Naruto characters belong to masashi kishimoto and the rest are mine... do not steal it's bad
Chapter VIII: ANBU Reinstatement Test
Chapter VIII: ANBU Reinstatement Test
(Five minutes later)
I bounded higher and higher with every step, using my chakra to give me an extra boost. White Fang scampered along beside me. We were finally heading home! The wonderful feeling of wind rushing past my face and making my hair writhe was making my heart sing with joy. Everything smelt fresh; it was good to be free.
We arrived at my house soon after. White Fang rushed inside ahead of me via the doggy door. I laughed, he was glad to be home too.
The yard looked a little overgrown but easily tameable. I unlocked the front door and gasped. Every open surface was covered in dust; it would take forever to clean. Plus, I figured that all the perishable food in the fridge had long since done so. White Fang trotted over to me and disturbed all the dust. He sneezed and I watched as the particles settled on him and turned his snow white coat, grey so that it resembled Kakashi's hair.
"This'll take forever to clean!" I complained glancing at White Fang for help.
"Don't look at me, I can't help. No opposable thumbs, remember?" he gave me his wolf grin.
I sighed; I'd have to do this all alone… Suddenly, an idea struck me, I could use Shadow Clones and I had more than enough chakra stored up to do it now.
"That's fine White Fang, I've got it taken care of," I smiled and made the hand signs.
A giant cloud of smoke erupted around me and once it had cleared twenty of me were crammed in my entry way.
"Alright, ten of you go fix up the yard and the rest of us will work on the house," I commanded my clones.
Nineteen heads bobbed and then flew off in multiple directions. I helped with the vacuuming and dusting while I made one of my clones clean the fridge. The poor thing had to hold her nose because of the ghastly smell.
We had the house clean in a few hours but I was exhausted. I hadn't used chakra in so long and even doing something as simple as Shadow Clones was tiring.
I walked outside and saw that the clones were just finishing trimming the last trees as another clone was just returning from getting some groceries. I let the Jutsu go a few minutes later and they all disappeared in a cloud of smoke. White Fang trotted up to me, his coat sopping wet but at least it was white again.
"Where did you go off to?" I asked eyeing him.
"One of your clones jumped me and gave me a bath," he growled.
"Well, you look very handsome now," I giggled.
"Oh yeah?" he shot me a wolf grin and then shook, water sprayed everywhere.
"I didn't need a bath," I reminded him, pointing at my now damp clothes.
"My mistake," a very fluffy White Fang said.
I sighed; sometimes he acted just like a cub.
"I'm off to go train now," I announced and turned to jump into the trees.
"Hold it! You're in no state to train today. You've already used enough chakra, you should rest up and practice tomorrow," White Fang suggested but it sounded more like a command.
I turned around slowly and trudged back to the house, grumbling all the while about how I wasn't his cub. White Fang chuckled and followed me inside, tail wagging.
I woke around nine the next morning and got dressed without waking White Fang who lay on my carpet. I wore my normal clothes today since I technically was an inactive ANBU. There would be no missions for me to go on for this whole week.
I tip-toed into the kitchen and pulled my backpack out of a cupboard. I packed a lunch and some extra kunai knives and shuriken inside it. They made loud clinking sounds when they touched as I lifted the bag onto my shoulder.
I walked to the foyer and began to pull on my black sandals. I was just about to open the door when I heard the faint pad of paws coming down the hall. I peeked over my shoulder and saw White Fang, wagging his tail and staring at me hopefully.
"You can come. We have to train hard together if we want to survive S-ranked missions," I said, holding the door open so White Fang could walk out before me.
"YES!" White Fang reared up and then bounded out the door, barking happily.
I smiled and jogged to catch up to the wolf after I'd locked the door.
"Where are we going to train?" White Fang asked enthusiastically.
"The clearing with the giant rock," it had been so long since I'd last been there.
A few minutes later we landed in the clearing. I stared at the giant rock, and for a moment, I saw Yondaime-sensei, Yoko-sensei, a younger Kakashi and a younger me sitting there, eating lunch and laughing.
"Reicheru!" White Fang brought me back to the present.
"Hmm?" I looked at him, puzzled.
"You okay?" White Fang's yellow eyes were worried.
"I'm fine," I failed at trying to sound convincing.
I was okay but I missed the good old days. I sighed; they would never come back.
"Come on, let's do some basic stuff to warm up," I leapt onto the rock and began some Taijutsu moves.
I practiced various kicks, spins and punches, plus everything else I could remember that I used to do with Taijutsu. I pulled out some shuriken and kunai knives and made Genjutsu targets; I hit the bull's-eye every single time.
Around noon I fell back on the rock, slightly exhausted.
"You haven't used much chakra and you're already spent. Are you sure you feel well enough to do this?" White Fang inquired from his position on the rock.
"I just need to take a break," I wiped sweat from my brow and then rummaged in my backpack for the lunch I'd made.
"Is there anything in there for me?" White Fang asked hopefully.
"I brought some dog biscuits," I held up a small baggy and White Fang made a face. "Just kidding, there's some sliced pork in here for you," I tossed him a few pieces and he caught them easily as they sailed through the air.
We finished our lunch in fifteen minutes which was just enough time for me to regain my strength. I stood and White Fang watched me carefully for any signs of weakness.
"Wolf Senses Jutsu," I said while making the hand signs.
"Let's see how well you've mastered this since you last showed me it," White Fang said as he stood. "What do you smell in the far right corner of the clearing?"
I sniffed and thousands of scents filled my nostrils.
