long enough to pick up by subtle cues in his stance and the set of his shoulders that he wasn't exactly happy. Lee on the other hand simultaneously looked like a nervous wreck but also like he was gathering all the courage he could for the next few minutes. The two boys looked at each other, and then as if choreographed the two of them turned to look to her. For a moment she couldn't help but wonder what she looked like in that instant in time from their eyes.

"So," began Rei, feeling only right that she take the lead. "We have to go into this assuming we're going to lose. However, he'll want to see everything we've got before he puts us down at the end. That , right there, gives us an advantage. It means that at least at first he'll be holding back from knocking us out of the fight immediately. Which means we can afford to use methods and techniques which are far riskier and more dangerous than we would normally try from the get go."

Neji just nodded while Lee looked at her with surprise and confusion. Rei took a breath and drew on the patience that being a big sister had taught her.

"If you screw up with a wild haymaker, he's more likely to ring your bell a bit instead of going straight for the KO. At least until he's satisfied with what he's seen from us," Rei told Lee, her lavender eyes focused and intense without a single inch of give. "Got it?"

Lee nodded slowly at that, keeping his eyes on her. "Okay," he said. "So what do we do?"

"You stay out of our way," Neji said, cutting in and doing his best to peel Lee open like a grape with his eyes alone. "Me and Rei can handle this alone. Your clumsiness will only do our formation more harm than good."

Lee snapped his head back like he'd been slapped, before slowly his brows narrowed and his face settled into what seemed like an uncharacteristic frown. "I get that I'm not as good as the two of you, Neji-kun. But as of right now I'm still part of this team. And I still absolutely need to go out there and show Gai-sensei what I can do."

"'What you can do?' And what exactly is that?" Neji said in a haughty, superior tone. "I thought that even the basic three that even small children are able to manage were beyond you. Or is that a deficiency you were somehow able to correct while no one was looking?"

Lee flinched away, his cheeks burning red with embarrassment being answer enough to Neji's question. However to Rei's surprise Lee somehow rallied, meeting Neji's disdainful stare straight on. "I may not be able to do normal jutsu, Neji-kun. I know this is a huge disadvantage. But I won't let that stop me from being a fantastic ninja that you can rely on!"

Rei saw Neji practically sneer at his declaration before the boy moved to reply. However before he could speak Rei cut him off. "That's enough," Rei said, using a tone and inflection she'd been taught by the clan that made it easier to command respect. Neji baiting Lee over and over wasn't going to accomplish anything. The two stopped staring each other down and turned to look at her only with reluctance.

"We only have a few minutes left. Let's leave unproductive comments for later," spoke Rei, looking at Neji very pointedly when she said this. The other boy looked displeased but didn't voice a complaint, eventually just turning his head and looking away. Good enough.

"As for you," Rei said, turning to Lee as she put on an apologetic look and tone of voice. "I'm sorry, but Neji is correct. We've trained extensively for this moment, and some of our abilities and strategies are too dangerous to use with you nearby if you're not very familiar with them. At least at first you won't be able to fight together with the two of us."

Lee briefly looked surprise and hurt, before his expression turned mutinous. "But-!"
Rei held up a hand to forestall him. "Only at first. Unfortunately, I have little doubt our tricks are going to fall short in the end. If and once that happens, well I expect things will get a lot more chaotic. I'll make sure you get the change to fight, both to prove yourself on your own and alongside us, after we take our shot. Think you can handle that?"

Lee crossed his arms, giving a suspicious and evaluating look. "This is maybe my one chance to reach my dreams. I can't miss out on showing Gai-sensei my – my fighting spirit."

"You wont, trust me," Rei said with a reassuring smile.

Her smile seemed to give Lee pause before he shifted uncomfortably.

"Are you sure?" he asked her.

"Positive," Rei said, smile never leaving her face.

"Then give me your word as the Heir to the Yamanaka Clan and I'll believe you."

Rei blinked at that, surprised. What he was asking from her wasn't a completely unknown type of request, but it was considered somewhat archaic and old fashioned. Besides, they were ninja. Whereas in samurai and civilian noble clans breaking your word if it was made in such a way was generally speaking an unthinkable and devastating stain on your honor, ninja clans understandably tended to be a bit more flexible when it came to keeping those kinds of solemn honor-bound promises.

