Thanks for all the Faves, Follows and Reviews!
.96780: It'd be a full time job to train one, for sure.
Some notes: The OC mentioned is really only so there wont be any four man Genin teams, he wont come up much. Some of the teams might be jumbled up due to where I want the story to go. The third member of Kaida's team is in a tossup right now. Hinata or Ino. Don't worry, there will still be an ino-shika-cho if she is. Lemme know which you prefer, or even another choice.
Coming up: A talk with Anko and the Genin exam.
PS: Sorry if the next few chapters are posted at an odd time, such as midnight. My puppy was spayed today and keeping a puppy from rough-housing is difficult lol.
Chapter Nine
"Mendokusai." was all Shikamaru Nara had to say when Kaida and Hina walked into class together, trailed by their Nin-ken.
Natsu, on the other hand, waved vigorously from behind the only Uchiha in the class.
Now, Kaida knew that not all Uchiha were bad, he'd met some very nice ones; but, as with all old clans, they tended to think they were special.
Hence the sneer Sasuke sent them and the sharp-toothed smile they both sent back.
"Hi, Hinata!" Hina waved at the shy girl who shared her name, the dark haired Hyuga sitting close to the wall of the classroom.
She waved back, a little less hesitant then when they had first met.
Kaida counted that as a win.
Niko-Niko ignored the Uchiha's disgust and climbed up his desk to give Natsu kisses, his curled tail waving back and forth and Natsu giggled madly.
Sasuke grabbed Niko by the scarf and dragged him off him "Get." he was actually surprisingly gentle when he pushed Niko away.
Kaida gave him a considering look before putting it to the back of his mind and grinning and waving at the horror-struck Kiba.
Apparently, he hadn't been told.
Even Ino gave them a small smirk, the strands of hair that framed her face in braids this time, her voice dry as she said "well, this class has gone to the dogs. Literally."
Adzuki chuffed at her, shaking his long ears and inevitably his heavy wrinkles.
"settle down and find your seats. Class, I expect you to welcome Kaida Hatake and Hinata Inuzuka." Iruka said, shuffling papers on his desk.
"Hina." Hina corrected and Iruka repeated her.
"Hina. They were given permission to sit the upcoming exam."
there was a bit of grumbling about that, but nothing too mean spirited, though he did see the other Hyuga narrow his pale eyes in a way Kaida didn't like.
Natsu patted the spots near her, eyes wide with excitement and they took the invitation, Kaida sitting between the two while Niko-Niko crawled his way under the desk to curl up behind Kaida's legs.
Iruka's lesson was more interesting then Funeno-sensei's but Kaida felt a tick of disappointment to find he'd already been through it all.
He still paid attention, because he respected Iruka, but it was hard and he kept finding his attention wandering to the other students.
He had automatically categorized who presented the most threat if a fight broke out and memorized all their chakra signatures.
Sasuke was skilled in Taijutsu and had already started learning his clans Katon jutsu but from what Natsu told him, he lacked imagination. Natsu, not that she would ever attack him, was a physical whirlwind, even if she needed to brush up on her Ninjutsu. In Taijutsu, her stamina would be hard to beat.
Shikamaru would rather outwit his opponent then fight outright, if he had a choice. The Aburame might be a problem if he thought the logical thing was to fight.
The thought of the Kikaichu made Kaida shudder.
The Akimichi could probably be intimidated.
Sakura was...obsessive, but had pretty good chakra control and might be a hindrance if she decided she needed to 'protect' her crush.
One was mostly unknown to him but had a familiar shade of blonde hair, and was well-rounded, though he tended to hesitate right at the end, according to Kiba.
He knew from overhearing Kakashi talking that the two other and Neji Hyuga were slated to graduate last year but he hadn't heard why it didn't happen and Neji looked like the bitter sort.
A loud sigh "Kaida-kun."
Kaida looked back to the front, where Iruka was looking at him expectantly.
Kaida smiled sheepishly "can you repeat the question?"
"what are some common team specialties." he asked, rubbing his forehead and Kaida gave a quiet "ah." before answering.
"well, there's the 'heavy hitters' that tend to be escort oriented, there's infiltration, tracking, uhh, some less...savory specialties." he trailed off, thinking of Ibiki and the job he was very, very good at.
