Chapter 2: A New Rival Appears
He woke up early the next day. Shutting off his alarm he got up and went through his normal routine. When he was on the last leg of his run however, he got a pleasant surprise. "Joe you're back!" Smiling he waved at Ariana as he ran by. "Are we going to play today?" She asked as she ran alongside the fence separating the street and the orphanage grounds. "Maybe. I'll drop by later ok?" Joe answered, a little winded from his run. "Okay!" She replied with a broad smile. After he finished, he showered and then got dressed. "I guess I'll hang out with Ariana for a while. That ought to make her happy." He decided as he grabbed a bag and left his apartment. As he walked over to the orphanage, he couldn't help but admire the weather. "It's nice and sunny out. Looks like it's gonna be a great day." Reaching the orphanage, he was about to walk in through the door when all of a sudden something hit him in the chest. "Gotcha Big bro." Ariana shouted as she attempted to tackle him into submission with a bear hug. "It's good to see you too Ariana. Easy on the neck though, I've only got one." Letting go she grabbed his hand and began dragging him out the door. "C'mon Joe, we've got to get going!" She exclaimed. "I'll have her back by 3 Lady Mariko, I promise." He called out as he finally let her lead him forward. "So Ariana, what do you want to do today?" He asked as they walked through the street. "Well, I was hoping that you could help me." She replied. "Oh with what?" Joe asked. "Well, you remember what my favorite food is?" She asked as she jumped over the cracks in the road. "Of course I do, Strawberry Shortcake. Though you really have to eat healthier Ariana, especially since you're still growing." Joe answered. "Well, the problem is I don't have any money for Strawberries, or cake." She said as she shifted her feet nervously. Joe stopped and said with mock surprise, "Waaaiiitttt a minute. Now I know why you wanted to hang out today." Folding his arms he said with mock indignation, "You just need me for cash don't you!" Ariana smiled apologetically and answered, "I'm sorry Joe! I really do want to play today it's just that they don't give me an allowance at the orphanage and…" Seeing her go on a rant, Joe smiled and started to laugh. "Relax Ariana, I was kidding. Of course I'll help you!" Ariana smiled and then grabbed his hand. "Alright then, let's hit the grocery store!" She yelled enthusiastically pumping her fist into the air. "Oh boy." Joe thought to himself as she began to drag him again.
"Ariana slow down, you can't run in a grocery store!" Joe chided as Ariana ran full tilt into the shop. It wasn't a mega-complex, but it was a decent sized building. Joe who was friends with the owner, shook his hand as they entered. "Ah Joe welcome back, how are you doing?" "I'm fine Joel, how are you?" Joel answered as he polished piece of glassware, "Can't complain, can't complain. Still, it's not the same here without you around." His voice took on a hopeful tone as he asked, "Say, why don't you come back? I could use an extra hand around the shop." Joe gave him an apologetic look and answered, "Sorry Joel, I'm a ninja now. It was fun while it lasted though." Just then Ariana came running down the aisle, a distressed look on her face. "What's the matter Ariana?" Joe asked. "They're gone Joe, all of them." She stated sadly as she wiped tears from her eyes. "What's gone?" Joe asked. "The Strawberries, they're all gone." Joel scratched his head and said, "Sorry bout that. Just ran out of them yesterday. We should be getting a new shipment of them tomorrow." Joe sighed as he grabbed a box of cake mix. "Shoot, all out? This sucks." Joe smacked his forehead, "I know that voice." He thought. "You, what are you doing here?" Sakura asked him as she walked up to the counter. "Oh great, it's you." Joe answered sarcastically. As she approached him she put her hands on her waist. "What's that supposed to mean!" She shot back. Joe was about to answer, but Ariana beat him to the punch. "I know you, you're that girl who is always picking on my brother." Joe was about to pull Ariana back, but then he saw the expression on Sakura's face. "While I.. you…" "Shut up, why are you always trying to beat him up all the time?" Ariana asked as she stuck her forehead right into Sakura's face. "He…I...It's no-" Joe couldn't believe it, "Is she speechless?" He thought as he covered his face, trying to hide his smirk. But Ariana wasn't done there. Taking a deep breath, she proclaimed, "You're a mean Person!" Then she smacked Sakura across the face. Sakura turned a deep shade of pink, completely blind-sided by what had just happened. "This….. is…. The… Best! Day! Ever!" Joe thought