AYYYY LMAO I HAVE YET TO DO ANY WORK ON THE FOLLOWING CHAPTER! Guys, I don't wanna abandon this like all my other stories, help me. Okay so a big fucking thank you to all your follows and favorites! Huge help with the story and please by all means enjoy this chapter!
When Kouken awoke, he was greeted by white lights, white halls, and people dressed in white. Was he in heaven? Absolutely not, the narrator said to himself, if anything all that stealing would land you in hotter climate but thankfully for Kouken, and the narrator, he was in the hospital. As soon as he woke he wanted to know what happened and if he passed or not. Sadly, the moment he woke, he was met with a psychiatric evaluation, so that meant more questions. A lot more.
The Yamanaka that was viewing him had swore he didn't peek inside his mind, but Kouken wasn't so sure. This guy knew everything about him and even things he didn't say out loud, so he must've taken a swan dive into his mind while he was out. Even more infuriating was the fact that this guy didn't know anything if he had passed or not, just that he was ordered by Lord Hokage to perform an evaluation. So Kouken had to explain everything leading up to the events of his meltdown and almost suicide.
Apparently, the man believed what had caused this was that Kouken was barely holding on financially and when the eviction notice came desperation and fear set it. That fear and desperation was accented by his daily interactions with people who have already lost in life and made the fear of becoming one of them more physical. His subconscious fear of fading away was projected and amplified by the accumulation of all that and the stress of his future hinging on a test a week away. Kouken had felt that if he failed the test he would fail in life and as a shinobi and all this lead to his meltdown which was brought to bear during the test.
That was what the man wrote in his report; however, he didn't get this far without noticing warning signs. The man, Inochi, believed that these fears wouldn't go away on their own; but hoped that with a sensei to teach and guide him, his fear of inferiority, and by proxy, failing would subside. That being said, Inochi did write for the boy to have check-ups so that they may monitor him and ensure that everything goes smoothly.
To himself, Inochi had to admit there were a startling amount of similarities between him and another famous psychological case that didn't end well. He only hoped that this time things would go differently otherwise they would be forced to take cautionary actions.
After their meeting, Inochi bid the boy goodbye and he just laid there…waiting. For something.
'I'm soooooooooooo bored! Holy Fuck! Is this part of my evaluation? Is this another test to see if I crack? Did that Yamanaka plant that thought in my head to make me believe that when it's not true? Or is that what he wanted me to think so I would act normally and they could evaluate me more accurately? Wait…What were they evaluating me for? Oh yeah, suicide bomber. I wonder if that Anko chick is okay? Am I okay? What really can be considered, 'Okay?' Is there any purpose to life other than just being, 'Okay?'
Alrighty then, the narrator has officially decided to never narrate Pinkie's mind when he's bored. They can take it off his paycheck, but he is not narrating that retarded babble. Honestly, this kid wants to be a ninja so bad, but he's too busy trying to figure out the philosophical and physical definition of okay to notice that Anko chick is standing right there.
Anko sighed as she looked at the brat's face. He looked lost, broken almost…'I bet he thinks he failed.' Anko would get flashes of that wild look in his eyes and think back to a time when that was much more common to her. And to think that this brat was on the Reserved Forces; there was so much potential and his file was so outdated that it showed all this new development was done on his own time. To get that strong all by yourself, Anko almost felt giddy at the thought of training this kid. But first she had to bring him back to life, to tell him that he won't fade away, and, most of all, that she would be his sen-
"Yep! The word, "Okay," can most definitely not be used as a psychological term for it being too neutral. Man that was really bothering me!" He said out loud, completely interrupting Anko's touching internal monologue.
Speaking of Anko, she wasn't doing "Okay" anymore; in fact, she was three hundred percent sure her new student was autistic. Great.
"Hey, brat!" She said as she smacked his feet to get his attention.
"Oh! Anko, right? Yeah…..Sorry for trying to blow you up. No hard feelings?" He asked as he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.
"Yeah and no, there's definitely some, "Hard feelings," but we'll get to that later." She said as she made air quotes with her fingers. "I bet you're wondering if you passed, huh?" Like a switch all relaxed demeanor in the boy vanished and was replaced with lethal seriousness.
"Yes."
"You did."
"Great."
"That's it?"
"Waiting for you to leave to celebrate. You're hot and all but this hospital gown is drafty."
"Well then get dressed and meet me in the reception room in five." And with that she left, making her way to the waiting room. As she rounded the corner she could easily hear, "HELL FUCKING YEAH!" as if the walls were made of paper. She couldn't fight the smirk forming on her face and could already tell that training the brat would be fun.
Moments later, Kouken left the room a mess, but dressed. Since he didn't have any confetti for the occasion he tore up the curtain and made do. Sure, it was a dick move since somebody had to clean it, but he finally became a genin, so they would just have to suck it up. He found his sensei harassing some male orderly and he pitied the guy, apparently the man did not like snakes and Anko was trying to convince him otherwise by using them. Liberally.
"Anko-sensei!" He called out gaining the woman's attention and the man a chance to run.
"That feels a bit weird, we're gonna have to work on it." Anko thought for a bit after a frown filled her face, she didn't get a chance to convince the guy how great snakes were.
"Anyways, what's first?" Kouken asked as he came to a stop next to her. He was definitely chipper, and Anko couldn't wait to change that.
"Nothing yet, we're going to see the Hokage and do all the necessary paper-work." Both her and Kouken shared a look of disgust at paper-work.
"You too, huh?" She asked with a nod.
"They kept sending me applications and forums to fill out every two months to see if I had wanted to stay enlisted as a shinobi. Fucking hated it." He said with a grimace, "How bout you?"
"Being in T&I gets you a lot of paper-work, but the worst is filling out accident forums when I'm training the new guys. Pussies." Anko clearly didn't like weak-willed people, but Kouken had a feeling that his sensei was something most people couldn't handle anyway.
