He was hidden in the shadows with a sinister grin stretched over his face. They had forgotten about him. Everyone had forgotten about him! As he slipped through the shadows, washing himself in the gaseous cloud that had given himself and all the others powers so long ago, he grinned.
The first time around his powers sucked, and it only added to his humiliation, but this time it would be different...
As the cloud engulfed him he felt the familiar change, his face stretching out and teeth growing in a bucked fashion, the criminal known as Ferret grimaced.
Again, he got the short end of the stick!
It wasn't fair!
Slinking away the man vanished into an alley where he bumped into some strange looking fellow, dressed in an all white bodysuit with some weird golden belt. The man never noticed the slight impact as he continued to fiddle with his belt.
"Hey, *sniff-sniff* what'cha got there," Ferret asked as he moved into the man's comfort zone, his thieving hands reaching for the belt.
The man looked up at the words, but it was too late to react as the boy unclipped and ran away with the device. "H-hey! Give that back you little cretin!"
Ferret grinned and even laughed as he slunk his way through the alleys.
*BZZZAP!* A bright flare of electricity popped through the air, cutting Ferret off as Static Shock and Gear landed nearby. "Ferret? Man, why am I not surprised that you managed to gas up," the superhero taunted as he stood over the short teen.
"S-Static? How... How'd you find me," he asked in a bit of nervous fear, the belt still in his hands.
Another man, the same as before, dressed in a white bodysuit grimaced as he strolled up to the trio. "You damn kids, always interfering where you're not wanted," he spat as he approached Ferret reaching for the belt.
Ferret of course continually moved the belt about, keeping it just out of the man's reach. "Hey, Static, he's trying to rob me right in front of you! Can't ya, ya'know do something?"
The young black hero and his partner folded their arms with matching incredulous looks. "You have GOT to be kidding me," he grumbled before using his static cling to grab the belt and drag it to himself.
As the man in white balked, the belt began to activate, charging itself up and forming a bubble around the young hero. "Whoa! What's going on here," Static asked as the bubble completely engulfed him and vanished with a fizzle.
"Uh, what just happened," Gear asked as he looked at the pair of villains trying to escape. "Ah no you don't," he challenged, firing off a series of binding cords...
(Somewhere)
Time travel.
It's a doozy in and of itself. Dr. Light had developed both a belt to carry out the operation and a suit to spare him of the ill-effects. Unfortunately, Virgil had only the belt.
A belt that was glitching to make matters just that much worse!
The poor boy got to experience in rapid succession as his body grew old, turned to dust, reversed the process until he was a zygote then age again. Over and over again while the belt searched for a suitable timeframe to deposit him.
Amazingly enough, it decided on a location best suited for the boy and spat him out as a five year old before shorting out with a fizzle.
Lucky for Virgil, whose clothes were way too big for him now, there were many witnesses as he found himself in some sort of classroom.
"Um, hi?" He offered lamely with a wave of his hand.
The classroom of five year olds exploded into noise as everyone rushed Virgil, speaking done language he closest attributed to Japanese.
Luckily for Virgil, a comic book and manga geek, his Japanese was crude but understandable.
"Whoa whoa! You stop talking," he addressed using a commanding series of words that translated as disrespectful.
The class grew silent and all eyes glared at the boy. "Geez, what a jerk," remarked one girl in particular, a tall, lanky blonde that crossed her arms in a huff.
Virgil blinked at the reaction, playing the words he spoke over in his head. "I'm sorry, my Japanese isn't so acceptable," he tried, again using words out of the context of his situation. There was, after all, only so much a text book could teach you and usually only in the most direct form.
Virgil ran a hand through his braided hair, half impressed that the braids had remained intact.
"Yo, welcome to class," called out a burly man, nearly two meters in height that gave off an air of power. He looked around at the kids and then the boy trying to his pants a bit tighter. Pants that were several sizes too large, a set of yellow and white goggles, an eyemask that was currently drooped over his neck and unusually black hair.
The hair was what really set Virgil apart as there were several black boys and girls in the classroom, but only one - that being Virgil - with black hair instead of red, blonde, golden or brown.
"Alright, I'm gonna be your teacher for the next few years, brats. You better get used to it. Now, gimme yo names," the man called out as he pulled a clipboard and a pen from the top of his desk to write names.
One of the children, another blonde girl with short hair as opposed to the lanky one that first called Virgil rude. "What you want, brat?"
The girl, if offended, didn't show signs, although she did shuffle a little under the intense glare. "You haven't told us your name yet, sensei," she addressed formally.
The man blushed while running his hand through the back of his crimson hair, nervously. "Uh, yeah, I forgot that, didn't I? Homura," the massive man offered, looking very much like an overgrown child. It was strange to see such a dark-skinned man blush nearly as red as a tomato.
Virgil found himself chuckling where he was seated, having managed to adjust his clothing and using his cling ability to hold them on himself.
Homura waved the girl off and went about collecting names and filling them in the blanks...
"Alright, now that we have everyone listed, today begins your first day as ninja-" Homura was explaining when Virgil cut him off.
"Ninja?! What," he gasped in awe. Luckily, his shock was scene as a prank, the classroom laughing at him, when the teacher enjoying a good-natured chuckle.
"Virgil, you're alright," Homura addressed with a grin and a thumbs up. "For making me laugh kid, I'm gonna do you a favor and pair you up with Jinchuuriki! There's no way you can be a lackluster shinobi with her on your team," he addressed joyously while a scathing glare hit Virgil's back.
