Chapter 10
It's That Time of Year Again. Time To Traumatize Children!
xXx
oOoOoOoOo Shira oOoOoOoOo
'Whose bright idea was it to build a Hidden Village in the middle of a damned desert?'
He was being a little petty, he knew that, but it didn't really do much to dissuade him from that petulant line of thought.
The combination of sweltering heat, lack of immediate water, various venomous creatures, not to mention the rather difficult to differentiate scenery, all tended to make navigating in the deserts of the Land of Wind a risky decision at best and treacherous at worst.
Granted, that was just as much of an advantage for the Hidden Sand. Considering it was those very inhospitable qualities that made them such an unappealing target for invasion.
But right now, as Shira ran along with Tetsuo and Kunou, Chiyo taking the lead in front of them, Shira just really wanted to get out of the heat. Or at least maybe drink a little water. Hell, anything to take his mind off this trekking until a breeze came along or they finally arrived at their destination.
Tetsuo, of course, was having a completely different problem. Boredom. Something he was fixing in the only way he knew how.
By being an ass.
"Are we there yet?" Tetsuo asked Chiyo for the fifteenth time in a row, his face breaking out into a grin as he saw the older woman become increasingly annoyed. It was made even worse because he knew full well how far away they were from the Hidden Sand Village, having taken this same route through the desert more than his fair share of times.
'Then again, that's probably why he's asking her anyway.'
"No," Chiyo snarled out through clenched teeth. "Now stop asking me the same damned thing. You're driving me crazy."
Tetsuo tilted his head, expression the very picture of childish innocence. "Crazy? But Granny, you're already senile. How could you get any worse?"
At that, Chiyo came to a complete stop and rounded about, turning to face the subject of her ire with a vein visibly pulsing from her rage. "That's it!"
Their trek interrupted, Shira could only sigh as he saw Chiyo chasing Tetsuo around across the desert sands. He vaguely realized that all they needed was a recording of some funny music and they'd have a pretty good comedy scene, but he shoved that unnecessary thought into the back of his mind.
Never let yourself to get drawn into the crazy, lest you stare into the abyss long enough for it to stare right back at you. He shivered.
His momentary brush with horror was stopped when he noticed Kunou standing beside him. He was mildly proud of himself for not jumping slightly this time. It was actually a little scary just how easy it was to just….ignore her somehow. Like she just blended into the scenery until she stepped out and decided to let everyone know she was watching the whole time. "Kunou. Something up?"
The girl smiled but shook her head, the tips of her pale blond locks barely visible from under her hood. "Nah," she sighed out. "Just watching them go." And watch she did, staring at them with what seemed like a relaxed interest as a smile slowly formed on her face. "But it can be pretty funny to watch sometimes."
'Something tells me humor isn't the only reason you like watching them.'
Shira was a straightforward type of person. He valued some degree of honesty and integrity when dealing with others, it was just how his parents had raised him. But he was still a Shinobi, however unofficial. He'd studied whatever he could on his own, he'd practiced until he literally collapsed on the ground, and he'd been undergoing tutoring from Ebizō for months by now. You don't get to become a Shinobi without picking up some low cunning and perceptiveness, and it was paying off for him here and now.
It was in her expression, the slight melancholic look in her eye as she watched Chiyo chasing Tetsuo around, even as her ever snappy apprentice continued to taunt and laugh at her.
She hid it well, but Kunou seemed more than a little jealous of them. Jealous of Tetsuo, to be more specific. For having a close parental figure like Chiyo whereas she herself had…well, that was probably best left undiscussed. It was her past, not his, so he wasn't really in any position to draw conclusions.
Turning to see them running around, he saw that Chiyo had finally caught Tetsuo in a headlock and was now running her knuckles along his scalp for a rather harsh noogie. "Why do I think they've forgotten why we were running through here in the first place?"
He heard the slight rustle of clothing beside him than indicated Kunou had just shrugged. "Because you've got good instincts?"
oOoOoOoOo Rasa oOoOoOoOo
'Why am I not surprised they haven't shown up, yet?'
It had been almost a full ten minutes after the meeting time he'd ordered to Chiyo via messenger hawk, telling her to meet him at 2:00 PM at the Ninja Training Academy of the Hidden Sand Village. A full ten minutes since he'd pre-emptively cut off classes for the day for the students and had them brought outside.
A full ten minutes past the point where the people he'd ordered to come to arrive, which now made it look like he'd taken the students out of their classes for no reason than to watch him glare at the Academy entrance like he'd gone mad.
Really, it was actually a little comical. He was the Kazekage, the leader of the whole of the Hidden Sand Village, the man in charge of the Shinobi forces of the Land of Wind, widely considered the strongest Ninja in the Village…..and he was having trouble controlling an old woman and three children.
Then again, that little group wasn't exactly normal by any means. One of them most of all.
Either way, if they didn't show up within the next 30 seconds, Rasa mentally swore that someone would pay for making him look like a fool in front of a child audience.
Fortunately, a break in the silence occurred barely seven seconds after that thought passed his mind. Though it wasn't as much as a break in the silence as a hushed whisper, with him sensing the appearance of an ANBU appearing behind him. He didn't so much as blink. "Report."
"Lord Kazekage, our sentries have spotted them coming this way. They will arrive momentarily.
The Kazekage merely nodded in acknowledgement, still looking past the entrance of the Academy. Now if only they didn't take longer than another 20 seconds, then they might be able to avoid a punishment.
oOoOoOoOo Tetsuo oOoOoOoOo
Tetsuo let out a yelp as Chiyo brought her knuckles down on his head since they'd gotten within throwing distance of the Academy entrance, not even missing a beat as they quickly changed to a walking pace. "This is all your fault, brat."
He rolled his eyes at her accusation, right hand still massaging the assaulted area of his head. "Right, it's all my fault. It can't possibly be because you can't take a good joke."
Chiyo looked very tempted to bring her knuckles down onto his scalp again at that, her hand clenching several times as she seemed to think it over. But she decided against it in the end and her hand relaxed. Then she did something he found much more intimidating.
She turned to him and smiled in a way that almost made him literally jump back. Oh, the average person probably wouldn't find the expression very off-putting, just considering it the sweet and friendly smile of a little old lady.
But Chiyo wasn't just some little old lady, a fact that Tetsuo had become very familiar with over the years. When she smiled like that, it meant she had something special in mind for whoever managed to piss her off.