They made the rest of their short walk in silence and once they did arrive, Anko didn't even stop at the receptionist. Kouken did, however, and the lady working there smiled at him. Before he could even give her their appointment Anko came back and grabbed him by the ear and walked to the stairs.
"We do not socialize with the secretary. Got that brat?" She said as she twisted his ear.
"Ow! What the fuck?! No, the only person who got anything around here is you and that's my fucking ear!" Kouken yelled as he tried to get out of her vice-like grip.
Anko frowned and twisted harder until the boy finally said yes and they continued walking up the stairs. He spared a glance back and the secretary was glaring at the both of them.
"Great, now she's glaring at me too." He mumbled as he rubbed his ear.
"I'm sorry, was that a complaint I heard?" She asked sweetly. Definitely a trap.
"No, of course not! If I had a complaint, I'm sure I would need to have properly documented and filed through the proper channels." He replied sarcastically while rolling his eyes.
"Keep giving me cheek and I can just not train you." She replied with a shrug as if she didn't care.
That shut him up quickly and like their walk here, the walk to the Hokage's office was quiet. Arriving at the door and being welcomed in with after knocking, Anko and Kouken saluted before taking a seat.
The moment he arrived he could see that the Hokage wouldn't stop staring at him and it was making him nervous. Like, really nervous. He could already feel his foot bouncing up and down at breakneck speed, damn restless leg syndrome.
Hiruzen smiled in his head as he saw the boy was starting to sweat. Good to know he still had it. Smiling like any grandfather would to his grandson, the Hokage began their meeting. "Relax, my dear boy, you're not in any trouble." He could already see that his leg was slowing down.
"Sorry, Sandiame-Sama, You're literally a god." Kouken said sheepishly, and it was true! He was standing in front of the God of Shinobi! The man who had been through three wars and fought people like Onoki of Both Scales and the Sandiame Raikage. Shit, the man even fought the Kyuubi!
Said god merely chuckled and lit his pipe, "When you get to be my age, you're close enough to god that people mistake you for one." Danzou would've appreciated that elderly joke, these two young people, however, did not. "Anyways's congratulations on passing, here is your ninja registration forums, your headband, if you ever pull a suicide technique again I'll flay you alive, you shinobi bank account number, annnnd the address to turn in your Reserve-Badge. Did you get all that?" He asked warmly as he clasped his hands together and smiled.
Kouken, however, sweat-dropped. "Uhhh yeah I did, some questions though. Where can I get the headband modified like Tobirama-Sama? Also what about my living conditions? Hate to bring up the test again, but I did spend all of my money on those tags." He said ignoring the mutter of, "Retard," from his dear sensei.
"Ahhh fan of sensei's design eh? Well, since that's considered cosmetic, any shinobi store can get that done for you. As for your living arrangements, within your shinobi account is enough money for you to get a nice apartment and since you're part of the active duty forces you're privy to the discount as well. However," He said holding a hand up and pausing to capture all of the pink boy's attention, "I want to let you know that you're prevented from buying any explosive notes for a few months, thanks to that stunt you pulled. Should you attempt too I will be notified immediately." He stared gravelly at the boy watching him sweat and nod nervously.
"Great! Well that will be all, and those check-ups with the Yamanaka clan are mandatory, if you miss them I will send an ANBU to…collect you." Hiruzen watched as the boy swiftly grabbed everything on the table and bow quickly before bolting out at a speed that just would be considered not rude. He shared a smile with Anko before returning to his terrible curse of paperwork.
XXX
Anko had left him to get his things in order and told him to meet her at training ground 44 bright and early; a shame for him that she never specified what bright and early meant. Kouken had decided that he would get his housing situation done first and bought a decent apartment in the RDL closer to the markets.
The narrator was scratching his head as to why the boy would choose to stay in the RDL when he realized that the boy had liked all the info and gear you could get if you knew where to look. He supposes that the boy just liked stealing jutsu scrolls and having unlimited access to hookers.
After moving all of his stuff, which wasn't all that much, to his new apartment Kouken looked in the mirror. Noticing he was still wearing the clothes loaned from the hospital and that all he had left was the ugly green leotard even though he could've sworn he threw the damn thing out, Kouken decided to go shopping for some new clothes.
Choosing to shop in the nicer part of town with funds he ahhh acquired on the way there, Kouken vine-whipped to a place called Deathly Threads. Shrugging at the morbid name he entered the store and was greeted by stacks and stacks of clothing. Behind it all was a pretty, young blonde manning the counter. In fact, she kinda looked like the guy who evaluated him. She had platinum blonde hair styled in a lazy bun held up by senbon needles and sky blue eyes. She took notice of his clothes first and made a slight frown.
"Hi, Welcome to Deathly Threads! If you're gonna die, might as well do it looking good!" She said with a bored voice.
"Wow, that's your sales pitch? Kind of morbid dontcha think?" He asked incredulously.
"Meh, doesn't make it any less true. Anyways what can I do for you?" She asked as she continued to flip through some magazine.
"I'm looking for a whole new wardrobe." He said plainly as the girl looked at him expectantly.
"Ooookay, well what do you want? Or do you expect me to read your mind?" She asked sarcastically.
"Well to be fair, you could do that, aren't you a Yamanaka?" He said with a shrug and got a glare in return. Man, this guy was totally killing this conversation. "Alright, I was hoping for some skin tight top that goes high on my neck and is dark blue. Maybe some light brown fingerless gloves, uhhh some brown elbow pads I suppose too. Green pants and some kind of vest?" He finished questioningly. Kouken wasn't really sure, he didn't go shopping often.
The girl nodded and went to grab the items and he was left standing at the counter awkwardly. After some time waiting, the girl arrived with five sets of all that he asked and some blue shinobi sandals. She then separated three vests that were all different and laid them before him.