The black-haired teen turned back and forth before spotting the girl who called him rude seated directly behind him, a scowl on her face. "You alright? Look, I'm sorry I said rude words earlier," he offered, hoping she didn't take offense at his direct dialogue.
The girl almost blushed at the apology before nodding her head. "You really do stink at speaking. I've never heard of another language than what everyone else speaks. Where are you from," she queried in interest.
A finger from Virgil's right interrupted his attempt to reply and took his full attention.
It was the blonde girl with short hair, her eyes were sparkling, almost as though were about to be set aflame. "Samui," the girl addressed. "I'll be your third party member," she assigned herself with finality.
Virgil actually shivered, a bit nervous of the five year old girl. Crazy, right? "Yeah, sure. Call me V, by the way and I'll tell you all about my home when we get out of class, he informed.
Both girls seemed sated at the words and nodded to one another.
As Virgil sat through class, taking many notes, he started to realize that things were a bit more different than he initially thought.
The maps were small, like the size of Europe at best and the nations were mostly named after elements or things of note.
Not to mention he was also learning that the world was gearing up for the Third World War! As the teacher moved on to the next subject after history and geography, Virgil was astonished to see everyone using chakra. He had thought the kids just that, kids. Yet, instead, he found out that he himself had been utilizing the same energy. His scientific mind raced a mile a minute as he ripped through page after page in his textbook. Chakra was amazing, but that wasn't all! Everything he learned about Bang Babies in his world directly referenced this book. All the elements he had faced, all the sub-elements, the strange growth deformities some of them took on, the powers displayed. Somehow the gas was creating and awakening kekkei genkai, bloodline limits, in everyone exposed to it! And, like the book spoke, training to master the energy allowed one to grow stronger in it. Virgil was proof of that. His skills and powers had tripled before getting his second dose of gas.
Homura coughed lightly into his hand, pulling Virgil's attention away from his book. He looked up to realize that the classroom was empty and only the teacher and himself were left behind.
"You're a scholar type, aye boy," Homura addressed as he pulled up a seat to sit near Virgil.
Virgil grinned and have a firm nod. "Yes sir! But, these subjects are all new to me," he offered.
Homura nodded his before answering. "That's not surprising. We don't like to see younger than five in training for a life of violence. So, books like these are restricted to kids your age, not even adults can currently serving have access.. We don't want them sneakily training the kids," he offered.
Virgil nodded his head as he leaned back. "Right, let kids be kids before they have to grow up," he addressed with a knowing fashion. "Listen, I'm-" he began to say, attempting to explain himself, where he came from and how he came to be here.
Homura held up a hand and paused the boy. "No need, brat. I know who you are," he addressed surprising Virgil.
"Y-you do?"
The man nodded with a soft smile. "Yeah, you're Virgil Hawkins, V for short. Also a great hero from the Village of Dakota in The Land of Washing."
Virgil blinked at that and wondered how the man managed to gather so much information.
"We call it Genjutsu, or illusionary technique. It makes you see whatever we want you to see while we get your body to respond favorably," Homura answered honestly. After all both the Sandaime Raikage and the Yondaime in-training said he would be a great and loyal addition to the ranks.
"So, like mind control," yet another scary ability he had faced, barely overcoming it twice. As Virgil looked at his textbook and then back up to the man, he opened his mouth to ask but was instead cut off.
"You won't find it on that book. That book is introductory and theory of chakra. It notes what it does and teaches about kekkei genkai in the case any of the kids have noticed any signs of possessing something. You yourself have a bloodline, an ultra rare one that pairs with your natural Lightning affinity. Again, not in that book."
Virg looked at the book placed before him and then at the man in charge of teaching him. "So, what do I do from here," he asked in confusion. "I mean I'm only a kid right now, and I haven't even tested out my abilities yet to see if they still work," he pointed out.
Homura smiled and ruffled the boy's hair. "Look kid, you're in a village of ninja. You're already enrolled in a school. I'd stay and learn all that I could if I were in your shoes," the man addressed with a simple shrug.
Virgil fell hard against the back of the seat, his mind awhirl.
"Whatever you decide to do, the Raikage has set you up with an apartment and a stipend," Homura addressed, tossing a set of keys at Virgil.
A short burst of electricity brought the keys into the five year olds hands. When he looked up again the classroom was filled kids animatedly chatting as they packed up their books and notes. Yugito and Samui quickly grabbed Virgil and pulled him along into the hallway where they had lockers side by side. Lucky Virgil, the girls moved his original locker to this new directly below Samui's.
"Well, spill!" It was Samui that has spoken, Yugito staring him down from the other side while Virgil started sorting his belongings out.
"I was kinda hoping to do it someplace more private," he tried, hoping the inquisitive and quite scary blonde girls would drop it.
Neither backed down.
"Great," he mumbled before telling them about his home.
As he spoke, he began a trek out of the building before pausing. "Crap," he grumbled as he pulled the keys from his oversized pocket. As he looked at the cluster, he noticed a piece of paper twisted and tied onto the ring.
He pulled it open and read the note within, giving him an address and wishing him "good luck".
Before Virg could react Samui had snatched away the paper and read it over. "Hey, this apartment," she called out in alarm, tapping the sheet with a finger, emphasizing what she was speaking about. "It's right next door to Yugito!"
Yugito grinned at the revelation, sending up av for victory with her right hand. "Lucky!"
Virgil could only groan. Of course he has given a place next to his teammate, it actually made sense. And on that point, he relented cursing his fate just in time for his belly to grumble. He did skull lunch after all.
"Hey, what's good to eat around here," he wondered curiously, eyes dancing from one girl to the next.