Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any other affiliated characters, locations or ideas. I do own all original content including characters, locations, jutsu and plot lines. Likeness to any real people or places is unintentional and coincidental.
Chapter 04: The Neverending Storm
Part 2
- Amegakure -
Two days into his relaxation period, however, Junichi woke with a start to find someone sitting on his lap and staring in confusion into his face. "What? What happened?" he asked, noting the heavy sound of his own breathing. What had he been doing in his sleep!
"You called me Temari-chan. Were you dreaming about another girl?" a woman with green tresses wondered, a smirk tugging at her lips as she leaned in to press their foreheads together. "Who is she, Junichi-kun?" It only took him another moment to realize where he was and who the woman was. He found that it was actually Koyoko sitting on his lap, though they were still on the living room couch.
"Temari-chan?" Junichi blinked a couple times to clear his head as he tried to remember what his dream had been about. "No, she's just some genin I knew when I lived in Sunagakure. I must have been remembering a training session I had with her once, though I don't know why. I doubt I'll ever even see that girl again." he figured with a shrug. "Wow!" he gasped when Koyoko pressed herself against him and nuzzled his neck, her hair managing to tickle his nose as she did. He'd always loved how Koyoko wore her hair: styled in three ponytails high on her head, each set with a platinum ring.
"Well, if you were just dreaming about training, then I have nothing to worry about. If you don't love this chick, then you're not going to abandon us to run off and be with her."
"Not a chance." Junichi agreed breathlessly. Even knowing that Koyoko was a tease who maintained a healthy level of pride in her body, he couldn't help but react to her close contact. The Hidden Rain completely rocked compared to what he had in the Hidden Sand!
Koyoko chuckled as she pulled back and smiled at him. "There's a reason I woke you up, though. You just got another solo mission to carry out, desho ne!"
"I met another girl who uses that desho ne dialect. I really like it, desho ne." Junichi chuckled, though he stopped when Koyoko doubled over holding her stomach as she laughed heartily at him. He frowned when she climbed off of his lap, covering his mouth in a feeble attempt to contain her laughter. "What? Did I say it wrong?"
"Hehehe... that's the usage that only girls use, silly!" Koyoko laughed, her eyes watering from her mirth as she stalked around the room laughing. "You're too cute! Guys are supposed to use 'desho ka', you know! Otherwise you just sound like a sissy, desho ne?"
"...I'll just keep the way I already talk..." Junichi grumbled as he climbed off of the sofa and stretched. When he was done flexing he dropped back onto the seat and patted the cushion next to him, asking for Koyoko to sit next to him. Just as he'd hoped, the jounin sat close enough that her leg brushed against his. "Did they tell you what they wanted me to do on this solo mission?"
"Just take the list of which genin are going to participate in the chuunin exam this year to the village hosting the war games. Nothing too dangerous, of course." Koyoko replied with the kind of shrug that caused her assets to bounce deliciously; obviously it was her intention all along by the knowing grin she gave Junichi when he found himself staring. "I could go with you if you like."
"Nah. I think I'd like a little time to myself, actually. Junichi declined meekly as he rubbed the back of his head, smiling slightly in hopes that he didn't hurt her feelings too much. She was already killing him now; but when they got to the Hidden Sand and she realized how hot it was outside... His head could explode. "Any idea where the exam is being held?"
"I don't know, I didn't think to check. It should be Konoha next, because Takigakure had it last." Koyoko mentioned thoughtfully as she tapped a finger against her chin, seeming uneffected by the rejection. "There are some very pretty girls in Konoha, so don't forget to take your time and enjoy yourself. You like pretty girls, desho ne?"
"I'm seeing plenty of them right here, but I'll try to enjoy myself."
"Oh, you flirt!" Koyoko laughed as she rose from the sofa and pulled him up after her, "Go ahead and get ready; I'll be waiting for you to get back."
Junichi decided to take his time getting to the mission distribution center. When he arrived, he strolled into the office and flashed his Amegakure ID to the receptionist, who directed him to the door which served genin. Upon entering, Junichi was urged up to a chuunin nearly hidden behind a wall of pipes and tubes, only a square cut at face level allowed the two to interact. "Yeah, I have a mission to deliver the names for the chuunin exam." he claimed.
"Yes, you were." the middle-level ninja acknowledged as he shifted some papers around out of sight. "Here you are, bro." the guy said as a tube opened and a scroll appeared inside a bin that swung out, "You are to take this to the Kazekage in Sunagakure and return immediately."
Junichi jerked his head up from the scroll to get a good look at the chuunin. "Hey, is that such a good place for someone like me to go? Sunagakure and kind of have a history." That was where Baki of the Sand and his student Temari lived; he wasn't quite ready to reveal to them where he'd ended up. At least until he had more to show for it.
"Why? Are you tempted to stay there? Would you honestly go back to the people who enslaved your mind and treated you like a piece of shit?" the knowing chuunin queried softly, his eyes carefuly locked with Junichi's.
"It wasn't quate as bad as you make it sound. What I'm more concerned with is..." but he paused. Concerned about being captured and tortured by Sand ninja? As if he'd be captured by anyone! "Never mind. I'll be back before Friday. I hope."
"You'd better. Captain Mamaji has requested a dangerous mission for around that time; it'd be unfortunate to mess up so early in your career by missing something this important." the chuunin warned darkly, keeping his eyes fixed carefully on Junichi. Gulping slightly, the teen accepted the scroll and stuffed it into the front of his shirt before making his way out of the building to begin on the day long journey back to the land of his childhood. Well, at the very least he was guaranteed a lot of alone time; it was something he hadn't enjoyed since living by himself in Sunagakure.
