Chapter 2: Meet the Squads- Part 2
A lone cabin sat deep within the forest, the only thing indicating that people had actually gone into the forest. The cabin itself had seen better days; the roof was caving in, the wooden walls were weathered from years of being beaten and abused by all kinds of weather and had many scratches in the wood, the windows had cracks and plenty of dirt to show that no one had bothered taking the time to clean or replace them, and the door had a huge crack in it, almost as if someone was trying to split it into two. Inside was a similar story; the rooms were bathed in natural light or darkness, depending on what time of day it was, there were scratch marks on the walls, the few paintings that were in there were either tilted or had fallen off the wall and damaged, the beds in the bedrooms were missing their sheets, and there was pieces of trash everywhere on the floor. This would be the ideal place to have a secret meeting, right? Hardly any of your enemies would dare to enter such a cabin and not walk out within the first couple minutes. And there was a squad of ninjas heading there at that moment.
A group of four, consisting of three males and one female, were heading in the direction of the old, ruined cabin. The leader of this squad, known as Josh Eisenberg, was leading his team from the front in case any enemies had the guts to attack them head-on. Then again, he knew that enemies would try to attack them from other sides, as well. That's why he had his team with him. Karin, the only girl in the group, could knock someone to their feet in one single punch because of her strength (but her strength couldn't exactly compare with Tsunade's). Ray, the killer of the squad, could kill someone so swiftly; they wouldn't even know they were dead until their souls were sent to either heaven or hell. And Takashi, the most sane one in the group (according to Josh), could kill someone silently and not alert anyone else to him. Josh trusted his students because of their abilities and would have them defend him any day, but that didn't mean that he did not have his moments where he absolutely detested them.
The squad moved swiftly through the trees, using their speed and the cover of the mix of branches and leaves to their advantage, just like any other ninja. Josh glanced behind him and saw his students still with him, despite the argument that they had had last night. And I was thinking either Karin would be the first to walk off or kill me with one punch to my sternum, Ray throwing knives at my chest or head, or Takashi using the silent kill technique on me. Well, it looks like we're sticking it out for just a bit longer. He turned back so he was focusing on what was in front of him again. A little smile appeared on his face at the thought, although he made sure his students didn't know of this.
They made it to the cabin without so much as a random merchant or lost villager getting in their way and jumped down from the trees, bending their knees and crouching as they hit the ground feet-first. They all stood up and, since no one was complaining of a broken bone, Josh decided to go forth to the cabin. He began walking toward it and soon, he heard three sets of feet hitting the ground and knew his students were following him. He got to the door first and noticed the large crack in the deep green-colored door. He placed one hand on the rusting doorknob and turned it, pushing it in the process. He stepped inside and some part of him began to regret coming here. Of all the places to leave such a mess, it had to be here? Ah, crap... He lifted one hand and motioned for the three people behind him to come in. They did so, and Josh heard Karin speak first,
"Filthy people, they must've been. They didn't even bother to clean up the damn place." Josh could hear the annoyance in her voice and did not blame her for what she was feeling. Regardless of this, he said calmly,
"Relax, Karin. This is the kind of place that we need to have our meeting."
"Why do we have to be here, sensei? I mean, couldn't have we had it back in Konoha?" Takashi spoke for the first time since the argument the night before.
"That would be too obvious, Takashi." Josh replied somewhat slyly. Takashi noticed it in his voice, but said nothing. He had heard it too many times from his sensei and eventually just stopped caring for it. He looked over to Ray, who was by one of the two windows that faced the front, staring out of the dirty, cracked glass. He didn't exactly understand what he would find doing so, but didn't bother to ask. The last time that he had done something like that, it was a huge mistake. Ray had almost killed him by nearly stabbing his throat, but luckily, Josh had been there and grabbed Ray's wrist, squeezing it until the latter dropped the knife. He never made that mistake again.
Takashi averted his eyes from Ray and onto Karin. He never quite understood why she hated him and Ray so much. He had been polite and respectful to her, but still, he was hated by her. Was it because of her losing the race? He remembered the race quite well. He actually found some of the parts humorous, while the other parts were just hurtful or unexpected to him.
It was about a year ago, the first time the three of them had actually met each other. Ray was...well, Ray (there was no other way to describe him, according to Takashi), and Karin had a bit more spunk than she did now. Josh was not there yet, so the three of them decided to have a race. Whoever could run around the exterior of the village (without using ninja speed!) three times and climb to the top of the wall by the front gate of the village would be declared the leader of the squad (when the sensei wasn't around). Ray had somehow agreed to it, being the person that he was. Karin accepted the challenge without a single doubt, saying that she would be the one that was victorious. Takashi still swore that was one of the only times he actually saw Ray show some emotion on his face.
