Aliens

Feeling the wind touseling my hair, I hold onto my personal Uchiha transportation. It's not that I want him to give me a piggyback ride, I just don't want to run to the other side of the village and back. I'd much rather have someone else get me there faster and then walk back myself. One way isn't that bad. The real reason? I honestly don't know the way. Like who puts the police station on the edge of the village? You would think I could just follow my transport, but you'd be wrong. Ninja have these needs. Urges really. They go off in various directions all only to end up in the same spot. At least that's the intention. Apparently, if there is an enemy or obstruction, only a fraction of them will be hindered.

It makes sense, but only in the field. Why zigzag in the village? The other, much smaller, almost inconsequential reason is that this guy is a jounin. One his speed is much higher and two, he's better at chakra control. Ignoring the landscape flying by, I focus on spreading my chakra around us and feeling how he uses his. I know he can tell I'm doing something, but so what? Is he going to be mad if I say I'm meditating? It's him that needs me.

Obviously, I avoid his head, but his legs are fair game. Each time he leaps off an obstacle or tree, he does several things at once. What's actually incredible is that everything is streamlined and with purpose. First of all, he almost never uses adhesion. I'm sure he knows how, but it's just not needed. He ejects small but concentrated bursts of chakra at the point where his feet make contact. Another thing is that he actively pushes with his thighs at every bound. This sounds simple, but the way he uses chakra here is perfect.

Using his hamstrings and quads, his chakra transitions between them as they contract and relax. While that happens, his calves feel like pistons firing at every dash. He literally shoots chakra down the gastrocnemius and soleus simultaneously and it exits his sandal as the burst I described before. To say this simply, he's doing 8 chakra manipulations before it bursts out of his feet. All of that while thinking about his aerial orientation. You know, like twisting his waist and moving his arms correctly to change how he lands.

Yes, he's not exactly holding my legs. Holding on like a koala is my job. Comparing what I use to his method, I might be able to use a third of the chakra instead. The only difficulty is getting the manipulations down correctly. No problem right? It's just like muscle memory, but for chakra. Focusing back on my surroundings, I notice we entered the Uchiha compound. If the numerous clan symbols weren't a dead giveaway, the stoic, socially retarded faces definitely were. Occasionally I can see normal people in the clan, but surrounded by quite a few are stone-faced husks. Something is definitely wrong here. I've been in this district before and these people never use a poker face inside their compound.

Feeling a bit uneasy, I poke my ride's ear. "Hey! Hey, is there something up today? Everyone's acting like mannequins today" I whisper into his ear. Looking back at me, he raises an eyebrow while grunting. Great. He didn't hear a thing I guess. Screaming it into his ear this time, I find myself flying through the air. Crashing into the dirt, I roll to a stop as I hit a signpost. So much for skilled jounin. Rubbing my nose, I groan as my lower back flares in agony. Gingerly pawing at my back, I wince at the new bruise. Just another day of sleeping on my stomach.

Looking around, I burst out laughing. This guy just faceplanted into a swinging target. Getting up and walking over to him, I watch as he wipes the blood flooding out of his nose. Closing his eyes, he fixes his nose. "Shouldn't you go to a medic for that?" I ask innocently. Tilting my head sideways and holding my hands together, I smile right back at his glare.

Sighing, he shakes his head before walking away. Jogging behind him, I keep up with his new pace easily. A few minutes of silent walking while several rejects stare pass until we exit the compound. "Hey, I'm sorry y'know. I just didn't expect a wooden target would ambush you" I say while skipping beside him. Glancing at his conflicted face, I almost feel bad for him. Smirking, I reach up and pat his shoulder, "I don't mind listening you know? You can vent while we walk since it's still a few minutes away."

Massaging his crooked nose, he slumps his shoulders, "Just ask. What do you want to know?" Grinning, I say, "Why is your clan uptight today? It's like someone stole all of their food." Shrugging, he grabs my shirt and jumps over a bush, "You'll see once we get to the station. It's nothing you need to worry about, but you'll figure it out eventually." Grumbling inaudibly as he sets me down and continues walking, "Politics and all..."

Deciding to let him mumble in peace, I focus on moving my chakra through specific muscles. Several minutes pass before we reach an ochre-colored building with the Uchiha symbol proudly displayed on top. I guess flags aren't a thing yet. Stepping in behind him, he leads me to a side room. Gesturing at one of the chairs, he turns around and leaves. Blinking at the disturbingly empty room, I sit in one of two chairs. Fidgeting in the chair, I spread my legs. leaning my head back, I close my eyes.

Letting my mind drift away, I slowly go over my plans. First, I need to fix my fuinjutsu problem. I need fuinjutsu for future projects. Second, I need to work on life-saving measures. Strength will come in time, right now what I need is life insurance. Lastly, I need to work on my speed. Faster means more likely to act before the enemy. Hearing the conversations Blend into the background and the light starts dimming, I fall asleep.