"There's an ant carrying some of our lunch back to its colony over there," I pointed in the exact direction of the insect.
White Fang howled in triumph.
"Now tell me all that you hear," White Fang became a statue as he anticipated my answer.
"I hear birds flying a few miles away… The grass and trees whispering in the wind… There's a snake slithering through the grass, chasing a mouse just inside the forest…" I pointed in the directions that I heard the separate noises. "I hear a butterfly's wings and the bees in the flowers at the edge of the clearing and-" I paused as I heard a twig snap.
I froze and looked down at White Fang; his eyes told me that he'd heard it too. I closed my eyes and using my chakra, sensed for the source of the noise. I opened my eyes, shocked, and looked back down at White Fang who had recognized the person at the same time as me.
Kakashi…
There was another scent with him too…Pakkun. What did they want?
"A raccoon, there's a raccoon in the trees over there," I pointed in the opposite direction from where Kakashi hid.
"Very good," White Fang played along. "You've definitely mastered this Jutsu," he congratulated me.
"I use it in every battle," I said proudly making sure to avert my eyes from the certain spot in the trees.
I busied myself in the refilling of my equipment holster as I listened to the voices coming from the trees.
"That was close. That Jutsu is definitely a good one to have in battle," Pakkun whispered.
"You must be joking; she couldn't even tell that we were here. My stealth skills can beat that Jutsu any day," Kakashi bragged quietly.
"You underestimate her," Pakkun said sadly.
"Doubt it. That fight with the Kyuubi probably got her chakra network all messed up. She'll just hurt our chances of winning a battle," Kakashi replied smugly.
"If you don't think she's good enough then why are we here? You aren't copying any of her Jutsus are you?" Pakkun sounded shocked.
"Of course not! I'm just here to watch and make sure that she's as good as she used to be," Kakashi's voice was frustrated.
"There's something else, isn't there?" Pakkun asked suspiciously.
"Well, maybe if she needs a partner to practice with then maybe I could help. That way if she hurts herself there will be someone to take her back to the hospital," Kakashi's response was hurried.
"Sometimes I can't tell if you like her or not," Pakkun muttered.
"I don't like her! She's different now…" Kakashi spluttered angrily.
"Tell yourself whatever you want. Besides, she's no different from when you guys first met…" Pakkun's voice faded as he began to remember something.
"What does that mean? Reicheru hadn't learned that Transformation Jutsu yet and by learning it she's become evil… I told you that she attacked me!" Kakashi whispered angrily.
"You don't understand at all, do you?" Pakkun asked and I could picture him shaking his head in disappointment.
"What?! What aren't you telling me?" Kakashi's voice was getting louder.
"Nothing, and keep your voice down," Pakkun shot back.
So Pakkun did know my secret, or at least part of it. I tuned out their squabbling once I realized that Pakkun wouldn't give in to Kakashi's pleading.
I continued with my training as the two spies watched with interest. I started with Ninjutsu and performed all of my Fire Techniques, then Earth, followed by Water and then ordinary Academy level Jutsus. I toyed with ideas of new Jutsus that I could create but I put those aside. Today was just practicing to make sure that I could still use all of my Jutsus. I didn't want to exhaust myself too much by creating new ones right away. New Jutsus took a bit of time and trial and error which wasted a lot of chakra.
I moved onto Genjutsu after a few hours and tried to fool White Fang into thinking that he was being squeezed, dropped off a cliff, burnt by a volcano and caught in a tornado.
"You know this might be considered animal cruelty!" he called to me as he spun around in the tornado. "Kai!" he shouted and the tornado immediately disappeared.
"Yeah but I think the fact that you are a summons makes you an exception," I laughed, I was careful not to hurt him anyways.
White Fang tumbled to the ground and was able to land on his feet.
"Let's go home, I'm tired. We'll come back here tomorrow and practice," I made sure that my voice was loud enough so that it would carry back to Kakashi and Pakkun.
White Fang nodded and we leapt down from the rock and jogged into the trees. I overheard Pakkun yelling at Kakashi.
"Put that stupid book away! They're leaving," Pakkun squawked.
"But Icha Icha Paradise is so good," Kakashi whined.
"You can read it when we get home. You should be paying more attention to her training…" Pakkun's voice faded as White Fang and I bounded farther and farther away.
What was Icha Icha Paradise?
The next day White Fang and I found ourselves in the clearing at nine o'clock.
I'd replenished my backpack the night before with snacks and extra weapons. White Fang guarded it on the rock as I warmed up; I performed the exact same Jutsus I'd done the day before.
This time I had already sensed Kakashi and Pakkun watching me from the trees.
"Shouldn't you be paying attention?" I heard Pakkun grumble.
"She's doing the exact same things she did yesterday. No new material that might make her stronger," Kakashi said as I heard the ruffle of pages.
Nothing new, I'd show him! I'd come up with a few new Jutsus overnight; White Fang didn't even know about them even though he was essential for them to work.
"Hey White Fang?" I called up to him.
"Hmm?" the wolf picked himself up.
"Come down here, I have a few new Jutsus I'd like to try out," I heard Pakkun whisper something to Kakashi but I couldn't make it out.
White Fang looked at me confused but scampered down from the rock and sat at my feet.
"Alright, I'm not exactly sure how well this'll work since I haven't completely tested it but at least it'll be something new we can use in battle," I explained.
"You never told me anything about new Jutsus," the wolf whimpered.
"You'll be fine. Ookami Expansion Jutsu!" I cried as I made the couple of hand signs that I thought would give me the right results.
