Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Weapon Encounters of the Third Kind ❯ Paper ( Chapter 5 )

Toboe LoneWolf: Whee, more applications of unusual objects for weaponry by Tenten! This happens to be a contest entry for the ten-squared livejournal community. It also happens to be inspired by another anime/manga and if by the end of this you do not know, I command thee to enlighten thyself on pain of Tenten's anvil. XDDDD

 

Disclaimer: Toboe LoneWolf does not own Naruto. He is owned by Kishimoto. Unless you're a rabid shipper. Then he's owned by your respective ship. XP

 

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Weapon: Paper
AKA: Read Or Die

Paper:
One of the four great inventions from China

 

A new year, a new class, a new set of fresh young shinobi wanna-bes.

 

Iruka rubbed the scar across his nose as he saw paper airplanes fly by, two boys in the back jump over the desks to fight over what Iruka thought was Boy B's hair (he hadn't learned their names yet), the girls were screaming over the boy's immaturity, and he swore he heard an explosion three classrooms down (he really hoped that teacher would stay for at least a week; they were running out of substitutes). Why did he do this?

 

Oh yeah. He liked the little brats.

 

With ninja-trained senses and the weighty experience of a shinobi teacher, Iruka heard spitballs plaster themselves on the chalkboard behind him.

 

…He liked them…theoretically.

Taking a deep breath, Iruka yelled, "SHUT UP!"

 

The classroom fell silent at the improper words their sensei had just said. A grown-up should never speak like that!

 

Iruka glared. "Normally, I'd send you off to weapons practice now. But," he emphasized, as he could see the tiny little students were eager to run, "Before that, we're having someone special speak to us now."

 

The groans were unanimous. They wanted to go play with sharp pointy things, right now, and not sit in some boring old wooden classroom one more microsecond. Iruka couldn't blame them. At that age, sharp pointy objects were cool.

 

…Considering who was going to speak to them, some things never grow old.

 

Iruka walked over to the (triple locked) door. "Alright. Come on in, Tenten."

 

The perky chuunin in pink grinned, just outside the doorway. "Oh goodie." She poked her head inside. "Did you reinforce the back of the classroom like I told you? And the desk?"

 

"With three inches of extra plywood."

 

Tenten tilted her head to look back at Iruka, and her grin grew even wider. "Great." With a smile Tenten stepped into the class, waving. "Hey, kiddies. I'm the token spokesperson who's gonna reintroduce you to the wide and wild world of weaponry."

 

Iruka stood back and leaned against the doorway. This was perhaps the highlight of the day - minus the smiling faces of the kids as they left the Academy (he couldn't help but like the little ones.) Tenten was a good person to do this; the kids would hear from her what they wouldn't hear from him.

 

Tenten walked to the front of the room, behind the desk. She propped her hands on her hips and surveyed the room. More or less alert, not quite dead, and in general paying attention. Not bad for a first day.

 

"Okay, I'm going to make this quick."

 

Her eyes gazed across the class. "Weapons. No shinobi is without one. We carry them, we use them, and we kill with them. And in the end, we shinobi are weapons themselves, the weapons of this village." She paused for emphasis. "You are second years, and thus have had some moderate training in weapons. This year, however, you will learn more than just how to use them."

 

She flicked her wrist, and like magic, sheets of paper fanned out. She held them up to her face, her eyes peering over the stiff edges.

 

Her eyes now turned darker, her wrist rotating as she turned her makeshift paper fan, the light reflecting over the curved, glossy surface. "We are shinobi, trained in deception. The obvious weapons may not be available to us. We must learn to use anything and everything as a potential weapon, along with the art of concealing weapons themselves."

 

Fwwwip!

 

Heads whipped around to see an arrowhead formation of paper in the back wall of the classroom, one corner edge of each paper embedded into the wood, at least two inches in. But it was just paper; paper didn't do that, so it had to be genjutsu or something but that wasn't fair and there hadn't been any seals and why wasn't Iruka-sensei doing anything, maybe it wasn't genjutsu because the canceling techniques they learned last year weren't working but that meant the paper was real—

 

"To alter. To deceive." The voice in the front of the room turned even more serious. "To find a way to turn something ordinary into something lethal. That is part of your life as shinobi."

 

The students slowly turned back to the scary woman in pink. Tenten waved another piece of paper.

 

"A piece of paper, yes." She wiggled it, and it flapped slightly. "But merely? No. You are used to paper being used for explosive tags and scrolls, and test papers and airplanes and spitballs." Tenten raised an eyebrow, her eyes flitting to the little paper balls stuck onto the chalkboard and some of the students shrank down in their seats. "You have been engrained that this is all paper can be used for."

 

She slammed her hand down, and the paper's edge sank into the wooden desk.

 

"A thin, clear blade applied to the edges of the paper. Deceptive, easy to hide, and who would fear a piece of paper?"

 

The paper folded over, but the edge was firmly implanted into the desk, and so it curled in on itself.

 

"This year, you will learn to turn anything into a weapon. You are shinobi, and you are a weapon, and everything you know can be used as a weapon. Even…" With deliberate exaggeration Tenten drew a scroll. "A single sheet of paper." The student's eyes grew wide as she unraveled it, the glyphs on the paper looking black and foreign and intimidating.

 

"Hyi-up!"

 

All of the kids screamed and covered their heads.

 

"…Oh geez, I'm not that cruel. I just wanted to wake you up; some of you were looking a bit glazed over."

 

The kids peeked underneath their arms. Tenten winked, the paper scroll snapping shut. With a casual twirl she sheathed the scroll. And smiled.

 

Oh gods yes, that woman in pink was scary.

 

With a simple tug she plucked the piece of paper out from the desk. Tenten waved perkily at the students, her serious side seemingly vanished. Iruka smiled as Tenten walked out the classroom, the students still in shock. Tenten had a…way with kids.

 

"Have fun, guys!"

 

Tenten flicked her fingers.

 

Iruka felt a breeze.

 

…

 

A lock of dark brown hair fell to the floor and a piece of paper cracked the glass window.

 

…

 

"TENTEN YOU DID NOT DO WHAT YOU JUST DID!"

 

…

 

Tenten laughed as she ran out of the school, Iruka yelling out of the classroom window. Oh come on, why couldn't she just have some good old school-time fun terrorizing students and teachers alike?