A/N: Right, so "Fleeting Smiles" got jack-all of a response; thus, I took it down.
Suppose that's what I get for trying to write a pure Dragon Age story. I'm going to rework it from the ground up and post it as something else.
I LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE!
TA-DA FOLKS! HEY, EVERYBODY! I'm back from the dead and it feels SO good! Ah, its so nice to finally have an update schedule!
ONCE MORE, A LAST DISCLAIMER!
I!
OWN!
NOTHING!
ALL HAIL THE GREAT ARCEUS-SAMA!
Also, no journal entry this time for obvious reasons, seeing as this is an interlude.
And its still seems that Myhrloc is still all but gone from this site; which is a damn shame considering he inspired this story in the first place.
Sorry if its short~!
...run."
"Why'd you do that?!"
"This! Right here! This is why we can't have nice things!"
~?
We Can't Have Nice Things (Interlude)
"Why'd you do that?!"
"What? I think it looks good on her!"
"This! Right here! This is why we can't have nice things!"
It was to these words that Anko Mitarashi awoke. To say that she did so would've been an understatement. Her senses snarled awake all at once as she thrashed out of her dreams, snarling obscenities and straining upon the bonds that held her. Memory crashed down on her in a bitter wave of resignation, bringing with it the stinging shame of defeat.
This just wasn't fair.
In hindsight, she had no one to blame but herself. She'd let her guard down, enjoyed herself just a tad too much...until the tables abruptly turned on her. Violently. One moment she'd been merrily showing her would-be students a thing or two; the next she'd been caught in their trap. It was a very nice trap mind you, but it didn't excuse the fact that she'd been caught in it all the same. Perhaps if she hadn't been so eager, she wouldn't be in this situation. Perhaps she was simply losing her touch. Perhaps she secretly wanted the little brats to get the better of her.
Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps.
Who knew?
Now as she woke bound and tied to a log, nursing a horrible headache that she strongly suspected had something to do a certain Yamanaka, Anko Mitarashi could only groan. Credit where it was due, the brats had bound her rather tightly at that. It would take her a few minutes to wriggle out of this. Less to exact her revenge. Of course, it didn't help that poor Arbok found herself in a similar situation, but that would only make retribution all the more sweet when she finally seized it.
...or so she thought.
"Alright, alright!" she croaked, blinking bleary eyes against the harsh light of day. "You got me. There. Happy now?"
Sure enough she found the expectant faces of her students and their Pokemon beaming back at her. Naturally the genin and their partners took her praise in stride, looking all too proud of themselves. Poor Hinata looked as though she might faint from sheer shock. Ino's jaw hung agape, still unable to believe they'd actually succeeded in their little gambit. And Naruto...
"WHOO! VICTORY!" Leave it to her pupil to be the loudest of the bunch.
Arbok spat a menacing hiss that had the boy shrinking back out of reach. It almost made her smile.
Had that been the end of it, Anko might've been content to actually let them get away with their little trick.
It was not.
The realization that something had gone terribly, horribly wrong came threefold. First, there was the paintbrush gripped in Naruto's hand and the bucket ill-concealed behind his back, the latter coated in bright fluorescent golden paint. Wait. Was that paint? It didn't smell like paint. Second, her face felt unseasonably wet for some inexplicable reason. Third, they were all upside down.
No.
Wait.
That wasn't right.
"Why you rotten little...what did you do to me?!"
Horror broke like the dawn and Anko found herself simultaneously proud and enraged all at once. Oh. Oho. Ohoho, those little bastards! Shifting against her bonds, recognizing the blood only now rushing to her head, the jonin struggled to speak. Conclusion? She was upside down, strapped to a log with Arbok. Her face was painted with some foul substance. And what was that tag plastered to her forehead? She needn't look to know what it must've read. Perhaps she'd taught Naruto a little too well...and her teachings had then rubbed off on the rest of them. No, that was absurd, surely not...? Belatedly, Anko realized an awful truth.
Her entire body had been rendered sticky. Was that glue? Were those feathers?!
As if waiting for that very cue, Naruto snickered quietly into a clenched fist.
"Alriiiiiiiiight," he drawled happily, "But you can't be mad at us. Okay?"
The incoherent gibberish that followed could not be called a threat, but it got its point across all the same.
With that, the damn broke and the blond toppled backward cackling like a madman, feet kicking at the sky as he clutched at his gut. Zorua and Charmander joined him a moment later. It certainly didn't help that Ino and Hinata looked to be all of a moment from joining him. Well. That settled it then. No mercy. None at all.
Heedless of his peril, Naruto continued to laugh. "All's fair in love and war, sensei!"
He certainly missed the telltale twitch that followed.
"Very well, then."
...what?"
An awful silence fell over them.
And then:
Anko absolutely hissed.
"Huh." she mused, blowing a stray strand of violet out of her hair. "This is a new feeling. Pride in someone else. Unfortunately for you lot, its...
Hazel eyes narrowed to vicious slits, cold and intense upon them. Her muscles strained, finding just the right knot in the cords that bound her. A kunai slipped from her sleeve into her hand and lashed out, parting the thin rope cords like wheat from chaff. It was then, in that millisecond before she rose to her full towering height-with an incensed Arbok right behind-that she beheld their terrified faces. Only now did they realize the mistakes that they'd made, how badly they'd underestimated her. Hmm. Not a bad look, there. Perhaps she should have taken a picture. Alas at the moment all her thoughts were...
...overshadowed by all this unyielding rage!"
To their credit, her students fled quickly.
It did not save them.
A/N: Aaaaaand there we have it, ladies and gentlemen! I'm alive!
Now once more lets clarify who was what on this team:
Anko-Arbok.
Naruto-Zorua, Charmander.
Hinata-Ralts.
Ino-Treeko.
Felt a little interlude was necessary to grease the gears and get back to things. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to work. Have to pay the bills somehow! Furthermore, I may be getting a second job soon, so I'll try to make updates more frequent...even if it does burn me out. For the faaaaaaaaaaaaans!
Looking forward to reading what you think when I get back!
So...in the Immortal Words of Atlas...
...Review, Would Ye Kindly?
And enjoy the previews!
Potential ones, here!
(Preview(S)!)
"DODGE!"
Naruto yelped.
"No no no not this shit again!"
To her credit, Hinata managed to stay quiet for a full thirty seconds.
Really-she deserved an award for that much.
Then she started giggling.
"What're you looking at, you freaky little lizard?"
At that, Charmander positively grinned.
Sasuke saw it and went pale.
A beat of silence passed.
CHOMP!
R&R~! =D