=======++++=======

Somethings tickling my face. Feeling something poke at my nose, I swipe my hand at it, "Stop, my hair can be nice too." Scrunching my nose as something pokes it repetitively, I lazily rub my eyes. Groaning as I stretch my arms out, I languidly blink my eyes open. There he is, the perpetrator. Tanned face with the worst brown mullet I've seen in a while. Small goatee and tiny triangle markings pointed away from his eyes starting from under his lashes. Waving a dumb feather in front of me, he grins. My initial impression: a creep. Blowing the feather away, I glare at him. "What's your problem?"

Chuckling, he pockets the feather, "I just wanted to know about the academy student that maimed her teacher." Folding my arms, I huff, "Former instructor and he's fine. Just a bandaid on his forehead and he's as useless as usual." "Well then, why fall asleep without any precautions? You did just get attacked if I'm not mistaken." Straightening my clothes, I roll my eyes while letting a pulse of chakra spread through the building. "This is probably the safest place in the village" I drawl.

Immediately I could tell the several people picked up on my signal, including the stranger next to me. Raising an eyebrow he sits back in his seat, "What about the Hokage's building. Shouldn't it be the safest there?" Licking my parched lips as a couple chakra signatures start moving in this direction, I shrug, "There's an old saying that you'd probably know better than me. Something like it's darkest under the light." Frowning, he sits straighter in his chair, "What makes this place any better?"

Smiling as one of the Uchiha pop their head around the door frame, I wave at her while getting up, "Have you seen the Uchiha? They have many flaws, but being too proud and arrogant to let politics affect their job isn't terrible." Leaving the stranger in the room, I quickly enter the next and pull the Uchiha with me. Pulling him down so I can whisper in her ear, I say "Hey! I'm here because I beat some loser up and now some creep is bothering me. Can you see if I can get my testimony over with so that I can leave?"

Once again, holding her shoulder with both hands, I look straight into her eyes. Staring right back, she slowly nods before mechanically leading me towards another room. Entering the room, I see a middle-aged man working through a few piles of paperwork. Inkwell and quill on one side and pen on the other. Glancing up, he eyes me for a moment before grunting at his sidekick. pointing at the chair in front of him, the female whispers something in his ear before leaving. Still scanning the paper in front of him, I couldn't help but notice he's smiling. That smile definitely wasn't there before. It isn't an awkward smile, but you can tell that it changed his whole demeanor.

Sighing, he moves the paper into another pile before scanning me over. "From beating up a middling chunin to calling the Hokage a creep. All in a day's work for a talented academy student I guess" He softly states, scrutinizing the changes in my expression. Blinking at him slowly, I suddenly piece together what he meant, "That weirdo is the Hokage?" Chuckling he just nods. I guess Hiruzen Isn't that old yet, but he shouldn't look like that should he? He looks like the most generic person in this village with tan skin and dull brown hair. No musculature. No presence. Almost unassuming.

Passing a few moments in silence, he clears his throat, "Well, let's get down to business. I just need your statement and a few questions answered, so let's start with your statement." Grabbing a piece of paper set aside on the desk, he grabs his pen before staring at me. Laying my head in the palm of my hand, I start explaining what happened. Obviously, I said the bare minimum when it came to how the fight went, but the rest was pretty standard. It's not like I'm hiding how I fight, there just isn't any need for him to know in this case. I wasn't the only person at the scene, quite a few civilians probably saw the whole thing from beginning to end. I'm just one of the parties involved.

Ending with a few questions for formality, he rests his pen and leans pack in his chair, "Any questions for me?" Twirling a lock of hair around my finger, I look up at the ceiling tiles, "Hmm, who gave me a piggyback ride?"

"Tanaka."

"What's your name?"

"Jumonji."

"What's your favorite food?"

"Watermelon."

"Are the Uchiha aliens?"

Not getting an answer, I glance down to find him staring at me in confusion. "You know, are you guys from here?" I ask. Shaking his head, he blinks his eyes as if I put dirt in them, "Of course we are! Why would you even ask that?"

Smirking I lift one finger up, "One, everyone knows that the Uchiha consider themselves different and therefore separate from the village." Lifting a second finger up I state, "Two! No Uchiha ever shows human emotions around other villagers. It's like you guys don't belong with us." Lifting a third finger up, I go back to staring at the ceiling since he's glaring, "Most of your clan members stay in the compound because they prefer it over the rest of the village." Lifting the last finger in my left hand, I chuckle, "Finally four! Your understanding of communication as a clan is so poor, I wouldn't be surprised if no clan defended you should the time come that the village decides to not want you anymore."

Taking a sneaky glance towards him, I find him staring at the same ceiling, stone-faced and wide eyed. He's not someone important right?