"correct." he said, smiling "but don't forget that those 'less savory' jobs are vital to keeping Konoha safe." when he nodded, Iruka clapped his hands together, similar to how Kakashi did, "Now, lets step outside. We'll have some light spars and then lunch."
Kaida jumped up out of his seat, rousing Niko in the process.
The spars in the lower classes were boring.
Here, he knew he at least had a chance of a good practice, especially since he was physically smaller then everyone other then Hina.
It'd force him to get creative.
Iruka let them start with self regulated stretching, Kaida laying his palms on the ground and looking under his legs at Hina "it would be kind of fun to fight Natsu, if I'm being honest. She does the most unexpected things."
Hina snickered as Kaida let his own weight drop him into a controlled roll, popping back onto his feet and facing Hina, looking to where Natsu was caught up with trying to get the lazy Nara to actually stretch "she'd probably try to sit on you."
Kaida didn't argue, it was a justified thought.
Ino and Hinata joined them in their stretches, though Kaida had caught Neji trying to keep Hinata from going out of the corner of his eye.
Niko-Niko did his own stretches, and even hijacked some of theirs, licking faces when they came within reach.
They gathered in a semicircle around a flat piece of hard-packed earth at Iruka's call. He addressed them sternly "Today we'll be simulating team combat, three against three." he divided them up, earning a double glare when he came to Kaida and Hina, so he sighed and dropped Sakura in their team.
"Hi." Kaida said, smiling at the girl who had similar eyes to his own with hair cut the same length as Hina's "I'm Kaida."
Sakura turned distracted eyes on them "hmm? Oh, I'm Haruno Sakura. Feel free to call me Sakura."
Kaida smiled again, pretending he didn't know about how she bullied Natsu.
Kaida knew, logically, it was out of insecurity and that Natsu was actually quite pretty and Sakura saw her as 'competition' even if Natsu hated Sasuke's guts.
But Kaida didn't really want to think about the gray area of her nastiness, or of it at all at the moment, because they had been called to fight a group consisting of Neji, Sasuke and Daisuke, the civilian born student.
And he needed to keep his head in the game and trust his teammates, even knowing he didn't quite like them.
Stupid Kakashi for making him think too much.
"no nin-ken this time." Iruka said and Niko-Niko whined, going with Adzuki to sit by Iruka's feet.
Kaida gestured for Sakura to come closer "Kiba-chan said you're very strong."
her eyebrows tugged down, as if not sure whether to take that as a compliment or an insult "so?"
"Well, me'n Hina are both Ninjutsu focused, even if we're fast, we cant deal hard physical blows yet. If we immobilize, can you smash them real good?"
Sakura eyed the opposing team, lingering on Sasuke.
An idea sparked in Kaida's mind and he tapped her arm again "psst, Sakura-chan."
she leaned closer, looking kind of happy at the honorific and Kaida said softly "Kakashi told me the Uchiha like strong women. Someone who can keep up with Sasuke would attract his attention much more."
Her eyes took a gleam and Hina elbowed him in the ribs and whispered "now you've done it."
"all's fair in love and war." Kaida whispered back.
Kaida hashed the plan out in whispers, briefing Sakura on their fighting style. They'd had the unfair advantage of training together since before they could toddle on two feet, not to mention the additional clan training they both got, as opposed to Sakura's civilian background.
"Begin!" Iruka yelled, dropping his arm like a flag.
As expected, the hyper aggressive Sasuke shot past his own teammates. Engaging Sakura in a flurry of blows that seemed to startle the pink haired girl. Kaida gathered chakra in his palms, electricity sparking from finger to finger as he duck up into the space between them and slapped a palm against Sasuke's stomach, making him back up enough that Sakura could recover her stance.
He glanced sideways at Hina, rolling under Daisuke's attack, feeling the force of it against his skin. The dirt ground under his sandal as he pivoted, hitting the older boy in the solar plexus with a hand wrapped in lightning.
He left Daisuke coughing, trying to get the air back in his lungs.
Kaida knew from experience that a firm hit from his electricity charged hands felt like being poked with a chakra charged cattle prod.
Ibiki had tricked him into touching one when he'd showed the big man his new technique.
Hina's natural flexibility was doing her well with Neji, his Gentle Fist missing her by a hairsbreadth each time.
