Building the Yellow Brick Road by LittleOne94

Chapter 10 : Reward

Their arrival in Tea was uneventful for the most part. Taking Sasuke to an old shinobi inn he had stayed in last time he was here was easy enough, though he hadn't expected the old man to remember him. Knocking on the security door, Harry spoke the password he remembered from last time when a shadow appeared.

"I have stopped to smell the flowers and jump and splash in the rain"

"Hello, Ryuu. Make anybody cry today?

"No. But it's only morning yet." Retorted Harry out of reflex before scowling at the memory.

"What does he mean?" asked Sasuke, curious as to his teachers reaction.

"I wasn't the most…friendly person last time I was here" answered Harry, causing the old man to snort. "I wasn't that bad!"

"No. you were worse! Especially when you found out what the idiot had actually done!" Smirked the old man. It was still a sore subject for Harry and the old man wanted to go poking at it! "Most of the guys you dealt with had to go to the healers to get re-dropped!" said the old man, making Harry blush and cringe.

"You gonna give us a room or not old man?" Harry finally snapped, making the old man chuckle even as he moved to salty behind the counter.

"Room 7, same as last time~"

Dragging his pale student up the stairs to the laughter of the inn keeper, Harry wondered if he should have chosen a different inn.

0-0-0

They stayed at the inn for a few more days. Harry's chakra reserves were too low to make the trip just yet and he'd unbalanced his core when he was trying to combine his two cores. But that didn't mean they were idle. Harry was determined to steer his pupil away from the path of revenge. While Sasuke had calmed down considerably, it didn't mean he couldn't relapse. Renting a room from the inn keeper, Harry set about modifying it to his heart's content. Three hours later, and it was time to introduce his lovely victim to the room. Finding said victim practicing his wave walking while he still could, as they'd soon be in a desert. At least Sasuke had finally stopped coming out sopping wet.

"Sasuke. Follow me."

Leading Sasuke to the room, Harry was practically rebounding off the walls. Making Sasuke nervous. A happy Ryuu-sensei was a dangerous Ryuu-sensei. Normally to your pride.

Opening the door, revealing white washed walls, Harry explained. "I've charmed it so that small paint balls will shoot at you randomly at random speeds. You have to dodge and not get any paint on you in order to succeed. Each time you come out without a drop of paint I'll teach you something useful, like a jutsu. Their timed for 15 minute intervals right now, but the time will be extended as you improve. But before that…strip." Ordered Harry, shocking Sasuke. Really, Sasuke should have realised this when Harry said there would be paint involved.

"Why Ryuu-sensei?"

"I don't want you getting paint on your new kimono."

"Isn't there another way to learn whatever you want me to learn? This doesn't sound very mature…"

"There's no point in being mature if you can't be childish sometimes~!" and he wanted pictures…

After that, Sasuke reluctantly stripped before entering with the pair of goggles Ryuu-sensei silently handed him. He didn't want to risk being infected with his sensei's current bout of craziness.

The next time Sasuke would emerge, not one inch of him had been spared of paint.

0-0

After that day, Sasuke would spend all morning on the sea and all afternoon in the paint room. But after his first week and a half, Sasuke finally succeeded in immerging paint free.