Behind the Mask

Chapter 11

Hello, I'mma back baby! Here's another chapter, I hope you all enjoy!

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Kuroko grunted and squinted his closed eyes. The sun was not friendly to his tired eyes, and they weren't even open yet. He turned on his side to get away from the blinding light, his stiff muscles protesting with the movement.

He really should have put that scroll down when he looked at his bedside clock, but no. He chose to read more, to the end of it, and lost track of time.

"Mmn," Kuroko frowned and decided that it was about time to get up. His stomach felt like it was digesting itself, and now that he was done with the Akimichi's food plan, he was able to have breakfast in the house. That didn't mean he was able to escape the medication though. Kuroko still had to take the muscle stiffening stuff for the remainder of the month.

He established a routine in the mornings to help with the discomfort the medication caused him. As soon as he would get up, he would go through stretches for twenty minutes.

Kuroko has fallen down the stairs one too many times from the stiffness, about five times in total, and Yoshino decided that it was about time to fix the problem.

Kuroko heard footsteps going up the stairs, and they stopped in front of his door. "C-come in," Kuroko said without pause as he reached to his foot and turned his torso to face the ceiling.

The door opened with a rusted squeak and Shikaku stood in the doorframe, smiling with amusement. "It seems the roles have been reversed. Shikamaru was up and out of the house at seven, it's now ten and you're just getting up."

"K-Kuro-sensei said that today is a rest day." Though he would still do some Ninjutsu training and maybe visit the library. He wanted to look into Genjutsu since he seemed to have a knack for it. Kuroko yawned, and this time maybe he'll be reasonable with reading into the night.

"Would you mind playing a shogi game with me?"

Kuroko shook his head, "I don't mind, I-I would be glad to. I just need to finish my stretches."

"There's no need to hurry, Kuroko," Shikaku quirked a smile as the boy slowed down his pace. He shifted his weight to his other side and stroked his goatee, "What did Arata want with your mask?"

Kuroko put his chest to the floor while in his split, "H-he said that he would l-look at the Fuinjutsu on it." Maybe he should look into that too. He's only used the special branch of Ninjutsu with storage scrolls.

"Oh?" Shikaku was intrigued, other than the Hokage and Jiraiya, Arata was the only other proficient Fuinjutsu user in Konoha. Kakashi was also proficient, but only is certain areas of the art, and thus harder to call upon when needed. Back when Arata was in Anbu, the man had a squad that he and Jiraiya personally taught and it became Konoha's first true Fuinjutsu barrier squad.

Sadly, Arata was the only one left fit for shinobi duty.

Shikaku waved to Kuroko as he turned around, "I'll be waiting for you downstairs when you're ready."

• • • • • •

Kuroko frowned thoughtfully and scratched behind his ear. Shikaku was up to something in this game, he thought. The man was playing exactly like Shikamaru. "Hmm?" He glanced at the door when he heard Yoshino's footsteps outside of it, they were distinct, light and smooth.

"Good afternoon Dear, Kuroko," she smiled and came in with a tray that had two cups on it with a pink viscous liquid in them. "I was cleaning out the fridge and made some fruit smoothies."