¤By Small Means¤
I'm back. I plan on making this a long fic, going through all of Naruto's, Kane's, Hinata's, and some other girl's life. Without further adieu, here is the second chapter.
And read the A/N.
"Ohayo" Speaking Normally
'Ohayo' Thinking Normally
"Oni" Bijuu/ Jinchuuriki in demon mode speaking
'Oni" Bijuu/ Jinchuuriki in demon mode speaking
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As the next couple of days went by, the Academy started teaching about chakra and chakra control. However, due to the boring state of the lesson, quite a few students weren't listening, whether it was because they were bored or they already learned the material. Some of these were Kiba, Shikamaru (both of them were sleeping), Chouji (who was eating), Naruto (who was trying to talk to Kane about his pranks), and even Kane (who was trying to focus on carving a crystal into a pendant, yet failing miserably because of past reason). "…And I'm going to make it so when I'm getting away, the guys who are chasing me will be hit by some paint balloons…" Finally, Kane had enough (he nearly chipped his pendant) and made a couple of seals, muttering "Shinkan no Jutsu" under his breath, and going back to carving his crystal. After around a minute, Naruto realized that even though he was speaking, nothing was coming out.
Kane saw the bewildered look on Naruto's face and whispered to him "The jutsu will release it when I want it to." He then smiled mischievously at the way Naruto looked. "I'll make you a deal, if you listen to the lesson and pass the pop quiz he will give out, then I will help you with your next few pranks, take the jutsu off of you, and teach you how to do it, K?" Kane nearly laughed at the look of pure joy that Naruto had on his face as he went to determinedly listening. Kane just shook his head as he went back to carving the pendant, which was a sapphire crescent.
As Kane carefully cut the crystal, he thought of his new friend, Naruto. 'He is a very interesting person. I have seen the kinds of things he has gone through and him not hating the entire village is a miracle. They have given him nothing but hate and scorn, save a few people, yet he still wants to be their Hokage, which means protecting them with his life. He keeps on working at his goals, no matter what.' He looked over at Naruto, who was writing down notes on a spare piece of paper. 'He also seems to pick up knowledge at an incredible pace, yet he lacks concentration unless he is given a large piece of motivation, such as learning a new technique' Kane suddenly smirked as he put the finishing touches on the crescent. 'Or ramen.'
Kane put the finished pendant into a small satchel bag on his side, then pulled out a small piece of deep orange topaz and started on that one. His thoughts drifted to the shy Hyuuga girl he only observed for a few moments. 'It seems that Hinata isn't too confident in herself. I heard that her clan calls her a failure since she hasn't beaten her sister in spars. It also seems as if that even with her accomplishments, they don't acknowledge them. This is most likely the reason for her lack of confidence. Who wouldn't feel weak with the constant pressure and pressings of her clan. If they just supported her, and cheered her on with her victories, then they would have a very kind and constantly strong heir. Instead, they only have someone they see as inferior and weak.
'If her confidence was somehow restored, then she would be every bit as powerful as her sister and probably as talented as this so called "genius" of the branch family, Neji.' Kane put away the large cutter and took out one for precision, going back to work. 'There is a lot of work needed to be put in both, yet if they are helped properly, both of them could achieve whatever they desire. Lets just hope that it can be done' was his last thought as he looked on either side of him at Naruto and Hinata.
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Naruto listened to the lecture, thinking that it would be boring. He wasn't disappointed. However, he kept on listening, if only for the sake of the Shinkan jutsu. 'Listen Naruto, you only have to do this one time, and then you can go back to planning your own form of training with a new jutsu in your arsenal." He then fully focused on the lesson that Iruka was teaching.
"Now then, what is chakra in a nutshell, Shino?" Said person looked up with his sunglasses on and monotoned "Chakra is the combination of spiritual and physical energy. This energy can then be molded in various ways, most often from hand seals, which assist in the molding. It can also be molded by concentration alone, or, as a result from it being used multiple times, it can be molded without any hand seals in ways that would normally require them, such as for fire jutsu. However, it usually takes hundreds, if not thousands, of times to have this happen."
