Seven- Bucket-Headed Brats and Tree Climbing

"So *cough* after I passed out you two finally got over your petty rivalry for a moment and forced Zabuza to free Sensei?" I said, not being able to repress a smile.

"Good job, you two." I said with a smile.

"Hn. What rivalry." Sasuke said rhetorically. I just rolled my eyes.

"You know what I meant."

Tsunami placed a bowl of soup in front of me and I smiled gratefully. Since I had literally stumbled out of bed earlier, my teammates had explained what had happened and had introduced me to Tsunami, Tazuna's daughter. Tsunami was great. Really. From the moment I had woken up I had felt like shit, and my mood had reflected that. But as soon as I sat down at her table, she gave me a warm towel to wrap around my neck and a hot bowl of soup. She was so kind and motherly. For a moment, I was reminded of my mom. Well, not my mom, per se. My mother figure, Suzu's mom. She had died shortly after giving birth to Suzu. My aunt Kaori had always been very fragile. She had curly brown hair and big black eyes that somehow lit up every time she smiled, which was a lot. After giving birth to Suzu, she had been very sick. I guess her body just couldn't take it.

"I'll go check on Sensei. Thank you for the soup, Tsunami." I said with a weak smile, and left to find the gray-haired jonin. When I entered the room, Kakashi was wide awake, staring blankly at the ceiling.

"You're awake." I said, sitting on the floor.

"How are you feeling?"
"I overused my Sharingan and probably won't be able to move freely for a week."

"Well, I'm glad you're okay."

"How long was I out?"

"Don't know. I woke up just 30 minutes ago."

"I'll go tell them you're awake." I said, standing up and walking out of the room. My dizziness had gone down since I had woken and eaten.

"Hey guys, Kakashi-sensei's awake." I said, and Sakura and Naruto quickly went up the stairs, Sasuke calmly walking.

"Sensei! You're awake!" Naruto yelled.

"I'm sorry." Said Kakashi-sensei

"What for? You kicked Zabuza's ass. Naruto and Sakura told me that he died. We should be fine for a while." I said, confused.

"That reminds me. Who was the boy in the mask?" Sakura asked.

"What boy?" I asked over Naruto's question of 'That was a boy?'

"He was a hunter nin. Their job is to take care of bodies and to erase any evidence that the shinobi was once alive. A shinobi's body holds many secrets. For example, if I die, the secrets of the Sharingan will be examined. And, in a worst case scenario, my jutsu and techniques, including the Sharingan will be stolen. Anyways, hunter nin track down nukenin and dispose of the body after killing them." Kakashi-sensei said, then frowned.

"What's wrong, Sensei?" Naruto asked.

"I just realized… Hunter nin are supposed to eliminate the body on site."

"What does that have to do with anything?" I asked curiously.

"What did the boy do with Zabuza?"

"He took the body." Answered Sasuke with a frown.

"Exactly. All he needed to do was bring the head back for proof. Also, he used senbon, which is questionable." Said Kakashi-sensei.

"With senbon, it's really easy to miss your target. Why'd he use those to kill him?" I replied, recalling the time I had attempted to use the needle like weapon. Instead of the target, I ended up shooting three senbon into my uncle's behind. Behind me, Sasuke gasped.

"Because he didn't want to kill him. The boy was working with Zabuza." Sasuke concluded.

"What are you talking about?" Said Tazuna frustratedly.

"Zabuza's alive." I said, eyes wide from this new revelation.

"Senbon are very precise and hunter nins know a lot about the human body. The boy probably put Zabuza to a death-like state and carried him off." I said, voicing our conclusion.

"So how are we going to prepare if you can't move, Sensei?" I asked. The jonin chuckled.

"I'm going to put you all through training."

"But Sensei, even if we train, how will that help us? He was so strong that even you had trouble with him." Argued Sakura. She has a point, I grudgingly admitted. Sure, training would help, but we wouldn't be able to do much against Zabuza.

"Sakura, who helped me when I was in trouble?" Asked Sensei.

"You four are growing at a rapid rate. Especially you, Naruto. You've grown the most." Kakashi-sensei continued and I frowned a bit. I hadn't really done much; all I did was pass out. And Sakura…. I don't know what she did. Nothing, probably. Sakura and I still didn't see eye to eye with each other. He was right about Naruto, though. He could barely make a decent bunshin in class, and here he was, saving his jonin sensei. Oh, how things have changed.

"You're right, Sensei! Things are getting interesting!" Naruto said excitedly.

"No they're not." Said a childish voice from behind me. We all turned around.

There was a little kid, maybe 8 or 9, with dark black hair and a…. bucket on his head? Anyways, he was glaring at us. I glared right back at him. I was usually pretty nice to kids, but I could tell this one would do nothing but piss me off.