to himself as he put his face into his sleeve, trying to muffle his laughter. "Please, I can't have any fighting in here." Joel pleaded. "Sorry Joel, I'll put her on a tighter leash." Joe said as he held Ariana back from Sakura. "So Sakura, what are you doing here anyway? I always thought you did your food-shopping at the blood bank." Sakura rolled her eyes and answered, "I came here to get some ingredients for a cake." Ariana's expression brightened as she exclaimed, "We're here for the same thing!" Then she was somber again. "Except, they're out of strawberries." Joe looked over at Joel and asked, "Are you really sold out?" "Well yes, the valley's been dangerous lately which is why we haven't had our supply replenished." Joel answered, then after a glare from Ariana he added, "Sorry." "What should we do?" Ariana asked, then she jumped up excitedly. "Oh, I know! We'll go to the valley and get them!" She said enthusiastically as she tried to drag Joe by the arm. "But you can't go there, wolf-packs prowl that area!" Sakura exclaimed. "C'mon Joe please? I need these Strawberries!" Ariana begged as she continued to try to pull him. "How dangerous is the valley Joel?" Joe asked. "Well it's the general home for wolves, bobcats, and even some Lions too." Joel nonchalantly answered as he listed off the predators. "Bobcats and lions?" Sakura said exhaling a sigh of worry as her eyes nearly rolled back in her head. "All right, we'll do it!" Joe answered. Ariana began pumping her fist into the air. "Yes! Joe you're the best!" She exclaimed as she finally stopped tugging on him. Sakura's mouth nearly hit the floor. "You're going to take a five year old kid to a place with Lions?" She asked dumb-founded. Joe shrugged and answered nonchalantly, "Why not? It'll be good training for our next body-guard mission." Then he turned as Ariana jumped on his back. "You hear that Ariana? You get to help me train today." Ariana high-fived him as she exclaimed, "Yes, Joe is the best friend ever. He's not afraid of any pre-der-turs and he lets me train with him!" Joe shook his head and then thought to himself, "Still needs to work on her grammar, but not bad for a five-year old." As they were about to leave however, Sakura stopped them. "Hold it. There is no way that I'm leaving a five year old under your supervision. I'm coming." Joe rolled his eyes and answered, "Don't you have something better to do, like come up with some trap for Yahiko?" "Seems like a lot of trouble for some "ingredients." What's her angle?" He thought as he resumed walking. "What are you talking about?" She asked indignantly as she ran after him. Joel sighed as he looked his messy floor. "They never even apologized." He sighed.
"Let me guess, he blew you off again didn't he." Joe guessed as Sakura caught up to him. "How did yo-?" Sakura was about to say, but then stopped herself. "Yeah he did." She answered dejectedly as she folded her arms in frustration. "Well I wouldn't feel too bad, you're still too young." Joe answered. "Young for what, and who's Yahiko?" Ariana asked clearly confused. "Well you see Ariana, Yahiko is this big bully, an even bigger bully than Sakura for that matter." Joe said as he smiled at Ariana. "He's just lucky his little body-guards here, or else I'd show him how big of a bully I am." Sakura fumed. "But anyways, Sakura here…" "No don't say it, don't say ittt!" She thought as she grew nervous. "… Has a hhhuuuuggggeeeee crush on Yahi-" Losing control, Sakura cocked her fist back… but her swing hit open air as Joe held her back with a hand on her forehead. "Yah-who?" Ariana asked confused. Smiling slyly, Joe answered, "Well maybe some other time." He then turned to Sakura and said, "You're still a little young for that type of stuff anyway." Sakura gave up trying to clobber him and pulled away. "What do you mean I'm too young?" Sakura asked. "Well most couple's don't happen until later. We're fresh out of the academy, which means we have to focus on learning jutsu and getting stronger. So we don't end up… well dead." Joe answered as they neared the village gates. "Dead, you're not going to die are you?" Ariana asked as tears began to well up in her eyes. "Oh no Ariana!" Joe immediately reassured her. "Way to go slacker, you made a little girl cry." Sakura dryly said as she watched them interact. "She seems to care a lot for him. I wonder why?" Sakura thought to herself. "Well here we are." Joe stated as he pulled out a spare pouch. "Here you go Ariana, you can use this to hold your fruit." Ariana grabbed the bag and then quickly ran off. "It seems safe for now, but still…" Sakura thought. Coming to a decision, she shouted, "Hang on Ariana, I'll come with you!" She began to run after the girl.