I waited for the smoke to clear as it blocked my view of White Fang. I didn't have to wait long and I actually had to raise my gaze to make eye contact with the wolf once it had disappeared.
"What did you do?!" the wolf's voice was deeper but that only made the panic in it more obvious.
"I just made you bigger, no big deal," I shrugged and then took a closer look at him.
He was only half the size I was when I was in dragon form but he was still quite fearsome. If we were surrounded by enemy ninja he'd be able to protect me and take the majority of them down in one swipe. His claws and teeth were much bigger and sharper, deadly weapons in battle.
"This is actually pretty cool," White Fang wagged his tail as he walked around in a circle to get a better look at himself.
The ground shook slightly with every step but it wasn't that noticeable.
"I could also ride on your back and use my sword from up there," I smiled and White Fang looked down at me suspiciously.
"Why bother making me bigger when you could just transform into a dragon and protect yourself that way?" White Fang sat down and waited patiently for an explanation.
I froze and looked down at my feet. I didn't want Kakashi to hear about my nightmares. Making White Fang bigger to avoid nightmares was only part of why I had developed this Jutsu though. The other part was to avoid losing control and letting some enemy ninja see how valuable an asset I could be. I would be a target if anyone outside the Land of Fire knew about me and I already knew that rumours of the giant dragon that had fought the Kyuubi were spreading.
I bit my lip and began to tremble; I was already putting everyone I loved and my entire village in danger…
"I think I understand," White Fang said quietly and I heard a frustrated sigh come from the trees.
Did Kakashi honestly think that I could not sense him?
"So, did you come up with anything else?" White Fang asked, trying to distract me.
I looked up at him with grateful eyes and a faint smile of thanks for the change of topic. I backed up a few paces.
"Watch, Giant Ookami Transformation!" I finished my hand signs and let my arms hang by my sides.
A cloud of smoke obscured the view any living thing in the clearing had of me. The transformation was as quick as the change into my dragon form.
My body stretched and grew but only to about the same size as White Fang. I fell onto all fours and my hands and feet morphed into paws. My tail bone protruded from my back while sharp teeth filled my mouth and claws grew from my toes. My ears shifted to the top of my head while my blue eye turned yellow and the Sharingan one stayed red, as normal. Finally, thick, brown, glossy fur sprouted all over my body and I looked up in time to see the rest of the smoke clear.
White Fang jumped back in surprise as he caught sight of the giant, female, coffee brown wolf standing before him. I shook my body and then sat down, observing the white wolf with my mismatched eyes. I hated the fact that I had no bangs to cover my Sharingan but I would have to live with it.
"What do you think?" I wagged my bushy tail and mimicked the grin he always gave me.
"I-I don't know… I guess my first question is why do you need it when you've already got me?" There was a slight hint of hurt in his voice and I smiled apologetically.
"I still need you, but at least this way we'll be double the trouble. I can run faster like this than if I were human and this way I don't have to use my Wolf Senses Jutsu. On the downside, it uses a fair chunk of chakra to keep this form as oppose to my dragon one since it is technically another body for me. However, this form draws less attention than a dragon and I can hide my identity better. Also, we have the advantage because we can discuss tactics without speaking English," I kept my voice at a low whisper so that Kakashi wouldn't overhear.
I wagged my tail and to prove my point, I howled a long mournful cry towards the sky.
The eerie howl echoed throughout the clearing and the forest beyond. I heard Kakashi clamp his hands over his ears to block out the noise that was already sending chills down his spin.
I choked off the call and smiled weakly at White Fang. That howl was the howl of loneliness; it was meant to make people shiver. The emotions wolf howls could convey amazed me even though I'd heard them many times before.
"It's too bad that he doesn't understand what it means," White Fang looked at me sadly as he spoke in wolf.
I nodded and stood. Pakkun probably could've figured out what it meant since wolf and dog dialects were similar but not exactly the same. There were different pitches that wolves could hit that dogs could not and I was thankful for that because then Kakashi might've been able to figure out what we were saying.
I glanced around the clearing; I had the sudden urge to play! I finally understood why White Fang acted like a cub from time to time. Part of the wolf's mentality was just like a cub's; the need to play.
I looked at White Fang with suddenly excited eyes. In a second I'd leapt into the forest and picked up a giant branch that had fallen. I carried it back into the clearing and shook it; its leaves flew everywhere.
I lowered my front quarters to the ground so that my butt was up in the air. I wagged my tail as White Fang cocked his head, trying to make sense of my sudden mood swing. I gave the best wolf grin I could with the branch in my teeth, inviting him to play. I saw the wheels click in White Fang's head as he recognized the body language.
"Shouldn't you be training?" White Fang frowned but his eyes stared longingly at the stick.
"I think we deserve a break," I wagged my tail as I put way too much emphasis on the word 'we'.
White Fang let go of all seriousness and leapt at me. He grasped the opposite end of the branch in his teeth and we began to play tug-o-war. We circled each other, pulling the branch this way and that, trying to rip it away from the other. I tugged hard on my end and sunk my teeth even deeper into the bark. There was a shredding sound as the branch ripped in two. The force with which we had been pulling caused us to fly backwards. White Fang flew into the forest, destroying a few trees along the way as I was flung into the giant rock.
My back collided with the hard surface and knocked the breath out of me. I released the Jutsus that held White Fang and me in our current states. I gasped and coughed, trying desperately to suck in some air once I'd returned to my human form. My back hurt badly but I hadn't broken anything, luckily.
"Shouldn't you help her?!" Pakkun's frantic voice was a little too loud.
