A/N: Wooh! I'm updating! Geez, that was fast... o.O Thanks to all who reviewed the previous chapter!
Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy reading this just as I enjoyed typing it...(sniggers)
Chapter 9: Disaster!
"Sasuke, are you sure of this?" Kakashi asked, sitting up when he heard what the Uchiha had 'seen'.
The onyx-eyed teen nodded. "Kakashi, I'm sure of only a few things in my life, and this is one of those."
"But...seeing something like that...that could have taken place anywhere in this country or even in others...that ability hasn't manifested itself for quite some time now..." The silver-haired jounin frowned. "In fact, it might be safe to say that it's impossible for such power to exist in these times..."
"Kakashi, I know what I saw!" Sasuke tried to keep himself from yelling. He knew - learned as time passed - that it was his quick temper that usually got him into trouble, if only occasionally, and he fought now to keep it under check. He took a deep breath and began again.
"Look, I know that I saw two guys, Shinichi and Shinji, and I was close enough to hear what they were talking about. They mentioned something about Yuriko-san getting a warning of some sort, and that since you and the other instructors probably knew about it by now, they'd have to move faster in order for them to succeed at whatever it is they have planned. This included the take-over of Konohagakure and Yuriko-san's eventual death."
The jounin's single eye widened when he heard this. "How did you know Yuriko recieved a warning?"
Sasuke sighed. "I told you, I heard Shinichi and Shinji - whoever they are - talking about it. They mentioned two others who had been observing Yuriko. I think their names were Eiji and Keitaro...anyway, is it true? Did Yuriko get this warning or something?"
Kakashi stood up and clapped a hand on his former student's shoulder. "All right, Sasuke, you've convinced me. Perhaps this 'clairvoyance' - let's call it that for now - is true. Yes, Yuriko did recieve a warning earlier this afternoon, but only she and I know about it. Well, you somehow learned of it, but you don't know what it looks like, do you?"
Without waiting for any answer, the masked man reached into one of his jacket pockets and pulled out a small folded sheet of rice paper. "Since you know of it, you might as well learn of its nature, too..." he continued, carefully unfolding it.
Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he took in the dark circles, the scarlet ideogram. "Black...and red..." he glanced up, into his former mentor's eyes. "Didn't you say that those two colors are 'the most ominous when combined'?"
Kakashi nodded. "Yes. It is the crest of the most elite of the Shinoki clan. Those who wear it are the most skilled - and most deadly - of their brothers. I'd say they're probably getting desperate..."
Sasuke was silent. Now he knew this part of the 'dream' was true. By all accounts, that would mean that the threat to Konohagakure was probably very real as well...
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"Can someone remind me why we're here?" Takao asked, yawning. "And why so early? It's only five AM!"
Only a few days had passed since their first training session in the basics; Yuriko still hadn't told her companions about the warning she'd recieved that day, simply because she knew it didn't concern them. And she didn't want it to concern them. On this day, she'd woken Kai and his teammates early and brought them to the woods behind her clan's compound.
"Certain events have prompted an increase in the pace of your training." Yuriko replied, not bothering to glance back at him. "I have been instructed to assist you in controlling your inherent abilities lain dormant 'till now."
"Huh?"
Yuriko smiled. She loved using formal language with Takao; it was fun to see the puzzled look on his face! "In simple terms: something's come up, and now we need to step up the pace in your training, especially in tapping into the abilities you all seem to have inherited from your mothers - or at least their side of your family - that you've only just discovered."
"Oh."
After a few more minutes of walking, Yuriko signalled for them to stop, and then turned to face the four.
"As you may already know, each of you is descended from one of the clans of Konohagakure," she began, "and you all have a different chakral nature, pertaining to four of the five main elements."
"Wind, water, lightning, and fire..." Takao cut in, looking bored. "Can we please cut to the chase?"
Yuriko frowned. "I have no idea how you're going to be of any help to Konoha with that attitude..." she muttered, rubbing her temples. How long 'til Kakashi-sensei brings in the reinforcements? she wondered. "Anyway, Takao," she continued, staring pointedly at the dark blue-haired teen. "Remember that Hokage-sama said that you four would be treated as working units of this village, training or none; you'll notice that none among you nor I have been assigned to any mission, and I take this to mean she's willing to wait until you guys learn the ropes. That's where I - and a few others who will be joining us later - come in. I'm going to try to help each of you tap into your abilities and use them effectively. This is important when in combat with other shinobi."