"Your first one is a standard imitation of the chunin vest and offers pockets for all your shinobi tools as well as increased protection, but is rather bulky and hard to move in. it's only color is grey unfortunately. This one is double layered, cloth on the outside with an interior mesh lining. Less protection, more maneuverability and easier to breathe in, but also less pockets. It comes in grey, white, blue, black, or green with a blue lining." She was about to move on to the third one when Kouken interrupted her telling that he would take the second one.
Shrugging the girl rung him up and his total took a nice chunk out of his savings from the Hokage. 'Good thing I decided to lift some pockets on the way here.' He thought happily as he switched into his new uniform and headed back to his apartment.
Now that the narrator thinks about it, he was pretty sure the kid promised to stop stealing if he made it out of the Hokage tower alive…guess that wasn't happening.
Once Kouken got to his apartment he set his bags down and flopped on his couch with a sigh.
"Hnnnnggggahhhh…." He groaned as he stretched out and kicked his feet up on the little table in front of him. Looking around he couldn't help but feel weird in this place. It was a helluva lot nicer than his old apartment and definitely wouldn't give him any respiratory issues later down the line, but there was something about his raggedy and run-down apartment that this place didn't have.
What this new place did have was a working heater and A.C. along with a television and somewhat new appliances. It had a stain free couch and a fairly decent bedroom. The walls were all painted a light blue and none of the walls had graffiti or mold. Sure his neighbors were still prostitutes and he still lived in the RDL, but to him, this place didn't feel like home yet.
"Don't tell me that I'm actually missing that shit-hole." He scoffed at the thought and crossed his arms, but the truth was just that.
'We sure did have a lot of memories there…That place was great to us and we left it behind first chance we got…' A small smile appeared and his eyes focused on a place only he could visit. 'Is that what we do? Use something for all it's worth and then leave it for an upgrade? No. That was always the plan, do everything I can now to ensure I'll be able to get better later. Accepting the conditions I lived in would only make me lose drive, and then I'll be down the same road as those druggies…'
Kouken couldn't believe that he felt like he was betraying a building and he never had any issues with leaving something for an upgrade before, but now the thought made him uneasy. First it was objects, but how much longer before it becomes people…What if it happens to him? What if Anko ditches him for a better student?
He shook his head and shot from his spot on the couch. 'Anko wouldn't be able to find a student better than me! I earned this more than anyone else and I'll prove to her and everyone else that I deserve to become a shinobi!' He walked away from the couch and moved to the bathroom, looking to splash some water on his face and take a piss.
Looking in the mirror, he stared at the clothes he bought with someone else's money. The notion left a sour taste in his mouth, and that only served to aggravate him further. He's been stealing and using those ill-gotten gains his entire life! Why, all of the sudden, does he feel ashamed about it?! Did becoming genin give him some measure of pride that doesn't allow him to steal as he used too? Does he feel that such a thing is beneath him now?
Sighing he opted to leave those thoughts for a day less busy and looked at his clothes once more. He loved the skin tight blue top because the dark color would be perfect for stealth and offered great mobility. The pants felt breathable and ended at his ankle, the green would be perfect for the environment he was in. The sandals actually fit for once and weren't old and ratty, his old ones were held together with duck-tape and smelled of a disgusting past. He got the gloves for the simple reason that a lot of his jutsu may contain toxins and deal with dangerous flowers, he did not want anything to get on his hands and the finger-free part ensured that his hand seal speed wouldn't be hampered. Elbow pads were practically cosmetic, but he was sure he would find a use for them. The reason he got the vest was because he wanted some level of protection and didn't want the skin tight top to get damaged.
Looking at the vest, Kouken realized he wasn't all that happy with the color theme but the green allowed for camouflage in the green environment of Konoha. Turning around he saw a solid blue flower in the center of the back. It had six petals and they looked rigid and sharp, almost like a shuriken. That was the best part about the vest, reminded him of his flower jutsu's and all the other ones he'd learn.
Probably help give him a cool ninja name like The Death Rose or something even more badass.
The narrator, however, had his face buried in his hand and shaking. He couldn't believe that he got stuck with a retard like Pinkie, and things were just getting good too! As crazy and desperate of a move blowing yourself up was, it still made for great narration and kept him on the edge of his seat! Now, the tard is posing in front of a mirror oblivious to how stupid he looks and by proxy, how stupid he's making the narrator look. Hell, he was sure he was getting stupider just by following the kid.
The rest of the day went by quickly, even the paperwork which should've taken years of life-force out of him because that's the toll you pay when entering hell. Still, everything that he was given the day off for was completed and for once, Kouken didn't know what to do with himself. Training felt out of the question because he wasn't sure what his sensei might have in store for him tomorrow and he didn't feel like picking fights with thugs because he wasn't hurting for cash anymore. So Kouken decided that the rest of his day would be spent organizing and settling in to his new home.
XXX
Kouken woke with a start and immediately winced in pain. His face felt like it got slammed into concrete and his eyes stung from the bright lights.
"Hmmfgg…? HMFGHH!" The drowsiness soon wore off and his eyes widened in panic, for he was not in his bed where he remembered being. He also didn't remember going to bed with a gag in his mouth and rope binding his hands.
Looking around, Kouken had zero fucking clue where he was. What he did know, however, was that he was in a forest, tied with rope and a gag, and was hanging upside down from a tree. Oh, also his face hurt really badly for some reason. He began struggling against the binds and nothing seemed to work. He tried swinging back and forth in hopes that the branch holding him would break, but that did not work. He was left hanging there for almost an hour before some rustling of a bush alerted him.
Turning towards the sound his muffled screams seemed to draw the sound closer and Kouken felt overjoyed that somebody would finally let him down. That joy was dashed when not somebody, but some thing came ambling out of the bushes. A tiger almost three times the normal size came slinking out of the bushes, growling and barring its teeth as saliva drooled in pools from its mouth. Eyes piercing the hanging sack of meat it circled it slowly, inspecting it as if it were some kind of trap.
Kouken tried to remain deathly still, hoping that it would go away and forget about him, but when he saw it circling him and standing on its hind legs near the base of the tree Kouken felt it was most definitely the time to struggle.