"She'll be fine," Kakashi said uncaringly.
I thought that was a little cold but it didn't matter; I had to get oxygen into my lungs. I succeeded in pulling in a ragged breath just as a normal sized White Fang dashed back into the clearing.
"Are you okay? We are never doing that again! It was stupid and reckless! We should've seen that coming!" White Fang spoke English once again and I stared at him with a shocked expression; he sounded like my father.
My father had told me the same thing when I'd practiced throwing shuriken for the first time and it had gone terribly awry. The shuriken had ended up leaving a long gash in my arm when it had rebounded off a tree. He had been the one encouraging me to start my ninja training early but fighting with weapons had turned out to be a little too dangerous for a two year old.
"What?" White Fang sighed in frustration as he plopped his butt on the ground.
I burst out laughing; I couldn't help it.
"Aw, come on, it was fun," I giggled, elbowing him in the chest.
"Get back to training," White Fang just shook his head.
I stood shakily and rested my hands on my knees as I tried to regulate my breathing. White Fang hopped back on the rock so that he had a better view of my drills.
"Wait, I still need you for the last Jutsu!" I called up to him.
"Forget it, you can do this one on your own," White Fang lay down in a huff.
"Too late," I smiled evilly as I finished the hand signs.
White Fang yelped in surprise as a veil of smoke swallowed him. I knew this last Jutsu would use a lot of chakra to hold. Transforming one's self into something else was fairly easy but transforming another's body into something new was quite difficult and unheard of.
The smoke cleared and I heard a stifled gasp escape from both Pakkun and Kakashi's lips. All three of us were entranced by the man clad in a soft yellow, long sleeved shirt and loose fitting, white pants. His sleek white hair ended at his shoulders but his bangs were not quite long enough to cover his piercing yellow eyes. The man looked older than me but his body was toned and muscular. The shirt that he wore was a V-neck so it showed off his muscular bare chest.
I couldn't take my eyes off of White Fang, he was beautiful. I mentally gave myself a pat on the back; he looked really good as a human.
I felt the sudden drain on my chakra and I fell backwards, landing on my butt. Maybe I'd over done it…
"Are you o-" White Fang tried to take a step towards me but tripped since he wasn't used to balancing on two legs.
He landed on his hands and knees and realized what I had done. He picked up a trembling hand and flipped it over curiously, then placed it back down. He started to shake violently and snapped his head up to glare at me with his yellow eyes.
"How are you even capable of doing this?!" White Fang snarled, showing me his canines that were still slightly larger than normal humans'.
I trembled, the ferocity in his eyes and voice was nothing like I'd ever experienced before.
"I-I just wanted to see if I could…" I looked away from his intense gaze. "Plus I thought maybe you'd be able to fight me in hand to hand combat," I talked to my knees.
Why was he so angry? Didn't he know that this was one of the most demanding Jutsus and that no one had ever been capable of performing it without killing themselves before?
"This is too dangerous! You could've killed yourself! Get me out of this body NOW! What a waste of chakra!" White Fang continued to yell.
"Waste?! Don't you see what I'm capable of?!" I was growing angry now and I leapt onto the rock. "I could create an army with this Jutsu. If we were ambushed then I-"
"No, look at me! If we were ambushed and you did this then both of us would be useless. I am not used to this body and your chakra would be zapped. An army of animals transformed into humans would just be a hindrance. You'd be killed that much sooner," White Fang's eyes lost their rage and his voice calmed as he explained.
I looked down at my feet once again. Being scolded by White Fang was like being scolded by my father.
"It's better if you don't ever use this Jutsu again. Please promise me you won't," White Fang's eyes pleaded with my one blue one.
My mother had said almost the exact same thing after I'd turned into a dragon for the first time…
I winced at the memory and White Fang knew that he'd hit a sore spot.
"I promise," I murmured to my shoes.
I looked at White Fang's eyes to find that they were apologetic. I made the hand sign for the Jutsu's release and White Fang morphed back into his wolf form behind a curtain of smoke.
"I think we should go home now, you're pretty well spent," White Fang suggested as he picked up my backpack with his teeth.
He leapt down from the rock and walked slowly in the direction of home. I sighed; there was no arguing with him and I really was exhausted. As we walked through the forest I listened for any sign of Kakashi and Pakkun, but they were long gone.
This was my last day to train before the ANBU Reinstatement Test. I'd worked harder and harder every day and I'd become even more impatient for the test with each passing hour. My strength had completely returned and all of my Jutsus were up to snuff; I could've been an ANBU the day I'd created the new Jutsus with White Fang.
I hadn't created any new Jutsus since then but today I had a few tricks up my sleeves for my spectators. Kakashi still thought that my senses had been scrambled by the fight with the Kyuubi. He, nor Pakkun, had ever showed themselves while I was training and it was really starting to tick me off. Just exactly what was the point of him coming if he didn't even care about me or what I was doing?
No matter, I was going to show Kakashi just how valuable an asset I could be to a team.
White Fang sat on the giant rock and watched me warm up with impatience. He was waiting for when I would commence the avalanche of Jutsus I'd created or remembered that had run in my clan.
It was during my Fire Jutsus that I decided to try out the one my mother had created.
"Fire Style, Fire Cell Jutsu!" my hand signs were quick and ended with the Tiger seal.
I forced my chakra up and out of my body so that it formed columns of flame. They flew forward and grasped at the air, trying to imprison an invisible enemy. The columns criss-crossed and formed a giant, round fire cell that floated in the air.