Yuriko then took a few steps backwards, leaving a six-meter gap between her and the four boys. "Now," she continued, looking firm. "I want all of you to pretend that you're in a Beybattle at this very moment. Try to imagine the time when you really need to summon those...bit beasts of yours.
"You need to do this because it's at that point that you can tap into your chakra," the amethyst-eyed teen added, reading the question in Takao's face correctly. "Kakashi-sensei and I had a little chat with Tsunade-sama last night, and we figured out that summoning your bit beast was similar to utilizing chakra. One of the properties of chakra is that it powers up an already powerful attack, or creates devastating damage by itself. Isn't that what happens when you use your bit beasts?"
"So what you're saying is...our bit beasts are our chakra?" Rei ventured.
Yuriko nodded, smiling. "I guess that's the best way to put it." She rummaged around in her pouch for a few seconds, then brought out a watch. "Now, I want you guys to do what I told you, and I'll see how long it takes for at least one of you to tap into the chakra."
"Wait. How will you know one of us has done it?" Max asked.
"Each of you will stand, your hands together in front of your chest," Yuriko instructed. "The thumb and first two fingers will be placed together, and the two remaining fingers folded down, the left over the right."
"Like this?" Takao asked, performing the indicated hand position.
Yuriko nodded, pleased that they had all sobered up. "Yes, exactly. Your hands are currently performing the Ram seal. If you've tapped into your chakra, something is bound to happen. If not, I'll be locking onto your chakra signatures, which are currently very weak, and then I'll tell you if anything's changed."
"Okay."
"All right...ready? Now!"
The group immediately fell silent, each teen concentrating. Yuriko closed her eyes, centered her breathing, and focused her chakra on the small group.
All at once, she could feel different chakra signatures emanating from each of the four, where a few moments before, there had been only very little felt from this far away. Yuriko glanced hurriedly at her watch: 5.4 seconds.
"Okay, everyone, that's it." she commanded. Instantly, the chakra dwindled away until she only just felt it. Yuriko turned to the foursome and smiled.
"Well, that was certainly quicker than expected..." she commented. "Though for some strange reason nothing happened to physically affect our surroundings - like you unwittingly did in the northeastern sector. Anyway, in less than ten seconds, each of you had successfully tapped into your chakra, and unlike before, you're still tapped into it. You're not using it, but your chakra circulation system is, for the most part, active now, when before it was almost inactive."
"Why is that?" Rei asked. Yuriko shrugged.
"I'm really not sure. Maybe being here in Konohagakure - this dimension - has an effect on your chakra circulation. Perhaps it will only remain open while within this dimension or something...But that's besides the point; what matters is that the chakra lines are open, and now you can use your chakra at will."
"Really?" Max and Takao asked in unison. The raven-haired teen nodded.
"Yup! Now, try to recall the feeling you had when I told you to stop. Anything strange?"
"Well..." Takao began tentatively, "something seemed to be bubbling up inside me, somewhere around here." Saying this, the stormy-eyed teen laid a hand on an area three inches below the solar plexus.
"Same here." Max said, raising his hand even though they weren't in a classroom setting and Yuriko wasn't a schoolteacher.
"Ditto." Rei added, his sharp canines glinting in the growing light of sunrise.
Yuriko smiled. She didn't have to ask Kai to confirm if he felt the same thing; she knew that the slate-haired teen preferred action to words, and as a result, avoided talking when it wasn't really necessary. "That proves the chakra circulation thing, then...Anyway, now I'm going to show you the different seals used when utilizing and molding chakra for the techniques you'll hopefully learn."
"Wait..." Takao started. "Does this require memorization?"
"Of course it does," The amethyst-eyed girl pretended to look surprised that he'd even thought of asking such a question. "It would be awfully difficult - not to mention awkward - to carry around a notebook of sorts with all the seals for the different techniques you've learned written down. And it certainly won't do when in battle; you'd lose the advantage of speed and then where would you be?"
"Oh...um, right..." The steel-eyed teen grinned sheepishly.
"Nice question, Kinomiya." Kai remarked, smirking.
"Shut up..."
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"So, Yuriko, how's the training?" Kakashi asked, using a hand to raise part of the cloth sign in front of the Ichiraku Ramenya. "And what are you doing at the ramen stall, anyway? Is Naruto rubbing off on you?"
Yuriko laughed. "No, Naruto-san hasn't rubbed off on me, Kakashi-sensei. But he, Sasuke and Sakura were kind enough to offer me dinner tonight. We couldn't decide on any one place to go to, so the three drew straws."
"Unfortunately, the dobe here won..." Sasuke added. It wasn't meant to be mean, though. He and Naruto called each other nicknames all the time, but 'dobe' was his favorite, so far.
