Chapter 8: The Survival Test and the Glitch in the Matrix part-2
My stomach did a flip. The Byakugan. My bloodline limit. I could use it, technically. But every time I activated it, the veins around my eyes popped out. It made me feel like a monster.
"I... I will try," I whispered.
I formed the tiger seal. I focused my chakra toward my eyes.
"Byakugan!"
The world shifted. Color faded away, replaced by shades of grey and blue. I could see the flow of chakra in the trees, the small animals hiding in the bushes, and...
[System Alert: High Chakra usage detected in cranial nerves. Rito Effect side-effect triggered: "Vertigo."]
(Vertigo? Now?)
Suddenly, the world spun. The ground became the sky. I swayed on my feet.
"I... I think I see her..." I mumbled, stumbling forward. "She is... over there..."
I pointed at a random bush. Then, my legs gave out.
"Hinata!" Shino said.
He was the closest to me. Being the dutiful teammate, he stepped forward to catch me.
Now, Shino Aburame is a man of logic. He likely calculated my trajectory and positioned himself to support my shoulder. However, he did not calculate the System's interference.
As I fell, my foot kicked out involuntarily. It hooked around Shino's ankle.
Shino, who was usually as sturdy as a tree, lost his footing. We both tumbled into the high grass.
I landed on my back. Shino landed on top of me.
But this was not a simple fall. Shino's heavy coat acted like a tent. He braced his hands on either side of my head to stop himself from crushing me.
We froze.
I looked up. Shino's dark sunglasses were inches from my face. I could see my own terrified reflection in them. Because his collar was so high, it created a small, intimate, enclosed space just for the two of us.
"..." Shino was silent.
"..." I was petrified.
[Ding!]
[Achievement Unlocked: "The Bug Trap." You have successfully trapped the stoic Aburame in a romantic trope known as the 'Floor-Don'.]
[Reward: 400 Shy Points.]
[Note: Ask him about his beetles later. It's a great icebreaker.]
"Hinata," Shino said, his voice perfectly calm despite the situation. "Why are we in this position? Because gravity is a harsh mistress. Are you injured?"
"N-No," I squeaked, my face burning so hot I felt like I was radiating heat. "I am... I am sorry, Shino-kun!"
"Hey! What are you guys doing napping?" Kiba's voice rang out. He pushed through the bushes. "I found a scent trail! Come o—whoa."
Kiba stopped. He looked at Shino hovering over me. He looked at my flushed face. He looked at Shino's unreadable expression.
"Dude," Kiba said, grinning. "Time and place, man. Time and place."
Shino immediately stood up and dusted off his coat. "It was a tactical maneuver to avoid a falling comrade. Nothing more." He offered me a hand.
I took it, trembling. "Thank you... Shino-kun."
"Let's just find the Sensei," I whispered, wanting to dig a hole and live with the moles.
............….
We tracked Kurenai for an hour. It was difficult. She was a Genjutsu mistress, after all. Every time we thought we found her, it turned out to be a decoy made of leaves or a trick of the light.
Finally, we cornered her near a small waterfall. She was standing on a rock, looking down at us.
"You found me," she said. "But finding me is the easy part. Can you hit me?"
Kiba attacked first. "Fang Over Fang!"
He spun like a drill, but Kurenai sidestepped effortlessly. She kicked him into the river. Splash.
Shino sent a cloud of insects toward her, but she replaced herself with a log. Poof.
"Hinata!" Kiba yelled, spitting water. "Do something!"
I was hiding behind a tree. I had to do something. I had to be useful.
(Think, Hinata. What can you do? Taijutsu? No, she is too fast. Ninjutsu? I only know the basics. Wait. The Transformation Jutsu! If I can distract her for one second, Shino can trap her with his bugs!)
"I... I have a plan!" I yelled.
I jumped out from behind the tree. Kurenai looked at me, eyebrows raised.
"Transformation Jutsu!" I shouted, forming the hand seals.
I focused on the image of the person who would distract Kurenai the most. Her boyfriend (or future boyfriend), Asuma Sarutobi.
[System Alert: Jutsu Detected. Loading Model: Asuma Sarutobi. Rendering... Rendering... Error. Bandwidth Exceeded. Clothes texture file not found.]
(Wait, what?)
Poof.
A cloud of smoke exploded around me. When it cleared, I was standing there.
I looked like Asuma. I had the beard. I had the cigarette. I had the sash.
However, I did not have the pants. Or the mesh shirt.
I was a bearded, smoking Asuma Sarutobi, wearing nothing but a pair of white, frilly panties (my own) and the standard ninja sandals.
The forest went silent. Even the birds stopped chirping.
Kurenai's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. Her face turned a color that matched her eyes.
"A-Asuma?!" she choked out. "Why... why are you... in your underwear?!"
Kiba, who was climbing out of the river, fell back in.
Shino adjusted his glasses. "This is... unexpected. Why? Because Asuma-sensei usually wears trousers."
I looked down at my hairy legs.
(NOOOOOOOOOOO! SYSTEM! YOU PROMISED ME ADVENTURE, NOT P*RNOGRAPHY!)
"I am sorry!" I yelled in Asuma's deep, gravelly voice, which made it infinitely worse. I tried to cover myself, but Asuma's arms were too big and the angles were all wrong.
[Ding!]
[Critical Confusion Inflicted!]
[Achievement Unlocked: "The Nudist Transformation." You have traumatized your teacher with a semi-nude illusion of her love interest.]
[Reward: 1,000 Shy Points.]
[Bonus: Kurenai is stunned. Attack now!]
"Now, Shino!" I screamed (still in Asuma's voice).
Shino snapped out of his shock. "Right. Parasitic Insects Jutsu!"
A swarm of bugs rushed toward the paralyzed Kurenai. She was too busy staring at the spectacle of a half-naked Asuma to react in time. The bugs swarmed her, pinning her arms to her sides.
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