I smiled as it levitated in front of me. I had mastered a Jutsu that had taken my mother months to perfect. White Fang howled his approval from the rock and an idea flickered through my head. If I could roll the cell then maybe whoever it contained would be forced to talk a little faster.
I raised both of my hands and controlled my chakra so that it shot from my fingers, towards the ball. The ten strings clamped onto a bar of fire and I twisted my hands this way and that to make it move. The cell of fire danced before me and I pictured a Rock ninja squealing for mercy inside. White Fang somehow figured out what I was thinking and barked to bring my thoughts out of the past.
"That's kind of cruel to do to a prisoner," he whined as I continued to roll the ball of flame.
"I never said I was nice. Besides whoever ends up in here probably deserves it," I laughed manically and it even freaked me out.
I released the cell and the flames disappeared. I did have a bit of a morbid streak but that came from the dragon part of me.
"What's next?" White Fang called from the rock.
I looked at my right palm. I was planning on trying out my Rasengan but I wasn't sure what I could attack with it. I guess a tree would have to suffice.
"Rasengan!" I yelled and the chakra pooled into my hand immediately.
I ran towards the closest tree with my right hand held out before me. I blasted through it and its giant trunk collapsed into the clearing.
"Glad that still works!" White Fang called sarcastically.
"I'm not done with it yet," I shot back. "Rasengan!"
The chakra pooled into my hand once again. This time I wanted to add fire to its destructive power, but I wasn't sure how to do that. I guessed that the best way would be to blow a spurt of flame into the circulating chakra and hope that it didn't burn my hand.
"Fire Style, Fire Stream Jutsu," I circled my lips with the fingers on my free hand and directed the jet of flame towards the ball of chakra.
I watched, fascinated, as the fire mixed with the chakra and the Rasengan caught on fire. I punched through another tree with my right hand and I flew through it even easier than the first one. I watched as the charred trunk fell to the ground. The fire just helped the Rasengan eat away at any obstruction. This attack was twice as deadly.
I walked back to the clearing, grinning with pride. I was ready to face any enemy, but before that I had one more Jutsu to try out.
"Make sure you're hidden behind the rock for this next one White Fang!" he answered me with a bark and then hid on the far side of the rock so that my attack would not reach him.
The next Jutsu was my own creation; a hybrid would be the proper word for it. Wind and Fire Styles combined to make one fatal attack.
"Fire and Wind Hybrid Style, Flame Tornado Jutsu!" I cried and quickly made the twenty-five hand signs that made the Jutsu so complicated.
I spun around in a circle while blowing flame as I went. Once completed, I raised my hands above my head and the flames shot skyward so that they were as tall as the trees. I twirled around inside my circular wall of fire until I had a big draft of wind twisting and churning. The wind inside caused the flames to twist around me at top speed. I thrust both of my hands towards the twirling flames with my palms facing them. I forced chakra from my hands in the form of wind that forced the circle to widen. The flames twisted farther away from me as they continued their tornado like movement. Finally, they stretched out far enough to touch the giant rock and the trees on my side of the clearing. I let one last big gust of wind emerge and the massive tornado swelled and then disappeared.
White Fang hopped back onto the rock once the tornado was completely gone. He watched as I caught my breath on the only green patch of grass left on my side of the clearing.
I looked around me to see the damage I'd inflicted. The grass was burnt to a crisp around me and as far out as I'd made the tornado go. The trees that had been at the edge of the clearing were still smouldering and chunks of them lay strewn about on account of the wind that had picked them up.
All in all, any ninja standing within my Jutsu's reach would be dead or critically burnt and vulnerable; easy to finish off with one slice from a kunai knife. The only problem was what if I was out of kunai or any sharp objects that I could use to finish someone off with? I needed some sort of Jutsu that would allow me to stab enemies if need be.
My dragon teeth and talons were sharp enough but I didn't want to have to transform just to kill someone…
Teeth! That was it!
Whenever you performed a Fire Jutsu you had to force the chakra from your body and out of your mouth in order to create fire. The timing for transforming your chakra into flame had to be just right otherwise you would burn the inside of your mouth. If I could do that with part of my chakra and then condense the rest of it and morph it into dragon teeth at the same time I could have a fireball that would not only burn, but pierce too!
I smiled at my genius idea and then took a few minutes to think of the correct hand signs. I just had to take the Grand Fireball Jutsu's hand signs and add the dragon hand sign and some concentration and it should work.
"Fire Style, Dragon's Tooth Grand Fireball Missile!" I made the hand signs quickly and focused on pulling the chakra from my body.
It was odd, feeling the condensed chakra emerge from my lips as I blew out but at least the Jutsu seemed to be working.
The ball of flame grew before me as I continued to add more fire and teeth to it. Finally, I forced air from my mouth that sent the ball of flame into the trees in front of me. I covered my face with my hands as the ball exploded and pieces of wood flew everywhere.
I opened my left eye first to make sure it was safe and then my right even though its vision was obscured by my bangs.
The trees that the fireball had hit directly were disintegrated by the flames. All the nearby trees were charred and pierced with hundreds of teeth, deeply embedded in their bark. There was no way a human could ever survive my attack.
I was beyond satisfied with my Jutsu. I turned around to look up at White Fang who glanced at me and then at the destroyed area in awe.
"And that's why they call me the Tatsue!" I crowed proudly, jabbing my thumb into my chest.
Suddenly, my right eye throbbed and I clasped my hand over it. After a couple seconds the pain disappeared and I blinked furiously to make sure that it wouldn't return. I brushed my bangs behind my ear and glanced around the clearing; what had caused the pain? As I looked around everything seemed clearer and I glanced up at White Fang.
