Rebuilding the Past Chapter 4, a naruto fanfic

Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto and I'm currently out of witty disclaimers

Response to the Reviewers:f

I know I probably shouldn't have posted this chapter, but I couldn't help it. I GOT ANOTHER NEW REVIEWER! Yay! Thanks to Gravenimage for his review.

Shadow: Thanks again for your review, you are still awesome : ) Kai won't be getting a boomerang, but he will be getting a giant shuriken... kind of... You'll just have to wait and see.

Gravenimage: Kai and Ino aren't going to meet up again for several more chapters. I have a lot planned before Kai can return to Konoha, and even then, they won't instantly jump into a relationship. I have a few major plot points planned out already, so you can rest assured it will happen, eventually. To be honest, I still have a few more parts of Kai's story that have been planned and each will be a different submission. If things go the way I want them to, there should be at least three more submissions after "Rebuilding the Past."

AN: Chapter 4…yeah…

Sunrise… it seemed to come way too early these days. Kai woke to the early morning sunlight shining through his overly large, east-facing window right onto his face. Shading his eyes with his hand, Kai pulled himself out of his bed and stumbled to the bathroom to take care of his necessities before changing into his regular outfit.

Kai entered the kitchen with a yawn, slightly startled to find the five rescued girls already up, each of them trying to choke down a ration bar with a bottle of water to help it along.

"Hey Kai," Mika said as she handed Kai a ration bar and gestured to a free seat between Satsume and Kanami, which he took immediately.

"So," Naomi said once she had finished her breakfast, "Ayame tells us that you offered to let us watch you train."

Kai nodded and fought down a yawn, "Yeah, if you want, but I'm afraid it might be a little boring for you."

Ayame sighed, "But like I said last night, it's not like there's anything else to do around here."

"If you say so," Kai said before taking a quick drink of water and throwing away his now empty bottle, "come on then, let's get started." The girls quickly disposed of the rest of their breakfast, either by eating it or throwing it away, and followed Kai out the door.

Kai blinked in the morning sunlight as he eyed the clearing he had chosen for his training grounds. It was just off the road that would eventually lead into the mountains to the West, opposite from the way Kai and Yue had approached the village. There wasn't much to the clearing, just a large open expanse with trees at the far end, about fifty feet away, and the pillaged fields across the road. There wasn't much to use for target practice though, just a few tiny bushes, so Kai felt the need to improvise.

"Just give me a second," Kai called to the girls who had situated themselves on the edge of the clearing, resting against the old remains of a stone wall, "I've got to take care of something first."

Mika waved to show she had heard him and Kai turned toward the forest. It didn't take him long to find what he was looking for: several branches that were wide enough to be used as target posts but were not so large that he couldn't carry them.

Drawing his katana, Kai jumped into the canopy and made several slices, each leaving a chakra trail behind. He landed in a crouch and sheathed his sword with an audible click, smiling at his showmanship, as three logs fell around him, followed by several leaves and twigs that he had trimmed from them in mid-air, forming a triangle around him. Each section was about six feet long and varied in width from six inches to a foot.

Grunting in effort, Kai drug the first of the three logs out of the trees, much to the interest of the girls. "What are you doing Kai?" Naomi called out as the boy emerged from the tree line with his second log.

"Targets," Kai panted as he dropped his burden in the center of the clearing before starting back for the last one, "only one left."

Once he had pulled out the final log, he paused for a moment to catch his breath. Before he knew it, Satsume was at his side with a full bottle of water held out to him.

"Thanks Satsume," Kai said with a smile as he opened the bottle and downed half of it before replacing the cap and handing it back, "Now, don't blink or you'll miss it." Satsume nodded as she began walking backwards toward the rest of the girls, watching the Shinobi carefully as he formed a chain of hand seals.

Suddenly, Kai finished his seals and called out, "Doton: Shinju Zanshu no Jutsu!" Kai was quickly enveloped in a cloud of smoke, and when it cleared, the boy was nowhere to be seen. Before any of the girls had a chance to look for him, the three logs suddenly disappeared, swallowed into the ground.