"HMMFGPPH! HMFPGHHHHH!" His muffled shouts were hopeless as he started fighting against the ropes holding him with fear and desperation fueling him. He didn't want to die here as a snack to some stupid tiger!
Said stupid tiger watched the meat sack struggle, following it swing back and forth with its head and attempted to swat it out the air. Every time his giant paws and razor-sharp claws whooshed through the air, it missed its meal by inches. Finally growing tired of this the tiger clawed its way up the tree and tried slashing at it every time it came back towards the trunk.
Kouken would be shitting his pants but all he had on was his boxers and an old white t-shirt. One swipe came so close that it cut through a good portion of the rope and giving him access to one of his arms. Thinking quickly he sent out a vine to another tree and began pulling himself towards it. The branch he was on started to bend and continued to do so until he was practically touching the other tree and safely away from the retarded tiger.
Said retarded tiger, glared at the meat sack for making things so difficult and dropped from the tree he was in and began to make his way towards the other one. Finally reaching the base and looking up, it's eyes met the meat sack and growled. The meat sack just stuck one of its claws and spat in the tiger's eye.
Pinkie really hated this day. With a sigh he instantly severed the vine holding him and was instantly launched through the trees and away from the tiger. Apparently the force was enough to tear the rope where it was wrapped around his branch but, he was still bound by together by his wrists and ankles along with the gag.
Shooting through the forest and not being able to direct where you go was not fun. Neither was hitting every damn branch without being able to shield yourself. The worst of it however, was coming to a sudden stop by some sticky string that covered the trees.
It was then, that he realized he was the proud owner of arachnophobia.
~~~~~With the Hokage~~~~~
Hiruzen stared into his crystal ball watching the boy go from tiger food to spider food all within the span of ten minutes. His sensei, who should be watching over him in case something goes wrong, was looking over his shoulder to see how her brat was doing. He was assured that there was a clone watching over him, but he wasn't so sure.
Putting away the ball, he cleared his throat and stared at Anko until she got back in her seat across from him. "Now Anko, having a student is a big responsibility as you are the one who determines just what kind of shinobi he'll be. It's a big burden to carry, but do you have any idea on how to figure that out?" He asked as he lit his favorite pipe.
"This survival test will tell me just what he specializes in; how he reacts to his environment, how he handles threats, food, and such all tell me what he'll be good and bad in." She said nonchalantly. Anko may look like she doesn't put a lot of thought into things and is all stabby-stabby, but she was chosen by Orochimaru for a reason. She was a genius and the top of her class; the reason it looks like she doesn't think much is because she doesn't have too.
"How long do you plan to keep him there?" He asked taking a puff of his pipe.
"Ehhh depends on how long it'll take me to see all that I need. Could be one day to three depending on how many fields he could go into." Anko was adopting the deep-end method of training. If you drop somebody in the deep-end and their personality type is to always come out on top then the only way for them to succeed is by learning to deal. The benefits of such a method were indeed obvious, but it wouldn't work for everyone. The only reason why Anko is doing it is because his actions leading up to his test, his lifestyle, and his results from the psyche evaluation all show that he is just the type of person able to withstand it all.
Or he might just break and she would have to re-build him in her own image. Meh, whichever worked just fine with her.
"Anko." The hokage said gaining her attention and leveling her with a serious look. "The boy has had a shaky start and there are those who don't believe he is psychologically fit for a shinobi lifestyle, myself included." He noticed how Anko gripped her chair tighter at that; after all, she was almost retired for the same reasoning. "But we hope that you prove us wrong. Kouken shows great promise as a shinobi and it is imperative that you provide a strong foundation that can withstand the potential attacks this life style will bring."
"I understand perfectly Hokage-sama, I won't let you down." She said with a salute and turned to walk out the door, but was given one last word from her leader.
"It won't be me who will be let down Anko. It's not my dream that's at stake." With that he spun his chair around and went back to scrying the boy's test.
~~~~~With Pinkie~~~~~
Kouken gasped as he pulled his head from the river and flopped on the muddy bank. Today, he was nearly eaten by a tiger, then by a spider, then a giant snake, and finally a massive centipede. If he didn't hate any of those species before, well then he sure as shit did now. He managed to free himself by spitting that academy campfire jutsu in the spider's face when it was inches away and then at the web holding him hostage. Funny thing about spider webs, regardless if the spider that spun it is the size of a large boulder, is that fire travels fast.
Before he knew it, him and about a dozen spiders that were occupying themselves on that web were free falling to the ground. Luckily for him, he managed to vine-whip away; some of the spiders weren't so lucky. He could hear the angered screeching and mandible clicking even as he practically flew away.
'Ugh…Mandible clicking…reminds me of the centipede!' He shuddered and it wasn't from the lack of clothes. He didn't rest in another tree after that until he reached the river he was at.
Taking stock of his situation, he had no shinobi tools, no shinobi clothing, no supplies or rations, not even a fucking inkling of an idea of his location besides somewhere in Konoha, and completely unsure of how he got here. Hell, he didn't even know why his face had been sucker-punched and by whom!
Leaning down to get another drink of water, Kouken thought of a plan. 'First things first is that I need to get some food. Possibly something that isn't three times the size of me and able to devour me. Then I need to find shelter and after that, I'm going to follow this river until civilization.'
Gotta hand it to the kid, for being shit up a creek and without a paddle he sure adapts fast. Now the narrator has got some interesting material to work with! Hopefully the kid doesn't become something else's lunch like he almost did several times today.
Standing up from the river, Kouken looked around for a branch to fashion into a makeshift fishing rod. After finding a suitable branch he used a vine as some string and began fishing. And he was there for hours. Unfortunately, the boy didn't have any kind of bait and if he found some, he had no hook to put it on. Without a hook it was damn near impossible to catch any fish, but through some determination, grit, and enough new swear word combinations to fill a book our brave hero held two fishes in his hands.