Iruka nodded. "That is correct. There are multiple ways to mold chakra into jutsu. With hand seals, you can make chakra do any multiple of things from starting a fire to healing. There are six things that chakra is molded into. Pure chakra, which can be used in healing or other neutral techniques, fire, which can be used for survival or offensively, air, which can be used offensively primarily, however, it also has the possibility for defense, lightning, which can be used for multiple purposes. A famous technique made by Hatake Kakashi, an ANBU captain, uses electricity for an assassination technique known as the chidori. Then there is earth, which is mostly used for defense, however, it can also be used to attack or incapacitate someone, and then there is water, which can do multiple things, however, it primarily is used for offense and trapping your opponents. To mold chakra into fire, you have to…" Iruka then went into a long narrative on molding chakra.
As Kane had said, there was a pop quiz on what they had just reviewed. As Iruka handed out the papers, he took note of who wasn't listening and thought of how he would teach them to pay attention with the next day's examination on unlocking and increasing chakra reserves and control. However, as he passed Naruto, he did a double-take. The number one prankster and loudest person in Konoha, was not sleeping, daydreaming, fidgeting, or anything else of the sort. He was actually paying attention. Being wary of what this omen promised (See: End of World), he passed the quiz to Naruto.
He then looked to Eremento Kane, a supposedly good listener and subordinate, calmly carving away at his crystal, only pausing when Iruka handed him two tests, one of which he passed to Hinata. Iruka looked at this scene one more time before he raised his hands in the Tiger seal, saying "Kai" just as Kane widened his eyes and said "don't!"
As was expected, the ninjutsu/genjutsu hybrid was dispelled. Naruto, being the annoying person he is, shouted "HA! TAKE THAT KANE!" and started gloating. As everyone in the immediate vicinity was brought close to being deaf from the combined voices of Naruto and Kiba (who was yelling "SHUT IT!" in the background), Kane made a couple more seals and whispered "Masu Shinkan no Jutsu". Suddenly, Naruto, Kiba, Hiroshi, and Nozomi all found that they couldn't speak (he wanted to get a little humor, so he decided to also put it on Hiroshi and Nozomi). As silence descended, Iruka looked over at Kane and asked, a large amount of surprise in his voice, "Did you do this?"
Kane looked at him and calmly replied "Yeah, I nearly chipped my pendant." Iruka shook his head and smiled. 'This kid already has great chakra control and will have a large supply by the end of the academy. He also has at least one crowd-control jutsu in his arsenal. Perhaps I should learn it. It would certainly make things easier here.' Iruka came out of his scheming thoughts to see all of Kane's victims glaring kunai at him. Kane simply shrugged it off and went back to carving. He quickly added "Please don't do that again. Nozomi alone would give everyone a headache." Said girl was currently being barely restrained from ripping Kane apart by Hiroshi, who knew that Kane could make his jutsu last for days on end.
Iruka simply sighed and passed the tests around. As soon as Kane and Naruto got their papers, they started working on them. After a long bit of anxious writing from Kane, he double-checked his work and, after noting it was the way he wanted it, he looked over to Hinata, who was nervous over her first test. 'What if I fail and everyone laughs at me…' (These may not make much sense normally, but she's 8 for Pete's sake! And she's Hinata.)
Kane, seeing this, put his hand on her shoulder and flashed a small confident smile when she looked up. Hinata smiled a bit at this and, with more confidence, went back to answering the test. After seeing Naruto writing down answers every once in awhile, he pulled out the orange topaz and started carving it into a fox-head.
Naruto did the test with what he remembered and then looked around at everyone else. It was nearly time for them to put in their papers and it seemed as if nearly everyone was done. When he glanced at Kiba though, he saw his nervousness, which caused his prankster to come out. Making an evil smile, he pulled a small firecracker out from his pant leg and took the match attached to it. He then lit and threw it in-between Kiba and the person in the middle, while thinking 'Haha dog boy, I'll get you for telling me to shut it.'
The firecracker exploded and, with Kiba's nerves already haywire, he practically jumped off the chair, which caused him to fall and roll down the stairs. His dog, Akamaru, had jumped on the table before he fell off Kiba's head.