"You have three tomoes now!" White Fang grinned and wagged his tail and I smiled back and then moved my bangs back in front of my face.
His expression changed suddenly as one of his ears swivelled in the direction of Kakashi and Pakkun's hideout. I quickly made the hand signs for my Wolf Senses Jutsu.
"That was an impressive display of Jutsus," Pakkun muttered. "You pale in comparison."
"Humph, not yet. However, Reicheru is stronger than she's ever been," Kakashi praised me but he sounded hesitant.
"What are you thinking?" Pakkun asked.
"We'd make an awesome team but how am I supposed to trust her? She has so many secrets and she won't explain anything about her past or her dragon form," Kakashi sighed, his curiosity was beginning to get the better of him.
"Well, she'll tell you eventually," Pakkun said reassuringly.
"I bet you she doesn't. There's something different about her anyway," Kakashi's voice returned to its bored tone as I heard him return to reading his book once again. "I think I should just withdraw from being put on her team. Maybe-" Kakashi froze as a kunai embedded itself in his book.
I yanked on the string I'd attached to the knife and pulled the book out of Kakashi's reach. The two of them didn't move a muscle as I rewound the string and the book and kunai bounced towards me through the grass.
I bent down to pick up the green book and dislodged the knife from inside it. The kunai had left a giant hole through the middle of the novel rendering part of it illegible. I flipped the book open and tried to figure out what was so appealing to Kakashi.
I blushed after reading a couple of sentences in the middle of the novel. I looked up at the spot where Kakashi and Pakkun were still hiding.
"Did you honestly think that I couldn't sense you?" I asked the trees.
Kakashi didn't make any movements, hoping that I would think he'd left. I glanced down at the book that contained unspeakable things.
"You pervert! Are you so afraid of letting people into your life that you've turned to books like this?!" I called up to him.
I loved him, why couldn't he see that? He was pushing his only friend farther and farther away from him. I wanted to be more to him and help him with the pain he felt over Rin and Obito's deaths but I couldn't do that if he kept on hating me.
"Are you so afraid of letting someone love you because you're afraid of losing them, or have you hardened your heart so much that you don't care?" I looked away from the eyes that I knew were watching me.
I was being a little hypocritical. Who was the one that wouldn't allow herself to cry because it hurt too much? You only cried when you had a deep bond with someone and even though I frowned upon crying, I wanted a relationship with Kakashi.
I shook my head at my stupidity and turned towards White Fang who had walked up behind me.
"Can I have my book back?" Kakashi asked quietly from behind my back.
I turned around slowly; I hadn't even heard him approach.
Kakashi wore his ANBU uniform but hadn't bothered wearing his animal mask. Only his headband and black mask hid his face today. Kakashi's right hand was extended towards me and there was a kind and polite look to his one visible eye.
"Why'd you come here?" I asked, tearing my eye away from his.
His words from earlier still rung in my ears. He didn't want to be on my team because he didn't trust me. He thought I was different; he didn't like me at all. Then why had he come if he didn't care?
"Well I-" Kakashi stopped and rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed.
"You were copying my Jutsus weren't you?!" I was shocked and angry; I hadn't thought that he was capable of doing something so low.
"Now hold on-" Kakashi held up his hands, trying to explain.
I stuffed his wretched book in my equipment holster and sent my right fist towards his jaw. Kakashi caught it just in time and I growled. We were still equally matched even after all these years and I realized that a fight would be useless.
"What's your excuse for watching me then?" I snarled through clenched teeth.
"I… I was just making sure that you didn't hurt yourself," Kakashi's eye gave it away.
"Liar!" I hissed and swung my other fist at his gut but he caught that one too.
His eye searched mine for something that I couldn't quite figure out. I stopped trying to fight him but he still kept a strong hold on my hands.
"Why do care so much whether or not I let anyone into my life?" Kakashi's visible eyebrow rose.
I hung my head so that he wouldn't see my blush as I thought of an answer.
"… Because it sucks to be alone and there's always someone out there who's willing to love you," I kept looking at my feet as my face became really warm.
"Someone?" Kakashi asked quizzically.
"Yeah, you know, because this is a big village and there's got to be someone here who cares about you!" I grew angry as he didn't seem to get the hint.
I pulled away from him and turned and crossed my arms in a huff. I realized that that seemed kind of childish and I dropped my arms to my sides in defeat. It was a constant war raging inside of me: should I let Kakashi know that I liked him or not? Obviously, he didn't like me if he hadn't caught on earlier and there was something about how he'd acted in the hospital that bothered me…
"Why did you always wear your mask when you came to visit me in the hospital? It's not like there were any enemies in that room," I asked quietly and Kakashi sucked in a deep breath and hesitated.
This was something he'd hoped that I wouldn't bring up.
"You sort of are my enemy…" Kakashi finally admitted.
I whirled around, surprised, and my hair floated about me, giving Kakashi a glimpse of my Sharingan eye. His eye hardened and I realized that that was another one of his questions that I hadn't completely answered, and he knew it.
"Let me explain before you bite my head off," Kakashi held up his hands in defence again. "You're like an enemy to me because I don't know you anymore. You hide things from me and then you show off these extraordinary powers that you're not too intent on sharing."
I didn't know what he meant exactly by not sharing my power; whether he wanted me to teach him my Jutsu or if he wanted me to tell him how I got it. He still didn't know that the Transformation Jutsu was a Kekkei Genkai.