Actually it was hand, singular. Due to the size of his fish, Kouken could hold both fishes in one hand and was probably the reason as to why his eye was twitching erratically.
"Of all the….For a forest filled of monstrous animals, I manage to catch the two smallest fish here. Okay, ya know what? Food is food and I'm too hungry to bitch." He said to himself as he speared both of the fishes and brought them to a cave on the opposite bank. It was dark and huge, easily accommodating his small frame.
Coming back from collecting branches and the like he was able to get a small fire going and roast his two…meager prizes. By then night had already fallen and he could hear the predators that only come during the night out and about.
Eating quickly, Kouken finished his fishes and was working on dousing the fire when a sound made him freeze. Sure, he had been listening to it all night, but this sounded as if it was right outside his cave. Shaking his head and cursing the knot in his stomach telling him to stay inside he picked up a flaming branch and walked towards the mouth of the cave.
Poking his head outside, he looked to his left and saw nothing, then he looked down the river and saw nothing, then he felt a warm breath tussle his hair from his right, and then everything went to shit.
Jumping away in alarm, Kouken managed to hit his head on the roof of the cave before dropping the torch and rolling away. By the fire of the torch, Kouken could see the form of a massive bear, one that wasn't even fully illuminated by the fire's glow. Blinking away the dazed feeling from his head, Kouken realized that this cave must've been its home and he was trespassing.
A roar had interrupted his musings and he watched in horror as the bear stood on its hind legs and come to around 25 feet tall. It dropping back to its paws alone caused him to feel tremors in the ground and Kouken knew it was time to run. Before he could even move his arm, however, the bear charged him and he was forced to channel chakra to his legs instead and jump over the massive beast. Landing with a roll away from it he was forced to duck once more as a claw swipe nearly separated his head from his shoulders.
'FUCK YOU'RE QUICK!' He rolled away once more and tried to vine whip away when he was hit with a wave of dizziness that made him stumble. Catching his head in his hand he felt warm blood coating his hair and sure enough, his palm was covered with it. Another swipe from the bear had left him sprawling as this one nearly tore his leg off, Kouken would need more time if he wanted to get away. Running through hand seals Kouken fired a wave of flaming flowers that peppered the side of the bear and left thin scratches along its side. The fur and fat must've been too thick for any damage to be done. Backing up with the bear advancing Kouken felt chained to limited options due to his limit in jutsu's. Just when his back hit the cave wall he sent out three bushins to run in all different directions to occupy the bear, unfortunately for Kouken, the bushins met an abrupt end by another paw swipe and Kouken was brought to his knees with nausea. The head wound was really starting to wear on the boy and things were not looking good.
The bear raised his giant arm and lashed out with one final swipe that shattered some of the stone of the cave; but the main thing that got shattered was the bear's claws. Kouken dived under its belly at the last second and rolled away behind it, just as it roared in agony and turned slightly to face him. Going through another set of hand seals Kouken Shouted, "Hana Ninpo: Natsui Hana!" and sent a barrage of flaming, spinning flower petals at the massive bear's face.
Kouken didn't waste any time and vine-whipped as the bear thrashed around in agony. Apparently, his move had been effective and taken out one of the bastard's eyes as well as cutting deep enough that it would definitely leave scars.
Kouken didn't get very far with the gash on his head now making him light-headed, but he made sure to get far enough that he couldn't hear the bear's roars. Jumping down from the trees, Kouken channeled some chakra to his eyes and strained to see in the dark. What he was looking for was certain type of flower, white petals with a golden yellow center. If he could find one and ground it up into a paste, he could apply it to his head wound to help with healing, as well as, ensure it didn't get infected. It took some time, but sure enough he found one and went to work grinding it on some bark and with his fist.
He truly thought flowers were awesome, the shit that one could do with one! Create a poison, not a problem! Create a cure, sure thing! Sharpen them with chakra and send them spinning at an enemy like shuriken whilst on fire, easy-peasy! By the time he finished his knuckles were red and raw. Scooping it into his hand he began dabbing it gently on to the gash and wincing as the disinfection properties worked their magic. Then he tore a long strip off of his shirt and tied it around his head to work as a bandage.
Satisfied, Kouken then took to the trees once more and stayed amongst the highest of branches and attempt to get some rest. Sleep did not bless him that night.
XXX
Kouken was found hopping along the trees the moment there was light in the sky and he was pushing himself at a rather hard pace. He had already spent one night in this hellhole and nearly died for it, and he desperately wanted to find his way back to safety soon. He looked like hell too, with a torn shirt wrapped around his head, mud, dirt, and some blood coating his body and only being covered with some boxers. So focused on just moving forward our pink haired hero was he was caught completely caught off guard when something slammed into his back and sent him hurtling towards the ground.
"fuuuuuuUUUUUCKKKKKK!" He screamed as the ground came closer and closer, but he saved himself from a sickening splat with a quick vine. Still, his landing was rather rough and he did land a bit awkwardly on his ankle, but the boy seemed no worse for wear.
Searching the canopy for whatever knocked him off he only caught the movement after it had left to a new spot. Soon enough a familiar clacking filled the air and by the time Kouken realized what attacked him it was already too late to run.
A giant spider spun down from the canopy after closing off the entire area in a web with the help of its brothers and sisters. Landing in front of the meat sack, the spider seemed to glare at our hero, and although spiders are ugly to begin with this one seemed to be even worse. Upon closer inspection and by close the narrator means thirty yards away and with a binocular, he discovered that its face was coated in burns, as if someone spat a flame jutsu at point blank range! Kouken seemed to realize this as well.
"D'ahh fuck, you're smart enough to hold a grudge?!" He moaned in dismay, if this spider was smart enough then what about the tiger, centipede, snake, and bear?! Kouken flew through hand seals just as the thing came skittering towards him and he managed to land a kick that sent the spider sailing backwards.