- Elsewhere -
Temari and the other genin gaped in awe as they followed their chuunin escorts across the threshhold into Amegakure; they had never seen a city quite like it before in their lives. Thankfully it had stopped raining by now, though it was only a matter of time before it started up again. Temari quickened her step so she could approach the two Rain ninja with a question, "I take it that I'm supposed to be giving this-"
"We're." one of the students, the fat genin that had been rescued from his fall, corrected with a grunt. His teammates had been too busy whispering to each other about the pipes and steam vavles to notice.
"Whatever." Temari relented with a roll of her eyes, sighing in annoyance at the interruption. "We're taking this to the leader of your village, right?"
Mamaji shook his head, "There's no way the Great Hanzo would bother himself with something so-" he began, but was cut short when his teammate set her hand on his arm and smiled at him. He chuckled before running a hand through his hair and murmuring, "All of these genin are driving me crazy. This's why I can't wait for the rookie to become a chuunin, you know? Too bad he isn't on this upcoming exam." The genin again shared a pointed glance, silently soaking in any information that they could in concern with their target. "But, no..." Mamaji corrected as he turned back to Temari, who was walking on his left, "That scroll goes to Nagato-san in the administrative building. We're almost there now."
"Do you think that we can make a stop after we deliver the scroll? There's someone I want to see before going back to Sunagakure." Temari mentioned in an even tone, though she kept her eyes pointed forward with an intense look on her face. "He's got to pay..."
"We'll discuss it after we get out of the admin building. Come on and pile in, little ones." Mamaji instructed as he pressed a switch in order to open the brass door with a hiss of decompressing steam. Tomoshi led the way into the building, urging the genin to follow her so that Mamaji could shut the door behind them and take up rear security.
"Rear security? Does that mean he wants to look at our butts?" the slim boy snickered crudely, causing his girlfriend to gasp and cover her behind with her hands. "Don't worry, my sweety; I'll protect you and your butt." The girl nodded and blushed, but couldn't bring herself to say a word through her embarassment.
Ignoring his teammate's antics, the husky genin approached Temari in the hallway with a suspicious look on his hard-set face. "This person you're looking for... how do you know him?"
"None of your business, brat." the blonde returned harshly, glaring down at the kid as she reached menicingly for the iron-fan tucked into the back of her sash. "You wouldn't know him in the first place anyway, so you might as well go play with your teammates while the real shinobi do their jobs."
"I'll bet it's that carrot-guy, Captain Combustable. The dumbass who made an idiot of himself in front of Shizuhara-sensei's classroom." the boy risked a guess, though he grinned like a wolf when Temari inhaled suddenly, her eyes going wide as she realized that he did in fact know who she wanted to run into. "So, I'm right. You like him so much that you traded with sensei so you could come all the way out here just to see him."
"One more word and you are so dead!" Temari hissed under her breath, glaring sideways at the boy with her teeth bared so he could see her intent. "The only thing I want to see from Junichi is me with my foot in his face!" she declared fiercely, huffing her displeasure.
As the procession entered a door leading out of the hallway, Mamaji-taichou came to a stop near to a person who had just come out of a different door. "That little girl knows you, rookie?" he inquired of the green-haired genin standing just behind him just after the door hissed shut in front of him.
"That's Temari-chan: the girl I told you about when you asked me where I'd learned the basics." Junichi replied coldly, standing with his arms crossed and his face set into a sneer. "I don't even want to bring myself down by seeing her right now. I'm going on ahead to take care of this delivery, but I'll be back in time for the mission."
"Be very careful about who you interact with - it took our genjutsu specialist three days to break their control over you last time. It may be impossible to reverse if you fall under their genjutsu again." the chuunin warned softly before leaving the rookie to enter the room behind the visiting Sand genin. Mamaji let the door shut behind him as he drew up to the back of the group and came to a stop with his arms crossed over his chest just as Temari was handing a scroll to one of Nagato's possessed bodies - this one was a cute woman with orange hair and black studs on her face and collarbone, but had small breasts and a scar on her cheek.
"I thank you for delivering this to us, Minagi-san." Nagato replied, unaware that Temari had switched with the jounin actually meant to bring the scroll. "Your team is welcome to stay in our village for as long as you like. Of course, you will need to remain with your escorts at all times - it's our policy when permitted foreign shinobi into Amegakure."
"It's fine." Temari muttered with a wave of her hand, "We're only going to bother you long enough to have a talk with that idiot. Let's move." she directed, turning to lead the group out of the building.
However, a hand came down on her shoulder to stop the girl before she could make it past the chuunin Mamaji. "There's no point in dragging everyone around for your own personal gain. If you really want to find this young man, then only you and I will search the city. Tomoshi, would you mind watching the others by yourself?" Temari glanced over to the woman in time to see her smile and nod kindly, returning the gesture with a smile and nod of her own. It would be better this way, because she'd be able to talk about things and didn't want everyone to listen in anyway.
"Ok. Do you have any idea where a dumbass named Noriyama Junichi lives?" the genin prompted as the pair left the room first, Mamaji's hand still on the girl's shoulder so as to lead her out unmolested.
"Ah, the rookie who appeared out of nowhere." Mamaji misdirected cunningly, his face completely hidden by his oxygen mask. "He lives with one of our jounin for the time being. It shouldn't be a hassle to track the boy down."