Not entirely sure what was going on, Satsume continued walking backward, and almost tripped over Mika. The older girl caught Satsume and smiled before nodding back toward the field. Suddenly, there was a huge cloud of smoke and the three logs shot from the ground, standing about four feet tall with the rest firmly held in the ground, each placed about twenty feet apart at the points of a triangle.

Then, the ground started shaking and Kai erupted into the air behind them, curled tightly into a ball as he flipped over the girl's heads and landed in a crouch in front of their stunned faces. Turning back toward them, Kai smiled, "And now I can get started."

The girls were shocked; they hadn't been expecting Kai to use any Jutsu. The Nin took advantage of their temporary condition to perform a few quick stretches before making his way out to the center of the clearing once more, coming to a stop in the center of the triangle formed by his new targets.

Kai took a deep breath and forces himself to relax before pulling out several shuriken and kunai, spreading them between his hands. A gentle breeze drifted across the clearing, kicking up a little dirt and swirling around Kai as he gathered his chakra, pulling his power to the surface so he could use it in an instant. He was going to appeal to h9is showman side today. After all, why should he waste a willing audience?

Then, just as the girls started to wonder why he wasn't moving, Kai jumped into the air, using a little extra chakra to gain enough height for his plan. When his upward momentum began to slow, leaving him about twenty feet in the air, which brought a gasp from his audience, he used another burst of chakra to change his remaining momentum.

Kai began spinning rapidly, obscuring his form until the girls were unable to see anything but a small tornado that had grown up to engulf the Shinobi. Within, the vortex, Kai was struggling to keep control of his chakra, which was no easy task. Even now, he still had a bit of trouble with his chakra control, but it was easily better than it was before he left Konoha, thanks to Yue's training. He had realized while he was bringing his log targets out of the forest that a simple bout of target practice wouldn't be enough to keep the girls amused, so he decided to take things up a notch.

Most of what he was doing was improvisation, like the wind Jutsu he was using to keep himself aloft, but he had still managed to take his regular target exercises and make it into an impressive, if excessive and showy, performance.

Once he felt he had the whirlwind under control, Kai extended his senses, locating each of his targets before releasing once final burst of chakra. This last burst stopped his spinning and dispelled the small twister before he flung his hands out, sending his shuriken and kunai flying toward each of the three target-poles.

Each of the weapons imbedded themselves into the wood of one of the poles with a soft thunk, except for one shuriken. As Kai watched, the renegade throwing star ricocheted off the top of its intended target and began flying straight toward the girls.

Kai barely had any time to act. He quickly formed a short chain of seals and called out, "Kawarimi no Jutsu!" In a cloud of smoke, Kai appeared in front of the girls where there had once been a small rock. The Shinobi drew his katana and deftly used it to deflect the deadly projectile, sending it arching through the air back the way it came before sticking into the top of its original target.

"Sorry about that," Kai said as he turned back toward the shocked and scared girls while re-sheathing his blade, "I guess I got a little carried away."

Mika seemed as if she was about to wave it off when the sound of clapping echoed across the empty clearing. Looking out across his appropriated training area, Kai saw a figure dressed in a brown traveling cloak, leaning up against one of the training posts. He was the one who had been clapping.

Before Kai could act, the man vanished, only to re-appear seconds later in a swirl of dust a few yards away from Kai, "Nicely done," the stranger said, "you must be one of Genbu's new recruits, although I find it surprising that he was able to find another unaffiliated Shinobi."

As the man finished speaking, he lifted one hand to remove his hood, revealing dark hair that framed a fairly handsome, although by no means extraordinary face belonging to a man in his mid to late thirties.

There was a gasp from behind Kai as the man's face came into view. He heard the girls moving and turned to see them gathered together, staring at the newcomer in fear, "M…m…master Seiru…" Ayame stuttered breathlessly, fear clearly showing in her eyes.

"Now why would Genbu let his little trophies out of his sight?" Seiru asked rhetorically, a puzzled expression on his face.