Just where had Rock Lee picked up such an atypical manner of thinking and sense of traditions for a ninja village?

Off to the side, Neji scoffed at Lee's request. In that moment neither of the other two paid him any attention.

"Very well," Rei eventually replied with a nod, her tone appropriately serious. "I give you my word as the Heir of the Yamanaka Clan, you'll get your chance to show off everything you've got to Gai-sensei." Her lips quirked up in a half-smile. "Unless some freak accident occurs and we kill him first, of course. In which case I believe your concerns would become a moot point anyway."

He looked vaguely unsettled for some reason, but drew himself up anyway and nodded resolutely in her direction. "Very well. I'll stand back and let the two of you take the lead at first. What do you propose we do afterwards, and where do I come in?"

The giddy excitement that had been slowly simmering inside of her began to bubble and grow as she explained her plan to Lee. "If and when Neji and I fail, we'll signal you and proceed to the next stage of the plan. This is what we'll do…"

By the end of her explanation, Lee looked a little pale and wild eyed, but as far as she was concerned that just meant that the kid needed to fucking toughen up. Honestly, so what if he probably had a point that her plan had "a very real danger of injury and death" for all of them? What the hell did he think being a ninja was all about in the first place anyway?

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If there was one thing in the world that Gai found nearly as fulfilling as martial arts, it was teaching.

This would be the fourth Genin team that Gai had mentored to the rank of Chuunin (barring one tragic KIA that he felt was a black mark on his record). Through trial and error and experience Gai considered himself to have become quite capable as an instructor of Genin over the years. Part of those skills involved being able to quickly and accurately assess the potential strengths and weaknesses of youngsters not only as Genin, but also as people. As much as a ninja as a weapon was the "ideal", at the end of the day it was always still a person that he was attempting to train after all.

Had he been anyone else, seeing what he had to work with would have tempted him to let out a heavy sigh at all the work this team was going to take.

Neji Hyuuga was easy enough to peg from simply observing him. Angry or even perhaps even bitter seemed to be his general disposition. Gai knew that given his situation in his clan Neji had plenty of legitimate reasons to be angry, but that didn't mean that his attitude wouldn't be problematic. Coupled with what seemed like a budding superiority complex and seemingly little hesitation at lashing out at those who could not easily retaliate for his rudeness, Gai already could tell getting him to the point where he could take on the responsibilities of a Chuunin in a mature, level headed and objective fashion was going to take a lot of delicate work. At least from all reports getting his ninja skills up to an acceptable level for a Chuunin should be a relatively simple and straightforward task as far as Neji Hyuuga was concerned.

Turning his gaze to Rock Lee, Gai felt his lips tug slightly upwards. Truly, by any institutional standard the boy should have been drummed out of the ninja corps years ago. He was completely unable to use jutsu due to his coils being abnormal, which made him attempting standard jutsu the equivalent of his body attempting to do mathematics with a base other than ten. Simply put, the end result would never come out the right way. That would have been the end of things for him had Gai not intervened.

Gai was known (and sometimes looked down upon) for his eccentricity and his oftentimes strange seeming whims. That is why many administrators in the academy were aggravated but not overly surprised when he used his influence to keep Rock Lee in the program despite his handicap. He'd seen something in the boy, a drive and will to keep moving forward even in the face of being told he would never be able to utilize the famed and coveted techniques of a ninja. Character was much harder to come by than skill, and Lee's character had impressed him. However only time would tell if this raw clay of a talentless boy could truly be molded into someone who as a ninja would be truly worthwhile and worthy of respect.

Then there was the last, and at the moment most enigmatic, member of the team.

Reports he had read and gotten on her were all a bit all over the place. An heiress to one of the major clans in the village who very rarely if ever brought attention to that fact or attempt to use the clout it gave her. He didn't believe for a second she didn't know she could use her status as a bludgeon, but she didn't. Instead she seemed to use her prodigious talents and aggressive personality as a bludgeon, which she used to terrorize her class into always walking eggshells around her. But why? To her instructors there had never been any obvious reason for her behavior. Antisocial but oddly charismatic. Proud but almost aggressively aloof from her peers. Usually twelve year old new graduates were simple enough to figure out, but there didn't seem to be any simple answers to why's of Rei Yamanaka or what made her tick.