"Good! Because he's so gonna get it when I see him!" Temari promised as she punched the palm of her left hand, grinning as she followed the chuunin out through the main door of the building. She didn't even care that it was raining once again.
- Land of Puddles -
Junichi jogged through the rain that had started up almost as soon as he'd left Amegakure, though it hardly bothered him by now having lived in the country for several weeks by now. He was also already wearing the midnight blue shroud he used to wear in Sunagakure to protect against wind and blown sand, though he now wore it for a completely different reason - when combined with a cap-style forehead protector it acted to conceal his identity, thus making it more difficult for the Hidden Sand to realize that he was once again in their midst. Furthermore, he'd made a pit stop in Koyoko's house, though he wouln't be using that until he got closer to his destination.
He raced across the surface of a lake, wordlessly dodging around an abandoned fisherman's boat left over from a mission failed by a group of Rain genin, but made sure that he went through a field of cat-tails in an effort to mask his trail. He spotted a sentry crow perching on a low branch as he took to the trees of a small forest, though he ignored it because it belonged to ninja of the Hidden Rain - he knew because the tree was marked with the four lines of his village. Except for his random efforts to avoid detection, Junichi more-or-less arrived at the border without any event, but he hesitated to cross into the Land of Wind.
"This should be close enough to use it, now." he mumbled to himself as he fished into a secret pocket in his clothes. Finally retrieving his secret weapon, the teen dropped to one knee as he pulled off his Rain village headband and worked to detach the plate with his fingers and the tip of a kunai; it came off after a moment of struggle, leaving six holes where the metal had been bolted in place. When he was finished with his sudden project, Junichi returned the cap to his head and adjusted the fabric so that it covered all of his hair - rather than the four lines of the Hidden Rain, it now bore the hourglass of the Hidden Sand. He'd used the same headband that Koyoko had taken from him when she broke the genjutsu. "Anyone seeing me will just think that I'm a Sand ninja returning from a mission. I'll be able to drop off this scroll and be on my way before anyone catches on to who I really am. How ninja is that!" he chuckled to himself.
When he was ready, Junichi darted across the border with his arms flung out behind him; there was still grass to run on, so he needn't worry about footing for the time being. Which was great, because now that he had time to himself, Junichi couldn't help but think about Temari. She'd definitely helped him out when they were younger, and though he did have other friends, she was usually the one who managed to cheer him up when he was down or losing hope of learning a specific technique. She was also the person who beat him up the most; even when he didn't deserve it, and knew that the beating wouldn't help him in any way. Then again, on the rare occasions when she'd smile at him...
Finally he slowed to a stop so that he could wipe sweat from his brow. Breathing heavily, Junichi went into the travel pack on his back and withdrew a canteen full of water that he'd brought along to combat dehydration - one of the Sand ninjas greatest enemies. After draining half of the liquid, Junichi replaced the water source before licking his lips and gazing over his shoulder, where he knew Temari was still looking for him back in Amegakure. "Silly girl." he scoffed before shaking his head and taking off at a jog again, steadily increasing his speed as he dashed across the crest of a sand bar in the desert. He'd have to find some shade in an hour to prevent heatstroke, but until then he was going to make as much progress as he could.
- Amegakure -
Nagato, still in control of the woman's body, slowly approached the reveared leader of the Hidden Rain with the scroll taken from Temari held in her hands. She did not kneel, bow, or perform any other form of humbling gesture as she handed the object to the legendary man. "Hanzo-sama, I find it to be extremely unorthodox to have sensitive demands from the Hidden Sand delivered to us by a group of genin. It's almost an insult to think that they're taking this matter lightly."
"It hardly matters if I receive the Kazekage's demands or not, they will change nothing at all." Hanzo informed his second-in-command as he removed the seal and unrolled the scroll over the top of his desk. "I've already refused to allow their assassins entry into this village should they prove to have more targets than one errant boy. The Hidden Sand doesn't have the kind of sway that they believe they do." Nagato waited in silence as Hanzo read through the scroll, refusing to react as the man chuckled and then scowled angrily. "The Kazekage recognizes that the boy we've accepted has chosen to defect to the Hidden Rain under his own volition and will not betray the treaty of peace by infiltrating our village. However, he's demanding that I have my own assassins murder him; or issue a mission that he will not survive - otherwise he'll call for a meeting of the Five Kage in concern with my failure to cooperate with peacekeeping motions."
"If the same threat had come from the Hidden Rock or Hidden Cloud I might be compelled to urge cooperation. In this case, I don't feel that the Hidden Sand retains as much of their former military power as they make it seem." Negato replied smoothly, her eyes momentarily flicking from the document to meet Hanzo's eyes. "If we could gain leverage over the leaders of the Hidden Grass and the Hidden Waterfall, we could have enough backing to make demands of our own. Demon for demon, leader for leader, your second against the entire council of Sunagakure..."
"No. I do not wish to bring war back to this country, or any other for that matter. This one boy is hardly grounds for so many shinobi losing their lives." Hanzo decided as he sat back in his plush chair and began considering his options he listlessly drew his fingers along his chin, though there was no beard to stroke. Finally, the great Hanzo who had once defeated Konoha's greatest team of ninja of which he recognized as the Legendary Three Ninjas of the Hidden Leaf, stood from his seat with a dark look in his eyes. "Send a message to Sunagakure that if they wish to see an end to this matter, that the Kazekage should send a team to reclaim the traitor. The location will be at the Benizani Crossroads."
