11 Awe

You know how you are sometimes so wrong at figuring out people, how they react completely out of character based on the field study you did on them well I witnessed that first-hand this evening

' I was wrong, so so wrong. Yoshino's not the helicopter parent Shikaku is and believe me on that cause right now he's firing missiles at me '

" I cannot believe this!! My own son disregards my warning and does this without even thinking about the consequences of your failure!!! "

That's also been the kind of theme since he came three minutes ago, honestly where's the calm bastard who beats me at shogi, I'll play shogi right now to have him back

" I d- "

" You will say nothing! I thought I could trust you to train, I thought with the intelligence you showed, you would be able to see the fact these types of things would need absolute security before training, but you proved that I was mistaken. "

He's taking deep breaths now and I now know what a pissed-off Shikaku looks like

' I don't like it and if that wasn't enough '

Uncle Chouza and uncle Iniochi are here too, they're both trying to calm my father and scolding me at the same time

" You shouldn't have done that Shikamaru! You could have been hurt! What would we have done then? " Uncle Chouza though says it softly, he's not angry just disappointed just like how uncle Iniochi looks right now

" Your father's right, you shouldn't have done that kid, you could have been really messed up "

And that comment is from one of the canon characters who's supposedly one of the elite jonin in the village, Genma

Apparently, he got the news when Pops was leaving the office in a hurry and just joined dad for the fun of it and so far he's been sniping with irritating comments throughout the rant, it's really getting annoying and maybe he can see that cause he hasn't stopped being so smug since pops started speaking

' Though I don't remember seeing him fight that much. Whatever, he's a prick with a toothpick ' and I kinda smile when I think that which of course is noticed by the people in the room which starts off the next discussion

Of course, Genma wasn't the only one whose presence was unexpected, Asai-san was also here in all his hooded presence simply being the poster child of a happy loner, apparently Shino ' wanted knowledge of my safety and punishment ' though I could have done without the punishment part

' Alright, stay calm...you can do this...now '

I raise my head and look my father in the eyes and at the same time do the thing I showed at the park but instead of just light dimming like before the shadows in the room also became a little darker

' It's different, I guess I'm getting close to levelling up on shadow manipulation '

And the result was that the conversation was forced to a lull and the reason isn't that hard to figure out

Instead of apologizing for using jutsu and learning it without their permission, I displayed the jutsu again for all to see despite their advice and scolding on that matter while they were discussing my punishment and I can't help but notice that somehow I'm feeling giddy?..... Yes, I'm feeling giddy

' Why the hell am I feeling giddy?? Who appreciates this shit so much, the D in me? The Hanma in me? Or is it just the teenager in me? '

Still I can't let my confusion show on my face so immediately dismiss such thoughts and rally myself again

" Do you see any problem father? "

My question is left unanswered as my father just stares at me, though Uncle Iniochi is holding his shoulder while Uncle Chouza is the only one checking the effect curiously, Genma joins Asai in his silence though their eyes sometimes linger on their shadows

Though Genma's face now looks like he wants out ' Gotcha bitch '

" Well, father? "

" My problem is not with the technique son, it's with what you did "

Finally, he speaks to me though it seems the fight is drained out of him forcefully as he straightens himself and stares at me without blinking

" How so? "

" There are more than 100 clans in all five villages and do you know how many of them have an affinity to shadow Shikamaru? " At my silence, he continues speaking

" Us, only us. And that's not because none of the others doesn't want to do it, it's because it's a field that is not normal even to shinobi, that and how almost every person who tries to imitate us either ends up with nothing to show for it or becomes nothing "

" So no Shikamaru I'm not angry that you learned a technique on your own, I'll be lying if I said I wasn't proud of it or that I'm not astonished by it. But the fact is you put yourself in danger for a needless reason too"

' Well that makes it a little easier '

" I told you that I would teach you jutsu when it was time. You realize that you are lucky to be alive right now, but we wouldn't have to rely on luck had you just waited. But you could not be patient and now what should I do Shikamaru? How should I not punish you for this? "

I open my mouth and begin

" First of all I never learned a jutsu "

' Technically true, shut up Genma '

" You said you would teach me and I have been patient. While I would have liked to learn it earlier than you think, I accepted your advice on this matter "

" Then what is it you are doing right now Shikamaru, what is this if not the result of learning jutsu? "

" I promised I would not needlessly train on my own in this father and I kept my promise. I did not learn jutsu this is simply something I discovered months ago "

' Alright nice and slow now '

" I was surprised just as you were Father, one minute I couldn't do it and the next I could "

" Bullshit " Genma coughed out while staring at me earning an " I concur " from Asai-san

' Well fuck you too '

" You want us to believe that this is not your doing? That this just magically appeared one day " Mom enters the conversation while Dad stays silent

I roll my eyes and reply " Yes "

" We find that hard to believe son, pull another one "

" There is no other one Mother, what I told is the truth "

" Oh really? how did that happen then? "

" Due to circumstances none of my own design really, I have come this far in the manipulation of shadows "

Behind my parents, I hear Genma whisper " This is gonna be good " to Asai-san while both my parents lean towards me like they wish to strangle the truth out of me and they no longer see that as excessive use of force

" How would you even train unknowingly? In shadows of all things? Do you think we're stupid or something? " Mom's fired up

" Yes I'm quite interested in your explanation Shikamaru-kun " Asai-san also chirps in his opinion

" You have to admit that your excuse is quite far fetched Shikamaru "