"I hid my face from you because as soon as I saw you lying in the hospital bed, defenceless and weak, I felt awful. I couldn't do anything for you and I hadn't been there to help you during your fight with the Kyuubi. I'd let my comrade, a person that means more to me than anything, down. It tormented me to see someone so powerful, lifeless and I was powerless to do anything to help. Then when you woke up and made some comment I grew angry with you because you wouldn't tell me anything and that's why I never stayed long when I visited," Kakashi paused and I waited patiently for him to continue. "Then I would grow frustrated with myself because I was being a terrible friend. I hated not seeing you everyday and once the guilt I felt became unbearable, I'd go and visit you again. But, upon seeing you again my emotions formed a vicious circle and I would leave," Kakashi paused again and I realized that White Fang and Pakkun were sitting on either side of me.
"So you hid your face from me because…?" I tried to piece together the information Kakashi had just thrown at me, it was hard to take it all in at once.
"I didn't want you to see how much I loved and hated you at the same time. Emotions just get in the way…" Kakashi dropped his gaze.
"If you don't show emotions then you aren't technically human," I said quietly. "Wait, did you say that you loved me?" my tone brightened considerably.
"Yeah, but it's alright if you don't like me, I understand," Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck absentmindedly as his voice became gloomy.
My heart jumped for joy and I couldn't stop the idiotic grin from spreading across my face. It was like my feet had a mind of their own; before I knew what I was doing; I'd leapt at Kakashi and flung my arms around his neck.
"I love you too!" I'd waited so long to say those words.
He hadn't been expecting this much of a reaction from me and he had to take a few steps back in order to catch his balance. I glanced up to look into his one visible eye which contained an astonished look. I blushed as what I'd done registered in my brain.
"Sorry," I murmured to him.
"Don't be," Kakashi chuckled and kissed my forehead through his mask.
He wrapped his arms around my waist and hugged me tightly, resting his chin on top of my head. I sighed contented, and Kakashi kissed the top of my head before holding me at arms length. I frowned as a serious look entered his right eye.
"Just because I love you doesn't mean that I forgive you for lying to me. You still have some explaining to do," I became horror stricken as I realized what he wanted.
Why did happiness have to come with strings attached?
I shied away from him, hugging myself and tearing my eye away from his.
"I can't tell you," I winced and waited for him to start shouting at me.
I felt a hand on my shoulder as another was tucked under my chin, forcing me to turn around and look up.
"Do you at least promise to tell me, sometime?" Kakashi's kind and gentle expression surprised me.
"Yes," I lied, I wouldn't tell him unless I absolutely had to.
Kakashi nodded and his eye smiled at me. He pulled me close and squeezed me tightly. I felt so safe imprisoned there, I never wanted to leave but of course our loyal canines had to ruin the moment.
"Ahem?" White Fang coughed.
I pulled away to look at the wolf but Kakashi kept his right arm around my waist, pulling me closer to him so that our hips touched.
"It's nice to finally see you two together but Reicheru does have work to do," White Fang reminded me and Pakkun nodded in agreement.
"I'm ready for the stupid test," I shook my head, why did White Fang have so little faith in me at times?
"No, he's right, you should train some more." Kakashi said quietly and I growled at him.
I saw Kakashi's lips flicker into a smile under his mask.
"You can practice hand to hand combat with me. That'll make it more interesting," Kakashi chuckled and pulled away from me. "By the way, I got my book back," he waved the green novel in front of my face.
I hissed and tried to swipe it back but he danced just out of reach, chuckling. I hadn't even felt him reach into my equipment holster. Kakashi tucked the book back in his own holster and I chased after him. We leapt back and forth blocking each other's punches and kicks until the sun set.
The next day White Fang and I woke a little later than usual and made our way leisurely to the clearing for my test. I didn't know whether or not I was allowed to use White Fang during the test but I though that it couldn't hurt to bring him along.
We padded slowly through the forest on the way to the clearing. The sky was bright and blue and the sun cast strange shadows on my face as it bounced off the trees' canopy.
A few feet before we entered the clearing I donned my ANBU mask and double checked that my Ninjaken was securely fastened to my grey top. I stepped into the sun and its rays glinted off the armour I'd polished the night before.
The Third Hokage and four other ANBU members stood on the giant rock in the middle of the clearing. I recognized Kakashi's grey hair as it waved in the wind but I had no idea who the others were. I smiled but of course Kakashi wasn't able to tell that I was happy to see him. His posture was tense but it relaxed when I came into view.
"Welcome Tatsue, are you prepared for your Reinstatement Test?" the Hokage smiled kindly as I approached the rock.
"Of course, Hokage-sama," I bowed my head to be polite.
"Alright then, these four gentlemen have offered to help assist with your exam. They will each create twenty-five Shadow Clones that you are to annihilate using all of your techniques. Anything goes and depending on how well you've mastered your techniques and how severe your injuries are, will decided if you become a full fledged ANBU," the Hokage explained and raised his hand.
I bowed, accepting his terms. I straightened and looked towards Kakashi. I knew he'd love to go easy on me but luckily, he wasn't allowed. I readied my stance and extracted a kunai knife, White Fang by my side.
"Begin!" the Hokage lowered his hand like a flag and the four ANBU created the same hand signs and yelled in unison.
One hundred clones surrounded me once the cloud of smoke disappeared. A sudden wave of pain radiated through me as something about the situation seemed familiar…
I gasped suddenly as I remembered.
I stood up slowly and glanced around me. There were about one hundred Rock ninja encircling me and my squad. The leader ninja was laughing at the stupidity of my comrade who lay near death by my feet.