"The place where a Sand and Rain commander from both sides died fighting to the death so that their men could return to their respective homes without further bloodshed." Nagato acknowledged with a quick nod. "I'll have the message delivered using the same messanger sent by the Sand. With your leave..." she prompted, exiting the room when granted permission by Hanzo. Elsewhere in the village, however, a completely different Nagato frowned in the darkness of his underground chamber; his teammate, Yahiko, was already with him from before the meeting with the leader of the Rain. "That old fool is rapidly losing the edge which defeated us a decade ago, Yahiko-kun. How much longer do we lick his boots before...?"
"Very soon, bro." the orange-haired jounin replied with a firm pat to his friend's shoulder, "Konan is making the final preparations, but there's something else we have to figure into our plans before we make our move this time."
"Please don't tell me that it has anything to do with the Sand ninja who just changed sides. If so, tell me how a low-ranking shinobi with no special abilities could affect our plans at all." Nagato growled dangerously, his Rinegan seeming to blaze through his friend's face. Before Yahiko could say a word, a flurry of paper blew in through an open pipe, reforming into the shape of a full grown woman with a paper flower in her hair. One of the sheafs remained in her hand, however, appearing to be a document of some sort she'd brought with her.
Konan cleared her throat before bringing the paper up to her face so that she could read it aloud. "I have copied the personal file for Mr. Nariyama Junichi from the Sunagakure archives. Results from a recent psycological and tactical potential examination reveals that Mr. Noriyama has an innate ability to detect structural weakness as well as a remarkable level of reactive thinking and reaction time. He also favors violence and intimidation over submission and diplomacy; but he has no respect for authority, nor does he work well in a team setting." After tucking the sheet away into the folds of her kimono, the blue-haired jounin approached Yahiko so that she could put an origami crane in his hand - it was a self-delivering message which would fly to its target when released nearby. "These are the demands that we'll be making to the Hidden Sand when we have proper leverage over Kusagakure, Takigakure, and Yuugakure."
"Alright. We have to make sure that this kid survives the suicide mission before we move on anything," Yahiko decided, his face difficult to read by even his friends. "Should he live, his destructive skills will be most handy to us when he has attained the rank of chuunin. Otherwise, we move on what plans we already have when Hanzo makes the fatal mistake I know that he's working towards."
"The Hidden Rain will be liberated and all past grievences paid back through vengeance of blood." Nagato acknowledged coldly, his statement causing smirks to come to his teammate's faces.
- Elsewhere in Amegakure -
Temari suddenly found herself looking off into the south; there had been a single fork of lighting crashing down from the heavens just on the horizon. Beside her, Mamaji didn't seem so surprised, claiming that it wasn't an unusual phenomenon. "I guess you'd know more than me." the girl relented hesitantly, finally taking her attention off of the distance. "Damn it. Where is that prick if he's not at home or training? You're sure that he's not on a mission?"
"He's not, or I'd be with him, too. Who's ever heard of a genin going on missions without his captain?" Mamaji misled with a disarming smile again. While the truth was that he wasn't stalling for Junichi's sake any more, it was just too entertaining to trick someone from the Hidden Sand - even if it was only a little girl.
"Damn it." Temari repeated more harshly, stomping her foot on the thick pipe on which the two stood. "I don't even want to hit him anymore; I just want to yell at you for being a coward!" she shouted into the wind. Her voice wouldn't reach Junichi from where he was, though the scream did act to help calm the girl. "Forget it. I'm going to collect those brats and just go home now. Tell that idiot next time you see him that I'm not mad at him."
"Actually you might see him before I do, little one." Mamaji chuckled softly as he removed his mask only enough to wink at Temari, "The rookie is delivering a scroll to the Kazekage right now - he's been in Sunagakure the whole time!"
Temari's jaw dropped as the realization struck her that she'd been played hard without ever having caught on - and the worst part about it was that everyone in Sunagakure would consider it to be her fault for falling for the fake-out. "Ohh!" she snarled, at long last forgeting all of her emotion training as she clenched her fists in rage. "You'd better bring me to the other genin from my village right away this time or I'll sick Gaara on you for sure!"
"I don't know who that is, but the joke has run it's course already." Mamaji chuckled from behind his breathing mask, pleased with himself and his sly game. "Come. I'll take you to Tomoshi and your friends now. Try to keep up, little rookie." Temari grumbled under her breath, but relegated herself to following the chuunin through the city, hoping that he felt her glare burning through the back of his head. Just as promised, the pair found the others just as they were leaving a pagoda serving sweet baked treats. "The brats are going home; let's drop them off where we found them."
"Where's Junichi-kun? Did you not find him?" Tomoshi wondered between bites of a dango she'd ordered. "Or is he doing another solo mission again?"
"Come on, we're going back to Sunagakure as soon as..." but Temari was interrupted when a ninja dressed in the uniform of the Hidden Rain landed in the center of the group, all of which went into a combat stance out of reflex. "I've had enough already!" she growled.
"Temari: daughter of the Yondaime Kazekage." the man, clearly a jounin, acknowledged as he stared down at the blonde girl with her hand on the end of her iron-fan. "I will have a word with you in private." he ordered before dragging her away before waiting for an answer - Temari only allowed it because she was too angry not to bother fighting. "You will deliver this message to your father without delay. Understand that if you're here playing the part of a chuunin, then you will be upheld to the same standards and responsibilies should you fail your task." The jounin waited for Temari to cross her arms and accept before reaching under his flak vest to produce an envelope sealed with ninjutsu. This he handed to the girl with orders that no other person may read it other than the Kazekage before vaishing in a burst of smoke.
