Chapter 8

A groggy Kakashi wakes up only to find himself in an unknown room laying on a futon. "Where am I?"

"Waking up huh? Are you alright?" asks a young woman with medium black hair wearing a blouse and skirt. "Oh and to answer your question you're at my father's, Tazuna, house. My name is Tsunami."

"Okay and I've been better. It will be a week before I can move normally though," answered Kakashi as he tried to sit up only to be pushed back down.

"It's better if you don't move, so just lie back down," scolded Tsunami.

"Right," he said and reluctantly stayed down. At that point the rest of the team entered into the room.

"Hey look Kakashi-sensi is coming around," exclaimed Naruto.

"Listen sensi," said Sakura coming over to kneel next to Kakashi. "Your sharingan is amazing but if it puts this much stress on your body maybe you shouldn't use it."

"Well, he did take down one of the most powerful ninja assassins so we will be safe for a while," stated Tazuna while fanning himself.

"About that," started Kagome. "Kakashi, I hope you realize Zabuza is not dead."

"What!" yelled the rest of the occupants in the room of course excluding Sasuke who only raised his eyebrows.

"But we saw his body, believe it!" yelled Naruto.

"Kakashi-sensi you checked him yourself and said that his heart stopped," argued Sakura.

"No Kagome is right. His heart did stop, but that was just a temporary state to simulate death," said Kakashi.

"The weapons the tracker used are called sembon, they can pierce deeply but rarely kill unless they hit a vital organ. Not in the neck," stated Kagome.

"Come you're over thinking this aren't you?" questioned Tazuna.

"'Encountering suspicion a ninja prepares quickly, hesitation leads to disaster.' Every shinobi knows this saying." Kakashi replied.

"Kakashi-sensi you said prepare quickly, but how can we do that? You haven't recovered yet," asked Sakura.

"I can still train you."

"Ha. I'm gonna get stronger and everything is gonna be ok, believe it!" proclaimed Naruto.

"I don't believe it and nothings gonna change." said a kid wearing overalls and a white blue striped hat.

"Who are you?" Naruto asked angrily.

"Inari, where have you been?" exclaimed Tazuna happily.

"Grandpa, welcome back!" Inari ran over to Tazuna with a smile on his face instead of the frown he wore before.

"Inari that was very rude," scolded Tsunami with her hands on her hips. "These ninja risked their lives to bring him here safely."

"It's okay. It's okay." said Tazuna rubbing Inari's head. "I'm rude to them too."

"Mom don't you see these people are gonna die. Gatio and his men will come back to find them and wipe them out." Inari explained to his mother.

"What did you say brat! Listen this Gaito or Gatio person or whoever is no match for a real hero like me!" boasted Naruto.

Inari then looks down covering his eyes. "There's no such thing as heroes." He then looks up and glares at Naruto, "You're just full of stupid ideas!"

"What did you say!"

"Naruto calm down he's just a kid," said Sakura while holding Naruto back.

"If you want to stay alive then you should go back to where you came from." After Inari said that he turned to walk away.

"Inari wait. Where are you going?" asked Tazuna.

"To look out at the ocean, I want to be alone." and with that he was gone. Naruto though followed after him wanting to give the kid a piece of his mind, but stopped in his tracks when he heard crying.

'What he's crying?' thought Naruto.

"Naruto I think he lost someone important in this fight and that's why he acts like this." said Kagome who had snuck up behind him. Naruto jumped in surprise but then nodded back.

"Okay training starts now." said Kakashi. They were only a little ways from Tazuna's house but always were surrounded by trees. "First we will start off with a review of chakra the ninja's basic source of power." Naruto though had fallen asleep during this lesson so Sakura had to explain it to him.

"We already know how to use chakra since we can do jutsus." complained Naruto.

"For once Naruto is right," said Sasuke.

"No." sighed Kagome. "You haven't mastered it; you've just barely scratched the surface. Like Sakura said you have to draw on physical and spiritual energies and combine them within yourself. Each jutsu requires different kinds of chakra and you have to mix and combine them in certain proportions. Up until now you've just been guessing at them." Everyone listened to Kagome explain this and was amazed at how much she knew.

"Exactly and to control this power so that it will become second nature and be any help in a battle, you have to put your life on the line." finished Kakashi.

