Naruto: The Beast Within

The Next Day/ Two Days After The Fight

The sun hung low in the sky, casting a warm golden hue over the village. It had been an exhausting day for both Raimu and Takuma, but the worst part of it all was waiting for them now. They were standing at the entrance of the school, a mess of broken earth and scattered debris that looked like a battlefield.

"Great," Takuma muttered, clenching his fists. "Just great. All of this... because of you."

Raimu, leaning against a nearby tree, lazily tilted his head to the side and yawned. "Not my fault," he mumbled, eyes half-closed. "Like I keep saying, if you hadn't kept bugging me to fight, we wouldn't be here."

Takuma shot him a glare, his frustration palpable. "You're the one who kept showing off! You think you're untouchable, huh?"

Raimu scratched the back of his head and gave him a sleepy, almost apologetic smile. "Maybe, but you're the one who asked for it."

Takuma gritted his teeth, but before he could retort, they heard footsteps approaching. Iruka appeared, hands on his hips and an exasperated look on his face. "I hope you two are ready."

"You two are going to repair the front of the school," Iruka announced. "All of it. I'll be sitting over there watching, so I don't think you can leave. Got it?"

Takuma groaned, his shoulders slumping in defeat. "You can't be serious. This is going to take forever!"

Iruka didn't respond; he just gave them a pointed look that told them there was no room for argument. He waved his hand toward the destruction. "Get to work."

As soon as Iruka left, Takuma immediately began grumbling under his breath. "I can't believe this... we're just going to have to spend hours fixing this mess because you couldn't control yourself!"

Raimu, on the other hand, just stretched out his arms and yawned again. "Yup," he said, his voice thick with drowsiness. "It's going to be a long day, huh?"

Takuma growled. "Long day? Try an eternity!" He grabbed a shovel from the pile of tools nearby and began digging into the dirt.

Takuma sighs, his hands already getting to work. He pulls up his sleeves, revealing his muscles straining with effort. Raimu, on the other hand, simply leans against a nearby tree, clearly uninterested.

"Are you gonna help or just stand there?" Takuma huffs, sweat already beading on his forehead as he shovels dirt around.

"I'm helping," Raimu replies with a yawn, turning his head to look at the mess, then glancing around. "I'm just... figuring out the best way to do it."

Takuma glares at him, but Raimu's nonchalant attitude is impossible to argue with. With another sigh, Takuma goes back to work, though he mutters under his breath.

Raimu yawned again, looking around at the mess before letting out a dramatic sigh. "I could use a snack right about now..." he muttered under his breath.

"Just because yesterday's punishment is over doesn't mean you can just eat a dessert whenever!"

Raimu, meanwhile, taps his chin thoughtfully. "Alright. I could do this the boring way, or..." He glances at Takuma and then at the scattered stones, his mind working lazily but efficiently. "I could just use my monster creation. Sure, it'll be a bit tricky, but it's easier than this manual labor stuff."

Raimu's eyes narrow as he considers his options, lazily scanning the mess around him. The stone-covered boar had been a decent idea, but it was too bulky and didn't seem practical for cleaning. His mind spins slowly, still in that half-awake state, but eventually, something clicks. His lips curl into a sleepy grin.

"Alright, how about something a little more... efficient?"

With a barely noticeable wave of his hand, Raimu begins to gather chakra again, this time with a different intent. His eyes flutter closed for a brief moment, his sleepy demeanor never faltering as he concentrates. He's done this countless times before, so it's like second nature to him now.

His fingers weave through the air as he summons the creature he's imagined in his mind—a creature more agile than the boar, something that can actually help clean the mess.

A moment later, the stone begins to take shape. A stone-covered serpent, winding up from the earth, its sleek body forming and shimmering with granite-like scales. Its head emerges first, with sharp eyes that gleam in the fading sunlight, and then its long, coiling body slithers along the ground, forming a serpentine tail that whips around in an almost hypnotic fashion.

Takuma stops for a second to stare, his hands still gripping a shovel. "What... the hell is that supposed to do?"

Raimu watches the serpent move with a look of satisfaction. "It's efficient," he mutters, looking pleased with himself. "It'll sweep through the mess faster than we can."

Takuma crosses his arms. "Isn't that thing gonna just make more mess?"

Before Raimu can explain, Iruka's voice rings out from behind them.