Uncle Chouza also makes his opinion known while uncle Iniochi is content to nod along while father is still silent

' Alright, time for the bullshit '

So I clear my throat and put a humble look on my face as much as I could, I would have done the innocent child one but I don't think anyone will buy it

" That's where you're wrong uncle Chouza, If there is someone this can be blamed on it's not me, it's mom!!! "

' How's that for a twist? '

I'm dancing inside my head while on the outside everyone instinctively leans away from mom as she stands up suddenly while pointing at me like she can't believe what she heard and seeing dad blink while the others stare at me weirdly is just quality entertainment

" How? How am I the one at fault here? Where the hell did that come from? " " Sit down dear "

" Shut up Shikaku I'm tired of this, Shikamaru you're grounded "

" If you ground for reasons not satisfactory I assure you I will not go along without resistance "

' God I love this, honestly watching mom blow a fuse is funny. Scary as hell true, but still funny '

" Now I gotta hear this " Support comes from the unexpected place but maybe that's cause the prick just wants to see me crash and burn

" Then tell us what happened son without holding anything back " Dad speaks as soon as Genma spit it out and tries to calm Mom while signaling me to start speaking

' Still looking out for me, thanks pop '

So I do what I have always done to win an argument that I should lose, it's something deep within everyone, an instinctive response of flight or fight, usually I use flight mainly because I most often don't have the material to fight

' I call upon every smooth talker, great liar I ever know, bless me ' Which of course is mainly movie, show and anime characters.

" Father there are things that you must teach for me to learn, for example you taught me how to read and write "

" And? "

" Then there are things that you didn't teach to me like breathing, hearing and all that instinctive things "

" Where are you going with this? "

" That's just it father. This technique was born of an unconscious instinctive decision made by the body "

It should be noted the faces have begun to exhibit an ' I'm tired of this shit ' face as I continue talking, father in particular looks like he's regretting that I'm talking right now but he still asks me what mother had to do with that

' Time to put those acting lessons to use and make this bullshit believed ' so I stand up and try and do my best to act like a lawyer who knows what he's talking about

" Father there are two things that you should recognize about this technique

1. Notice that I need no hand sign or any physical movement to achieve this effect

2. Notice the effect "

All of them looked rather surprised by my sudden actions and words

' That's good, be off guard and now to reel it in '

" I told you that I had achieved this months ago, specifically I believe it to be 4 months. I have already stated that I did not train for this. Now you might think to yourself whether it did appear out of the blue like mother suggested " my question to them is answered by a group chorus " no we don't "

" And you're wise for it did not appear out of the blue !! This technique was achieved due to the irritation my body felt for months! Now you may ask what irritated my body so? "

Ok, they're now interested in my words, though Mom and pops look kind of ticked off so I decide to drop the act and straight out create a comedy gold

" The damn curtains are too translucent and the dawn's early light is bloody annoying "

For a moment they just stare at me, then they collectively blink and when they realize that I'm not joking or sweating they're realizing that I'm being serious

Genma breaks first, he immediately jumps and points at me while roaring " You're messing with us " and to my surprise both my uncles also seem to support this, Asai-san seems much like mother is at that moment as, in they have no idea what the hells going on and father has picked the anime eyebrow tick ' Which as usual is kind of funny '

" So you're saying your body came up with a way to let you sleep longer " Believe me his incredulous tone is great

" Yeah, it's basically a light filter/switch. You see I thought It was just cause I was sleepy now that I was waking early but then I started to notice this weird effect when I first woke which would go away when I rub my sleep off, then the last three days I left the alarm on and I was able to confirm the effect and today I consciously learned to do it "

And after I say it I just plop down while Father looks outright pained while the others look like they don't know what to say anymore

' Now to shock them into life while letting them believe the ruse '

" So as I said, for reasons not of my own making such as mom refusing to change the curtains, the unwanted architectural window exposed to the sun near the bed and just the sun in general are the ones to blame for this, I'm just innocent "

" He's not telling the truth, is he? "

" I do not know Genma-san "

" That's not how brains work, right Iniochi?"

" I don't know what's happening anymore "

" I need sake, I'm getting sake "

" Drinking is bad for your health Mother"

" Shut up !! "

' I knew it would be funny to watch and it is, god I wish I had a recorder function, oh well hope I've got a long memory, cause I want to remember this '

And the truth is that even Dad couldn't say that I wasn't wrong, that's why I used the light dimming instead of showing them combat moves. We all have that instinct to sleep a little longer when we're safe and to find irritation in the sun when it wakes us up on certain days

' And that's where the strategic skill is showing its use, the effect is suitable to be instinctively developed while at the same time displaying my high affinity to shadows as countless Nara will tell just wishing don't make it happen '

And now as I watch Dad fumble around trying to find the words to say sorry to me while not losing their authority as parents, he like the others believes my ruse completely as well despite his intelligence

' I'm sure I would have gotten a few points if this was the normal system. That's another point to the trusty method of shock and awe '

—————————————————————

Hope you guys liked his bluff even if you didn't like his plan and if you didn't like it then I'm sorry. The next chapter is also another showing off one

Once again I thank everyone for reading my story and I especially give my thanks to Octoberwind,LouieTemp,Saiyan7700, Bardok32123,Dawid_Lis,Oniitama,Flamawix, kvndrn,the_myth_of_wolf for donating their power stones to the story and as always I welcome your opinions and hope you're safe, happy and wish you a great day

avataravatar
Next chapter