Her self introduction had shed some light onto her, painting her as an obsessive workaholic, but that still did not reveal the full picture. And that goal of hers? Fascinating and troubling all at the same time. She'd never spoken of it to her instructors or they would have made a note of it. To become a Kage level nin, but no interest in becoming Hokage? What could drive someone so young to become so devoted to such an abstract and difficult goal? It clearly wasn't social validation that she was seeking.

Interesting. He would have to keep an eye on her and figure out the drove and motivated her so if he was going to make sure she would become a competent Chuunin as was his primary job. It was also rather thrilling to work with a true legitimate genius of a younger generation. As much as he believed hard work eventually trumped all, it was undeniable that this sort of innate talent could also make an incredible difference. Having already developed a seal-less, instant universal counter to at least lower and mid level genjutsu? It was rather difficult to believe and it made the teacher part of him practically salivate at the possibilities of his latest student.

Only time would tell if all that potential would manifest into something grand out in the real world, however. It was an unfortunate truth that talent and promise was often snuffed out before it's time. It would be his highest priority while they were in his care to ensure that didn't happen this time (and he would protect all of his students equally, even if multiple influential individuals had hinted that ensuring the Heiress survived was a higher priority for the village than the survival of the other two).

As he observed his new students across the clearing he saw them begin to break up and turned to face him, a serious expression on each and every one of their faces. Gai let himself grin at them as he usually did. He got to choose what face he wanted to show the world, and this was the face he had chosen to share with everyone.

"Ready to begin?" he called out to them.

His three new students briefly looked at each other and nodded to each other before they turned to face him. "We're ready!" called out Rei.

"Very well," said Gai, letting his grin widen just a little bit further. "Then… begin!"

There was a bit of an awkward moment of silence in which nobody moved. Then Rei shrugged and casually said, "Well, then I guess I'll go first."

Oh? Do they intend to take me on one-on-one?

However, Gai didn't have time for further musing since Rei took that moment to attack.

Her arm snapped out, throwing a kunai in his direction with at least Chuunin levels of power and accuracy, the girl dashing in his direction behind the knife as soon as it was thrown. It seemed an underwhelming opening move until Gai saw the explosive tag wrapped around the hilt, timer already burning down. Acting on instinct he drew a kunai of his own and in a crisp practiced motion threw it to intercept hers. He saw Rei dash to the side at the last moment before the two kunai crashed and the explosive tag detonated in a deafening roar a dozen feet in front of him.

The explosion completely blinded him for a moment which was why his instincts and the vague Chakra sense all high level ninja develop were all that saved him from getting burned. He turned only to see Rei behind him and on his left, her hands already finishing the last seal of a jutsu. How had he not heard or sensed her move behind him?

Gai watched as she opened her mouth and in total silence a virtual fire hose of flames exploded out from her open mouth, shooting in his direction with the speed of a thrown shuriken. The entire technique and it's execution were all eerily silent. The girl, her movements, even the flames she was spitting in his direction were completely without sound. With shock he realized that even the Chakra he could sense even while she was actively channeling a jutsu was extremely muted to his senses. Only once the conflagration got more than a foot away from her could the roar of the flames be heard and the feeling of Chakra in the air grow to match what he had come to expect.

A sustained jutsu that cancels all sound she makes and masks her Chakra presence? Not a bad stealth technique.

Gai dodged, and the flames followed him. Rei attemted to track him with the Katon jutsu she was using, moving her head to follow him as fire continued to practically explode out of her mouth. He stayed ahead of her flames with his speed, prompting her to cancel the technique after a handful more seconds. Gai expected her to charge in or attempt some other approach, but instead her hands sped through three hand seals and once again flames exploded out of her mouth and were shot at him, prompting him to dodge in the opposite direction.

The experienced Jounin very quickly saw what she was trying to do.

Unlike the famous Great Fireball Katon jutsu of the Uchiha, this Katon jutsu had none of that techniques devastating explosive force to go along with its flames. Instead this fire lingered on the ground, burning much higher and longer than it should by mere physics, as if it were powered by a truly unnatural accelerant. It reminded him of one of the Sarutobi clan jutsu, and she was using it in much the same way they did – that is, attempting to hem him in and herd him with walls of flame that could linger and burn on the ground all on their own for minutes at a time. A careless ninja would easily find himself herded into an ambush or surrounded by walls of fire with nowhere to go.