Temari stuffed the letter down the front of her shirt, tucking the paper into her bra, before returning to the rest of the group with her hands on her hips. "I hope all of you are ready, because we're leaving right away!"
"Hai, Temari-sensei." the tubby genin sneered shortly. "If it means that we won't have to deal with you anymore, then I'm ready to leave twenty minutes ago." It was Temari who'd delayed them, after all.
"Alright, brats. Let's move." Temari instructed, waving them along as she took off at a quick march that wouldn't tire the children out, but would still get them to where they were going. The genin of Minagi-sensei's team all shared a look proving that they all understood the real reason why they wanted to get back quickly. They had a lot of information for their teacher that they'd gathered on their target, Junichi. It was such a thrill knowing that even as rookies they were trusted with special orders; it made them feel more a part of the village than had they been a normal team vying for enough attention to be recognized by the people that mattered.
- Sunagakure -
Junichi nearly jumped out of his skin when a Sand ninja appeared out of nowhere to run alongside him, but became more confused that worried when the man didn't attack him or make any move to stop him from running. When Junichi didn't offer an explanation, the jounin - or he assumed it was - nodded towards the village and grunted. "You've tripped the proximety alarm; is there a reason why you're running towards the village at this speed, chuunin?"
So he resembled a chuunin, did he? Seeing that this could work in his favor, the teen nodded before reaching into his shirt and retrieving two objects to show the man. Junichi flashed his own Rain headband as they ran, "I caught a foreign ninja snooping around where she shouldn't have been. I took a scroll from her body that the Kazekage urgently needs to see." he lied as he flashed the scroll before stuffing it back into his shirt. Oh, he was playing it dangerous now; the Sand ninja could kill him if he so much as suspected foul play.
The jounin seemed to believe him, or at least didn't want to take the chance that he might have stopped an extremely important message from getting through at a critical time, so he nodded before reaching up to press a switch by his ear. "We have an Urgency Exception. Authentication Code: Bravo is in effect to permit unrestricted entry to the Kazekage. Do not hinder. Do not engage."
Junichi nodded his thanks to the man, though he was barely able to contain his smirk as he picked up more speed; the Sand ninja faded back until he stopped completely so as to radio ahead to the Kazekage to expect the message. Knowing that he had a part to play, the disguised teen rushed through the valley into Sunagakure without greeting the guards, and immediately took to the familiar roofs over the village. It wasn't too much longer before a chuunin he recognized - but whom couldn't ID him through the veil over his mouth - met him near the Kazekage's mansion and urged him along. Shit, he could get into some serious trouble if he whipped up a panic before revealing the truth.
Unfortunately it was too late to turn back now; the mansion had come into view and he was being rushed straight to the Kazekage's office without delay. Thus, before he could talk himself into coming clean, he was directed past the guards and the door shut behind him - the Kazekage had the veil open, revealing the powerful Wind-shadow in all his glory. "What is the nature of the information that you found. Out with it!"
Sighing, Junichi let his shoulders fall before reaching up to pull down the cloth covering his mouth and nose at the same time as he removed the Sunagakure headband. "Alright, so I got a little carried away. I didn't think that you'd let someone like me into the city without a hassle, but somehow let it get way out of hand."
"You!" the Kazekage growled harshly enough that it hurt his throat. The guards on either side of him went immediately on the ready, prepared to exact swift justice should their blades be required. "A stunt like this is easily worth an execution on any grounds. Tell me one reason why I shouldn't have you flayed alive and whatever left of you fed to the scorpions."
"I got nothin'." Junichi grumbled as he withdrew the scroll and held it out to be collected by one of the flanking assistants, "These are the names of all Rain genin participating in the chuunin selection exam that Sunagakure is hosting this time. No, I'm not in it, either."
The Kazekage accepted the scroll with a glare before tossing it to the side for another aid to catch. "I demand to know why the hell you turned your back and instead went to the Rain, even knowing that I was prepared to accept you as a genin of the Hidden Sand? What could you have possible gained there that was unavailable here? Both of your parents would be ashamed to learn of your actions, Noriyama."
"No one knew my god-damned parents, for one thing!" Junichi shouted in return, snarling at the way the assistants bounced as if striking him in their thoughts. He didn't give a shit now that he'd pretty much been told outright that he was going to be executed for creating a false emergency. "Maybe it's because they had to break the mind control your village had on me against my will! I was so grateful that I jumped at the chance to join my rescuers. All I had to do was be myself and do what I did best."
"I've had enough of this whelp." the Kazekage decided as he yanked the curtain back in place between the two of them. "On charges of reckless endangerment and impersonation of a shinobi of the Hidden Sand, I sentence the young Noriyama to suffer two hours of torture before his expulsion from this village. Take him away!" Junichi scoffed and struggled to free himself from the crushing grip of the two assistants who grabbed him on orders, but found himself powerless to escape. Then again, at least he knew that he'd be released; all he had to do was survive an eternity of agony for a couple hours.
Junichi was taken to the basement of the mansion, and was immediately assaulted by the rank oder of stale sweat, mold of some kind, and the after effects of fire having burnt something distasteful. His blood seemed to run cold as he was taken to a heavy locked door which led to the torture chamber secretly maintained despite agreements to dismantle it in accordance with treaties signed. One of the chuunin escorting him through the door instructed him as they approached their final destination, "Any resistance and the sentence automatically changes to an order of execution. Keep that in mind and you might be able to crawl away from this when it's over." the bearded assistant informed gruffly as he tied the pacified teenager's hands behind his back with prickly rope. "Oh, and remember to scream as loud as you can, because our man lives for this shit and deserves to get his jollies off."