"You just wait 'till we get back home, brat."
Her piece said, the old hag turned away from him and her expression turned back to the serious look she reserved for special appearances. The ones where it wasn't appropriate for her to put up her senile old lay act to mess with everybody.
Suddenly, Tetsuo wasn't sure if he really wanted to go back home with her. If only to escape her….punishment.
He couldn't hold back the shiver.
Trying to push thoughts of his imminent suffering out of his mind, he instead focused his attention forward and past the Academy threshold to see what lay within.
His interest was rather piqued by what he'd observed. After all, it wasn't exactly every day you saw every Academy Student out of classes in the middle of the day right by the Kazekage. He'd say there was probably around fifty of them or so, give or take.
It was actually a pretty small number in general, considering how many Academy Students there were at the other Hidden Villages. But then again, Chiyo had been telling him about all the cut-backs the Academy had been getting because of the current economic problems. Maybe he should be surprised the Academy was still open at all.
Given the looks on some of their faces, they all seemed just as in the dark about the reason for this as Tetsuo and his amazing sideki-friends. Not sidekicks, friends. He really needed to get that down.
But it looked like they were gonna find out the reason soon enough. The Kazekage himself, just like Chiyo had said before they'd left, was waiting for them in the courtyard of the Academy, standing in front of the many Students and secretly surrounded by a perimeter of ANBU.
Chiyo had been teaching him how to look for signs of hidden enemies, telling him just how deadly it could be to wander in without recognizing the placement of a stealthy foe. It generally came down to logic and paying attention to your surroundings: looking for potential hiding spots, watching for strange distortions around trees or rocks, paying attention to shadows that seemed out of place, listening to the telltale sounds of pressure made from hiding on a tree branch, or simply seeing things that wouldn't happen without a disturbance.
All in all, he guessed that there was roughly a dozen ANBU here right now. Shira seemed to catch onto it also, though it probably took him a bit longer to notice the signs.
Kunou, of course, probably knew how many there were and where they were hidden before they even entered the Academy grounds. The smug look on her face all but confirmed it for him as he turned to make sure.
'Showoff.'
He didn't even recognize the irony of that thought.
His train of thought was brought to an end as the stopped walking, now standing right before the Kazekage himself in all his glory. 'Man, he looks pissed.'
It wasn't exactly easy to tell, considering the man seemed to take pride in having all the expressive prowess of a stone statue, but Tetsuo happened to be rather good at reading people. The slight narrowing of his eyes, the barely noticeable tension in his shoulders, the fact that he seemed to be standing so still.
Then again, he also could've just reached the conclusion based on Chiyo's reaction to seeing him. He didn't, but he could've.
"You're late," the Kage stated simply, a barely noticeable tone of annoyance in his voice as the words seemed to whisper out from behind his lips. "You were supposed to be here ten minutes ago."
It always surprised him a little how the usually blunt old hag tended to be so respectful around the Kazekage, though he was essentially her boss. Guess being the man in charge meant you didn't really have to worry about getting lip from your subordinates.
Chiyo was just about to respond to him, opening her mouth to probably try and apologize to him for the tardiness or something.
…..Or maybe she was gonna try and pin this all on him.
He whipped into action as the thought formed in his mind, raising a hand to point a finger Chiyo's way even as his trademark smile formed on his face. "That is entirely her fault."
He was pretty sure the clacking sound of Chiyo's mouth slamming shut at his accusation could've been heard halfway across the Hidden Sand Village, probably even waking up any unfortunate souls that happened to be taking a nap at that very moment.
She just stood there for a moment. Silently. Menacingly.
Then she began to slowly turn her head, her face somehow obscured by shadows in spite of the light of day, expression somehow hidden while looking like the very visage of malice upon earth.
It was also at that very moment that Tetsuo knew how he was gonna die.
oOoOoOoOo 5 Minutes Later oOoOoOoOo
"I'm sure you are all wondering why I've called you out here today," the Kazekage stated, slowly pacing from one end of the crowd of Academy Students to the other. "Let me assure you that I haven't disrupted you curriculum today without a proper reason."
'Oh, GOD. Get on with it already.'
Honestly, Tetsuo didn't really get the whole attachment important people had with big speeches, but he couldn't help but find it annoying. Couldn't they just say what they wanted and get on with it? It'd save so much time.
Looking over the Academy Students, he could tell that they generally seemed to feel the same way. The ones paying attention were obviously trying hard to not let their lack of interest show, even as more than a few others weren't even trying to put up a pretense of attention at all. Quite a few of them actually took this as an opportunity to talk in whispers.
Then there was the ones who were busy staring at him and his friends, with more than a few of the looks being distinctly unfriendly. He didn't miss that the looks in question were focused almost entirely on Shira and Kunou rather than himself.
They both did an admirable job of at least trying to shrug the looks off, but he could tell they were still affected by them. From the way Shira seemed to try and subtly avoid their gazes, from how Kunou seemed to studiously ignore them even as her hands clenched into fists.
Yeah…..these little punks were gonna pay.
"In fact, I've summoned you all from your classes today to make you an offer. A very worthwhile one, in fact. I'm quite sure you'd all be quite happy to graduate early by winning a simple challenge."
And just like that, the glares all ceased and everyone's attention was right back on the Kazekage. Why not, if what he'd just told them was really true? A chance to graduate early from the boring and dull Academy? That was something a lot of students would jump through hoops for. Flaming hoops.
Which, in all honesty, kinda just showed how unready they really were. The Academy might not exactly be exciting or fun, but quite a few important parts of Ninja life wasn't fun anyway. Not to mention that there was still quite a bit of important information and teaching that these students still hadn't gotten to. Some of them were probably only a few months away from graduation, but Chiyo had done a damn thorough job of showing just how much important stuff could be crammed into a few months.
He'd put money on them dying somewhere within a week if they were really made Genin as they were now. He really would.
"Now that I've caught your interest, perhaps I can explain in more depth," Rasa continued, acting like he hadn't even noticed the change in atmosphere. "You will all be split into two separate groups, depending on your own skills in particular areas. After which, each group will be given an objective they're suited for. Achieve that objective, and your whole team will pass."
Rasa stopped pacing in front of the students and instead started purposefully striding over to Tetsuo and his little group. Looks like he called them down here for a reason after all. And here Tetsuo had thought he just wanted some more witnesses for his little speech.
