Academy Help [P]

Natsume ran after Ryūka and Hoshi as they dashed off towards wherever their next mission would take place, barely keeping up with them even as they went slower than they normally would for her. Somehow, the two of them were even able to talk as they ran. Ryūka, explaining the mission and how they'd be occupied the whole day, while Hoshi reassured her that things would be alright. How could things be alright if she was barely getting enough air trying to keep up with them? When they finally arrived at the guard outpost, she bent over and panted, letting the two boys handle whatever procedure was necessary for taking over the outpost shift. Thankfully there was a table. As the other man left without a word, Natsume went to follow Ryūka's lead and take a seat. She needed it.

"Ah." She scratched her cheek and let Hoshi start explaining their meeting for them, but he was quickly cut off by the arrival of a stranger. She frowned as the task was quickly delegated to Hoshi. Still, as the eldest of the trio and the impromptu team leader, she would respect his decisions. She sat down and answered his first question. "The ninja life is going... alright? It hasn't been very long since I've graduated. I've still a lot to—," She kept her eyes on the confrontation and stiffened as the stranger went to draw his katana. She hadn't had reason to worry, though, as Hoshi quickly and efficiently handled the situation with a series of powerful punches, blowing the man back. "—learn." Even as Hoshi came back to the table with a hop, Natsume kept her gaze focused on the unconscious man. Shouldn't they do a medical checkup? Make sure he wouldn't die? They weren't supposed to just... kill everybody that came, right? Oh god, what if that man was dead? What if he was somebody important? Natsume's mind started running through all the worst-case scenarios that could result from this hasty action.

She shook her head as Hoshi called her name. "Mmm? Ah, a great day?" She hadn't really heard what he'd said, but nodded regardless. "Yes. Right. A great day." She smiled blankly at them, then went back to staring at the still body. "Shouldn't we... check on him? Perhaps?"

Before she could try to convince them to show some morality, another person arrived. Natsume stiffened, hoping Hoshi wouldn't be sent to... dispatch... the ginger girl. Instead, Natsume was delegated to the task of 'shining'. Or handling the situation. Was that any better than watching Hoshi brutally destroy a man? She wasn't quite sure.

She cleared her throat and excused herself from their table, shifting to stand at the guard post. "Excuse me, miss?" she called out to the tall girl. "I must ask that you report your business here and show your ID."

Natsume shifted as unfriendly eyes turned to focus on her. The ginger girl sneered. "I must ask," the girl started, mocking Natsume, "that you get me a real ninja. Not some kid."

She rolled back her shoulders and narrowed her gaze at the ginger. She would not fall prey to the bait. "I repeat, report your business and show your identification, stranger. Refusal to comply means I will be forced to deal with you. You don't want me to deal with you." She cocked her head to one side and signalled behind her back to the boys, hoping they'd understand that her next words weren't for the girl, but for them. "Trust me."

The ginger put up her hands in surrender and smiled, though her expression was less than friendly. "Alright then, kid. Calm down." The girl approached slowly, hands still up in the air. Once she was within reach, the hand came down swiftly and wrapped around Natsume's throat. "Ha! You brat, you really think it'd be that easy?" The hand around Natsume's throat squeezed and the other pulled out a kunai, holding it to Natsume's gut. "You two, don't move, or she dies." As Natsume started to lift her hands up, the ginger girl laughed. "Oh. You're going to try to fight me off? Cute."

One hand wrapped around the ginger girl's wrist, as if to hold her in place. The other lifted to the sky, palm up. A bolt of lightning shot from the sky, driving through Natsume's palm and then into the ginger girl's body [Raiton: Hiraishin]. Even after she'd been let go, Natsume kept her other hand firmly wrapped around the ginger girl's wrist, forcing her to experience the full power of the bolt through their contact. While the other girl went through the literal aftershocks of her jutsu, Natsume twisted behind her and kicked at her knees, forcing the girl down to the ground while still holding their wrist, forcefully twisting their arm behind their back. She leaned down and plucked the kunai out of the girl's hand, using the motion to also lean in and pin them down, effectively ending the fight.

Beneath her, the ginger convulsed once, twice, and then started trying to fight Natsume off. Natsume smiled sharply, recalling a certain line. "You're going to try to fight me off?" The kunai tip met the flesh of their neck, reminding them with its cool bite that their fate lay within her hands. "Cute." Digging her knee into their back, Natsume looked slightly over her shoulder at the boys. "Help me tie her up. We'll have to send for somebody to bring her and the other one in."

She paused and then, with a slight frown, added a polite "Please."

Natsume's confidence in handling the situation was well-earned, certainly, but she'd forgotten that others could arrive at any moment too. With her attention split between handling the ginger beneath her and the boys, she didn't notice the man in the shadows, leaping forward to attack.

Even after successfully taking down a hostile in a real situation, it was hard to really accept the situation. Perhaps it was Hoshi's odd tone as he spoke, or how her eyes kept darting between Hoshi and Ryūka, wondering over the tension that seemed to bristle in the undertones. She shook her head. "Thank you for stepping in, Ryūka." Even if she could've handled it by herself—and a part of her was definitely disappointed he hadn't trusted her to handle it herself—it was comforting to know somebody had her back.

The rest of the day was rather uneventful, if not a bit tense. Natsume passed the time playing with some spare paper, folding them with chakra into various origami shapes. Thankfully, there weren't any important papers lying around for her to accidentally fold.

When she finally went home, the events of the day were tucked safely into the back of her mind, where they would stay hidden for as long as necessary to keep the peace. She called out as she slipped through the front door. "I'm home! Safe and sound." She leaned against the wall and pulled at her boots. She looked up as her father came around the corner and swept her into a hug. "PA! Shoe, still on! Need to take shoe off!" She put up a play struggle against his affection (and managed to kick off the stubborn shoe) but ultimately "gave up" and snuggled into the hug. "Awww. Were you worried, ya big dork?"

Her father wacked her atop the head. "Of course I was worred, my little pumpkin!" He pushed back her hair and planted a gentle kiss to her forehead. "Are you okay? How was it? Did you catch any cats?" He grinned as he pushed her back to inspect her. Before she could answer, his eyes zoomed in on the slight bruising around her neck.

"Actually, we had guard duuuuuu—" she trailed off as her father shook her wildly.

"Who was it? Who did it? Who am I hunting down?" He paused mid-shake. "Guard duty? Already? But more importantly, something interesting actually happened during guard duty? Impossible."

She smiled and stretched out a bit. "How about I tell you all about it during dinner." She blinked up at him sweetly. "You will cook dinner for me, right?" She was frankly too tired to cook, and knew he would be easily guilted into cooking if it meant that she would actually eat instead of forgetting as usual.

He groaned playfully and started towards the kitchen. "You're lucky I love you, kiddo."

She beamed. "Love you too, pa!"