Kai shifted slightly, placing himself directly between the newcomer and the terrified girls. "What's this, "Seiru said, mock surprise in his eyes, "the little ninja thinks he can protect the girls from me?" Seiru laughed, "Relax boy, we're on the same side. I am Genbu's second in command, and will probably end up being your chaperone…" The Nin trailed off, mumbling to himself while Kai slowly inched his hand down to his weapon pouch, hoping the older Shinobi wouldn't notice.

But luck was not on Kai's side, "What are you doing boy? I said we're on the same damn side!" Then, Seiru's eyes widened, "Wait a second…" The Nin leapt high into the air, easily clearing the tops of the buildings, and seemed to float there for a few seconds.

When he finally came down, his face was a mask of rage mixed with a little relief, "So, they're all dead. I would guess that you were the one to kill them too…" Seiru flung his arms to the side, discarding his cloak and revealing brown clothing of a similar design to what the bandits had been wearing, although Seiru's were in better condition. But Kai was forced to put those thoughts aside as he caught sight of the katana belted to the man's waist as he drew it and held it in a defensive stance with the blade in front of him.

"Draw your blade boy," Seiru sneered, although his expression was softened by the regret in his eyes, "We have some business to settle and I will not fight an un-prepared opponent."

Kai blinked in surprise before quickly drawing his stolen ANBU katana and holding it before himself in the same position as Seiru. "Well, Kai said with a nod, "at least you have some honor, not like the rest of those bandits."

"Believe me boy, if things went my way, I would be thanking you, but I am honor bound to try and avenge my master Genbu. He saved me in my most desperate hour, and I became his loyal follower due to the life debt I owe him."

Kai paled, once again seeing the hulking Genbu in his mind's eye, except instead of Orochimaru clinging to his arm, it was Seiru. The other Nin must have guessed what Kai was thinking because his head immediately swelled to astronomical size, much like Iruka's had tended to do when he yelled at Naruto, as he shouted, "NOT LIKE THAT!"

Kai took a step back, slightly shocked by Seiru's outburst, but quickly recovered, "Whatever man, to each his own."

Seiru calmed himself and observed Kai cautiously, "Very well then, let us begin!" Seiru suddenly charged, closing the gap between the two Shinobi in mere seconds. Kai was not amused. With a casual twist of his wrist, Kai angled his blade and braced himself as his opponent's weapon struck it, putting the two Nin in a deadlock.

Seiru smirked, "Well, it seems like you have some skill after all…"

Kai gave his opponent once of Naruto's huge smiles, "I think you'll find it's more than 'some skill.'" With a quick surge of chakra, Kai pushed against Seiru's blade, forcing the older Nin to jump back or risk falling. Taking advantage of his opponent's momentary condition, Kai chased after him and their blades met once again, this time in a quick series of strikes before the two Nin jumped apart, Kai once more placing himself between Seiru and the girls, who had taken refuge behind the stone wall that had been their backrest.

"You really are good with that blade…" Seiru trailed off.

"As are you," Kai responded, panting slightly from the short exertion, "but we may as well stop playing around now."

Seiru smirked, "Agreed." With a flourish, Seiru returned his blade to its sheath and brought his hands together in a tiger seal. Kai cursed as his small gamble backfired and sheathed his own weapon and prepared his own seal, gathering his chakra as quickly as possible.

Then, at almost the same moment, the two Shinobi released their built up chakra, deactivating their individual chakra weights and causing a few dust devils to form between them where the waves of energy met. Deactivating chakra weights like that was less chakra-efficient, but it was definitely faster than forming a chain for seals that would only get longer as more weight was added, and in battle, speed was often all that mattered.

The two Nin relaxed for a second before settling into their preferred Taijutsu stances. Kai stood sideways, with his left foot closer to Seiru and his right leg bent slightly behind him. He held his left arm in front of him, bent nearly double at the elbow, with his hand in a half-seal while his right arm was kept close to his side as he carefully studied his opponent.

Seiru stood in a very relaxed stance. He was turned slightly to his right with his left arm held down in front of him, only slightly bent, with his hand in a fist. His right arm, much like Kai's was bent double at his right side. Otherwise, he stood almost completely straight when compared to Kai's half-crouching stance.