The Kazekage didn't stop in front of them, instead walking right through their little group, causing Shira and Kunou to part for him. A show of status, enforcing his position as the greater party. The one in control. They moved for him. Not the other way around.
But the Kazekage should've learned something about him by now. Tetsuo don't submit to nobody.
That's why he made sure to move just enough to let the Kazekage by, barely avoiding a light brushing against his robes of office. A little display that, if the slight narrowing of his eyes was any indication, Rasa recognized right away. Chiyo looked like she was resisting the urge to run forward and introduce her knuckles to his forehead again, Shira looked downright scandalized, and Kunou seemed to be doing her best not to laugh.
The Academy Students, bless their naïve and inexperienced little souls, didn't even comprehend that he'd all but snubbed the Kazekage in front of a viewing audience. The teachers, however, certainly did. Judging from their expressions.
He was pretty sure Chiyo was gonna lecture an ear off once this was all over.
'Worth it.'
Now placed behind them, he turned around and let out his hands. The right was positioned by Shira, the left one by Kunou.
His hand by Shira moved first, landing on his shoulder. "The first team will be composed of the students with the greatest skills in Taijutsu and direct combat. They will be fighting this young man; Shira. You are free to use anything at your disposal short of lethal weaponry and Jutsu. Defeat him and the whole group will pass."
Then he placed his left hand on Kunou's shoulder. "The second group will be comprised of the students showing the best scores for the more subtle aspects of your classes; tracking, stealth, Genjutsu, etcetera. You will attempt to find and capture this young lady; Kunou. Succeed, and your whole group will pass."
Then Rasa took his hands off and walked towards him. Tetsuo didn't try to move this time as the Kazekage got right behind him, placing both hands on his shoulders as he held him in place. "Afterwards, both groups will be working together to capture and subdue this young man; Tetsuo. Succeed,' he paused, letting the moment and the gravity of his offer sink in. "And both groups will pass. Regardless of the success or failure concerning the previous two."
And now every Academy Student in the courtyard was looking at him and his friends like hungry, grinning predators staring at big racks of prime meat. He could almost swear that he saw some of them seeming to salivate at the opportunity, and he could kinda see why. Become Genin and leave the Academy months ahead of schedule by just beating at least one of three kids? One of whom was a practical unknown and the other two being a pair of minor pariah's? There was definitely an allure. And they definitely had numbers on their side, if nothing else.
'Oh, isn't that just so precious? They think they actually have a chance.'
oOoOoOoOo Shira oOoOoOoOo
Shira didn't even bother to hold back his sigh of resignation, surrounded on all sides by Academy Students practically grinning ear to ear in anticipation. Somehow he knew it was gonna end up like this. Though he originally expected Tetsuo would've been involved in some way, not the Kazekage. But the day was still young, so who could really say?
Either way, after the Kazekage's announcement, the Teachers immediately began profiling all the students based on their previous performance in classes, separating the half that were best in head on combat into a large group that he was to fight. He just ignored all the taunts they sent his way, focusing on what to do in the fight to come.
He wasn't really all that worried. Frankly, Ebizō had been training him and Tetsuo thoroughly enough that he was quite confident that he'd come out of this the winner. He was more concerned about trying not to hurt them too bad, considering he was perfectly capable of partially shattering portions of boulders now. His speed and reflexes had also come a long way, so he doubted any of these Academy Students could even land a hit on him. Greater numbers was literally their only advantage.
He belatedly realized just how arrogant that line of thought was, dismissing all of the opponents around him. 'Dammit, Tetsuo is rubbing off on me.'
Shira barely heard a comment from one of the Academy Students that had surrounded him, knocking him from his thoughts. "Huh? Did you say something?"
The student was a boy, rather noticeable with his unique features. A long and rather pointy nose, orange hair, and yellow eyes with black pupils. He also had what looked like some traditional Sand Shinobi war paint patterned on his face.
The expression on the boy's face was a condescending sneer, something that wouldn't be out of place if someone was looking down on some kind of insect. "I said, 'how does it feel to know you're gonna lose Shira?'"
The Taijutsu specialist just raised an eyebrow at him. "Already thinking you've won?"
His one of many opponents scoffed. "Oh, come on. You're outnumbered around 20 to 1, and you don't have anything but Taijutsu. How the hell can we not win this? It's in the bag." He gave a dismissive wave of his hand, as if tossing the possibility of losing aside.
'That arrogance is gonna cost him,' Shira noted, already having pinpointed any physical weaknesses he could use to take him don quickly. His nose being chief among them, if only due to its size. One good hit there and the trauma and breathing difficulties, not to mention the possible cartilage shards getting pushed back into his head, would probably leave him in the hospital for a while.
Looking around at the other Academy Students surrounding him, Shira continued his physical sweep and examinations for exploitable weaknesses. The remains of old injuries, vulnerable joints, openings in their stances, pressure points, anything that could put an opponent down quickly.
He had to shove most of them aside, considering he wasn't trying to….well, kill everyone.
It didn't escape him that they all carried the same arrogance as the one who'd just spoken to him, brimming with overconfidence and certainty of victory.
'I stand corrected. That arrogance will cost ALL of them.'
Taking a combat stance of his own, Shiro breathed in and out several times to get into focus, barely listening to the proctor.
"Alright, everyone, the rules are simple. All of you versus a single challenger. Everything is allowed; Taijutsu, Ninjutsu, weapons, everything that isn't immediately lethal. The fight will continue until the challenger is beaten, or everyone else is." He raised a hand into the air, held straight up. "Ready. Set." He brought his hand down fast and hard. "Go!"
Shira sped into action practically the moment the last syllable left the proctors mouth, bringing his new speed to bear and rushing straight towards his first opponent practically within an eye blink.
His opponent barely even had the time to show any surprise, his eyes widening minutely in shock right before Shira slammed an open palm straight into his nose. HARD!
Blood coated his palm as the crack of cartilage and a strange sounding scream of agony tore across the sparring ground, his opponent reeling back from the pain and clutching what was left of his nose.
Shira didn't let him, instead grabbing one of his hands to pull him forward and driving a knee straight into his stomach. The impact knocked out what little wind in him he had left after his previous scream, leaving him so limp that he probably wouldn't even be able to resist any further attacks at all.
So Shira decided to put him to use, hoisting him up and briefly swinging him around to slam him head-first straight into the solar plexus of an incoming enemy in his tracks.
