Taming Your Demon (Sealing Series Part I)

Froggies and Cuckoos

An hour later, Hinata found herself standing in the middle of the hot training field again. It was not quite as hot as the last time she was there with Sakura and Kurenai, since the sun had already past over for the day and was now hiding behind a clump of fluffy white clouds.

Being that it was already late afternoon, the training area was relatively empty of occupants. But she had walked through all three of the main areas, where rookie shinobi were usually trained, and her new sensei was nowhere in sight.

"This can't be a repeat of Kakashi Hatake." Sakura complained when she showed up soon after Hinata. "I've already had a sensei who was constantly late..."

"Wait." Hinata put her hand on Saskura's arm abruptly. "That woman over there. Have you seen her before?"

Sakura looked towards where Hinata indicated. A petite kunoichi with shoulder length sand colored hair and burnt sun-kissed skin was practicing taijutsu on a practice post just a few feet away from them.

"I've never seen that woman in my life," Sakura replied, staring as hard as Hinata. It was not unusual to run into a stranger in the village. Konoha was relatively large for a shinobi village, boasting a population close to one hundred thousand souls. But as chunin, they knew every jonin by face if not by name, unless the ninja happened to be gone on an extended mission or worked in black ops. "So she's a stranger –just like Masuku Sensei. Coincidence?"

"Same size... same clothes." Hinata replied.

The woman's face was foreign, but there was still something familiar about her. She was unusually petite and thin but athletically built, just like Masuku. And she had on the exact same ninja gear as Masuku, which was relatively standard for a male jonin, but unusual for a woman.

"Umm... excuse me? Sensei?" Sakura approached the prospective Masuku, pulling Hinata by the hand behind her.

The sandy haired woman stopped her kata and smiled beamingly at them. In a rich and booming voice she said, "YAAYYY! You figured it out! I knew I had two smart ones on my hands."

Now the two young ninja were really taken aback. Not only had Masuku's appearance completely changed, but apparently, so had her personality.

Her eyes were now a dark royal blue –or maybe a deep shade of violet, instead of black. Her complexion was tanned and rosy compared to the pale white complexion from an hour ago. Her features, no longer sharp and angled, were now smooth round curves. She had a regal sort of beauty before, but now she was approachably pretty. She was no longer cold, distant, and mechanical. She was now warm, welcoming, and a bit overwhelming.

"How in the world?" Sakura asked under her breath.

"How in the world in deed!" Masuku's dripping honey sweet voice matched her over exaggerated facial expressions, as she grabbed both of their hands and cheerfully drew them into her wiry body, giving them a tight bear hug. Both Sakura and Hinata gasped in pain. Their new sensei was a lot stronger than she looked.

After her students were thoroughly violated with affection, Masuku made a dramatically serious face and said, "Kurenai informed me, you were working hard on chakra flow –cutting and redirecting. What fun! Well, now we will turn our lesson to chakra points."

Giggling, she pulled them to the center of the field and gestured for the girls to take a seat. Too scared not to obey, Sakura sat down and whispered to Hinata. "What is wrong with her? Is she drunk?"