Kai didn't have to wait long for Seiru to act. A few seconds after taking his stance, Seiru sprang forward, covering the distance between them in a fraction of the time it had taken him before, which told Kai that his opponent had been carrying far more extra weight than he had before they had deactivated their weights.

Relying on instinct and training, Kai activated his Miraigan, not noticing the look of surprise that flashed across Seiru's face, just as his opponent cam into range and threw the first punch. Just as he had done many times before, Kai lightly pushed his opponent's fist to the side with his left hand and pivoted on his left foot, spinning down Seiru's arm and attempting to deliver a blow to the back of his head with his right elbow. This time however, his attack was foiled as Seiru somehow managed to get his right arm up in time to block the attack. Kai quickly pushed off Seiru's arm with his right elbow and spun back around, swinging his left arm toward Seiru's head, but once again his attack was thwarted as the older Nin ducked under his arm and the spinning kick Kai launched in the same movement.

Forced to improvise, and not wanting to end up with his back to his opponent, Kai hopped into the air off his right foot and pulled himself into a ball before lashing out with his feet and connecting solidly with the man's stomach, leaving Seiru stumbling back several steps while clutching his stomach as Kai was propelled several feet through the air before hitting the ground in a somersault and jumping back to his feet, pivoting to face his foe once more, carefully watching the man as he gasped for breath and held his stomach.

Kai kept his eyes on Seiru, watching for any movement that would betray and attack. Then, Seiru once again displayed his incredible speed as, before Kai had a chance to react, the older Nin was right in front of him with his fist planted in Kai's stomach.

Kai stumbled back, now holding his own stomach. His thoughts were racing. Seiru was so fast he had outrun the Miraigan's warning, or had he just attacked on a whim without thinking ahead. There was no way to find out without sitting down and asking him, and that didn't seem too likely.

Kai's thoughts were abruptly thrust aside when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Tilting his head back, Kai saw Seiru standing in front of him, smiling down at him comically as he used his grip on the young Chunin's shoulder to straighten him up again. Then, Seiru's face twisted in concentration and he gave Kai a chakra powered kick to the chest that sent him flying backward until he hit the ground and slid to a stop next to the girls' hiding spot.

"Kai," Satsume said tentatively, peeking out from behind the wall, "are you alright?"

Kai groaned as he turned his head to face the young girl with a small smile on his face. Then his eyes fixed on his unstrung bow that the girl was holding close to her chest. "My bow," he said, causing the girl to give him a confused look, "I need my bow…" Kai trailed off as he stretched out his hand toward Satsume, who quickly placed the weapon in his hand.

Kai closed his fist on the bow and gave Satsume another weak smile before bringing his knees up to his chest and kicking out, jumping back to his feet. He immediately placed one silver tip of the bow on the ground and bent it before looping the free end of the string over the top end; somehow managing to do it right on his first try.

Then, before Seiru could figure out what he was doing, Kai hopped back to his feet and summoned an arrow from the storage seal on his left wrist band, nocked it to his bowstring, drew the weapon back, and released.

The boy was good, no doubts there, but not good enough to beat him. Seiru had been able to guess by the amount of chakra released when they removed their weights how much extra this newest opponent had been carrying. As it turned out, the young Shinobi was carrying less than half of what Seiru himself had.

The boy's Taijutsu stance was excellent and his Kenjutsu nearly flawless, but he lacked Seiru's strength and speed, which put him at a disadvantage. In fact, Seiru had been about to kill his opponent until he saw the eyes. There was no mistaking the three point star he had seen in the boy's eyes. This child had the Miraigan, although it was an immature one since he had only two orbiting dots instead of three.

It had been a long time since he had seen the Miraigan. How had the boy gotten it? Could it be possible…? Seiru's thoughts were pushed aside when he saw an arrow flying straight toward him.

When Kai released his arrow he had been slightly surprised. He had managed not only to get his bow ready with no trouble, but the arrow he shot was actually on target. He didn't know what he had been expecting, but he certainly didn't think that using his bow would be this… well, easy, so much so that it almost seemed to come to him naturally.