The three of them met outside the gate. Takashi had given the signal, and soon, the three of them were running. Takashi was taking his time, believing that the other two would wear themselves out and he would be the one climbing the wall first and being the winner. He saw Ray just ahead of him, his black trench coat streaming behind him. Takashi caught himself wondering how in the world he could wear that, even in the midst of summer, of all times. He couldn't see Karin, since she had sped off when he gave the signal to start running, so he figured that she was almost done with her first lap. He stifled a laugh, thinking of a tired Karin, lying on the ground panting like a dog while he and Ray competed against one another to be the leader of the squad. That would've been hilarious for him, if it actually happened.
It was the third and final lap. The three teens were starting to feel the fatigue in their systems. Takashi figured that was why ninjas went so darn fast; so they wouldn't feel the fatigue in their bones until after they were done! He was pulled out of the trance when two ninja that he didn't know came up behind them. Karin stopped and faced them, forgetting the race altogether. She challenged the two ninja (despite being a genin) and began to fight them. Takashi considered helping Karin, but Ray stopped him and told him that it was useless trying to stop that brute of a girl and just let her fight them off. He agreed with him when he noticed the fight becoming more intense. The two boys ran off, racing each other.
The two boys reached the wall right beside the gate and summoned chakra to their feet. They stepped onto the wall and then they were running up the wall. Takashi looked over and saw that Ray was somehow keeping up with him. Damn! How is he doing that? Takashi didn't have time to worry about that; he was falling behind. He pushed harder on the wall with the muscles in his legs and caught up to Ray, who looked at him with mild surprise. He turned away and focused on the wall ahead of him. Takashi bit off a verbal curse; it probably wouldn't have done him any good.
The two reached the top of the wall at the same time and both of them were panting, sweat dripping from their chins. Takashi looked up and noticed that Ray was wiping the droplets of sweat from his forehead (and that was also one of the only times he saw emotion on Ray's face). He sighed and stood up again, feeling the fatigue in his muscles. He was first to break the silence,
"You're good, man. No wonder you were feared back in the academy." Ray actually laughed some at this comment, shocking Takashi (and it still shocked him to this day whenever he thought about it). He then heard Ray speak,
"You're good, too."
"Ah, wow, thanks man. No one's ever said that to me before."
"Don't expect it from me again."
"I'm not."
"Good." Silence filled the space in between them again. Ray had already stood back up, his posture showing that he could carry himself by himself. Takashi caught himself wondering how Ray had managed to become part of their squad, despite who he was (and he was one scary dude). By the way, where's Karin? He suddenly remembered and slapped himself in the face, causing Ray to look over at him and ask without any emotion in his voice,
"What's wrong now?"
"We forgot about Karin!"
"Ah, hush up. She'll find us."
"No kidding I'll find you!" A female voice yelled. Takashi tilted his head up and Ray turned his own to see Karin several feet in the air above them. Takashi took a few steps backwards to make room for Karin. She landed in between the two boys and Takashi didn't even need to look into her eyes to know that she was fuming. He shoved his hands into his pockets and averted his eye away from her. Ray was staring at the back of her head, as if he was trying to bore holes into it. Karin broke the silence with an exclamation,
"You morons left me down there to fight off those jerks!"
"Well, that's your fault for doing so." Ray said. She whipped around to face him and glared.
"You could've helped me!"
"You seemed to have the thing under control. Why did you need our help when you had it covered?"
"It would've made things easier for me if you two were actually there helping me!"
"Regardless of that, you lost the race." It was now Takashi who was speaking. She turned around swiftly to meet his gaze and poked harshly at his chest, right where his heart was.
"Because you didn't help me!"
"No. It was because of you forgetting about the race. That's your own fault, and you know it." Ray smiled slightly at this. I like this kid. He's got guts. Karin was stunned. She was trying to come up with something to say to him. He saw her lips trembling and her eyebrows twitching like crazy. He thought he had somehow hurt her feelings with his words. He was about to apologize when she whispered angrily,
"Who won, then?"
"Ray did." Takashi answered. Karin clenched her fists, her whole body shaking with anger. He backed up a bit to somehow avoid being screamed at. However, even he should've known that a boy never escaped a girl's wrath once she was locked onto him.
"I HATE YOU BOTH!" She screamed furiously and swung at Takashi, catching him in the chest. The wind was knocked out of him and he stumbled backward. He managed to catch himself before he fell off of the wall. He then saw her running toward him and he whipped around, running away from her while she chased him, yelling to him that he should face her like a man and not run away like a coward. Ray had had enough of the whole thing and just walked off, not even bothering to stop them from the argument they had gotten themselves into.