"Probably should keep an eye on them." Joe thought to himself as he watched Sakura chase after Ariana. "Then again I'd rather stay out of the blast radius when Sakura ticks off Ariana again. She's got one hell of an arm." Stifling a yawn, he decided to find a place to take a nap. "I bet one of those tree branches will do nicely." Walking over to the edge of the forest, he gathered his chakra to his feet and began climbing up the side of the tree. The warmth of the sun was making him drowsy, and as he began to lie down on the branch, he felt something in his way. Pushing it off, he slowly sat down resting his back against the tree trunk and began to fall asleep. He was so tired he didn't even hear the hiss of pain that came from below. His eyes slowly closed as he rested his head on his hands and nodded off. But he was immediately awakened as the tree began to shake. "What the hell is going on?" Joe thought as he opened his eyes and stood up. Then he noticed that the whole tree was beginning to fall over. "Time to move." He thought as he crouched down on the branch. Springing from the branch, he landed on the ground and scanned the area. Hearing something disturb the air behind him, he rolled to the side and faced his attacker. "You?" Joe said in surprise. Standing in front of him was the kid from the exams. "So you're the one who knocked me out of the tree while I was sleeping." The kid answered with an angry look on his face. "Easy blue boy, I'm not looking for trouble." Joe tried to reason as he faced him. "You should've thought about that before you decided to mess with me." He answered as he charged. "Damn, I've got no choice." Joe thought as he side-stepped out of the way. They began to trade blows. "Listen kid, I know that it seems like I threw that Kunai knife at you." Joe said as he ducked under a kick. "But you've got to believe when I say that it wasn't me!" "Oh yeah, then what about that rude awakening you just gave me?" He answered as he sent a chop at Joe's neck. "That was a little too close." Joe thought as he blocked it with his arm. "Well technically that was me… But you did take down a whole tree with me in it." Joe answered, starting to get frustrated. "I don't care, I'm tired of older kids always trying to take me down." He answered as he front-flipped over Joe and landed behind him. "Crap!" Joe thought as he wheeled around. Seeing the boy cock back his fist, Joe jumped backwards trying to gain some distance. All of a sudden he felt something sharp slice his face. Wiping the sweat from his brow, he saw blood on his hand. "Blood? But how?" He thought as he looked back at blue boy. "He must have been hiding shuriken in his fist. He's not playing around anymore, so why should I?" He thought, then stated coldly, "That's it, I've had enough." Drawing his Kunai he began to charge.
"This way Sakura, hurry." Ariana beckoned as she ran over to a set of bushes. "I'm coming Ariana." She replied as she hurried to keep up. "Geez, this girl has so much energy that she's starting to wear me out." She thought as she finally caught up with her. "It's about time you got here slowpoke." Ariana teased, sticking her tongue out at Sakura. "Well you're pretty fast for a… wait how old are you again?" Sakura asked scratching her head. "I'm only five right now, but in a couple months I'll be six!" Ariana proudly stated as she grabbed the bag that Joe gave her. "Alright let's get picking!" She exclaimed. Sakura laughed to herself as she watched Ariana grab giant handfuls of berries, crushing some in the process. "Easy killer, you're going to crush them before they get in the bag." She said then added, "Watch me, I'm an expert." She then began to pick a couple and carefully inspect them. "You see, not all of them are great. Some have already gone bad and taste gross." She explained. She made a face as she talked causing Ariana to laugh. "But if you look hard enough, you can find the nice tangy ones." Feeling a couple with her hand, she found a winner and split it in half. "Here try it." She urged as she offered one half to Ariana. "Wow this tastes great!" She said as she took a big bite. Sakura herself started to chew her half, and immediately began to smile. "It's been a while since I tasted a fresh one, and not the store-fresh kind." She thought as the tanginess sent her taste buds in a spin. Savoring the moment, she breathed in wanting to take in the aroma of the valley. But instead got a faint scent of something else. "That smells like smoke." She thought as she sniffed around, trying to find the source. "Is something wrong Sakura?" Ariana asked, noticing her worried expression. "Joe wouldn't throw around his fire jutsu for show, I wonder if he got attacked." Sakura thought, wondering if she should go help him. "Sakura?" She looked back over at Ariana. "I can't, not with Ariana here." She thought. "It's nothing Ariana. Now c'mon, let's go fill your bag." She answered, hiding the antsy feeling in her stomach. "Even if he is in trouble, he wouldn't want Ariana to be around it." She thought as she began sifting through the fruit for the girl. But even though she looked happy on the outside, she couldn't shake the uneasiness that had invaded her mind.