Seiru seemed equally shocked, but he still managed to sidestep the arrow, which went streaking harmlessly away. Kai shook out of his stupor and summoned another arrow, knocking and launching it in the same motion before repeating the process.

Kai was mainly focused on shooting his bow, but he still had enough general awareness to notice how Seiru was dealing with the projectiles sent his way. After the initial few shots, the elder Shinobi had been dodging the arrows with relative ease, although a few tears at the edges of his clothing testified that they had been close dodges.

Then, after Kai fired off his tenth arrow, he went to pull another one from the storage seal, but instead of the wooden shaft of an arrow, Kai felt a piece of paper. Blinking in confusion, Kai looked down at his hand to see what appeared to be a hastily scrawled note:

Kai,

Sorry about the lack of arrows. I didn't have enough time or resources to make any more. Hope you don't need more than ten until after you learn to make them yourself.

Love,

Kaa-san

"OH COME ON!" Kai shouted, unconsciously slipping this newest note from his mother into his hip pouch. Seiru must have decided to take advantage of his distraction because when Kai looked back up, the man was once again drawing his katana in preparation for another charge. Kai tossed his bow blindly behind him and a heard a squeak as Satsume caught the unexpected item. Kai had barely drawn his own blade when Seiru was upon him, forcing him into another weapon deadlock.

Sneering, Kai sent out a pulse of chakra that knocked Seiru slightly off balance and gave the young Chunin a chance to throw all his weight behind his push, forcing Seiru to jump back again, with Kai in hot pursuit.

Seiru was at war with himself as he landed and exchanged another series of blows with the boy he had been fighting which ended in another deadlock. His sense of honor and duty was screaming at him to kill the boy and finally settle his debt to Genbu, but the rest of him… The rest of him was unsure.

He knew he should kill him, but if there was even the slightest chance… If he was really… He knew he couldn't take that risk.

Kai glared at his opponent over their crossed blades. He was not in a good situation and he knew it. Their Kenjutsu skills were at the same level, but with Seiru's extra speed and strength that had come with his extra years, Kai was left at a strong disadvantage. He had only been able to keep up so far by energizing his body with extra chakra, but he was swiftly running out…

Seiru was trying to think of a way to end the fight without killing his opponent when he felt the pressure on his blade begin to weaken. Then, the boy almost seemed to droop and Seiru took advantage of the opportunity and shoved. He didn't realize just how weak his opponent had become. If he had, he wouldn't have been so shocked when the boy's blade was easily pushed aside, leaving Seiru's sword open to slice a shallow path across the young Nin's face…

When Kai's chakra finally gave out, he knew it was over. He could have kicked himself for using up so much chakra during his "training," but hind sight is always perfect. It was with a detached sort of consciousness that he felt Seiru push against him, sending him stumbling back as the effects of chakra exhaustion hit him full force.

Unfortunately, he was jerked back to full consciousness when the tip of Seiru's katana dug into his skin above his right eye and traced a line diagonally down between his eyes and across his nose before coming free again at his jaw line on his left cheek. If Kai had had the strength, he would have screamed in pain as the razor sharp blade cut a trail of fire across his face.

Kai fell backward as the full effects of the pain suddenly hit him and finished off what was left of his balance. He felt the blood running into his right eye and down his face as he stared up at his attacker, defiance still written on his face even though he knew it was over.

Seiru was shocked, but kept himself under control as he stood over his downed opponent, watching the blood run down his face as he placed the now bloody tip of his blade at the boy's throat. "Go ahead," the boy spat, anger and defiance in his voice, "finish me off already!"

Seiru froze for a moment, watching the boy uneasily before shrugging, "The way I see it, I was honor bound to defeat you to avenge my former comrades, and now I have, so my debt has been repaid."

With that, Seiru wiped the tip of his blade off on Kai's vest and sheathed it before turning and walking toward his discarded traveling cloak, re-activating his chakra weights on the way. "You will be a fine Shinobi one day boy," Seiru continued once he had fastened his cloak once more, "but you have to survive for that to happen." Seiru then formed a quick hand-sign and disappeared in a swirl of dust.