Takashi broke himself from the trance and looked at Josh, who had lit a cigarette and was taking a drag from it. He had hardly ever seen his sensei smoke in front of them, and he had already known that the man smoked. He shoved his hands into his pockets and looked down at the floor. Josh glanced around the room, taking note of his students. He sighed and cleared a space for himself on the couch before sitting down. Karin had found a stool and was sitting on it. Ray remained standing near the window, and Takashi stood where he was as well. Josh cleared his throat and began to speak,
"As you know, I've brought all three of you here for a specific reason."
"What is it?" Karin asked, the annoyance still present in her voice.
"Let me get to that, Karin." Josh said in a composed manner. Ray glanced over at Karin and thought only one thing; Sometimes I wish she'd drop dead. Life would be much easier to handle without her bitching. He turned his eyes back toward Josh, waiting for him to speak. Fortunately, he didn't have to wait long before Josh spoke again,
"It's about the Chunin Exams."
"What about them?" Takashi asked, curious. He had heard of the Chunin Exams from the Jounin in the village. It sounded interesting to him, but what did he know? They could've been lying to him about it, trying to cover up the truth.
"I need to speak with the Hokage to determine whether or not you're ready to take part in the exams. And I know you all feel ready to take part in it, but I want you to ask yourselves one thing and actually think about it; do you honestly feel that you are ready to go into the exams and come out not a genin, but a chunin." Josh spoke in a serious voice. Silence filled the room. Josh took a peek around and saw that they were actually taking this seriously and thinking about it. Karin looked like a philosopher with her pose; one hand under her chin and her eyes staring forward into the distance. Ray had closed his eyes to think about the question without having to look at anyone else. Takashi was looking at the floor, his foot tracing invisible patterns into the wood. Josh took another drag at his cigarette and breathed out the smoke a few moments later.
Five minutes had passed and still no answer from anyone. Josh had expected that, really. He knew his students well enough to know that they would take something very seriously when the circumstances told them to. He took in a deep breath and broke the silence,
"Have you had enough time to think about this?" The three teens turned to face him, coming out of their thoughts.
"Hell yeah, I'm ready!" Karin said while placing a fist into an imaginary opponent.
"It should be easy enough to handle, and it would be nice to test my skills against someone else." Ray said in his apathetic voice.
"Yeah, I guess so." Takashi whispered.
"You guess so?" Josh eyed him suspiciously as he asked this.
"Yeah. I've heard some things about it from Jounin in the village, and it seems pretty interesting enough. But I would have to find out for myself if I have what it takes to be in the exams."
"Well said, Takashi-kun." Josh smiled and leaned back on the couch. Karin smiled a bit herself at this; at least her teammates were up to the challenge. Ray went back to staring out the window.
"Alright, I'll talk to the Hokage later today about this." Josh said. Karin and Takashi nodded once in unison, making Josh smile. It's going to be a breeze, getting them into the exams.
Yumi Matsumoto, the leader of a squad, was sitting at the base of a tree, playing her guitar softly. All three of her students were still asleep. She hummed a bit to herself as the music took control of her. She liked playing her guitar, especially when she was stressed; it was easy for her to express her feelings through music. She hummed a bit louder, but not too loud to wake her students up. That would've been so unlike her. The song that she was playing was completely made up and she was just going with it, like she always had done in the past.
She stopped strumming the strings after a little while and placed the instrument carefully back into its case. She closed the case and snapped it shut. She stood up and straightened out her clothes, rubbing any leaves and small pieces of sticks off of her. She looked over to her students and smiled. It was nice to see them look so peaceful, having good dreams while they slept. She knelt down and picked up her guitar case by the single handle it had before standing back up again. She took the long stick that she had found the night before off of the tree trunk and, holding it with one hand in a tight grip, wrote out a message in the dirt. Once she was done, she placed the stick back in its spot, jumped away into the trees, and sped away, wanting to get to the Hokage's office first. It was her thing, really, to be on time to events and being the first one there. She never knew exactly why she was obsessed with it; she figured that it came from her mother's side of the family (and a lot of the family members on that side had the same habit, too).
Rose was first to awaken, and it had only been five minutes since Yumi had left. She yawned, stretching her muscles out like a cat. She got up into a sitting position and looked at her teammates. Yuuta was lying on his side away from her, curled up into a ball. Dante was on his back, as if he had fallen asleep staring at the stars. She stood up and stepped over Dante so she wouldn't walk on him accidently. She surveyed the area with her dark green eyes and noticed that Yumi's guitar case was gone. Where could she have gone? She walked slowly, looking for a sign of her beloved sensei. She looked down and saw the note in the dirt. She stopped and knelt down beside it so she could read it better. It read this;
To Rose, Yuuta, and Dante,
I've gone on ahead to meet with the Hokage regarding the Chunin Exams. You will have to make it back to the village on your own. Sorry for not telling you last night about it, but I didn't wish to ruin your fun. Hope you guys make it back safely.