Neither of them got back up off the ground, one of them unconscious and the other likely in incredible pain.
"Goji! Datsuji!" someone shouted in alarm, finally giving him some names for his first two victims.
'Doesn't matter,' he thought. Not much point in remembering the name of every poor schmuck he was gonna beat up today.
That thought in mind, he reflexively weaved his head to the side, dodging a punch from behind that would've hit the back of his head, following it up by driving his elbow into the center of mass of whoever tried to attack behind him.
He decided to follow it up with a quick hammer-fist to the crotch, ignoring the strangled sounding gasp of shock and pain.
He moved onto the next part of the fight, quickly moving into a group of three opponents and getting right in between them all. They barely even had time to react when he started attacking, hitting them each in areas that would quickly take them out of the fight.
The first one dropped from a low punch to the solar plexus followed by a quick uppercut as he bent over from the blow. The next was brought to his knees and cupping his nads from a knee to the crotch, then knocked out by a harsh blow to the back of the head.
The third one actually regained his wits enough to try and fight back, lashing out at him in a desperate attack. It was clumsy, panicked, easy for Shira to read his moves and easier to counter. He ended the sad debacle by grabbing an arm his opponent had extended too far out, twisting until he heard the strange combination sound of a crack and a pop that resulted from his elbow being dislocated.
He didn't even need to finish him off after that. The poor kid was on the ground crying as he clutched his arm.
He dodged to the side as the telltale whistling sound of a kunai came closer, followed by further dodging to avoid a barrage. He turned to locate the source and saw a group of five more students, each throwing out kunai, shuriken, even some senbon needles.
It did remarkably little to slow him down, dodging around the projectiles and narrowly ducking the few that got close as he closed the distance.
He disabled the first student by grabbing one of his arms and using the leverage to twist him around and have him stumble into his own group, taking two more students to the ground with him. He immediately got to work on the two still standing, bringing the first off his feet with a low sweeping kick and stomping down on his face to knock him out. The second followed soon after, dispatched with a few quick jabs to the face to daze him followed by a knockout as Shira swept out his legs and grabbed his face to…escort the back of his head to the ground on his fall back.
The other three struggling on the ground were similarly dispatched with quick heel-kicks to their heads.
There was a bit of a lull to the fighting after that, the Academy Students a looking a combination of stunned and scared as they surveyed the sparring ground. Rather, as they saw just how many of them were currently unconscious on the ground and realized that Shira had personally taken out nearly half of their whole group in less than two minutes. Two. MINUTES!
Too bad Shira wasn't interested in giving them the time to plan something out. He just charged back in, heading for the next group that consisted of four students. Take out the bigger groups first for a quick drop in numbers and keep them from coordinating. That was the strategy he was going for now that he was controlling the flow.
'Let's see if I can beat them all in five minutes or less.'
oOoOoOoOo Kunou oOoOoOoOo
'Wow. This is just so SAD.'
Really, Kunou almost felt a little bad for this. It was just too easy. Hell, the students were making it too easy.
Shira's part of this whole debacle had been an absolute joke. It was like watching a tiger in its prime smack around a bunch of house cats.
….Then again, that might not be the best analogy. Kunou liked house cats much more than she did these stuck up little students. Certainly enough to try and save them if a tiger was really going after them.
But these kids here? The one's that had mocked her, rendered her an outcast, insulted her, the ones that had wasted no time making sure she knew she wasn't welcome or wanted at all?
Well, she was happy to be the tiger if she got to smack them around.
Her part of this little incident began not long after Shira's showing, leaving all those students lying on the ground, unconscious or making keening sounds of agony. Damn softies.
In the spirit of holding to her part of the challenge, Kunou's portion was to be held outside of the Academy itself. Straight up combat wasn't the focus so much as tracking and capturing her, though fighting was certainly an element if they wanted to seriously bring her down.
It's just too bad they were so bad at it.
Well, maybe not that they were actually bad, considering how good she was at stealth, but that was a moot point. The point was that she'd so far evaded every attempt they had made to find and capture her, a result that was made easy with her own skills.
She opened her mind to the world around her, feeling that strange presence permeating the atmosphere and all the movements within it. She could easily tell apart the Academy Students and Ninja patrols apart from the civilians, their Chakra gave them a very distinct presence to this strange sense of hers.
Feeling another group of students get closer, she put her other power to use; cloaking her body with the atmospheric energy and refracting the light, rendering her all but invisible to the naked eye.
They passed right by her without giving her so much as a second glance.
'Alright, now this is just getting dull.' This little joke of a chase had started out slow and only gotten steadily more boring as time went on. It was damned obvious none of these little Academy Students knew how to play the role of a predator.
Guess she'd just have to show them.
Keeping the cloak up, Kunou immediately channeled Chakra to her feet and began scaling the nearest wall at top speed, reaching the roof in roughly five seconds.
'Now, let's see where you all are.'
Spreading her senses wide, she easily pinpointed the locations of the Academy Students that were chasing her. Roughly twenty or so, given her count. Most of them were in small groups of three to five, but there were still a good couple of stragglers that were running solo. There was actually a small team nearby, though they were far enough away that she could still pick them off one by one.
She'd start with those first.
It didn't take her long to reach them, but after landing on the roof overhead of her first target of the day, she stopped. Because it looked like her first victim was someone she happened to recognize. 'Oh. Saya.'
A young girl roughly her age, she had long blue hair fashioned into a pair of ponytails. She was also still carrying around that weird doll of hers, obsessively as always.
Saya had been one of her more frequent tormentors in the Hidden Sand. Not that the girl had ever actively sought her out, but she never missed an opportunity to let loose a subtle insult or scathing barb whenever they'd actually encountered one another. And unlike most of them, Saya seemed to have a natural ability to pick just the right words to sting the most.
She barely even felt the cold smile that crept into her expression. 'Time for some payback.'
Putting her stealth cloak back on, Kunou immediately headed down the side of the building, slowing her descent as she got closer to the ground until she almost stopped at her last steps. Carefully setting her feet onto the ground, she made sure not to make any disturbing noise as she prowled after her prey.
Carefully matching her steps to Saya's, Kunou slowly made her way closer. Closer. Closer. So close until she was practically breathing down the girl's neck and she still hadn't noticed her presence.
And she struck.
Her first move was to wrench away that damned doll of hers, ignoring the cry of shock and outrage as it was torn from her arms and broken apart right in front of her. While Kunou found the process of destroying what as apparently an important possession rather cathartic, there was a more practical reason.
