A/N:
First time dipping my toes into Naruto fan fiction, I hope all goes well and any feedback and constructive criticism are much appreciated. I take my inspirations from various sources and apologies if some sound very similar or the same, I have no intention to plagiarise at all. And I am also happy to correct the mistakes if found, so please do not hesitate to PM me!
Please enjoy!
Disclaimer:
Naruto characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto-sensei. Any character names you come across that are not found in the actual Naruto universe, they belong to me.
Quick note:
I have deliberately picked'n'mixed the Feudal Samurai era's hierarchy as well as the martial arts one. And maybe others.
Here are the honorifics within the Dojo:
Sōke - headmaster of a school, family head/ Grandmaster, Headmaster
Sensei - teacher/Mentor
Senpai - senior
Kōhai - junior
Here are the rankings within the samurai/warriors:
Apprentice - An unofficial rank reserved for the youngest or most inexperienced samurai. Most apprentices are in their early youth to preteen levels.
Aonisaibushi (Amateur Samurai) - The lowest official rank among the samurai, these are apprentices that have completed their training, usually under a Seieibushi and are generally accompanied by their masters to ensure their safety.
Chukanbushi (Middle Samurai) - The most common rank among the samurai, these samurai are intermediately skilled, often acting as guards, sentinels, watchmen, and other miscellaneous positions.
Seieibushi (Elite Samurai) - Traditionally the highest rank among the samurai, these are highly skilled fully-fledged samurai. Most samurai at the level of Seieibushi take on apprentices or Aonisaibushi-samurai as their disciples.
Kodenbushi (Legendary Samurai) - A highly coveted rank, and often seen as the highest attainable position, with the sole exception of the rank of Shogun. These are samurai of tremendous capability, and are regarded as being of Shogun-level. Kodenbushi are hired to accomplish some of the most dangerous international missions. Samurai of Kodenbushi rank are extremely rare, and there are no more than four in any given country.
1
/
Too Far Gone
September, the beginning of autumn, the season where the hot summer melted away turning the greens to the sunset palette of yellows, reds, oranges and browns. Minamoto Gozen deeply inhaled the crisp morning air, taking in the hints of dewdrops and rotting leaves carried from the park a few blocks from her modest flat. She welcomed this season whole-heartedly due to the new batch of potential warriors she would have the pleasure to work with for the next twelve gruelling months.
The irony didn't escape her as she headed to the Dojo, skidding past groggy and disgruntled looking children on their way to a new year at school, and caught one by the neck of his yukata-styled pre-winter jacket who tripped over on his feet. The movement startled the young boy out of his sleep and quickly bowed in apology before rushing up to meet up with his equally sleepy friends, then returned to shuffling in the direction of their school.
The black calligraphy on the wooden board hung above the screen doors greeted her in its shiny glory, which meant the Headmaster of Akatsuki Special Dojo was awake and cleaning. Gozen hurried to the back of the main building and surely enough, spotted a tuft of tiger-orange hair slightly swaying side to side in time to the broom scraping against the stone tiles. Without looking up, he tossed his broom at her and went to retrieve another leaning against the wall.
"Morning, Yahiko," Gozen greeted and joined him in sweeping the large square courtyard enveloped by high concrete walls.
"I see you have been anticipating this all summer," Amemori Yahiko responded.
"You know how much I love new students."
The sweeping next to her stop, and out of the corner of her eyes she saw his foot shifted. Reflexively, Gozen blocked his fist by connecting it with the handle. A dull thud upon impact. Yahiko smirked and used his toe to flick his fallen broom, while the other shot out to land a blow at her mid-section. Blocked. Swiftly, the pair began their morning spar all over the courtyard using whatever materials they could find until they spotted two figures emerged from the shadows of the main building.
Gozen lifted a hand in greeting. Both of them returned the gesture. She grunted suddenly when she missed a jab from her left. Yahiko chuckled and indicated at her to continue the cleaning duties that all Mentors required to perform. In replacement of him, a rosy-coloured head joined her from the building and smirked.
"What's so funny?" Gozen questioned as she swept the leaves into a bag.
"I'm looking forward to what you have in store for the little puppets," Akasuna Sasori replied, cutting her a sly glance and she returned with a sinister smile matching his implication. "I also look forward to the consequences afterwards, you have been getting away with it for far too long."
"I am hurt, Sasori-senpai," Gozen exaggerated and dramatically placed a hand on her heart prompting him to shake his head. "I am merely helping Akatsuki to produce the best of the best."