"Fuck you, homo." Junichi spat boldly, though he complied by not resisting the men as they ripped off his shroud and the shirt under it, bearing his naked chest. His outburst of course earned him a rough punch to the back of his head, momentarily blurring his vision long enough that he was placed into a wooden contraption and strapped in place before he could recover. "Are we going to get this tea party started yet, or are you going to finish playing with yourself first?" Junichi crudely insinuated of the sinister ninja fiddling with an iron furnace attached to the wall; his bravado was an obvious defense for the pain soon to come.
"Now, I would say something witty and clever to frighten you... but I feel it's more effective to show you how you're going to spend the next two hours." the creepy Sand ninja said in a raspy hush. Junichi suppressed a shiver when the man turned to face him, displaying a mouth full of crooked and dirty teeth; yet his eyes were the feature which burned into the teen's memory. Black sclara with irises as thin silver rings circumventing red pupils. After giving a spine chilling laugh, the man reached for what looked like the handle of a katana sticking out of the side of the furnice, which was now roiling with black smoke and fire. "Let's begin the process with a bit of heat, shall we? No, no, don't get up; this won't take very long at all." he hissed with laughter.
Junichi gritted his teeth as his torturer pulled the blade from the wall, the metal glowing and wreathed in flame; his eyes were locked on the brand, rounded with fear of what was to come. His breath quickened upon its own accord as the man drew closer with the weapon in hand, the flickering fire reflecting off of his eyes as he walked nearer. "Do you even know how to use that thing? You seem like the kind of guy who must have his opponents tied down or else he'd get beaten by every child in the village."
"Remember to scream." the creepy ninja urged with a wicked grin twisting his lips, having ignored the barb. He then moved with great speed to plunge the glowing blade into Junichi's stomach. The teen gaped in horror as the scorching metal stabbed all the way through him, the fire roaring brighter and hotter as it tasted his flesh. It was the worse agony he could imagine - a scream tore from his lips against his will. "Beautifully done. Bravo." the sninister figure wheezed before ripping the blade free and holding his hand over the wound, "A little medical ninjutsu and we can keep this going all day; a shame that we only have so many hours together." Junichi grimmaced as he hissed in pain, but saw no escape from his predicament - he'd royally fucked up this time.
He screamed again when the cruel man brought the sword down into his thigh, and he could feel the tissue and muscle fibers burning from the seering contact; it was worse than it should have been because his leg was strapped down, preventing him from mitigating the feeling by kicking out. Again his torturer touched his hand to the wound as the blade was removed, mending his flesh so that Junichi wouldn't die before suffering through everything. He groaned when he tested his leg and found no lingering burns. Finally, as the Sand ninja was pulling back the sword for another stab, Junichi found his voice so that he could acknowledge what he'd just figured out, "It's genjutsu made to influct pain - the handle is real, but the blade is an illusion..." he guessed with his teeth gritted and his eyes focused on the other guy's creepy visage.
"Ohh, bravo. By telling your brain that you're being burned you suffer the pain but leave no traces of infliucted wounds. Unfortunately just knowing the trick won't help you counter the effects - no matter what you're going to feel everything." the Sand ninja cackled horribly. "Even when I do things that would normally kill you-" Junichi flinched and kicked against his bonds when the blade - fake or not - peirced through his left eye; he screamed so loud that he stopped hearing it, "-but won't."
"Red sands... Son of a bitch...!" Junichi swore when the blade was taken from his eye, and he found that he could still see even though his attacker hadn't touched his face this time. He was unable to speak for a couple moments as he recuperated from the horrible pain. He didn't have long to recover before the sword came down slantways across his chest, causing him to throw his head back and grit his teeth; except this time he didn't scream. "I've suffered being laughed at by a bunch of snotty children. I've even survived growing up with a name like Shit-face. This pain is nothing really; it won't even leave any lasting damage, physical or psychological."
This continued for nearly fourty minutes, when Junichi finally reacted to the torture. Though. rather than cry or beg, he began to chuckle until he was barking with laughter. With a snarl, the Sand ninja stabbed the still glowing blade through Junichi's heart and held it there, glaring into the teen's eyes with a cold fury. "How dare you rob me of my screams?"
"You must not realize who I am, because then you'd know my other name. This one I kind of like, actually." Junichi laughed around the califaction in his chest, covering the pain with adrenalin and bravado. "Some call me 'The Devil's Child Who was Borne of the Flame'. What's a lit match going to do to a person who's entire existance is a world of fire?" His heart beat like a hammer through the illusion of the flaming sword, but he knew that if this was all the man could bring to the table, then he'd be able to stomach every bite with no problem.
Silence filled the pungent room as the Sand ninja glared into Junichi's eyes, pulling back the handle of a sword with no blade. Then, without muttering another word he crossed to the furnace, which was no longer burning, and tossed the handle inside with a loud bang. Pausing to glance back at the captive, he instead reached for the handle of a panel in the wall; upon opening it a cloud of white gas came out. Though Junichi had to crane his neck to see what was inside, he couldn't help but shiver at the sudden cold that had over taken the room. His eyes grew wide whe the Sand ninja returned with what looked like a weight off of a barbell held in his bare hand; it looked to be so cold that chilled steam was coming off of it. "Why fight fire with fire, when ice works just as well? Maybe... better?"