Truth be told, she'd been planning some way to get back at Saya for a while now, but had never really found the time or serious incentive to actually do it. She'd just never really considered it worth the time and trouble, but that didn't mean she hadn't done her homework.
From what she'd been able to discern, Saya seemed to rely on that weird doll for some new Puppet Ninjutsu she'd developed. Kunou hadn't really been able to discern the specifics, Saya had never really showed it openly to the other students, but she could tell that removing it from the fight early would definitely be in her favor.
Which was why she was so surprised when Saya broke out into a grin and seemed to suddenly turn into sand, collapsing to the ground.
'A trap!'
Sha barely managed to get out of the immediate area before feeling another two signatures moving in, making it clear that this was a set-up. Dammit, she should've known! She should've seen right away that the distance between the three signatures was just enough to lure someone into a trap.
She made it out just in time, because the sandy ground seemed to collapse downward and outward like a pit of quicksand, a hole forming in the ground as the sand seemed to flow in like water. Kunou wouldn't have been able to move at all if she'd been caught in it, certainly not fast enough to actually escape any attackers.
But it didn't last very long, apparently only being a one-use Jutsu that quickly ran out of steam as it collapsed. The ground seemed slightly sunken after the trap ran its course, with barely any other sign that anything had even happened. And then her three would-be predators quickly appeared from a nearby alley.
'No way am I falling for that again.'
It was pretty obvious that Saya wasn't very happy with the performance, glaring at the girl whom was apparently responsible for the impromptu sandpit. "You idiot, you were supposed to catch her in that! How could you have let her slip away?"
"I-I tried," the lackey said, raising her hands up with palms forward, a submissive gesture. "It was too far away for me to do it any quicker, that was as fast as I could summon it up."
Saya's face was almost red as she shrieked out "No excuses!"
'I don't know if it's comforting or not that she's not just a bitch to ME.'
Her two little friends certainly didn't seem to like her. Frankly, the actually seemed pretty damn intimidated by her, both of them cringing back with more than a little shock and fear at her loud shout.
The harpy calmed down a moment later, seeming to regain some of her composure. "No matter. This isn't over yet, and that little bitch won't get away a second time. Sana, start sensing. Where is she?"
The second girl, Sana, seemed to get very uncomfortable at the question, going silent and awkwardly staring at the ground. Saya seemed to catch on, her face drawing into another glare as her little lackey didn't answer her. "Sana, why aren't you saying anything?"
The girl flinched again, visibly trying to look anywhere but Saya's eyes. She quickly gave up and relented, doing her best not to look terrified as she looked Saya head-on. "I….kinda can't."
"WHAT!?" And Saya showed once again just how strong her lungs really were.
"I can't sense her," Sana frantically explained. "I only just learned Sensing at all, and she's hiding herself somehow. I can't track her."
Kunou ignored Saya's little tirade about how useless her erstwhile comrade was, instead choosing to digest that information as she carefully snuck up closer. The revelation about Sana being a Sensor was interesting for two good reasons; 1) She was able to sense and track other people. 2) She was unable to track Kunou herself. The second bit of info was especially useful, given her specialty.
Now that she'd gotten a little closer, she was able to get a better look at her trio of first victims for the day. Saya she'd already known, but these two were an unknown to her, and unknowns were a dangerous thing among Shinobi.
The other girl, Sana, didn't really look like much. Just another Genin among many, but Kunou was still able to discern a few things.
For one, she didn't at all have the build of signs of someone well practiced in Taijutsu. She seemed a bit more fragile than that, so it looked like she was more versed in Ninjutsu and the more subtle aspects of Ninja abilities.
Kunou as pretty sure she could take her in a fight, given what she'd managed to learn from Ebizō, but why test that when she had surprise?
The second one was much more physically imposing, a tall guy with slightly wild black hair and eyes that were more than a little bloodshot. He was big and had the developing muscle tone of someone who focused on physical combat. She briefly wondered why he hadn't been in Shira's test instead, but discarded the thought.
He'd need to go down first. Just to make sure he wouldn't be a problem in case this little group got a little wise to her plan of attack.
Either way, it was time for her to begin.
She started with a quick series of Hand Signs, blazing through them as she let her Chakra build up and dropped her stealth field for just a moment. "Try looking over here."
They did, and the looks of shock on their faces –followed by looks of growing terror as they saw her Hand Signs- were honestly worth all the ryō in the world to her.
The following catharsis as she unleashed a toned down Wind Style: Great Breakthrough on them as worth even more, watching them all go flying from getting impacted by the sheer pressurized air.
She wasted no time in taking advantage of the opening, immediately running after the one guy of the group first.
Still stunned from her Wind Style Ninjutsu and being slammed hard against a wall from the pressure, he seemed too dazed to even notice as she reached around to her back and started pulling out a length of thin, metal wire. Slamming a quick elbow into his face to keep him dazed, she quickly twirled it around his wrists and released loops of it.
Controlling the wire with her Chakra, she had it tie around and constrict all the major joint of his body in a process that barely took three seconds. A little trick she'd developed by watching Tetsuo use his Chakra Threads.
After a good portion had wrapped around him, she pulled it tight and left him hogtied, his hands kept apart so he couldn't use Hand Signs.
'One down, two to go.'
Taking that guy out would make the coming fight much easier. As much as Kunou didn't like to admit it, Taijutsu wasn't exactly her strong suit. Or intense physical combat in general, really. She was a Sensor and ambusher first and foremost, a strategy that played to her strengths. Granted, her spars with Shira and his basic tutoring of her was helping on that front, but she wasn't stupid enough to test that so early against an enemy that probably knew what he was doing.
Next was that Sana girl. That little sand trap of hers had almost caught her, so leaving her alone was almost begging to be swallowed up by quicksand. A problem made worse by the girls own revelations making it clear that she could do so much easier and quicker up close.
So she put an Earth Style Jutsu she'd pestered out of Ebizo to use. Running up to the still stunned girl, Kunou blazed through Hand Signs and grabbed her wrists as she walked clean through the wall of the building she'd slammed against, her arms completely stuck even as her hands started to flail, trying to connect and use Hand Signs.
Too bad she made sure they were too far away for that to work. Kunou wasn't gonna give her any room for Hand Signs. That was like 'Ninja Capture Protocol 101'.