Mid dodge Gai decided to interrupt her jutsu by throwing a large spread of shuriken and kunai in her direction.

Rei flipped and dodged his projectiles easily, but was forced to cancel channeling her fire jutsu with a snarl. Gai charged right at her, taking the initiative this time, keeping his speed at a slightly higher level than he had seen from her thus far. Rei saw his charge and decided to retaliate in kind, drawing a kunai and speeding towards him with a graceful and predatory run.

A single step before they clashed Rei stepped sideways, and suddenly there were four of her bearing down on him with kunai poised to strike his vitals less than a step away. For in an instant Gai once again found himself surprised. Instant sealess bunshin at her age? What was worse, the bunshin's biggest tell of it being a simple illusion was that they were not tangible in any and thus they could not make any noise. With that sustained muting jutsu of hers however, there was no immediately simple way of telling the real Rei from the fakes.

However, Gai wasn't one of the most experienced and strongest veteran Jounin in the village for nothing.

With four kunai bearing down on him, Gai closed his eyes for just an instant. While bunshin didn't make any noise, it was also true that they didn't displace air. It was a relatively simple matter to in that instant open up his senses and perceive which of the four copies of Rei was disturbing the air around them as her kunai and body moved through the air.

There!

Gai's large fist shot out like a cannon at the Rei on the far left, ignoring all of her other projections. His strike impacted solidly on the shoulder of her leading arm, knocking her back into an ugly tumble and sending her weapon flying. His blow must have canceled her masking jutsu since he heard her hiss in pain and curse as she was knocked away.

He'd have been worried if perhaps he had hit her a bit too hard, had he no noticed that at the very last second she had dropped three almost innocuous looking little black balls at his feet.

Smoke bombs, his mind categorized an instant before they went off. However, there was something suspicious about them. Letting his battle instincts carry him, Gai employed a useful Chakra technique and held his breath right before all three smoke bombs exploded and completely covered everything within twenty of him feet in thick smoke.

Almost immediately the oily, sticky feel of the smoke let him know his instincts had been on point. I thought so.

His newest student had just filled half the clearing with poisoned gas.

Coupled with all the fires still burning loudly nearby it made for a disorienting combination. And a very dangerous one.

He could only hope she had antidotes for her teammates in case they got an accidental dose.

As for Gai himself, he was using a Chakra technique not too different from the technique to walk up walls or walk on water. Back during the war, when he'd been largely stationed in the front against Suna, they had quickly learned to use Chakra to repel the various airborne contact poisons the Suna-nin had begun deploying for the first time. Whole platoons had been wiped out by such tactics before the Leaf had caught on and developed countermeasures. After that such tactics were still dangerous but became dramatically more easy to deal with. Short of being cut by a poisoned blade or ingesting a harmful agent, with this technique Gai was completely immune to airborne poisons so long as he held his breath.

Still, for that kid to use such an indiscriminate attack around allies…

It looks like "restraint" is one of the first lessons I will need to teach her, Gai thought with a serious frown.

The Jounin held his position as he considered his next move, wondering how Rei meant to attack. The lack of visibility worked both ways. Was she hoping to flush him out into an ambush? Or did she have some other means of tracking his position?

Gai didn't have to wait long. Suddenly behind him, out of the choking cloud of gas came Rei, moving faster than before and swinging a fist at his chest. Gai turned, pivoted and without too much difficulty blocked the punch with his forearm.

That's when Rei opened her hand and expertly jabbed at one of the major Tenketsu points in his arm.

Only at the very last moment Gai saw this, and with eyes widening in alarm he managed to turn his arm just enough so the strike only partially managed to block the Tenketsu on his arm point instead of blocking it completely. Pain and numbness shot down his arm in a manner that Gai was unfortunately very familiar with. On instinct he kicked out at Rei, holding back most of his strength, but still enough to knock her to the floor a few feet away.

As soon as he kicked her, "Rei" was engulfed in a cloud of white smoke, revealing a now un-Henge'd Neji in her place, the bulging veins in his eyes a clear indication of his active blood limit. Gai felt his his esteem for his new students grow. Make it seem like they'll take me on one-on-one, then a Henge switch at a critical moment. Not at all a bad strategy or teamwork for freshly minted Genin. It wouldn't be bad for a lot of more experienced ninja, either.