"Ninpo: Goriki, bitch." He said with a snarl as he rushed the spider who was already back on its feet, and performed a sliding kick. In hindsight this wasn't a good idea because he just narrowly managed to avoid a stinger when the spider collapsed onto him. Seizing his chance he gripped the stinger and pulled with all his enhanced might. Its screeching was soon followed with a disgusting squelch that coated our hero in a pale blue ichor as he held the spider's stinger in his hand. Not to waste a chance he jumped over the back and drove the thing down through the top of the skull.
It twitched once. Twice. Then buckled, finally dead.
Kouken panted with exertion as the whole ordeal scared the living shit out of him and happened so fast that he was still processing it all. Processing time seemed to be over as a series of screeches and equally pissed off mandible clicking surrounded him. Taking that as the cue to split, Kouken lashed a vine to the tallest branch he could reach and swung out of there.
Again he was almost trapped by the web and a spider waiting for him, but his flaming flower jutsu burnt away the web and severed majority of the spider's legs. Looking back he could see it hit every branch on the way down before being set upon by smaller predators.
'THIS PLACE IS FUCKING CRAZY!' He cried to himself in a mixture of anger and fear.
How did he go from first day of training to fighting steroid-pumped forest critters for survival?! Kouken continued to run until an issue of hydration forced him to stop. Reaching the floor below, he realized he was still gripping the spider's stinger tightly and had to use his other hand to pry his fingers off. Getting a drink and repeating the process he did yesterday, Kouken ate his fill of tiny fish and tried to get some rest. Now, however, he felt marginally better about having a weapon as he had tied the spider's stinger to a stick and created a makeshift spear. Now imbued with a small sense of security, Kouken managed to grab some much needed rest.
~~~~With the Anko's~~~~~
Anko walked into a massive room that had two giant stone hands set into a hand seal where she was greeted by…herself? The room currently had five Anko's in it, not including the one who had just walked in and all were conversing with each other. The narrator prepped a bottle of aspirin and some whiskey in case this turned south.
"Alright guys, whaddaya got for me? How's the brat been doing?" She asked as she took a bite of her dango that she picked up on the way here.
"Surprisingly well, the kid's made of sturdier stuff." One said as she eyed the dango greedily.
"Yeah, although it did take him a while to get out of the starting stage he's been on the move since." A second said while playing with a kunai.
"His combat reflexes and survival instinct isn't buried very deep and easily comes to the surface with little need of coaxing, unfortunately, he's got the worst luck I've ever seen." Anko number three said while the two before here either nodded or snorted.
"What's that mean? Who gives a shit about luck, we aren't gamblers." The real Anko said with a confused look. They were shinobi, not a Tsunade in training.
"Well…since he's got here, he has run into a giant tiger, spider, snake, centipede, and bear. Somehow, the little shit managed to bump into chakra mutated versions of them and, after a small fight, he bails. Every fight, he's left the animals with a parting gift and they're tearing up the forest looking for the brat." The fourth explained while she pointed back to the third to continue.
"This is how we've been able to see how well he fights and survives in there. He has a firm grasp on his situation, the resources available to him, and also knowledge of the local flora. He got a pretty bad head wound from the bear encounter and was able to create basic treatment with the paste from grinding Fireshade Glowbells; guess he knows more about flowers than just jutsu. I'm willing to bet he would take well to poison training." The third then shrugged and went back to conversing with her two compatriots.
"Ooookaaay, well what else happened that I should know about?" The real Anko asked as she felt a migraine coming on and it wasn't from her late night drinking.
"The spiders caught up with him again and he managed to kill their hunting party leader; got his stinger on a spear as a weapon now. I'm pretty sure the spiders now are combing the forest and the queen's been on the move, seems she's royally pissed off. The kid's been slowly making his way towards the tower, but at his speed and by his luck, I'd say he's due for some more encounters with his forest buddies." The fifth and final one said with her hands stuffed in her pockets and chewed on a senbon needle.
This impressed Anko greatly, she was sure the kid would collapse after one and a half days here and yet here he was, going strong with a kill under his belt. Since all the clones were still here that meant the kid still had more to show and more to suffer until they would see the most basic and primal version of the boy. She told the Hokage three days at most, but it seemed this kid would be here for longer…
~~~~Back with Shithead, 5 Days within the Forest~~~
The Narrator seemed to be short on patience, perhaps he wants a change in scenery almost as bad as Kouken does. Speaking of, let's see how he's doing.
"I HOPE YOUR SPECIES GOES FUCKING EXTINCT!" Kouken yelled over his shoulder and got an angry skittering in response before the branch he was on exploded in a shower of splinters.
Well…there's a saying that no change can be seen as good change. It could always get worse for him.
Kouken vine-whipped away and continued running for his life from a seriously pissed off centipede. Kouken was now three hundred percent sure that these forest creatures were not normal, barring the sheer size of them. He was positive that they knew how to hold grudges and were tracking him down. The centipede he ran into early that tried to digest him got a big scar running down his armored back from and overpowered Hana Ninpo: Natsui Hana and this one was sporting the same wound. Not to mention the coloration was the same, greyish body with a red and black chitin coloration.
"SCREEEEE!" He heard before he had to swing from the branch he was on from his legs as the annoying shit tried to bite his head off. Falling to the ground Kouken righted himself in mid-air and launched two vines out to form his bungee technique to launch him back into the trees, keeping him off the ground. Kouken learned early on that the only times he should go to the ground is when he's by the river or when he's in a cave. Any other time just opens him up to attack from all sorts of predators; at least when he's in the tree's there is only an 'x' amount of species that can reach him.
Launching himself back into the air, he was going too fast to block the body slam the centipede threw at his back. Impacting hard into a tree and landing ungracefully on a branch, Kouken grabbed his side and coughed some up some blood.
'Shit! I can't treat interal wounds! I gotta get outta here or I'm going to die!' he thought with wide and fearful eyes that searched the trees for the crawly. Setting his spear down, Kouken went through the hand seals for Ninpo: Goriki and readied himself in a taijutsu stance. The shell was too strong for his scorching flower jutsu to do any damage and the only reason the other one did was because he pumped a ridiculous amount of chakra into it. He needed to shatter the shell and stab Crawly with his spider spear.