"You're driving them to the nearby Dojo three steps from here. I wonder if you're doing it on purpose."
"I thought Dojo are meant to help each other out."
The look Sasori shot her tickled Gozen as she laughed boisterously, if it were anyone else, they would have smartly took the cue to cease their amusement. Once the courtyard looked sparse from any disturbance from the autumn leaves, they joined two other Mentors in preparing the training halls by arming themselves with a bucket of water and rag each. By the time the clock above the main training hall struck a little before seven, the entire place was spotless including the other two buildings, aptly named Left Wing and Right Wing, situated on either side of the main construction.
With ten minutes to spare, they gathered at Yahiko's office on the second floor that overlooked the courtyard from the opened windows behind him. He handed the four Mentors with a list of this year's enrolment which went on for three pages, a standard number of applicants after the initial round of tasks in determining their basic skills. After shifting through at least a thousand youngsters from all the Clans within the Prefecture, Yahiko and the secretary, Namikaze Deidara, short-listed the potentials onto three sheets of paper.
Persian-blue head cocked to one side accompanied by a perfectly manicured arching eyebrow, Aokumaru Konan tapped a trimmed finger at it, "there's a large amount of Uchiha and Senju, Yahiko."
"Looks like their crops have been healthy to make it this many summers," Gozen couldn't help but quipped and stopped a sharp elbowing from her.
"What are you trying to say, Konan?" Yahiko asked.
"I'm not questioning you and Deidara's decisions, what I'm concerned is what the Shogun Taira will say," Konan replied evenly.
Tense silence settled in the office.
Everyone knew the Taira Clan's despicable hate for the Uchiha and Senju Clans. They couldn't overthrow them without a satisfactory reason in front of the General Assembly, even when they were the ruling House and made Shogun in an unanimous decision much to every other Clans surprise. The pettiness of Taira extended to meddling with civilian lives, by extending favour to anyone who took their sides, and likewise reciprocate if anyone went against them.
Fortunately, the General Assembly sanctioned all academic establishments from schools, universities and martial arts exempted from Clan feuds, taking into account that they were public access and could not possibly support any House without creating an imbalance in power. However, it didn't stop the ruling Taira Clan to pressure Dojo each year in taking a certain number of students from various Houses. Everyone knew the consequences if they were exposed, but, it never stopped their Headmaster from going through with the list.
"If Taira is going to throw a hissy fit because this year their produce failed to dominate 50% on the list, then so be it," Yahiko hissed in irritation and his staff expressed their amusement. "Maybe they should take some notes from Uchiha and Senju on how they nurture their offsprings to last so many summers."
"You've got one right here," Gozen offered and jerked a thumb next to her right.
"Gozen-senpai," Uchiha Shisui started.
"Gozen," Yahiko interrupted and shot her an icy glare. "You have two minutes before these students burst in through those gates, I urge you to tone down your initiation cleansing several notches."
"If these wannabes have the ambitions then they shouldn't be able to crumble like cookies with a jab here and there." The Mentors standing on either side of her snapped their heads around in warning. Gozen ignored them and levelled her gaze at Yahiko. Then recited the Dojo's mantra, "integrity, efficiency and zen."
The intensity of Yahiko's look pierced into Gozen's cerulean-blues but failed to dismantle the look of determination which he came to hate and love over the years. He offered her employment when she was 11 after graduating the programme within three years. Gozen didn't take the offer until she was 16, favouring to expend her energy as an Aonisaibushi until she achieved Chukanbushi during her travels by working under a seasoned samurai. Now at the tender age at 21, he was confident she had attained Seieibushi herself and would no doubt attract potential recruiters from Clans to be part of their flank.
At the stroke of seven, Deidara flung open the doors and they welcomed the shortlisted students into the main building. Eyes scanned the large crowd of a hundred, ticking off the names they have on the list and then proceeded to dividing them into smaller groups, each Mentor lead them to one of the many training halls to begin the second stage of selection. Gozen managed twenty, the limit their Headmaster capped on her, knowing the young Mentor's tendencies to terrorise unknown potentials at this important stage.
The cluster of young men and a handful of women immediately lined themselves into neat rows as soon as they stepped inside the hall. Gozen scrutinised each of the faces, several of which provided courage while some looked nervous fidgeting every so often. The age ranged from seven to twelve, prepubescents sent by their family head to start polishing their samurai disciplinary as soon as physically possible. Straightening herself, Gozen started roll call and received all twenty "Yes, Mentor".
"Alright, diapers, welcome to Akatsuki Special Dojo and your first lesson is…"