"But he also has to pay for my order," Sakura said, grinning. "He owes me money from last week, and what I ordered just about adds up to the amount he borrowed."
"Hmph," went Naruto. "It was only candy. Can't you let it go?"
Sakura's response was to swat it upside his head. "It may have been sweets, but it was my money!"
It was Kakashi's turn to laugh. His team had grown and matured somewhat, but some habits from their younger days still remained. "So I see. And where are your friends, Yuriko?"
"They all stayed behind at the compound, sensei. Each said something about sleeping early for tomorrow's training. They must have been tired out."
"Hmm..." Kakashi finally took a seat. "You didn't answer my question yet, did you?"
"Oh!" Yuriko put down her chopsticks and smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry. Anyway, about the training...it started out great but went downhill."
Kakashi seemed more interested in giving his order than listening to what the auburn-haired teen had to say. "Is that so? What happened, exactly?"
"Well, they memorized the names of the different seals, but when it came to performing several in quick succession - I taught each of them one technique today - it was a disaster!" She leaned her elbows on the table and massaged her temples. "Rei somehow made a rather large bird so mad that it started chasing and pecking at his head; Max sunk himself waist-deep in his first attempt at a 'Swamp Trap'; and Kai set fire to his own pants!"
Naruto grinned cheekily; Yuriko took no notice.
"And when we thought Rei had mastered his first technique - he'd gotten the seals down pat - the lightning bolt didn't hit the target, but it hit him!"
Sakura put a hand up to hide her wide grin, shoulders hunched in an effort not to laugh out loud.
"And then Max suddenly found himself up in a tree. Turns out he lost focus and performed 'Teleport' at the end of what was supposed to be 'Swamp Trap'. Kai..." she sighed. "Kai got the 'Great Fireball', all right...a very tiny fireball."
Kakashi nearly dropped his chopsticks, while Yuriko picked up hers, a small smile showing on her face. "It wasn't all that bad, I guess...Before we stopped for the day, Takao thought to give 'Wind Vortex' another try. He forgot Tiger came first and performed Ram. Thing is, he didn't undo the seal that quickly, and he was concentrating fiercely on...well, he was concentrating on something, I guess. Anyway, because he didn't act quickly enough, let's just say the next moment, Takao was gone, and Takara stood in his place... I hear that's something you like to employ to distract your perverted mentors, Naruto, this 'Oiroke no Jutsu'..."
That did it.
"He did what?" Naruto cried just as Team 7 and Kakashi went berserk. Well, except for Sasuke, who looked positively hilarious as he tried to hold back in his laughter. He was already grinning widely by that time, though; as a result, he looked somewhat like a very constipated infant.
Meanwhile, Naruto had toppled from his chair and was rolling on the ground, guffawing. Sakura had doubled over, hands clutching her sides and overcome by giggle fits. And Kakashi had folded his arms into a box-like shape on the counter and hidden his head in the space created; his attempt at 'non-laughter' was foiled, however, because of his rapidly shaking shoulders and the occasional intake of breath one hears when in the middle of a laughing fit. After a few moments, Yuriko took one look at them and began to laugh, too.
"Well...look at it th-this way...Yuriko..." Kakashi said, wiping away a few tears and trying to speak though he was still overcome by laughter. "At least your friends know what not to do when using their chakra!"
"True," Sasuke added, grinning wider than was usual for him. "But then, those antics might be just what we need in battle. Distracting your opponents is a very effective tactic..."
"What then? Should they set their pants on fire or transform into naked women whenever they're confronted by enemy shinobi?" Naruto asked, shakily getting to his feet.
"I don't think so..." Yuriko said. She glanced at her feet, still grinning, twiddling her thumbs. "See, what happened was...well, they're still new to this thing and...um...Takara's still here..."
"Takara-" Naruto began, and off they were again, the night air practically ringing with their laughter.
oOo
A/N: XD LOL! A nice change of atmosphere, wouldn't you say? I don't really know what happened that made me type up that last part, but I think the movie I watched earlier (Dancer in the Dark) helped me decide to write something a bit more upbeat. Or hilarious, as the case may be...
Well, I'm off! Gotta train for tae kwon do finals (which were moved to Sept. 29, thankfully), study for Filipino long test, and review notes for Science class...
For those who didn't catch the last chapter, I've edited both that and this one. I changed the names of the mystery men; one reader (you know who you are) confessed to a bit of discomfort at reading the intended names because they were the names of her favorite characters from Digimon.
Dewa mata! God bless!