Sakura backed up fast and Kaida looked to see why, Sasuke's fingers flying.
"Hina!" He called and she dipped under Neji, putting distance between them, her own fingers flying, voice too soft to hear.
Sasuke gathered a deep breath.
And got a face full of water.
Kaida took the chance and touched the dark haired boy with his hand, eyes flitting to Sakura as Sasuke froze, the combination a powerful punch to the gut.
Sakura started to attack, then hesitated.
Kaida grit his teeth and grabbed Sakura before the others could retaliate, pulling her to Hina.
The other team regrouped as well and they faced each-other, both panting, a faint cloud of dust over their clothes.
"Kaida, plan 'catch 'em all'?" Hina asked and Kaida turned to Sakura.
"listen Sakura-chan, me and Hina have a move that might be able to trap one or two of them but we need you to pull through. Remember what I said."
"what if I hurt him, or beat him, and he hates me?" She asked, watching the object of her affection brush the electric buzz off.
"Sasuke's not that kinda guy."
he hoped.
She took a deep breath and nodded "you're right." she took a ready stance "you stop them, I'll finish them."
Hina blew raspberries at Neji and her fingers moved systematically as Sakura kept Sasuke off them.
A snake of water shot from Hina's crossed palms, palms facing Neji. It wrapped around him like a Bullwhip.
As the tail end smacked him in the face, Kaida wrapped his hand around Hina's wrist and forced his chakra through her hand and into the stream of water.
"stop!" Iruka called and they let the attack fizzle out before it even reached Neji, the water soaking the dry earth below.
"aww, Iruka-sensei." Kaida whined "I really wanted to try that one, we've been working on it real hard."
"I know, I've seen you and I'd rather not have anyone sent to the hospital because of it." he said, flitting from person to person to check for any major damage.
Kaida groaned "it wasn't even at full strength, it probably wouldn't even maim."
Iruka sighed "you are so much like your uncle, its scary."
"thanks!" Kaida said, bouncing back.
"that wasn't a compliment." Iruka said, checking Sasuke for Electrical burns.
"I cant hear you." Kaida said, cupping his hand to his ear "speak up, Iruka-sensei!"
Kiba announced "Don't worry everyone, those two are just freaks of nature like Kakashi; they're useless to compare yourselves against."
"ah." he heard Sasuke murmur under his breath "the twin devils."
he couldn't help but snort.
That's what Itachi-chan called them.
"there might have been a better way to say that, Kiba-kun." Iruka scolded gently "but the moral is the same. Be as good as you can be. Don't get frustrated because someone else might seem farther ahead, or have flashier jutsu. A place where you might falter is a place your teammate might succeed. That's why teamwork is so important."
"your teams your family!" Kaida shouted, punching his fists in the air.
"you watch each others backs!" Hina joined in.
"that's the will of fire!" Natsu shouted from across the training ground.
The three of them broke out in giggles.
Kakashi quotes were the best.
Iruka ruffled Kaida's thick hair silently, a small but pleased smile on his face.
"alright, next teams!"
the day went by with similar results, the training camp having linked the five of them with its necessary teamwork.
Hinata even beat Tenten, with Ino on her side.
Lunch was very welcome in the heavy heat.
Tsume had packed Kaida, Kiba and Hina with lunches both for them and for their nin-ken. Niko-Niko hadn't left Kaida's lap since he'd finished sparring, whining softly whenever Kaida tried to move.
He finally just turned into his doggy self and romped around with the worrisome pup and that seemed to assure him of Kaida's health.
They ran around the grass to the laughter of their friends, Kaida's silvery fur coated in grass from tumbled through the wide lawn.
Kaida lost his footing, rolling down the short hill and splaying on someones lap, upside down.
He gave them a doggy smile, tongue lolling.
He didn't think he'd ever seen Sasuke smile before but gentle hands rolled him upright, Niko-Niko barreling down the hill to roll over Sasuke's empty bento.
He lifted Kaida up to eye level and said "you really should stay like this, Hatake-kun. It's much cuter."
Kaida licked him on the nose, panting a laugh.
He didn't think he'd seen a person go any redder.
Its not like it was a kiss or something.
Kaida didn't have time for that.
Why did nobody get that?