"So how do we do that" asked Sakura.

"Climb a tree." Kakashi said so simply that everyone fell over except Kagome who smirked. "Yes only there's just one rule, no hands." Seeing that no one believed him (Except Kagome but she just kept her impassive face.) he did a quick hand sing walked over to a tree and just continued to walk up it vertically crutches and all.

"Wow he really did it." exclaimed Sakura.

"Now it's your turn." Kakashi said throwing kunai knives in front of each of his students. "Use the kunai to mark the highest point you and run up the tree before you fall, then keep doing this until you get to the top. At first you'll need to run at the tree so your momentum will take you as high as possible until you get used to it." Everyone did as he said and gathered Chakra at the bottoms of their feet then ran at the tree. Naruto only took two steps on the tree before he fell and hit his head. Sasuke made it much higher but added to much chakra and smashed a footprint into the tree. Before he fell he marked his spot and did a back flip so he could land on his feet.

'This is harder than I thought.'

Sakura on the other hand mad it all the way to the first branch high on the tree. "Well it looks like one of the females on the squad is the best chakra controller." antagonized Kakashi.

"Great job Sakura!" complemented Naruto. 'It does sort of tick me off though.' he thought. Sasuke though just looked away annoyed.

'I was hoping to impress Sasuke, now he's mad at me. Why does it always turn out like this?' thought Sakura.

"Wait where is Kagome?" questioned Naruto.

"Up here." They all looked up to the top of the tree where Kagome was hanging from. "Do I pass sensi?" she smirked.

"Wow, Kagome you're amazing!" yelled Naruto which made Kagome smile a thanks and blush a little from the outburst. Even Sasuke smirked at Kagome.

'I knew she was strong,' He thought.

"Well done Kagome," said Kakashi. "You're free to do what you like till the next person gets to the top then the two of you will guard at the bridge."

"Okay I think I'll train nearby till then." With that she left.

After falling down for the fiftieth time or more Naruto realized that he needed to ask Kagome for help seeing as how Sakura was already gone. He got up and walk in the direction Kagome went.

"Where are you going dope? Giving up already?" provoked Sasuke.

"No!" Naruto yelled back. "I'm going to fine Kagome for some advice. Naruto stalked off and Sasuke followed seeing as how he hadn't made much progress either.

Kagome came across a clearing bigger than the one she just came from. 'This should be fine,' she thought and put on her charm bracelet. Before she started she put a barrier around the area she thought she might destroy in order for it to return to how it was when she was done. It didn't keep anyone from coming in or out just for damage control. She decided to start with her hiraikotsu, turning it into its normal large form. Kagome took her stance and swung the hiraikotsu around a few times before she threw it. She knocked down about 20 large trees in one throw before she caught it again. Then she just practiced the movements of throwing the large boomerang as one would swing a racquet for tennis. After about 100 swings, on both arms, she thought she would move on to her twin swords. There was one new technique she wanted to try, but was unsure of the damage it might cause. 'Oh well, might as well try.' She thought to herself. Kagome got into a stance where one sword is pointing up and the other down with the hilts almost equal to the other. That is how Naruto and Sasuke found her, concentrating on what she was about to do. Kagome started to twirl the swords still in the same position. Beads of sweat formed on her brow as she concentrated. Her eyes then turned a brilliant blue and her kanatas went from looking like water to fire, to rock, to lighting, then would disappear and start all over till you couldn't see the changes anymore as they blended to one.

"What I the world?" whispered Naruto, and Sasuke was just as shocked.

"Jisuika-" Just as Kagome started to say the jutsu it exploded and sent her flying away from her swords. Sasuke saw this and ran to catch her before she hit the ground.

"That went better than I thought at least," Kagome mumbled closing her eyes waiting for the impact that never came as Sasuke caught her.

Naruto ran over to them, "Kagome are you okay?" he yelled. When he got over there he saw she wasn't in too bad of shape a few scrapes and bruises and there, some burns and then some parts of her looked frozen at the same time. "What were you trying to do?"

Kagome looked up seeing Naruto's and Sasuke's worried looks. "Oh hey guys," she laughed nervously.

"Don't try to laugh this off what were you trying to do?" Sasuke asked her looking into her brown eyes that he swore he saw turn blue.

"Heh. Umm combine the elements," she said innocently.