Kai couldn't believe it. He was alive. Sure he was almost completely out of chakra and he was more than half-blind from pain and the blood running into his eyes, but he was still alive!

"Kai!" Mika screamed as she slid to the ground next to him, "Kai! Are you alright?"

The Nin decided against being sarcastic, "The obvious cut is my only problem," he said wearily, "otherwise, I'm fine."

Mika didn't look convinced, but she didn't try to argue. As Kai's vision began fading in and out, he smiled, "I guess you got a little more of a demonstration than you wanted, huh," and then he passed out.

Seiru watched from the top of a tree as four of the former servant girls lifted the boy and carried him back into the village while the youngest followed closely behind carrying the boy's bow and his recovered arrows, kunai, and shuriken.

The Shinobi winced. He really was upset about having hurt the boy, and that cut may even end up permanently damaging him, but he couldn't think about that now.

Once Seiru saw that his former opponent was relatively safe, he turned and started away over the mountains. Now that his debt to Genbu was settled, he could begin his search for the people he had been forced to leave so long ago… The family he had left behind…

Kai woke with a groan. He felt weak, very weak, but somehow he knew he was safe.

"About time sleepyhead," Yue called out from across the room, causing Kai to jump slightly as he turned away from the wall he had been facing to find himself back in his room at Yue's house.

"How…How long was I out?" Kai croaked weakly.

"According to the girls, it's been about five hours. I just got back from my hunting trip, which was more successful than I could have imagined," Yue replied with a tone that implied some kind of hidden meaning.

Kai tried to sit up, but quickly fell back again as his head and face throbbed painfully. "Chakra drain headache," he groaned as Yue smiled sympathetically and rose from her seat to make her way over to his bedside.

"Yeah, I figured," she said, "between that and the cut on your face, I'm surprised you're conscious right now."

Kai then remembered the fight. Remembered Seiru… Remembered the searing pain of the blade cutting across his face... Slowly, Kai reached up and ran his fingers along his cheek until he met a surprisingly sore spot that marked the point where Seiru's blade had left his face.

"I managed to get the wound cleaned and closed, but I'm really no good with medical Jutsu," Yue admitted, "You will have a scar there for the rest of your life."

Kai sighed softly and lowered his hand, "But I'm still alive."

Yue gave him a small smile, "That's the way to see things. Always look on the bright side. And…" she trailed off for a moment as she stood up and walked toward the door to his room, "I have a little something more to keep your mind off things."

With a dramatic flourish, Yue opened the door to his room revealing the person who had been standing on the other side. Kai froze. Standing outside his room was a woman wearing an outfit that was nearly identical to his own, except without the vest or wristbands. She had shoulder length, bright red hair framing a face that he had seen only once since he lost his memory. A face that may have been otherwise unfamiliar, but still managed to pull at his heart with a call that only family can make.

"Kaa-san…?"

AN: There you have it, Chapter 4! I hope you like my fight scene with my newest original character and the nice little twist at the end. I apologize if things have been going too fast so far in this story. I really can't help it. I want to get through this boring stuff that I'm pretty much making up as I go along so I can get into some of the more fun parts I have planned.

A Challenge for my Readers: I want to see if anyone can identify where Seiru's fighting stance came from. To be completely honest, I didn't realize who I was copying until my brother (Momotaro Kyo) read it and told me. I will give you one hint: It is a character from another Anime series. The first one to leave a review with the correct answer will get their name put in the next chapter after they answer and an imaginary bowl of ramen in a flavor of your choice!

Jutsu List:

Doton: Shinju Zanshu no Jutsu: Earth Release: Inner Decapitation Technique

Kawarimi no Jutsu: Body Replacement Technique

By the way, if you read this note, leave me a review telling me that you did. I want to see how many people read my useless ramblings. And for those of you who don't review because you don't have anything to say; now you do. Just say, "I read your author's note and so I'm posting this review," or something like that. : )