"Inari! Where were you?" Tazuna said with a smile, for the first time.

"Okaeri, Grandpa!" He said happily, and ran and give Tazuna a hug.

"Inari, say hello. These are the shinobi that escorted Grandpa." Said Tsunami. I gulped back my irritation and gave a slight smile.
"Hi, I'm-"

"Mom, they're going to die. There's no way a person can win against Gato." He said, interrupting me. My eye twitched. I saw Sasuke looking over my with a small smirk on his face.

"What did you say, gaki?!" Naruto yelled.

"Listen up! I'm a great here that's the strongest shinobi there is! The hokage!" Naruto said.

"There's no such thing as a hero." The child said indignantly and I furrowed my brow. What had happened to him to make him have such a bad outlook on life?

"Nani?!" Naruto yelled, pouncing at Inari. Fortunately, Sakura wrapped her arms around him and held him back.

"If you dont want to die, you should hurry up and go home." Inari said, walking out of the room.

"Where are you going, Inari?" Asked Tazuna. The boy paused.

"I'm going to go watch the ocean." He said, and left.

()()()()

"Right. Now we'll begin training. But first, let's talk about chakra, which is the base of our ability as shinobi." Kakashi-sensei began. I groaned; we had had this drilled into our heads from day one of the academy. We didn't need to cover it again.

"Ooh! I know this! Chatra, right?" Okay, I changed my mind. Naruto needed to go over it again. I coughed.

"Chakra, Naruto. Not Chatra" I said.

"Okay, Sakura, Akemi, explain it to Naruto."

"Ohay, Naruto. Chakra is special energy we have inside our body to use jutsu." I began.

"We get more chakra by collecting energy from our body's cells, and from training." I continued.

"Inside our body, it is the combination of Body energy and Spirit energy that we can form chakra to use to execute a jutsu. To mold chakra." Sakura finished. I didn't know about the last part. Sakura must've read that on her own to show off to Sasuke.

"Showoff." I muttered under my breath. The pinkette turned and glared at me. Whoops. She heard. I didn't care.

"Why do we need to know this when we can use jutsu anyway?" Naruto complained.

"I agree. It's just redundant." Sasuke grunted.

"No, you guys aren't able to use your chakra completely." Said Sensei.

"Nani?!" Yelled a certain blonde. Sasuke's eyes widened slightly in surprise.

"Like Sakura said, to mold your chakra, you must extract both of those energies and combine them inside your body. And the amount of energy will differ based off of the jutsu that you use. In other words, the ratio will be different. You are not yet able to use your chakra effectively. Even if you can mold a lot of chakra at once, if you don't have the ratio correct, the jutsu will fail or only be half as effective as you wanted. Wasting energy will create a weakness of not being able to fight for a time." Sensei explained

" To learn how to mold chakra effectively, you four must go through rigorous training that may put your life on the line." Said Kakashi dramatically. Sakura gulped.

"What are we going to do?"

"Climb a tree." I smacked my palm against my face dramatically. He got us all worked up for something as simple as climbing a tree.

"But, it's not ordinary tree climbing. Allow me to demonstrate."

Kakashi-sensei made a handsign and began to hobble over to the nearest tree. He continued to walk straight up to the tree… and he kept walking. Only this time, he was going straight up the trunk, on crutches.

"What? How?" I asked in shock.

"This is how. Gather your chakra to the bottom of your feet and attach it to the trunk of the tree. The way this practice will help you is by helping you to learn where to accumulate chakra. It is difficult, even for a skilled shinobi, to gather the right amount of chakra in the right place. The next hardest part is maintaining the correct amount of chakra. Basically, if you can master this skill, you can learn any jutsu., in theory. However, I doubt that you will accomplish this." Kakashi-sensei finished. I grinned.

"Well, let's get to work, then." I said with a big smile.

()()()()

This… was proving difficult. The marks I had made with Kakashi-sensei's kunai were not nearly as high as I wanted them to be. Granted, they were higher than Naruto's or Sasuke's, but Sakura had made it to the top of the tree with ease. I had to make it to the top. I sat at the base of the tree, panting. I took a deep breath (which hurt, as my throat was bruised) and took a few steps back. I concentrated my chakra to my feet, and started to long, I was back on the trunk. I managed several steps and it looked as though I was going to make a new record. I got maybe a step or two in ahead of my old record before I heard the loud crack of the trunk under my foot. I hastily marked my progress and landed back on the hard ground with a thud. Ouch.