Naruto and Hiroshi held their sides while silently laughing their heads off. Hinata tried to suppress her giggles, but failed. Kiba jumped up and tried to yell various 'colorful' phrases at Naruto, which noone could thankfully hear. Kane took one glance at him and looked away with shock. 'How can I understand him?!"
Iruka went up to Kiba and told him to go back up to his desk, then went up the steps and stood next to Naruto, who was still holding his sides while laughing. Suddenly, Iruka hit Naruto in the back of the head and yelled "NARUTO! I WILL NOT TOLERATE THIS STUPIDITY IN MY CLASS!" in super-anime-teacher mode (Big head, pulsing vein, the works). After dignifying himself and allowing a couple of the more scarred students to get their bearings, he calmly finished with "You will stay after school for detention."
Finally, everyone finished their tests and the bell rang. "Alright class, I want a one page essay on the basics of chakra and how you mold it." After a large portion of the class stopped groaning, they replied with a "Hai, Iruka-sensei." And walked out the door.
Iruka walked to each of the desks and picked up their papers. When he got to Naruto's desk, he thought about how he would make his life a living hell the next day. 'When the Kyuubi brat fails, I can make him do another harder test and make him fail again. Then he won't be able to graduate. No demon should join the shinobi ranks of Konoha.' However, when he looked at the test, he saw that a large portion of the answers were right. 'Seems as if the demon can listen if he wants. I'll give him one of the higher tests next time.' Iruka then picked up Kane's test and saw that he got an average.
By the time he got the rest of the tests and went back to the bottom, he felt as if he was forgetting something. He kept on thinking about it. 'Lets see, I've gotten all of the tests, I have the next day planned, including Naruto's test…' Then it hit him.
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In the Hokage tower, the Sandaime was busily signing paperwork after he had taken the last couple of hours in sorting it into accept or deny piles. ' it Arashi. You could have at least told me how you managed to finish the paperwork in only a couple of hours before you died…' In the middle of his signature, a booming voice yelled "NARUTO!" and shook the entire tower, causing the piles of paperwork to fall to the ground in disarray. Sarutobi went as white as a sheet and silently wept over the long hours he poured into the dreaded paperwork.
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As everyone left, Kane half-mindedly brought his hand up in the half tiger seal and said "Kai" under his breath, causing the Masu Shinkan to release. But his thoughts were on other matters 'So I can read lips fluently… Kuso. I need to sort this out. I'll talk with Itachi-sensei about it today.' He then patted the small pouch on his hip. 'Both are nearly done, all I need is to add on the wiring and' Just then, Naruto popped up right in-front to him and practically yelled "Hey Kane, want to go train?!"
When Naruto opened his eyes, he saw Kane gripping his chest and breathing heavily. Kane send a quick glare over to Naruto and started walking again when he reigned in his inner-voice, which was yelling for some sword training on a live target.
Finally, Kane said "Not right now Naruto. I need to do a couple of things at home. I'll train with you later, OK?" Naruto sighed then bounced right back up. "OK! Tomorrow then! Bye Kane!" The red-head simply smiled and replied "See ya later Naruto" as the blonde ran off.
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Naruto went back to the training dummies in the back of the academy and started hitting and blocking again, eventually falling into the same routine he had before. When he fell, he just got right back up and started again, slowly increasing his reflexes. As he did this, he kept on repeating 'I'll protect my precious people by becoming Hokage!' (A/N He's an eight year old kid, their minds work differently at that age) as a mantra.
However, as had happened the day before, someone was watching our favorite blonde Jinchuuriki. The lavender eyed girl continued to watch in fascination. Where most other people would have stopped or taken a break, this blonde enigma was pressing on. However, when he was knocked to the ground from a blow to the head, she nearly ran out to help him. As soon as he hit the ground though, he simply jumped back up and continued.
Hinata continued to stare in awe of Naruto. 'H-He's so strong a-and determined… He's everything I'm not…' She was shook out of her revere when she realized she only had half an hour until her clan training began. As she ran home, she let one thought pass through her mind. 'Good luck, Naruto-kun.'
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As Kane walked home with his siblings, the silence started getting to him so he asked what they thought of class. Hiroshi grunted and replied "It's boring. We already know most of the stuff from our family training. The only new thing will be the added geography and history."