"What did I say about using ninjutsu?"

Raimu sighs, turning toward Iruka with a completely unimpressed expression. "I'm not using ninjutsu. I'm just... working smarter, not harder, as always."

Iruka, who has been watching from a distance, walks toward them with a sharp glare, his eyes narrowing at the sight of the stone serpent writhing on the ground.

"I didn't say you couldn't work, but no ninjutsu," Iruka says firmly, arms crossed over his chest. "That's the rule."

Raimu groans, the serpent flickering and beginning to fade as the chakra holding it together dissipates. "When did you say that?" His shoulders slump in annoyance. "You're no fun, you know that?"

Takuma raises an eyebrow, still looking confused. "You really thought that would work?"

Raimu gives him a lazy, half-hearted grin. "I thought it'd be cool, at least. And, hey, I tried."

Takuma huffs, turning back to the work, clearly irritated. "You're hopeless."

"Aw, come on," Raimu says with a sleepy smirk. "At least it was creative. I'll admit, it was a little too ambitious, but..." He trails off with a sigh, shifting his stance against the tree again. "I'm really just here to supervise, anyway."

Iruka watches the exchange between them for a moment, his face serious, but there's a glimmer of frustration in his eyes. "Enough of this. Get to work, and no more excuses."

Raimu yawns again, stretching dramatically before lazily picking up a shovel and walking toward the stone pile. He gives Takuma a playful shove, his voice teasing. "Come on, let's get this over with before Iruka's eraser comes flying again."

Takuma mutters something under his breath, but he gets to work, this time without arguing. The sun is beginning to set, casting an orange glow over the schoolyard as the two continue their laborious task.

As the day wears on, both of them become increasingly dirty, the stone dust settling on their skin. Takuma's frustration is palpable, his movements jerky and aggressive. Raimu, on the other hand, seems to be moving slower and slower, his sleepy demeanor impossible to shake off, even as the exhaustion builds.

"Seriously, Takuma," Raimu says as he wipes dirt off his face with the back of his hand, his tone almost too calm for the situation. "I told you. You should've just let me do it my way. If I'd used a creature, this would've been done already."

Takuma looks at him, sweat dripping from his forehead. "Raimu, Iruka-Sensei said we couldn't use Ninjutsu, and you always try to do things the easy way, don't you?"

Raimu gives him a sleepy grin, squinting as he gazes at the sunset, shrugging. "You're mad 'cause I know how to do things better."

Takuma's face darkens. "No, I'm mad 'cause I'm stuck here doing all this work while you stand around looking like you're about to fall asleep on your feet."

Raimu simply yawns again, not at all bothered by Takuma's irritation. "Well, someone's gotta supervise. You're welcome."

Takuma growls under his breath but doesn't respond. Instead, he grabs another pile of rocks and starts to shift them into place. The silence stretches between them for a while, both of them working in their own way.

After a few more hours, the sun has set completely, leaving the schoolyard in darkness. Their hands are sore, their bodies aching, and the field still isn't fully restored. Takuma slumps against a pile of rocks, his chest rising and falling with heavy breaths.

"I swear," he mutters, "I'm gonna kill you when this is over."

Raimu chuckles sleepily from across the yard. "Yeah, yeah, you say that every time."

Takuma shoots him a glare, but then the corners of his mouth twitch upward despite himself. "You're so infuriating."

Raimu yawns again, his eyes fluttering closed as he rests his back against the stone. "I know," he mutters, his voice barely audible. "But at least I'm fun."

Despite the exhaustion, the two of them find themselves working together in a strange kind of harmony. Takuma's frustration gradually eases, and Raimu's playful teasing becomes a backdrop to their efforts.

By the time the work is done, their hands are covered in dirt, their clothes stained, and their muscles sore, but for some reason, neither of them can quite bring themselves to be angry anymore. Instead, they stand in the middle of the restored arena, surveying their handiwork in the fading light.

"Well," Raimu says, glancing around at the barely visible field, "I guess it's not perfect, but it'll do."

Takuma nods in agreement, looking a little less frustrated than before. "Yeah... good enough."

Iruka, watching from the doorway, gives them a long look, but his expression softens as he notices their weary faces. "You two finished, then?"

Raimu let out a tired sigh and shrugged. "I guess so."