It had taken her quite a bit of work to get it done, practicing day in and day out for a few weeks, but she'd finally got it down. The Earth Style: Underworld Fish, a Ninjutsu that suited her almost perfectly with its ability to let her sneak along underground to strike at unsuspecting enemies. Though it worked just as well for walking through buildings that were constructed or earthy materials.
Unfortunately, she couldn't stealth her presence and use that Jutsu at the same time, but it was useful nonetheless. Not to mention it was a shortcoming Kunou was sure she could find a workaround for. Jutsu of all kinds existed to be perfected after all.
Using it again to circumvent the wall she'd just walked through, Kunou dodged back as she exited to the other side, barely avoiding a swung kunai courtesy of a pissed off Saya.
"You!" She swung wild again, Kunou easily dodging away. "Little!" A stab attempt this time, going straight for her head. "BITCH!"
Her attacks devolved into a frenzy, cuts coming from every direction. Up, down, left right, but all easily dodged. Kunou had spent time sparring with Shira for crying out loud, he was way faster than this stuck up priss, not to mention equally more skilled. Her moves were practically telegraphed and coming in slow motion.
'Guess it's time to end this. I'm on a bit of a schedule.'
After letting Saya get off another three attempted strikes for kicks, Kunou grabbed her weapon holding wrist and wrenched it, causing her opponent to let out a quick scream in pain as she put on some pressure to bring her to her knees. With her face wide open, Kunou didn't even hesitate for a moment to bring up her right leg and use her foot to slam Saya's face into the ground. Hard.
She went out like a light after that, her body going slack as she entered blissful unconsciousness.
Letting Saya's wrist go with a contemptuous flick, she put up her stealth cloak again and headed off for the nearest lone signature. This time making absolutely sure it was too far away for any surprises.
Don't judge. There are old Shinobi, and there are bold Shinobi. But there are no old and bold Shinobi. And Kunou wanted to live to a ripe old age.
Besides, Ninja weren't supposed to fight fair. It wasn't in the job description.
oOoOoOoOo Tetsuo oOoOoOoOo
'I'm somehow getting the impression that these guys are all a little too eager to beat me up.'
A very reasonable assumption, given that almost every remaining was currently giving Tetsuo a collective glare that would probably be able to melt ice. He'd figured they'd be pretty pissed after losing the previous two challenges against Shira and Kunou, but it looks like these idiots were even more eager to get out of the Academy early than he'd thought.
On the –relative- bright side, there was actually quite a few less students than his friends had collectively needed to deal with. Turns out that putting opponents down with often extreme physical force and prejudice didn't exactly guarantee their wellbeing. Considering some of the injuries Tetsuo had seen on the worst of them, more than a few would probably be recovering in a hospital for at least a few weeks. Unless they found someone who could heal them more immediately.
All in all, it looked like there was…..just over half of the original number of Academy Students to come after him for his own challenge.
He wasn't entirely sure if he should be disappointed or not.
"You all know your objective," Rasa spoke out. "All of you have failed to succeed in the previous tests, so this will be your last chance. All remaining Academy Students will pursue Tetsuo with the intent to subdue and capture. Succeed, and the remainder of students shall pass. Fail, and this opportunity will be revoked."
'Wow, thanks for telling us all what you've already said before.'
But of course he didn't actually say that out loud. However tempting it was to get him to hurry up and get this done with. Tetsuo just wanted nothing more than to head back home and get back to work on his special project. He had a lot of time and work ahead of him, and he didn't want to shirk on it.
Fortunately, rather than choose to continue talking, Rasa just rose his arm up into a ready position. Looks like he wanted to get this show on the road, too.
After staying in place for a moment, the Kazekage brought his arm down like a sword and shouted out, "Go!"
The Academy Students rushed forward the moment Rasa had spoken, practically throwing themselves against Tetsuo in a mad rush to take him down. Any thought of tactics or strategy having been thrown right out the window in favor of taking him down quick and brutal. He imagined it had to do with their significant frustration after their previous failures, not to mention desperation to succeed at this one last chance.
Too bad Tetsuo wasn't interested in giving them that chance.
It was also too bad for them that he wasn't interested in making this easy for them.
So instead of doing the stupid thing and stand his ground against the incoming tide of vengeful and desperate Academy Students, Tetsuo did the smart thing and ran. That's right, he turned tail and retreated. Really, who in their right mind would intentionally take the hardest way to victory and fight everyone head on? An idiot, that's who. And Tetsuo was no idiot.
That said, he had no problems with making it a fighting retreat.
He made their pursuit of him a nightmare, tripping up whoever he could with his Chakra Threads, doing hit and run against leading pursuers before continuing his retreat, tossing behind some of his homemade bombs with –comparably- harmless but very distressing effects.
Seriously, try chasing after someone while you're having a horrible case of the runs and almost shitting with every step in pursuit. It's really not fun.
…..Don't ask Tetsuo about how he found out the mix. You don't wanna know.
In short, he made sure to give them all a living hell. And that was just the start. He wasn't just turning this into a fighting retreat, it was part of a plan. A plan he'd been thinking up since Shira had gotten his first crack at these losers.
Because he didn't just want to win this. He wanted to make a show of it. He wanted to make it damn clear that he was on a different level from these Academy Students, he wanted to show he was the real deal.
And most of all, he wanted to prove that to himself.
So the fighting retreat continued, with Tetsuo gradually whittling their numbers down with every step of the way, all while luring them to where he wanted them to go.
Something he succeeded at, luring them right past the gates of the Hidden Sand Village and straight out into the desert.
Reaching his destination, the very oasis he had often come out to train at with his friends, Tetsuo stopped running and ground to a halt on the loose sand. Calm and unshaken as the dunes of the desert he inhabited, Tetsuo immediately pulled out a Scroll and got to work on his trap.
oOoOoOoOo Ameno oOoOoOoOo
Ameno had a bad feeling about this. No, scratch that. She had a very bad feeling about this.
Looking back on a few things, she could barely keep from palming her own forehead at how quickly everything had gone so wrong. How this so called opportunity had slipped through everybody's hands practically from the first minute onward.
The funniest part was that she honestly wasn't even interested in graduating early. Yes, she was eager to become a full-fledged Ninja and do her part for her home. She was proud of having that opportunity, but that didn't mean she was interested in rushing anything.