He didn't have to wait long as he jumped high of his branch and tried to perform a falling heel kick on the shell covering its head when it rushed his position. At the last second he had to divert his momentum and just narrowly dodged the pincers that were going to impale him. Still, he didn't get away free as he skidded onto a different branch clutching his left bicep. Pulling his hand away with a sharp wince he could see a long cut running from his elbow to his shoulder and bleeding a good amount. He would have to find more Fireshade Glowbells or this would definitely get infected.
Glaring up at Crawly which seemed to sway mockingly Kouken flashed through hand seals and sent his Hana Ninpo: Natsui Hana at the branch holding the beast up in hopes the branch would break and/or the fire would damage his soft underbelly. Both happened as the fire spread quickly and Crawly thrashed in outrage causing the branch to snap sending it spiraling towards the ground. Grinning victoriously and seeing his chance the pinkette jumped down after it spinning with his foot pointed straight at it. From his height the kick would be exponentially stronger and Crawly would have no chance to block or recover.
Sure enough Crawly hit the ground hard and bounced slightly only for Kouken to drive his foot through the shell and straight into its head with a sickening squelch. Kouken stood with his right leg buried up to his mid-thigh in the disgusting brain of the beast and was having trouble dislodging himself.
"Fucking disgusting, ugh, I can feel it twitching…." He moaned as he finally pulled his leg free. Staring at the corpse he looked at his hands and then its thick chitin armor and sighed. "This'll be disgusting, I just know it." Shaking his head the boy crouched and began pulling at the plates, ripping them off and putting them to the side. After grabbing around four of them he picked them up and made for the river that he made sure to never stray too far from. Bending over at the bank he washed each of them out and once they were clean of all the…bodily fluids, he began making vines and tearing them. Using the vines as rope he attached three of the plates together and draped it over his back to protect him. The fourth one went on his right forearm and was big enough to be a tiny shield. From there he washed out his newly acquired wound and searched for his miracle flower. Almost ten minutes later our hero had covered the wound and tore another strip of his raggedy white shirt off for bandaging.
Flopping on to the ground and realizing just how tired he was Kouken began splashing himself with water. 'I really need to get out of here. Forget civilization, I just need to find a way out of this fucked up forest.' He thought to himself as he stared at his reflection in the water. He didn't want to even think it but the recent encounters have always been close calls, and each time he truly felt the fear of death.
It was strange coming from someone who was ready to commit suicide, but it was different when the death wasn't on your own terms and you wanted to live. Kouken finally had a shot at living, at making something of himself, and he was terrified to die because of it. The fear had been constant, even now he feels it just by being in the forest, but during those fights, right when things became too much, he felt his body just snap. One minute he was facing off against them barely living and the next he was rolling under them and ripping their stinger out.
'What's happening to me?' he stared at his hand, clenching and unclenching it before he stood up. He would have his crisis later, right now he had to keep moving. Somehow those animals were tracking him and even though he got rid of the Creepy & Crawly, he still had to deal with the tiger, snake, and bear.
After jumping into the treeline and going much further than he expected he realized that, once again, he had forgotten about deactivating his Ninpo: Goriki. Kouken berated himself for developing such a dangerous habit. If he wasn't careful it would kill him; after all, there were stories where techniques that stayed active ended up killing shinobi in their sleep because they forgot to deactivate it. Not to mention he really needed to conserve his chakra considering his situation. Strangely enough, he didn't feel so tired after deactivating it. Kouken chalked it up to his mind playing tricks on him and he didn't have it active as long as he thought he did.
Climbing to the top of the tallest tree nearby Kouken tried to search for any landmarks that might help him. To his south he could make out the Hoakge Monument, so that meant he was definitely still in Konoha and closer towards him going northeast was a tower that seemed completely out of place in this hellhole. That was where he would go, the tower, and find people to help him back towards his village.
Now that he could see his home he began to panic, thinking that Anko had given up on him for missing their first day of training and he would lose everything. The fear and desperation that once tormented him came back full force and before he knew it he was already speeding towards the tower heedless of pace or energy conservation.
'I can't go back, I can't go back, I can't go back, I can't go back, I can't go back…' The narrator frowned at this, he knew it would go on for hours and it didn't feel right. When he looked at Kouken he saw a boy trying desperately, and admirably, to make something of himself. He saw someone with a lot of potential and somebody who bitches like it's a hobby. He didn't like seeing this though.
Kouken didn't rest at all that day and he ran through the night as well against better judgement. He only slept for four hours and after a quick fish and drink he was off again. This would be his fifth day in the forest and he was determined to make it his last. He looked like absolute hell.
His eyes were dimmed with dark shadows under them. His hair caked with dirt, mud, and blood. His body was covered in pale blue ichor, mud, blood, black juices, and a rag-tag shirt that covered the upper right side of his chest and shoulder. His armor was scratched and in total he had the look of a man who was all instinct.
The night had hammered him with numerous predators trying to grab a bite and he had fought them all off as he continued forwards, luckily he didn't run into the more serious contenders. It began raining sometime after sunrise and by now it was absolutely pouring, drenching him and giving him a quick shower for the first time in five days.
Just then he felt a tingle and his hairs stand on end when he spring boarded off his branch and launched his scorching flower jutsu where he was standing. Hearing a furious hiss Kouken knew that he was dealing with the giant snake from earlier and now that he could see it in daylight its size was staggering. It was almost 45 feet long and as wide as the spiders. And right now, it was staring directly at him with golden eyes interrupted with black slits almost as tall as himself.
Blood was leaking out of thin cuts on its face and snout curtesy of Kouken's almost reflexive attack and all he could do was stare. He was struck still by the snake's piercing gaze, paralyzed with fear, forced to only be able to follow the swaying of its head with his eyes as it drew closer.