Kane looked over at him and shrugged. "So? That just means we can ace whatever subject we've learned so far." After Hiroshi sighed and kept on walking, he turned to Nozomi. "What do you think of our classmates Nee-chan?"
She grinned and said "Well, I know most of the girls from shopping sprees and both of you know Sakura-chan and Ino-chan. In fact, I'm planning on going with most of them shopping again today." Both guys sighed. The only girl that shopped more then her was Ino, and when you're close to shopping as much as her, you know there's a problem. Blissfully unaware of her brothers thoughts, she asked "What about both of you? Are you going to go out as well?"
Hiroshi answered first. "I'm going over to train with Tenten-chan and give her the present." Both Kane and Nozomi knew that they were like brother and sister to each other. Their parents were friends and had both of them play together as children (slightly ironic, considering that they still are children).
"I'm going to finish a couple of things at home then go trick Itachi-sensei into training me" Kane snickered as he thought of what he usually did as training, which consisted of being chased much like Sasuke had been the previous day. After he was caught (an ANBU against a kid…), they would talk. This helped Itachi get some time off his hectic schedule that his father pressed on him and helped Kane sort out the vague memories he sometimes remembered or instinctual abilities, such as to read lips.
After a little bit more walking, they finally reached the Eremento clan grounds of Konoha, which consisted of a main house, a main garden and several smaller ones scattered about the area, and various paths to other areas. The Eremento clan was relatively small compared to the Hyuuga or Uchiha clans. However, their number was still relatively high, reaching a couple hundred.
When they got there, they each separated to different roads. Kane walked into the clan grounds as Nozomi turned and Hiroshi kept on going forward. After a few minutes, Hiroshi reached a moderately sized estate, looking like a rather large house for one family. He then walked up to the front door and knocked.
It was opened a couple of minutes later by a brown-haired woman, who smiled as soon as she saw Hiroshi. "Hi Hiroshi-kun. How have you been?" He smiled and replied "Pretty well, got back from my trip a couple days ago and have to start payback training tomorrow. Not nearly as much as in the past because of the academy though."
He shuddered slightly at what they went through for the trip. Sure, going nearly anywhere for a week with a parent was fun, however, the payment needed was pretty high. Before the academy started, they would have to get up at six and run around the village with a crazy guy called Maito Gai. Afterwards, "Konoha's Noble Green Beast" as he called himself, would work him through hitting and kicking a log enough times to make deep grooves in it.
Then the child would proceed back home and, after breakfast, would work with one of the clan members on chakra control and their nature manipulation. After that, they would train in Kenjutsu (Weapon Techniques), then Genjutsu. They would finally finish around six, which is when they had some time to themselves until dinner. Then they went to sleep and did the cycle again the next day. However, they had one day of break they could use each week if they decided to.
He shook himself free of his thoughts and asked "Is Tenten-chan home right now?" Maya's smile increased slightly as she replied "Yeah, she's at the training field practicing. You know the way."
"Arigatou, Oba-san." Hiroshi bowed and ran to the training field nearby. As he did, he thought about his own and siblings skills. He focused on Kenjutsu a lot, often caught practicing with one of Kane's swords. He also used Ninjutsu a bit more then other areas. His Genjutsu and Taijutsu both lacked a lot. The only reason he had chakra knives instead of a sword was… He thought back. Why did he have the chakra knives, better suited for Taijutsu, which Kane focused in (along with a couple Genjutsu and quite a few Ninjutsu), while Kane had the swords? Maybe Kane would be willing to trade one of his blades for the chakra knives. He would only use one blade after all.
He eventually reached the nearby training grounds and was rewarded with the sight of Tenten. Her hair was in two buns on the top of her head as she usually had them. Seeing the blindfold over her eyes, he realized what was happening and simply sat back and watched as the young girl raised one kunai up in her hand. A second later, a target popped up with its customary sound and the kunai was suddenly in the center of its head, a good two inches deep. She took off her blindfold and grinned at her feat when she heard clapping coming from her left. She quickly spun towards the sound and saw Hiroshi smiling and clapping.