Junichi hissed and seemed to crumple into himself when the metal touched his bare flesh - it was so cold it felt like it burned through to his soul! Unable to contain it any longer, he threw his head back and screamed in agony. It was almost worse than the freezing hell when the Sand ninja pulled the disk away and licked his lips as if eating something absolutely delicious, his cold eyes sparkling in the gloom of the torture chamber. As before, his skin was not frozen by the contact and no pain lingered afterwards. Sadly, the only thing that came out of the teen for the next fourty-odd minutes was more screaming and thrashing, much to the creepy man's delight.
Junichi had a moment to catch his breath when the as of yet unnamed Sand ninja returned to the wall to put away the frozen disk, shutting the refridgeration panel with a snap. The teen breathed hard as he watched the inhuman ninja retrieve a pair of metal rods from a box on the floor under the icey panel; he glared hatefully when the man touched the tips together and pulled them apart with a string of electricity buzzing in the air between them. It had to be more illusion, but he'd still have to feel the electricity as it arced through his body as if it were real. "Fuck you, creep..." he mumbled weakly. There was drool on his mouth, but he wasn't in any kind of state to worry about it.
"You-" but the ninja hesitated, staring at Junichi as if he'd just performed an amazing magic trick. "No one has ever made it this far without passing out or losing all mental facilities before! You really are the son of the devil!"
An unexpected screech filled the room, drawing both of the inhabitant's attention to the thick door separating the torture chamber from the rest of the mansion. When it was fully opened, two men dressed in the Sunagakure uniform strolled through, leading in a woman and two more rear guards. "Stand down for a moment, Kariki." the important-seeming ninja in the middle commanded with the motion of her hand. Kariki - Junichi repeated the name many times in his head in hopes of commiting it to memory - grumbled, but did as ordered by scurrying into the corner and falling to his knee.
"Untie the boy for a moment." the obvious jounin directed to one of the guards, who reacted without question. Junichi groaned and nearly fell forward onto his face when the straps were removed, but found himself caught by one of the lead guards; a woman with hair that smelled like honey - too sweet after his having grown accustomed to the strench in the room. "Little Noriyama; look into my face, boy." the female jounin demanded briskly.
"Fuck... you..." Junichi whispered weakly, his arms hanging limp at his sides despite finally gaining his freedom. "...not doing anything until... get some water. ...throat's dry..." The woman who'd caught him could help but whisper that she didn't expect that he could still made demands after suffering from Kariki's assault.
"I assumed I was just seeing things in the monitor that weren't actually happening, but I'm impressed." the jounin mentioned evenly. "Give him the water, just for making it to this point." The kunoichi at Junichi's side accepted the canteen from one of her allies, who'd taken it from the teen's belongings on the floor; seeing as how he couldn't move his arms from having them pinned behind him for so long, she had no choice but to pop the top and hold the canteen for him as he drank. When the canteen was again on the floor, the jounin walked up to Junichi and roughly grabbed him by the hair, "You may not remember it, but we've met before. My name is Zourin of the Quivering Palm. You and I used to get along quite well, you know? Of course you were little more than a mindless puppet at the time..." Zourin announced as she lifted her other hand to show an open palm to Junichi, who could only stare back in horror. Dotting her hand were several large holes, each deeper and darker than the torture chamber in which the ninja occupied. "Those times were so productive that the generous Kazekage has given me special permission to make a come back." Junichi wanted to get up and punch Zourin, but he found that the metallic echo to the jounin's voice was so mesmerizing that all he wanted to do was sit back and listen to it some more. He wasn't even aware when the female guard returned to his side and began soothing him with the tips of her fingers in his hair. "My blood carries a unique trait that allows me to encase the minds of lesser beings in an entrancing melody; listen to the tones of my voice as music in your soul. Let it move you. Take you to another place, down deep in your own mind."
Junichi let his breath out slowly through his nose and let the tingles overflow through his body, delighting in the comforting feeling that he got from it. The music was lovely indeed, but it wasn't the cause of the tingles. They felt more like rain drops on his skin, spreading over his body until he was caccooned safely in an aura mystifiably reminescent of Suzumia Koyoko. The woman from the Hidden Rain. All at once his eyes refocused and the lethargy in his limbs melted away - he was himself again. Suffering a brief instant of fear and worry over where he was and how long he was out this time, Junichi was surprised to see that he was still in the torture chamber with the Advanced Bloodline assassin washing him with chakra.
"Kya- hey!" the woman who was still cradling him in her arms complained when he shoved her aside with her shoulder, yanking off the headband she wore around her neck in the process; this he swung with all of his might at the jounin's elbow before the girl could even regain her footing. As expected, the woman was quick enough to pull her arm back to prevent injury, but in doing so was forced to break her jutsu and create a pocket of empty space between her body and the captive. Junichi was off like a shot through the tiny window of opportunity presented to him, dodging under the jounin's arm to make a direct line for the door, knowing that the second lead guard couldn't reach him through Zourin's body. One of the rear guards moved to intercept him, but Junichi pursed his lips and spat out a stream of water that he'd saved from his drink; the chuunin instictively dodged the spray should it be a water technique, but only gave Junichi a clear path.
"Shuunshin no jutsu!" he grunted desperately as he put the necessary seals together and threw himself with all of his speed. Pain flared through his body when he crashed into the last rear guard who'd positioned himself in the way with a kunai drawn; both ninja tumbled through the door and rolled into a heap. They were both hurting - neither moved. Finally Junichi shifted and groaned in effort as he struggled to stand; yet when he was up to his knees a crushing blast of wind struck him so hard that he was blown off of the ground and slammed into the cement wall of the hallway he'd been escorted down some time ago. "Shit!" he swore as he threw himself to the side, narrowly avoiding a tremendously powerful kick from Zourin of the Quivering Palm. No longer thinking rationally, Junichi allowed desperation to take control of his body, forcing it to begin running in whatever direction he was facing in despite knowing that turning his back on a jounin was the stupidest thing he could ever do.
