Genkaku (Naruto fanfic)

Chapter 19: Team building

Sasuke and Shizuka shared a severely annoyed glance as they stared at the high wooden wall in front of them, yellow ribbon dancing in the breeze mockingly from where it was tied around the top.

This would have been a piece of cake if they could have used chakra but noooo that was not good for team building apparently.

Her cousin pointed a finger at her and then the wall as he cupped his hands together and bent slightly through his knees at the bottom of the wall.

"Okay, Naruto." She called the blonde to attention. "There's a wooden wall in front of us we need to cross. I'm going first and will then pull you up, okay?"

The blonde nodded, sending her an enthusiastic thumbs up.

With a small sprint, she dashed towards Sasuke and put her right foot in his cupped hands. With a heave, she was thrown upwards high enough to grip the top of the wall. Several seconds of groaning and struggling later, Shizuka was perched on wooden structure.

She needed to do some serious strength training.

"Okay, I'm up!" She called down. "Your turn, Naruto."

Below her, Naruto started walking in her vague direction with his hands spread out in front of him searchingly, nearly tripping over a root, until Sasuke yanked him by the wrist to the base of the wall, indicating for the boy to put his foot in his hands.

With another heave, the boy rose into the air. Shizuka, dangling forwards off the wall clumsily managed to catch both of his outstretched hands. She let out a wheeze as she tried to pull the boy up but lacked the arm strength.

"I can't." She grunted.

Sasuke sent up an irritated glare before he took hold of the underside of Naruto's left foot, pushing him up her way. After several agonizing seconds, their shared efforts paid off and the blonde was up on the wall.

Between the two of them it was easy to heave Sasuke up the wall (after Naruto finally managed to grab Sasuke after the fourth try that is). The cousins then dangled Naruto down to minimize the drop before both jumping off.

Shizuka took Naruto's hand again as the next yellow flag beckoned them further into the forest. 

"Uhhh." 

The team paused in front of a shallow ditch filled with murky water. Along each side was a wooden plank tilted inwards, while a thin wooden plank of wood was aligned in a path through the middle. Shizuka quickly relayed the information to Naruto. She could see that he was saying something while gesturing wildly at the obstacle. 

Judging my Sasuke's increasingly annoyed looking face, it wasn't anything worth listening to. Ironically, this was probably the most peaceful her team had interacted with each other. Ever. 

Sasuke couldn't goad Naruto into anything because he wasn't allowed to speak and Naruto couldn't see his gestures. In return, the blonde's dependability on his team to get around meant he was much more agreeable too.

Maybe Shizuka could suggest this to become a more regular thing? Surely Kakashi would enjoy the peace and quiet too?

She tentatively placed a foot on the plank, not surprised to see that it sunk beneath her feet. Quickly relaying the information, she stared at the obstacle in confusion.

Her cousin gestured to the planks before gesturing at the group and making some complicated hand signs. Maybe she should have paid more attention during some academy classes. She shrugged helplessly at him.

Sasuke again pointedly gestured to the three planks, counting to three on his fingers. He then pointed at her, Naruto and Sasuke again counting to three.