"Hiroshi-kun!" was his only warning as he was suddenly glomped by the brown haired girl to the ground. He smiled and said "I take you missed me?" She looked up from his chest with an annoyed pout and nodded. "Of course I did." She then got off of him and kneeled. "So, how was the Fire Capital?"
He sat up and grinned. "Awesome. We got there just in time for a traveling carnival. They had a ton of games and rides, like popping a balloon with a kunai and something called a ferris wheel." Tenten nodded her head, having heard about them from some travelers.
Her family was famous for being the best weaponsmiths in all of Konoha. Whenever Ninja from some of the minor Hidden Villages came along, a lot of them bought high-quality kunai from the store, since their own villages didn't usually have the raw resources available, and if they did, very few smiths could make the amount of weapons needed with the desired quality in a quick fashion. So, as a result, they got a lot of traffic through their store, travelers often telling stories about what they've seen.
Seeing that she understood, he continued "After that, we checked out the shops there and bought a couple souvenirs, one of which was this." He then pulled out an ornamental box. It had the various symbols of the Great Five Shinobi Villages on each corner with the symbol of the Leaf in the center. He handed it to a confused, and then shocked Tenten as she realized it was for her. She then proceeded to open it and was stunned at what was in it. A beautifully inscribed tanto was in the center of it. The handle and sheath were made of polished rosewood and had golden kanji on the sheath. The handle itself had golden lines running along the wood, constantly curving until it reached the separator, where it connected into one solid line of gold.
She took the blade out of its sheath and saw the magnificent worksmanship from the polished metal. The blade itself was smooth and sharp, being able to be used for more then just show. She put it all back in and, after putting it to the side, glomped him again. Being caught in the moment, she kissed his cheek, which made both of their faces turn bright red and their bodies freeze. She then stuttered out a thank you and was quiet for a bit more, both of them thinking about the kiss.
A bit away, Maya was sitting on a tree branch, watching both of the children. She nearly laughed at their reactions and was touched that he would get something like that for her daughter. She was also a Shinobi blacksmith, so she knew how expensive something like that would be. After seeing a few more words pass between them and both of them proceeding to come back, she decided to leave before she was caught, but not before seeing how their hands were connected and the small smiles on their faces.
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A/N: I apologize. I got lost on the road of life.
I have decided on most everything for this story. And everything announced might be true and it might not be. There WILL be crushes on separate people and mostly this will be a friendship fic this early on. However, I will soon be reaching a time skip (After next chapter I think), which will propel their ages to around 12. The true romance won't start for another few years. Some of the smaller pairings I will want opinions on (Such as Hiroshi and Tenten or Neji and Tenten).
Now then. I have been writing for these few months I haven't updated. Go to my profile and check out my Star Wars story. It is… read it and find out. I won't spoil the surprises in it. Also, there's a vote going on in it that I need feedback from. Read the first chapter and post your thoughts and ideas.
Back to the chapter. Love it? Hate it? Want more of it?
Alright. First up, what did you think about the character build-up, such as with the Eremento twins, Kane, and Tenten? Was it done well enough?
Also, who wants Itachi to be a good/bad guy? Will change the story later on quite a bit. However, the Uchiha Massacre will be occurring in at least the next chapter so vote.
Lastly, who here wants Hiroshi and Tenten to be paired up? I like Neji still so I'd put him with someone else (Maybe Sakura or an OC?).
That's it for now. Going to update later on in the year. Most likely sooner then later. Most games bore me now so I have free time.
Ja ne.
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Translations:
-Chidori- One Thousand Birds. Will be explained later on.
-Kai- Release. Used to dispel genjutsu usually, however, also dispels specific ninjutsu, such as the Shinkan Jutsu.
-Shinkan no Jutsu- Silence Technique. Takes up a small amount of chakra, however, it takes a fair amount of chakra control to pull off. As it can easily be released by beings that can control their chakra, it is usually used on particularly annoying civilians. The Masu Shinkan no Jutsu covers a wider area and silences the people the user is focusing on. Requires more concentration then the basic Shinkan. It is often used to quiet civilian disturbances, such as riots or gangs.
-Kuso- Damn it.
-Arigatou- Thank you.
-Oba-san- Aunt