-Yumi Matsumoto
Rose smiled and stifled a laugh. Her sensei always used her full name whenever she left a note for them, no matter how many times they had told her that she didn't need to do such a thing for them. She stood back up and walked over to the two males. She knelt beside Dante and placed a hand on his shoulder, shaking him.
"Dante...Dante! Wake up! We need to get back to the village. Sensei's gonna meet us there."
"What?" Dante said in a slightly hoarse voice, having just been awoken from his pleasant dreams. He sat up slowly, eventually making Rose remove her hand from his shoulder. He rubbed his eyes and yawned loudly. He looked over at Rose and smiled.
"How did you sleep last night?"
"Alright, I guess. No nightmares woke me up."
"That's good, that's good." Dante agreed. Rose placed her hands in her lap, not knowing what else to do with them. Dante didn't notice this detail and turned his head to look at Yuuta, who seemed to be shifting from one side to the other.
"Wake up, sleepyhead! We've gotta get back to the village pronto! Yumi-sensei's meeting us there!" Dante called out.
"Yeah, yeah, quit your jabbering. I'm up." Yuuta's soft voice came back. The male sat up and rubbed one of his eyes while looking at his two teammates. He saw Rose and averted his eyes away, blushing slightly. Dante found this funny and started laughing. Yuuta noticed this and turned his head to glare at the white-haired male.
"Stop laughing, Dante!"
"But I can't help it, especially when you blush like that!"
"Shut up!"
"Now, now, boys. Let's be civilized about this, alright?" Yuuta nodded and got up from the ground. Dante managed to stop laughing a few minutes later and stood up, along with Rose. She walked over to the note and smudged it with her foot so no one else that came around these parts would be able to track them. She turned to her teammates and nodded.
"Let's go!"
"Right!" The males said in unison. The three of them jumped into the trees and leapt through the treetops effortlessly. Rose was in front, with Yuuta to her right and Dante to her left. She was glad to have them as teammates. No matter where she had went on her many walks (since she liked taking them), they had always found her and brought her back with them to wherever they went safely. As time had went on, she had learned to place her trust in them, and it had been easier than she had originally thought. Some part of her knew that she would place her life in their hands and expect them to protect her with all they had, no matter what came their way. They had learned teamwork over the course of the previous year and it had paid off thus far.
Rose was broken from her thoughts when Dante suddenly spoke,
"Did sensei say anything else in that note she left? Like where she wanted us to meet?"
"Well, no, she didn't. But I'm expecting that she wants us to meet up with her at the regular place."
"At the tea shop?" Yuuta now asked.
"I guess so."
"Makes sense to me. Yumi-sensei is crazy about her tea." Dante said. The three of them began laughing at this. They knew that Yumi drank tea every single day and never missing out on an opportunity to go to the tea shop to drink her favorite teas.
They settled down a couple minutes later, having had a good laugh at the little fact. They stared ahead of them, each of them thinking about what they do when they got back to the Hidden Leaf Village. Rose was thinking about taking a nice little walk around the village (even though she had done so many times back in the past) while munching on an apple or some other kind of fruit. Dante was thinking about running through the streets (considering all the energy he has), possibly humming or singing to himself as he sped through the streets. Yuuta was thinking about sitting up in his room and enjoying a nice, refreshing drink and watching some TV (and yes, he owns a TV!). All three of them knew one thing as these scenarios and wishes ran through their heads; nothing would be the same once the Chunin Exams started.
"I can't wait! It's gonna be so exciting, these exams!" Dante exclaimed.
"Calm down there, Jethro. No need to rush these things." Yuuta said calmly.
"What's wrong with thinking about it? It's just something...well, new for us to try. It's not every day that you get to participate in these things, you know, Yuuta-san."
"I know, I know. Just don't jump to conclusions so quickly. We don't know what to expect from these exams."
"Relax, Yuuta-kun. Yumi-sensei will fill us in on it. She's been through the Chunin Exams before, hasn't she? She could give us a tutorial on it to help ease our anxiety a little." Rose said.
"If you say so." Yuuta replied. The three of them fell silent. Yuuta couldn't help but worry about it. It was just in his nature, no matter how calm and composed he seemed. Some part of him deep inside did not have a good feeling about this...
Second chapter completed! I've introduced all four squads that are going to have a major part in the Chunin Exams (since the students will be participating in them). The next chapter will be coming up soon. Please review and tell me what you think of the story so far!