"He's good. Real good." Joe thought as he dodged several shuriken in mid-air. "His timing and speed are impressive, especially for a genin." They had been fighting for a couple minutes, and even though Joe was the only one bleeding they both knew that it was an even fight. "Every time I try to close in he keeps suppressing me with shuriken. The question is, how do I get past them?" He thought as he began to plan his next move. Looking around, he noticed that they had entered a thicker part of the forest. This area was filled with branches and foliage, along with a river which ran down the side. "Right now we're on an elevated part of land, whoever can get the next hit in can send the unfortunate loser down the side and into the river." He looked at his opponent as he scanned the area. Blue boy was eyeing him, trying to anticipate his next move. But Joe noticed something else. "He's starting to wear down, which is probably why he hasn't pressed the attack so far. Time to use that to my advantage." Reaching into his pouch, he pulled out two Kunai and launched them forward as he began to charge. "Is that the best you've got? You're as weak as the others." The boy answered as he pulled out his kunai and easily knocked them to both sides. "One to the left and one to the right, perfect." Joe observed as he leaped into the air. As expected, the boy pulled out a group of shuriken and chucked them at Joe. He was helpless, he couldn't change direction, dodge, or knock them away for there were too many. However, Joe simply smiled. Pulling hard, he crossed his arms and brought two branches together shielding him from the shuriken. "Rope on the end of the kunai, damn." The boy cursed as he realized his mistake and tried to block. "Not so fast." Joe said as he let go of the rope and smashed his opponent on the side of his face with a kick… or so he had planned. At the last second the boy grabbed his foot. Knocked over from the force of Joe's kick, they grappled as they rolled down the hill. The world spun around him as he fought for position with his opponent. Finally when they reached the bottom, Joe was about to get him in a head-lock when all of a sudden the boy escaped. Using the momentum from their roll, the boy pushed off from Joe and landed on the other side of the river. "What next?" Joe wondered as he watched the boy carefully, and then all of a sudden his eyes widened. "Crap, he's making hand-signs." Joe thought as he frantically began his own. "I've got to counter whatever he's about to do or else I'll be in big trouble." Quickly finishing, he shouted, "Fire Style, Flamethrower Jutsu!" As he felt the heat in his stomach, he took a deep breath and exhaled a large wave of fire…which met a spiraling jet of water. "Water Style, Aqua Jet Jutsu!" The boy countered. Joe looked on stunned, "This guy can do water jutsu? Granted he has to have a source to draw from, but still…" He thought in amazement as the jutsu began to recede. For seconds they just stared at each other, breathing heavily from the battle. Than finally Joe broke the silence. "That's enough." He said as he jumped over the river and walked over to the boy. Then he added, "If this keeps up then one of us will probably end up killing the other. And I've had enough trouble with the police for one day." The boy had an apprehensive look on his face as Joe approached. "Oh, so you think that you're stronger than me?" He asked spitefully, drawing his kunai. "Nah, we're so stubborn we'd probably end up killing each other." Joe answered as he finally reached the boy. Offering his hand to help him up, Joe added, "You're a pretty strong ninja." For a moment, the boy had a surprised look on his face, almost as if he wasn't sure what to do. But then his expression hardened. Batting Joe's hand to the side, he got up and walked away. "Just stay away from me." He stated as he shoved his hands in to his pockets. Watching him go, Joe thought, "What a jerk. Still, he's powerful for a rookie." As he shook his head he winced in pain. "The adrenalin must be wearing off. We hit a lot of trees when we rolled down that hill." He thought as he began to walk back. As he left the forest, he finally caught up with Ariana and Sakura. "Hey guy's, how'd it go?" He asked.