Unlike many of her more straightforward classmates, Ameno actually tended to look in-between the lines of their lessons. It was a quality that tended to set her apart in more ways than one, but it had helped her quite a bit since she joined the Academy. And what she'd managed to glean from quite a few of the subtext and unsaid meanings over her time studying was that rushing in to be a Shinobi recklessly could very easily get you killed.
But she couldn't have backed out of this without looking like a coward. So she decided to approach this the only way she knew. By reading between the lines and planning. From watching Shira decimate everyone during his own challenge to her personal involvement in Kunou's methodical hunting of everyone else. All that time analyzing their capabilities and seeing just how good they were, just how far ahead of her class they were.
Needless to say, the end picture wasn't very encouraging. It was painfully clear that they were all out of their league in this, a matter made worse by an almost complete lack of coordination between all the students against their opponents.
But maybe, just maybe, they could have a chance if they all managed to coordinate into a cohesive offensive framework. Syncing their attacks and defense to keep their final opponent from being able to get into his own rhythm.
It didn't take much convincing to get the remaining students on her side, they were all so desperate to win and terrified of the looming loss that they quickly agreed to follow her lead. After all, just how strong was the final member of this test going to be?
She'd originally intended to surround him from all sides and alternate melee waves with constant bombardment with ranged weaponry, but that plan went out the window the moment he turned tail and ran. Not only was he fast enough to keep beyond their reach, he was also making their pursuit of him a living hell, taking out almost a quarter of their numbers during the chase.
It had honestly looked like they'd lost him until they exited the Hidden Sand Village through the gates, following a sudden trail into the desert outside. They had lost any and all other leads or trails to follow, so they had little choice but to take it and head out. And that was when they spotted him, standing alone out in the desert sands by a small oasis outside the walls. Taking the opportunity without a second thought, they proceeded to form up around him in a circular formation as originally planned out.
And he didn't even resist. Not even a single twitch.
'And now that we finally have him surrounded like originally planned, I somehow feel like WE'RE the ones trapped.'
She wasn't the only one feeling the tension, either. Everyone seemed to have gotten very tense once Tetsuo had been surrounded without showing any hint of concern, just looking over them all with a cocky and unconcerned grin, as if they weren't even a threat to him at all.
'He must've planned something. But WHAT?'
Then he spoke. "You all get one chance," he said, his sudden interjection in the tense silence coming out as loud and disruptive as a sudden shout. "I'm gonna give you all one opportunity to just walk away. Just give up on this little joke of a test and go back to the Academy, and I won't need to embarrass you any more than I already have. Waddya say?"
Unsurprisingly, he didn't receive an answer. Not just because they were all uninterested in taking up his offer, mind you, but also because…well, because the whole thing just seemed so ridiculous. After all the pain and trouble he'd put them through, after finally coming so close to catching him, when they had literally surrounded him from all sides, were any of them interested in essentially surrendering to him?
So she really wasn't all that shocked when someone decided to answer by just throwing a kunai at him, angled just so that it would graze his cheek. He dodged it right at the last moment, but his frown made it clear that the message had been received.
He shrugged. "Oh well, I tried."
Then he disappeared in a puff of smoke that revealed they'd been talking to a Clone the whole time.
That was when everything went to hell. When large pockets of sand seemed to explode upward into the air, blinding everyone present and immediately making coordination all but impossible. He had lured them right into a trap.
And then the screaming started. One at a time at first, but then quickly growing into multiple people screaming and shouting at the top of their lungs in fright and shock. Exclamations like "What the hell!" and "Monsters!" or "What are these things!?" filling the air, even as they were immediately silenced.
But more than all the screams, beyond all the sounds of fear and panic, she heard that infernal clacking sound. Like the demented song of wood on wood. With shadows seeming to shift around in the sand, barely visible at all through the great cloud, leaving screams and sudden silence in their wake.
Then a face appeared to her in the cloud of sand, one that would stay with her in her nightmares for some years to come.
It was humanoid, if in a way that was somehow a mockery of a living human being. Its features seeming wrong somehow, as if it was designed with a person in mind and then intentionally twisted into something decidedly inhuman; with cheekbones too long and thin, angles of the facial bones too sharp, with the eyes spaced oddly apart, it looked like a crude imitation.
It barely took her a second to realize it was made entirely of wood. Then another second for her to realize it was attached to a humanoid body with an extra pair of arms and further attached to at the waist to the long body of a giant wooden snake.
Then it struck and she knew no more.
oOoOoOoOo Tetsuo oOoOoOoOo
It was barely five minutes after Tetsuo's showing and he really just wanted to head home. It was over now, right? He and his friends had handed everybody else their asses on a platter, so there wasn't much of a reason for them to stick around anymore. Their part in this little escapade had ended.
Unfortunately, the Kazekage seemed to have a different idea. Because rather than just allow them all to go their separate ways and let the Academy Students run off to lick their wounds, he'd called not only Tetsuo and his friends over to the Academy where everything had started, but all the remaining students that were still conscious.
He barely bothered to give them all a second glance. They'd already smacked them all around like ragdolls, paying more attention to them wouldn't change that. Though more than a few of them were sending angry looks towards himself and his friends where they were seated on the ground of the Academy courtyard like everyone else.
He had briefly considered the possibility that the Kazekage was just being sadistic towards children, but the theory was quickly discarded. Rasa struck him as being more along the lines of necessarily ruthless than outright sadistic. He didn't do anything without a pragmatic motive. So what was his motive right now? Any why put them in the spotlight like this?
"I am very disappointed."
The Academy Students in the courtyard seemed to suffer a collective flinch from Rasa's words.
"To be honest, I hadn't really expected a victory on your part. However, I'd still been confident that the students of this Academy would've been able to at least respectably hold their own. That you could make your opponents truly fight to earn their victory."
The Kazekage shook his head, displeasure evident in his features and expression. "Given not only your failure to subdue any of your opponents, but also your poor performance in general, it's abundantly clear that none of you are ready to graduate from the Academy. I strongly suggest you focus as much time on your training as you can until graduation. Otherwise none of you will survive long enough to become strong and productive Shinobi of the Hidden Sand."
The students all looked downright chagrined after that, even a little ashamed. It was as if the Kazekage had come down to essentially tell them how much they sucked.
'Not a bad motivator, but he might be laying it on a little thick.'
But seriously, this couldn't have been the only reason he'd arranged all of this. A little lesson on preparation and a showing of how unprepared they really were? He could've done that any number of different ways without making involving Tetsuo and his friends, so what was his real angle? That was the question of the day.