As Neji got back to his feet and assumed his family's fighting stance, more poisoned gas pellets exploded all around them, filling the clearing again with the quickly dissipating gas. Gai examined Neji curiously while keeping some of his attention on Rei's inevitable sneak attack that would undoubtedly come soon after Neji engaged him. Did he take an antidote beforehand? That can be tricky with massive doses of poison like he's absorbing just standing in this cloud and breathing this air. How is he unaffected?

Gai's musings came to end as Neji charged him. The Jounin took up his challenge and charged to meet him half way. Next came a fast and furious taijutsu exchange, Neji attacking him with absurd skill for his age, even if he lacked the speed or strength to pose any serious threat to Gai in a straight up Taijutsu fight like this. Every movement smooth and polished. Every form crisp and technically perfect. Clever and tricky in it's implementation, too. Gai grinned. Neji Hyuuga truly is a taijutsu prodigy, just like they said eh? Teaching this kind of student should be fun.

When Rei's attack came, it was completely silent. Only the slightest of disturbances in the air and his own instincts and danger sense alerted him in time. Above! Gai stunned Neji with a jab at the boy's nose, giving himself room to deal with his other student. By the time he turned his attention to Rei she was withing touching distance directly above him, a probably poisoned kunai in her hand swinging down towards his head. Without room to do much else Gai punched upwards, his fist burying itself deeply into Rei's soft stomach.

And that was when everything exploded into fire.

"Rei" came apart, the fire nature Chakra making up "her" body destabilizing and losing cohesion. Gai's eyes widened as suddenly a veritable deluge of flame hit him head on from above, covering his whole upper body in flames. Desperately Gai flared his Chakra, pushing the Chakra made flames back for a tenth of a second. With two nearly instantaneous hand seals done with a speed honed in combat and war, Gai activated an earth element technique and fell into the dirt as easily as if it had suddenly turned into water.

While some people seemed to think he was only about taijutsu, Gai was a Jounin. Elemental transformations and techniques were a requirement for his position. They were even something that he felt he was a pretty decent hand at, too.

That was a Katon Bunshin, Gai mused as he used his Chakra to propel himself underground, feeling a little bit singed. A fire elemental clone. How does a freshly minted Genin know not one but two Katon techniques? A stealth technique, too? Dangerous. And clever. I let that get a bit too close at the end. Looks like I'll have to stop holding back quite so much.

Gai looked for somewhere to resurface away from the dissipating smoke and the fires, already planning out his next moves.

He was far from done in seeing what they were really made of.

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A/N: So, after a year and a half, finally an update! I apologize for disappearing for so long. A combination of Covid, moving twice, dealing with some seriously bad chronic pain, working on my own original book project, work, and even more life issues and challenges beyond that made me push fanfic writing to the back burner.

But! Some good news:

1) This chapter was cut in half from what was originally intended because it was getting too long. The hard parts for the second half of what was meant to be this chapter are already complete. So, I'll post what was originally meant to be the second half of this chapter in a week.

2) Most of the things that have been holding me back from writing have been largely or completely resolved. This means I'm in a point in my life when I'm going to be much more active as a writer. That means some fanfiction stuff will continue to be forthcoming. However the majority of my time will be taken with my own projects, which leads me to the last bit of good news…

3) My own first original work will FINALLY be published on Amazon in 2-3 months. What's more, for the first week or so I'll be giving away my new book for FREE!!! Why would I go through so much trouble writing a book, getting cover art made, publishing etc. just to give it away you ask? Because I'm thinking longer term, and I'm hoping that if people like my book they will buy more of my books from me in the future and recommend my work to their friends and family.

Publishing my book will coincide with a new update for this story. That way you can read a new chapter for this story, and then have an entire book from me that you can read for free. Pretty good deal, no? That way everybody wins!

Thank you for reading and stay tuned for more.

Always grateful for your support,

SixPerfections
 
Oh wow. I had lost all hope! So glad to see this return! I hope this story continues, because it had so much going for it!
Now, to read the chapter...

Edit: Rei's mood at the start of the chapter nicely mirrored my own as I returned to this story :D
As always, this fic's fight scenes are fun and avoid being repetitive or confusing. I'm interested in seeing where this goes!
 
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