"Do you think I have enough Sakura?" Ariana asked as she shoved a bulging bag in Sakura's face. Laughing, she answered, "Yes I think that's enough Ariana." Suddenly they heard Joe say, "Hey guys, how'd it go?" Ariana upon hearing his voice, immediately jumped up. Smiling she began to say, "It went gre-" Then they both noticed Joe. He had a nasty cut on his cheek, along with scrapes and cuts along his arms and legs. "What's the matter guys?" He asked. "You're hurt…" Ariana answered as tears began to well up in her eyes. "Geez, the minute he gets any sort of injury she loses it." Sakura thought as she watched Ariana drop the bag and run over to him. Then she looked back at Joe, "He seems fine, but he's still pretty cut up. I wonder what happened to him?" As she went to pick up the bag, Joe checked his watch. "Well, it's getting late. Time to head back." He said as he looked out towards the forest. "But Joe, I was having fun. Can't we stay out a little longer?" Ariana whined, folding her arms. "No can do kid, I promised Lady Mariko that I'd have you back by three. Now go grab your bag so we can go." Joe answered. Giving up, Ariana walked up to Sakura and took her bag. When they reached the gate, Joe asked, "So how many did you get?" "We got a ton, and good ones too!" Ariana proudly answered as she showed off her bag. Then she added, "It was all thanks to Sakura, she's awesome!" "Did she just call me awesome?" Sakura thought. Smiling Joe asked, "and what about you Sakura?" Sakura looked down at her pouch, and noticed it was completely empty. "Oh shoot, I was having so much fun with Ariana that I forgot about myself." She thought as she answered sadly, "I forgot to pick some." All of a sudden however, Ariana ran over to her. "Here Sakura, you can have mine." She offered as she held out her bag. "But Ariana, those are yours." Sakura answered with a surprised look on her face. "It's alright. I mean, I won't be able to make my cake but…" Ariana answered. Sakura was about to say no but after an encouraging look from Joe replied, "Here, you take half and I'll take the rest." Ariana smiled as she took her portion and thanked Sakura. "Well, here we are Ariana. Time for you to go." Joe said as they reached a building. "Where's here?" Sakura thought to herself confused. She had never been to this part of Konoha before and was unfamiliar with the area. "Thanks for taking me out Joe, I had fun." Sakura heard Ariana say as they stopped in front of the building. "I had fun too Ariana." Joe answered but was almost knocked over as Ariana tackled him. "Promise me we'll play again bro?" Ariana asked as she gave him a hug. "He really means a lot to her." Sakura observed as Joe answered smiling, "I promise." Finally releasing him, Ariana began to run for the entrance when she suddenly stopped and waved goodbye to Sakura. Smiling, Sakura waved back then hurried to catch up with Joe who had already turned to leave. "She's a nice girl isn't she?" Sakura asked as she finally caught up. Joe simply acknowledged her with a grunt. "He's not listening?" She wondered to herself. Then she heard a hiss of pain and walked around him to see what was wrong. "What's the matter?" She asked as she looked up at his face. Joe had a bottle in his hands and was swabbing a liquid substance over the gash on his cheek. "Nothing, it's just that this ointment burns like a bi-." Joe answered about to curse, but stopped after a warning look from Sakura. "Stop being a baby." Sakura mocked as she reached over and took the bottle from him, then she noticed the name on the label. "Robicol? You're using Robicol?" She asked in shock. Joe simply smiled and answered, "Yup, it's standard issue for all Konoha shinobi. If the Knife wounds and killer jutsu don't finish you, the Robicol will." "But that stuff's like acid!" Sakura exclaimed as she began to apply Robicol to the gash on his face. "Work through the hssss, pain." Joe answered, gritting his teeth as Sakura practically stabbed him with the swab. "Suck it up loser." She jeered as she finished and handed him the bottle. He then reached into his bag and pulled out a bandage. As he covered the gash, he stated, "You really suck at first aid Sakura." "You're welcome jerk." She answered. Irritated, she began to storm off. "What's the hurry?" Joe asked. "I've got to go meet someone for dinner." Sakura answered as she walked away. "Well don't forget, Kakashi wants us to meet him at the training grounds tomorrow." Joe replied as he put away his bandages. "I'll be there." Sakura called back. As she rounded the corner, Joe shook his head and said to himself, "This girl's gonna be the death of me.