Zourin watched as three of the remaining chuunin guardsmen left the chamber before directing them towards the staircase Junichi had just taken; she let the middle-ninja chase down the boy while she did something just as important. Kneeling down, Zourin checked to ensure that the fourth man was still breathing - he was unconscious, but alive. Standing, the jounin reentered the torture chamber and regarded the twisted specialist who was in the process of shifting through Junichi's belongings. "You didn't even move to help restrain the kid." Zourin accused dangerously, though the sinister ninja hardly seemed affected.
"I wouldn't dream of assuming that a jounin as powerful as you needed help from me to capture a genin of the Hidden Rain." the hunched man chuckled wheezily. "I'm just a troll living in the dungeons, only kept around to torment the worms who anger our Lord." Kariki rasped in a barb, acidly throwing back the same words that Zourin had once said to him.
"The pungent stench in here must be corroding your brain, you wretch. I order you to take the casualty to the hospital, if only to get some fresh air in your rotted lungs." Zourin commanded with a wave of her hole-speckled hand. "I have urgent news for the Kazekage that he will not appreciate hearing. Throw that shit away while you're at it!" she added in mention of Junichi's abandoned gear.
- Kazekage's chambers -
The wind-shadow already didn't look pleased when Zourin was permitted through the ornate doorway. Dropping to one knee, the jounin prostrated herself before the leader of the village with as much fealty as she could muster. When he was finally ready to speak, the kage snapped his fingers to get the woman to look up at him, "I assume that your Melodic Enrapturement jutsu went as planned, Zourin?"
"Sir, my genjutsu failed." Zourin admitted bravely, her eyes never straying from the Kazekage's face for a second. "Actually, sir; there's something that you need to know about the Noriyama orphan. There's already a mind-controlling jutsu in place - one strong enough to counter mine. I was only able to feel it for a moment, but it had the signiture of the Hidden Rain written all over it."
The Yondaime narrowed his eyes a split second before he had the woman in a vice-like strangle hold, lifting her clear off of the floor with one hand. Zourin didn't struggle in his grip, she merely allowed herself to hang in his grip as she stared down into his eyes; she showed no fear whatsoever. Thankfully he regained his composure in time to set the jounin down before she suffocated. "Zourin. I want you and your guards out at the Benizani Crossroads in the Land of Puddles four days from now. This is an assassination mission of the highest priority."
"Your will be done, Kazekage-sama." Zourin alleged before turning and leaving the bedroom. The letter containing the response from the Hidden Rain still lay open on the desk across from him, the details of Hanzo's cooperation decoded by the code-crackers of his village.
- Kazekage's mansion -
Junichi cried out more in surprise than pain when he slammed into someone who'd been stalking through the hallway above the basement. It was then that he realized he'd finally run out of luck - he was caught and there was no hope for him left. Except for the fact that the person yelling at him through the fog in his mind sounded extremely familliar, and not in a bad way. "What the hell, you idiot? I come all this way to find you and you slam into me like some blind monkey! What are you doing running so fast through my house. Why don't you have a shirt on!" he heard. Finally risking a peek, he was astounded to see that he was being berrated by a fiesty young blonde girl with turquoise eyes and four prickly shoots of hair on her head.
"Temari-chan?" he chuckled weakly, hardly believing the chances. It might sound cowardly, but she might be the one person who could save his life right now. "H-hey, I'm glad that I ran into you. You won't believe that a gang of girls were so happy to see me that they ripped apart my clothes and are trying to..."
"I'm not buying it, Junichi." Temari cut him off with a firm tone as she climbed back to her feet and narrowed her eyes at him. "You've probably been in the Hidden Rain for so long that you forgot how hot it got here during the day - I'll bet that you took your shirt off to cool off and someone took it to be an ass. I'm also thinking that you came in here to borrow one from Kankurou, but you got chased away for some reason." she guessed, her arms crossed over her chest and her eyes shut in superiority. "Gaara probably."
"That's creepy how you can figure out stuff like that, Temari-chan." Junichi chuckled as he also climbed to his feet, finally having caught his breath long enough to settle his slamming heart. "Do you think that you could help me get a new shirt?" He just had to stay near her and the chuunin wouldn't dream of recapturing him in her presence - no one dared cross one of the children of the Kazekage.
Before he even realized that she'd lost her temper again, Temari had him pinned to the wall with her arm across his neck - though she had to angle it up sharply to do so. "I can't believe you'd think that I'd believe something so stupid! My father told me everything that you did..."
Junichi sighed heavily and let his body go limp against the wall as he gazed down into Temari's eyes, now shining with hot rage. ...and betrayal? Well, he did kind of act like an asshole; but in his defence it was really the only thing he knew from growing up as Noriyama Junichi, son of the Burning Pair. Finally he proffered a genuine smile as he reached up and gently rubbed his hand through the girl's silky hair. "I'm sorry, Temari-chan." That was all he could think to say, without even knowing that it was all he had to say to his friend. Looking up into his eyes, Temari returned the smile as she took her arm away from his neck and instead wrapped both of them around him in a hug. "So, about that new shirt..." Junichi muttered with a hesitant chuckle.