At that point in time, I noticed that Naruto had walked over and asked Sakura for help. That certainly surprised me. I always thought Naruto would be too prideful to ask for help. To my left Sasuke gave a deep sigh of frustration. I pinched my lips together. Should I help him? Remembering how prideful the Uchiha were, I decided not to. However, I did say something that might make him happier.

"Y'know, Sasuke, this just means that you have a lot of chakra. It's harder to control your chakra when you have a lot. Plus, girls naturally have better control of their chakra. In turn, boys start out with more chakra. So not being able to control it very well right now is a good sign."

And it was true. From what I could tell, Naruto had the largest amount of chakra, which was surprising. I thought it would be Sasuke. I had the third largest. I was around three feet ahead of Sasuke, but I still had a good amount of since I came from a clan of shinobi and had been training for years. Sasuke and Naruto would have more chakra than Sakura or I could ever attain. I could live with that, though. I didn't need huge reservoirs. The Uchiha stared at me for a moment with a blank, yet pleased (not quite sure how he managed that, but he did) look on his face. Just past the treeline, I saw Inari walking away from us.

()()()()

Late the next day I was walking through the streets of the city with Sakura and the bridge builders to get supplies. I hadn't quite reached the top of the tree yet, but my progress was good enough that Kakashi-sensei went ahead and told me to go with Sakura to guard the bridge builders. I looked around and all I saw was poverty. The streets were laden with filth and many people looked as though they hadn't eaten in days- which I didn't doubt.

"Where are we going?" I heard Sakura ask.

"I have been asked to get ingredients for tonight's dinner." Replied Tazuna.

We entered the grocery store and I was shocked to see that it was empty. There were barely any vegetables or meat. Next to me, I saw Sakura shriek and whack a man in the face with a yell of 'PERVERT!'. However, I heard the man say 'no, I'm not-' before he was kicked out of the store. Maybe he was trying to pick her pocket.

We three walked through the streets on the way back to Tazuna's home when I felt a hand around my rear. Really? Another? I said, turning around. I didn't care if it was a pickpocket or a pervert, both would get a- I stopped. It was a little girl with bright blue eyes. She stuck her hands out with a wide, toothless grin.

"Give me?" She said childishly. I bit my lip; I didn't have that much money in the first place. But.. she looked so thin. Her collarbone jutted out harshly and her lips were dry as though she hadn't drank in days. I sighed and reached into one of my pockets, searching for my money bag. When I found it, I pulled out 30 ryo and gave it to her along with a few pieces of candy I had stashed away.

"Here. Use it well." I said with a small smile.

"Arigato, neechan!" She said with a grin before running away through the masses of people. I looked over to Sakura, whose face had a stricken expression that I was sure mirrored mine.

We had to finish that bridge.

()()()()

That night, I stood out several meters away from the others and the trees, attempting to successfully execute a jutsu I had been working on for months. In the Hato clan, since it was common for us to have a combination of wind and fire chakra, we had our own jutsu that were combinations of the two (wind and fire went together really well). The simplest way to start out learning the combination was to do them separately. It was easy to do the jutsu separately; the hard part was combining them. It was, by far, the hardest jutsu I had ever tried to learn. Taking a deep breath, I pulled out my shuriken. I was about to throw them when a familiar voice stopped me. Yelping out of surprise, I turned around.

"Hey." Said Sasuke. The Uchiha wouldn't look me in the eye.

"What is it?" I asked rudely; I had just now gotten the chance to practice and now I was interrupted.

"You were the second fastest to climb the tree. I didn't want to ask dobe… Do you have any tips?" He said with a slight pink tinge to his cheeks. I pinched my lips and tried to suppress a grin: the mighty Uchiha was asking me, of all people, for help. But I could tell he was embarrassed, and I didn't want to push it. I cleared my throat (ouch).

"Well, you have to keep calm. That probably sounds silly, since you're always calm, but try not to be tense or get mad at Naruto. Ano... take your time gathering chakra at the bottom of your feet. Don't get too hasty. If you do particularly good one time, try to use the same amount of chakra the next time. You have to be conscious of how much chakra you're gathering every time. And when you change amounts, make it slight. Control is very… delicate." I explained, struggling to use the right words.

"Ne, Sasuke…. you're good at katon jutsu, right?" I asked awkwardly. I didn't really want to ask for help, but he was an Uchiha; if anybody could help me, it would be him. They were skilled in katon jutsu…

"Why do you ask?"

"Well… there's this jutsu I've been trying to learn, and I have to combine these two jutsu… but I can't do them quick enough. I was wondering if you could help me, since you seem to be good at katon." I rambled, embarrassed. I should've been able to do the jutsu by now…

Sasuke paused for a moment, then spoke.

"What do you need me to do?" He said with a sigh.