"Ah, there you are Sakura!" Sakura heard someone say as she reached her destination. Looking up she saw Laura waving her down. "What took you so long, I thought we were supposed to meet at 4?" She asked as Sakura sat down across from her. "Sorry." She answered sheepishly, "I was busy shopping for groceries." "But I was at the store this afternoon and you weren't there…" Laura stated with a skeptical look on her face. Smiling nervously, Sakura answered, "Well I sort of ended up shopping in the valley." Laura's face took on a concerned look as she exclaimed, "You went into the valley? Why?" Sakura started to sweat as she scrambled to think up an answer. "Crap! If I tell her that I was with that jerk she'll never let me live it down!" She thought nervously as she took a deep breath. She was saved however, by the entrance of a stranger. "Here you go, I got our drinks." The stranger said as he slid in next to Laura. Noticing Sakura, he asked, "and who are you?" Laura turned a bright shade of pink as she exchanged a look with Sakura. "I'm sorry, I should have introduced you sooner. This is my best friend Sakura. She and I grew up together." Laura said as she motioned to Sakura. Then, speaking to Sakura she added, "And this is Danny. He's one of my team members and…" "Nice to meet you Danny." Sakura replied as she shot Laura a knowing glance. "Please, call me Dan." He answered as he offered his hand, which she took. However, as they shook his sleeve fell back revealing a couple bruises and cuts on his arm. "Not just bruises, but a small burn mark." Sakura observed as she released his hand. "I wonder where he got those?" She thought to herself as she stated, "You know… I feel like I've seen you before." Though the question was directed at Dan, Laura was the one who answered. "Well he wasn't in our class, but he was allowed to graduate early." Suddenly it hit her. "Now I remember, we took final exams together." Sakura exclaimed. "This kid is almost as good as Yahiko, hell he broke out of that genjutsu faster than I did." She thought as she gave him a closer look. He had medium length jet black hair and wore blue shorts with a large pouch on his right side. He also wore a blue vest with a long sleeve shirt under it. "Speaking of which." She thought as she asked, "I saw the bruises on your arm. What happened?" "Nothing." Dan answered as he tried to dodge her question, but Laura was persistent. Pulling down his sleeve, she revealed an arm covered in cuts and bruises. "You're hurt." Laura stated, her face full of concern. "It's nothing." Dan answered as he pulled his sleeve back up and folded his arms. "How'd did you get those?" Laura asked, "Were you in the forest again?" After a questioning look from Sakura, Laura added, "He likes to take naps in the forest by the valley." "The valley…" Sakura repeated as the pieces began to fall in place. "Is that how he got hurt? Fighting in the woods?" She thought to herself as they finished their drinks. Suddenly, Dan abruptly got up and moved to leave. "Where's the fire?" Sakura asked bluntly, then immediately regretted it after a quick glance at the spot where his burn mark was hidden. "I have to go." Dan stated as he put some money on the table. "It was nice meeting you Sakura." He added as he hastily walked away. "Likewise." She answered. Once she was sure that he was out of earshot, she turned to Laura and joked, "Not a bad first date huh?" Laura just planted her head in her arms. "Oh shut up." She said dejectedly. "It wasn't even a date really. I ran into him here when I was waiting for you." Sakura gave her a knowing look until she cracked. "Ok fine, I followed him and he happened to end up here." She admitted. Sakura tried to cover her face to hide the smug look that had developed, but it was no use. "Oh don't give me that look. At least I hang out with the guy I like." Laura shot back, then hesitantly added "I bet he doesn't even notice you." Sakura felt as if a whip had just lashed her on the cheek. Not wanting Laura to see the color in her cheeks, she quickly turned away. However she knew that it was pointless. "She knows me too well." Sakura thought as she felt Laura touch her shoulder. "I'm sorry Sakura, I shouldn't hav-" "It's alright Laura." Sakura answered as she smiled sadly at her friend. "Well don't worry. You'll be spending so much time with Yahiko that he's bound to fall for you eventually." Laura said cheerfully as she stood up and put some money on the table. "Yeah sure." Sakura answered cheerfully as she followed suit. Chatting crazily, the two began the long walk home.