And as the Kazekage turned their way, Tetsuo could feel in his gut that he was about to get an answer.
"And it's also showed me something else," he continued, gesturing the three of them over.
Shira was the first to respond, getting up and moving almost by reflex to the Kazekage's silent all-but command. Kunou was next, moving slightly slower than Shira, but no less respectful. She probably didn't like the man much, but she didn't let it get in the way of showing respect to the most powerful man in the Hidden Sand.
Tetsuo, of course, was the last of the three to respond, taking his time to rise up and head on over. He was just defiant like that.
The Kazekage was patient enough to not really make a scent, though he did slightly roll his eyes.
Either way, Tetsuo made his way up in front of the man with his two buddies, ready to hear what he had to say. Tetsuo hoped it was at least important enough for him to have wasted so much of his day on this.
"What I've witnessed today has made some facts abundantly clear. The need for greater focus on teaching our Academy Students in practical skills is chief among them, but the three of you have made something else quite obvious. Though it's somewhat more personal towards you."
Tetsuo could almost swear the edges of Rasa's lips actually tilted upwards for a moment, but it disappeared before he could confirm it was anything more than his own vivid imagination.
"The three of you have shown that your skills are more than advanced enough for your age to be put to use."
'Wait, what?'
"Therefore, you from now on be a Genin team of the Hidden Sand Village. You will meet your assigned Jōnin-sensei here in the courtyard tomorrow at 8 in the morning, sharp. I'm sure you will do us proud in the times to come."
This…this was why he arranged everything! It wasn't just to drive something home or test the Academy Students, he wanted to make it clear to any and all detractors that their skills were on a high enough level to be made a team. A way to keep them together by subverting the typical rules of the Academy without actually going against his own decrees.
'Okay,' Tetsuo mentally admitted, slightly petulant. 'I gotta admit, that was actually kinda clever.'
oOoOoOoOo The Next Day oOoOoOoOo
"So," Shira said slowly, "you're saying you really don't find it particularly exciting?"
"No," Tetsuo answered, dragging the two letters out as if there were eight instead of two. "I'm really not all that excited. Don't get me wrong, I know this is a big deal, but it's not exactly big enough to excite me."
Kunou scoffed at that. "I somehow think that nothing besides toying with those Puppets really gets you hyped at all."
'Finally, someone who gets it.'
Seriously, Shira had practically been jumping off the damn walls since the announcement yesterday. Not literally, he was too self-controlled for that, but as close as someone so taciturn could get in general. Probably because he had all but given up on being an official Shinobi due to his handicap, so this was an especially big deal for him.
Good thing Kunou was much more reserved about it, steady as a rock in the ocean.
Though Tetsuo had to admit, he actually was a little eager to get started. Training was good and all, but you couldn't really hope to improve if you never got out into the field. Becoming a team meant it was gonna be much easier to work on his abilities, not to mention the extra money he'd be getting from missions.
Granted, it also meant taking some time away from his personal project, but he considered that a fair trade.
He was also a little curious about who would be their Jōnin instructor. He was pretty sure Rasa wouldn't have picked someone at random like drawing a name from a raffle, it would've been someone made their instructor for a purpose. So who?
Well, they were about to find out. It was nearly 8 in the morning and the three of them were already seated on the ground in the Academy courtyard, awaiting the arrival of the person who'd be responsible for teaching and moulding them into a batch of respectable Ninja.
He didn't really have much to do to pass the time, so Tetsuo kept his mind occupied by inscribing Sealing arrays on the ground in front of him. Might as well do something productive, and he was actually making some progress.
He'd learned a lot about Seals and the science behind them since his apprenticeship to Chiyo, from various formulas and the basis' behind them and how to construct his own. Primary among them was how Seals worked in concept.
They were essentially made to work like a basic Chakra Network, using formulas and pathways to shape and work the Chakra in a way that manifested similarly to a specific Jutsu. Basic Seals were simple enough, but the advanced ones could practically give the uninitiated some serious headaches. Especially when someone's own Chakra Element came into it.
He was about to make an addition to his drawing on the ground when Shira lightly tapped his shoulder. "He's here."
Nodding briefly in response, Tetsuo quickly got rid of the drawing and stood up, doing his best to look presentable.
Then he looked at the person they'd been assigned and almost broke into a smile.
Because the Jōnin in front of them was definitely someone he recognized. Someone he recognized from very recently, in point of fact.
He never even would've guessed that Anji Yūkyūzan was actually a Jōnin.
xXx
Whoa. I swear, the chapters are starting to get longer on average. Anyway, sorry for what was probably a longer than usual wait. Things have gotten hectic again so it's been a little harder for me to sit down and focus on my writing. Not only have my Electrician Training classes started up for the next semester, our landlord has given us notice. So now me and my mom have until October 1st to find another place and move out. We've found a pretty nice one, but the move will still be a bitch. I'm pretty sure this'll be the…sixth move I've experienced in my life so far.
Regarding the chapter, Tetsuo's musings on Seals are kinda my own take on it. Sealing and its workings are explained very little in canon beyond "write on paper, make it do something". Literally nothing beyond that is known about it. It actually gets to the point that Sealing is less of a form of Shinobi skills and more of a plot device.
As for how the team was founded, I wanted to make it something believable. Rasa himself passed the law that nobody unable to use Ninjutsu and/or Genjutsu would be allowed to join the Academy and be trained to become a Ninja, but he also needed to get Tetsuo and Shira on the same team. How? By proving that Shira's abilities were still up to snuff. The same thing kinda went for Kunou as well, though not to the same extent, and Tetsuo never even bothered with the Academy. This was the best way for the team to form in a way that didn't make it look like he was showing favoritism. Motivating the Academy Students with a kick in the pants was also a good bonus.
As for the fight, I wanted to show not just how skilled the three of them were, but also showcase their abilities and how they used them. Kunou in particular, considering I've only given little snippets of her stealth and sensory abilities until now. You'll find out their exact working later, given that even she isn't exactly fully aware of how they work, considering she essentially got them from the…..other side of her family tree. That said, I don't think it'll be too hard to connect the dots.
Anyway, I'm heading to bed now. I'm gonna see if I can squeeze out one more chapter for this before moving onto the next chapter for Infinite Variant and the The Will To Power. Point out any spelling or grammar errors you may find so I can fix them.
Review and have a nice night!