()()()()

"Okay, so I'm going to use Fuuton: Senkai Buredo, and you're going to use Katon: Kasai Nagure. You go first after I throw the shuriken, and then I'll go. Okay?"

"Okay."

I took a deep breath, and threw five shuriken into the air. As Sasuke executed his side of the jutsu, I made the familiar hand signs for mine.

"Fuuton: Senkai Buredo no jutsu!" I yelled, and the flaming shuriken were now small balls of whirling flames, powered by the small cyclones of wind encircling them. The fire quickly went out as the remaining oil burned away and I stopped my jutsu. A huge grin graced my face and I turned to face the Uchiha.

"It worked! Did you see that?! We did it! Months of work, and all it took was you! Ha!" I said.

"I would hug you right now if it wouldn't be awkward!" I yelled, completely ignoring my usual filter.

"So what jutsu was that?"Sasuke asked.

"Well, those two combined form Fuuton: Moeru Ha no jutsu. You see, if I was doing it by myself, I should've been able to ignite the shuriken with my chakra like I do with my katana, and then I would've used to jutsu to spin the air around the flaming shuriken, thus completing the technique." I said, still smiling.

"Thanks for helping me. I just wanted to see if it would work if I had someone else working with me. Go back to the trees". I said, gesturing to the kunai-marked trees where Naruto was still running.


Over the next few days, we all trained ourselves the best we could. I had eventually reached the top of the tree, and Sasuke and Naruto had made amazing progress. During the day I was in town or on the bridge with Tazuna, and during the nights I was practicing my kenjutsu and the little ninjutsu that I did know, besides Fuuton: Moeru Ha (I was trying not to piss off Sasuke and/or interrupt him and Naruto's competition). So far, I was making small, but consistent progress.

I pulled out my two katana and took a deep breath. I shifted my body into the first stance I was taught.

"Fuuton: Ken'nomai no jutsu" I said, and my blades immediately appeared to grow longer. Condensed air blew around the blades in tight coils and the air buzzed with energy. I danced and twirled and sliced and jabbed with my swords, the air mimicking my movements. The grass and topsoil of the land around me was scarred and wounded from my patterns. Already, a faint sheen of sweat covered my forehead; this jutsu always wore me out.

This was a trademark jutsu of the Hato clan, like the Goukakyu no Jutsu was for the Uchiha. Every shinobi of the Hato clan had to learn that at some point in time. The more we used it, the larger our range grew. Right now my range was around five feet. It wasn't that much, but I had to start somewhere; my uncle Noboru had a range of around twelve meters. I heard yelling behind me.

"Sasuke-kun! Naruto! Dinner!" Sakura yelled.

I slipped my katana back into their sheaths and followed the rivals back into the house.


Hey guys! I told you I'd start on Chapter 7, didn't I? :) This one is longer than the other chapters, and I would've kept going, but this seemed like a good place to stop. So I figure that since Akemi's part of a shinobi clan, they've got to have some form of jutsu, even if they don't really have a Kekkei Genkai (the whole infusing chakra into the blades could be counted as one I guess, but I'm not counting it as a Kekkei Genkai). So now we can see what our little gray-haired genin can do besides climb a tree. Do you think her jutsu are too strong for a genin? Personally, I think they're fine, considering that she can't do the jutsu she did w/ Sasuke by herself yet, and her range isn't very far for the second jutsu.

However, if you think they're too strong I can figure something else out for her to do. Please tell me if anything else seems off or unusual, any OOC-ness or Mary-sueness.

Translations

Nani: What? i.e. 'NANI!? Ichiraku doesn't sell Miso Ramen anymore?!'

arigato: thanks

neechan: big sister

katon: flame/fire, used when announcing jutsu i.e. 'Katon: Goukakyu no jutsu!'

fuuton: Senkai Buredo: Wind Style: Whirling Blade; when used on shuriken/kunai the weapon spins in a mini cyclone surrounded by air

katon: Kasai Nagure: Fire Style: Fire Stream; shoots out jets of fire in small strands, hence the 'stream'

fuuton: Moeru Ha: Wind Style: Blazing Blade; weapons that this jutsu is used on ignite and spin quickly like little balls of fire (The flames are fanned by the strong flow of air)

fuuton: Ken'nomai: Wind Style: Sword Dance; basically harsh winds wrap around the blades and lengthen the damage of the swords. It's like, if you swung a sword, the air/wind around the sword would do damage to the ground/person/item that could be a good distance away. The wind also shred anything it comes in contact with. That's why it's such a powerful jutsu for the Hato clan. The more experienced the user, the more powerful the winds are and the longer the range.

dobe: dead last. Sasuke's nickname for our resident blonde.

Merry Christmas!