Sweat poured down his face and all Kouken wanted to do was run as far away from here as he could. He could see his own death play before like a vision. The snake would shoot forward with fangs bared and swallow both him and the branch he stood upon.
This would be his end. This snake would be the reason for him to fade away. The snake was now inches from his face and its forked tongue flicked out as if it was tasting its meal. It began rearing its head back and Kouken could already feel his existence begin to unravel.
And that's when it happened. Kouken snapped.
Instantly channeling his ninpo: Goriki and launched a kick at the snakes chin sending the head reeling backwards. His dim eyes didn't even flicker as he launched his vines to wrap around the beast's head and with a mighty tug he slammed the snake into the thick branch he was standing upon.
It thrashed and writhed in anger but all Kouken did was chain the snake to the tree with more vines until it could barely move. Staring down at it, unblinking and unfazed, straight into its once paralyzing eyes, Kouken rammed his spider spear straight through its eye.
Its cries rang through the forest accompanied by squelch after squelch until all went silent.
Kouken continued onwards at a pace that his body could never reach before and his eyes showed no strain or fatigue. In fact, there was nothing to be found in the boy's eyes. No spark of emotion or proof of humanity. This was Kouken taken over by his combative reflexes, driven by a singular goal to never fade away.
It was hours later that Kouken had finally arrived at the tower that always seemed miles away. Now that he stood there in front of its doors, he stood there confused, unsure if he should knock or just go in. He almost didn't believe that it was finally over, that he was safe and had survived this hellhole. He reached for the door and pulled, awaiting the safety with life back in his eyes. Tears of joy almost fell, derived of sheer exhaustion of both mental and physical nature.
But the doors did not open. Not after his first pull and not after he pounded and shouted in helplessness. His safety was denied and he couldn't get in, he would die out here because of a locked door!
'Why, why, why, why, why, whywhywhywhywhywhywhywhyWHYWHYWHY?!' He cried with tears falling from almost crazed eyes. And then sound came back to his world.
First it was a low, deep growl.
Next was an angry chittering, with clicking mandibles.
And finally came an angry roar.
Slowly, Kouken turned around to see the giant tiger from his first day slink forward with hunched shoulders and dipped head. Its eyes glaring at the evasive meat sack in front of it and it let loose a terrible roar. Next to it on its left came a spider so massive that it was nearly three times the size of the one he had killed, spiraling down from a web as its cold, numerous, black eyes boring into him as its angry clacking sent green saliva everywhere with a sizzle. And on its right came the massive one eyed bear, complete with a face that was coated in a disgusting mixture of burns and infected cuts.
Kouken's mind couldn't take this torture anymore, these creatures hounded him through the forest and although he had killed three of them, here the other three stand, side by side. They didn't even fight each other, in fact, their common hatred seemed to coax them into working together.
His pupil expanded until none of his blue iris's remained, and then completely contracted into nothingness. Pupil now completely gone, the blue of his eyes surged forward, devouring even the white that once surrounded it until his entire eye was his deep, dark blue.
Chakra and instinct exploded from his body in a violent and chaotic mess as he screamed. He screamed in anger, fear, despair, and rage unconsciously lacing it with chakra and making it resound for miles. The storm seemed to pick up in ferocity as the rain fell even harder and the wind buffeted his body. Pink hair whipping wildly in the wind he blasted toward the tiger at speeds he didn't realize he had and kicked the tiger in the jaw, cracking teeth and sending it skidding back across the clearing.
Turning on heel, he used vines to pull himself up to a tree branch narrowly missing a glob of acid spat by the spider queen and instead hitting the bear's side. Before the bear could attack its ally for the sizzling wound in its side Kouken launched himself toward the spider, propelled by gravity and sped by his vine-bungee, and pierced its giant sac with his spider spear. Back-flipping away from the spider who was thrashing in agony Kouken went through hand seals and launched a super-charged Hana Ninpo: Natsui Hana at the open wound, causing it to widen and pour blood at a lethal rate.
The bear seemed to not forgive the spider as its acid was still eating into its side that now exposed muscle and bone and charged it. Swiping with its claws it had severed four of the giant arachnid's legs and caused it to fall where it finished the fight by clamping its jaws into the soft underbelly.
However, Kouken was not idle in this as the tiger was beginning to get its bearings once more. Rushing the dazed beast, Kouken began wrapping its limbs in vines and neighboring trees at odd angles. Before the tiger could begin struggling in earnest, Kouken tugged hard on to vines and sent the tiger's head slamming into a thick and sturdy tree.
"JUST FUCKING DIE ALREADY!" He roared, giving voice to all his anger and frustrations once more before the sound of flesh meeting something harder filled the clearing.
First hit shook the branches.
Second hit made the tree groan
Third hit had toppled the tree and the tiger's struggling had ceased completely.
Finally Kouken was left with the bear, who was limping towards him and trying to cover its decayed side. It let out an anger roar that was cut short abruptly as Kouken had already sped towards it and shoved his spider spear through its weakened ribs to pierce the heart. Like a puppet cut from the strings, the bear crumpled to the ground.
He walked away from the scene, panting and eyes covered with drenched hair. His intent on getting inside the tower was the only thing pushing him forward when his vision began to darken. Dropping to one knee in pools of mud and blood, the last sight he saw before exhaustion claimed him was the tower doors opening and his sensei walking out.
And that's a wrap! Whew, this one was my longest yet, and was a total pain to edit. I just want to make clear that this isn't so much of a power-up as it is a…evolution. Consider what happened to him similar to what happened to Mikasa in Attack on Titan when she was a child. A traumatic experience had removed all of her body's inherit limiters and is now stronger. Anyway, a chapter this long was kinda hard for me because I kept losing my place at times and began to forget when I should break something up into different paragraphs so please let me know if anything needs fixing in the reviews. As always, any questions, comments, and/or concerns will be answered if you P.M. me or put up a review.
This is Laxtastic signing off!