Yuki…
I remained unmoving and stared at Kakashi even though I wasn't really seeing him.
I was grossly outnumbered, just like before. There was no way I could protect everyone I loved from every single ninja.
"Yuki…" I murmured absentmindedly, still lost in my memories.
A sharp pain shot through my calf and I was brought back to reality.
I leapt away from whatever had injured me just in time to dodge a few kunai that had been tossed at my head. I glanced down at my leg that was oozing blood from a couple of little holes. I looked over at White Fang and realized that he'd bitten me in order to get my head out of the clouds.
I covered my injury with my right arm and focused my chakra into the wounds in order to heal them. I straightened and looked down at White Fang.
"The Hokage said anything goes. You ready White Fang?" I smiled wickedly as I placed my hands together.
A bark answered my question and I made the hand signs with lightning speed.
"Ookami Expansion Jutsu! Wolf Senses Jutsu!" I made the two different sets of hand signs simultaneously.
My senses intensified quicker than the smoke cleared from around the giant wolf. White Fang growled menacingly and watched my back as I waited for the clones to attack.
They eventually did and White Fang and I sprung into action. The wolf swiped and bit at any clone that was stupid enough to come within reach of him and they disappeared in a poof of smoke. I threw the kunai I'd been holding at an ANBU clone and hit him square in the stomach. I unsheathed my sword and preformed a couple of dances I knew to kill off a few dozen ninja.
Twenty minutes late, White Fang and I had destroyed all of the clones. I hadn't really used much chakra since I'd mostly used Taijutsu. However, something didn't feel right… Throughout the whole battle I didn't recall stabbing a single Kakashi clone.
"Bring 'em out Kakashi. I know they're hiding in the trees," I smiled as my senses tipped me off.
I heard a heavy sigh and twenty–five Kakashi clones leapt at me from the forest. I made a few hand signs and slunk into the ground.
"Earth Style, Inner Decapitation Jutsu!" I was successful in pulling a couple of clones into the ground before the others figured out what I was doing.
I emerged from the ground and was immediately attacked by Kakashi. I swung my sword around in time and sliced him down the side. It made me nauseous to see Kakashi's pained expression but I reminded myself that he was only a clone and continued with my fight.
I turned to see a handful of clones heading towards me, swords drawn. I combined my Grand Fireball Technique with the Dragon Tooth Jutsu and burned/pierced them all.
The sound of something flying through the air made me swivel on my feet to face it. A Kakashi clone had taken advantage of my distraction to leap at me from behind. He held his Ninjaken in his hands and I tried to pull mine up in time to block his blow. Something white shot out towards my attacker and knocked him to the ground where he disappeared. I realized that it had been White Fang's tail that had saved me. I smiled up at the wolf who gave me a wolf grin in return before turning to claw at a couple more silver haired ANBU.
Movement caught the corner of my eye as another Kakashi ran at me. I dashed towards him and held my right hand away from my side.
"Dragon Tooth Rasengan!" I cried and I forced my chakra ball to mix with the harder chakra that sharpened and turned white when I spat it out.
I thrust my hand into the clone's gut and watched as the ball tore away at his skin and pierced him with the sharp teeth. I felt guilty as he screamed in pain before disappearing, but I glanced over my shoulder to double check that the real Kakashi was out of harm's way.
White Fang's triumphant howl told me that he had finished off the last few clones.
"Kai!" I said and White Fang shrunk back to his normal size and I lost my advanced senses.
I jogged back to the rock where the Hokage and ANBU were standing. None of the ANBU were really drained but they took deeper breaths than usual because of the chakra they'd used. I breathed out heavily as well but only because I'd used attacks that demanded more chakra than a simple Shadow Clone Jutsu.
"Well done Tatsue! You definitely have improved since you were last an ANBU, which means you only deserve the post more. You and Kakashi will make a great team for our more demanding missions. You're all dismissed," the Hokage smiled as the three ANBU transported themselves elsewhere.
Kakashi gave me the thumbs up just before the Hokage whispered something in his ear. The Third chuckled and then he too disappeared.
I leapt onto the rock and then into Kakashi's arms. He clamped his shut around me and I removed both of our ANBU masks before smothering his masked lips with kisses. He chuckled and then hugged me tightly against his chest.
"What did the Hokage say?" I asked, looking up at his one visible eye.
"Just that you were special and that I should protect and trust you no matter what," Kakashi's tone was slightly confused but he tried to hide it by distracting me with his smiling eye.
"That's true," I said grinning.
Kakashi chuckled and removed his headband with one hand. I stared at his Sharingan eye as he revealed it and I realized that he had three tomoes too.
"What are you doing?" I asked, trying to avoid the cloth as he attempted to tie it around my head.
"Just hold still," he said in a jokingly frustrated tone.
I sighed and waited. Kakashi tightened the headband's extremities around my head and then pushed it down so that it covered my eyes.
"Hey I can't-" I was cut off as I felt lips touch mine.
These lips were bare, no mask covered them like usual.
"Kakashi, can't I just-" I tried to pry the band away from my eyes.
"No, keep it down," Kakashi chuckled.
I sighed in frustration but it turned into a sigh of contentment as he began to kiss me again. His lips moulded with mine and they conveyed all the love he felt for me.
"Gross, if you two are going to be this romantic then I'm going home," I didn't respond as I heard White Fang pad off into the trees.
"I'm going to hear about this later," I said when we'd broken apart for air and I adjusted my arms around Kakashi's neck.
"Well, that's later," Kakashi chuckled and then kissed me again.
