Naruto
Naruto: Shadow Legion – Chapter 20 [ Physical and Emotional Progress ]
Disclaimer: I Do not own Naruto nor its Characters
O~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~O
Naruto made his way up the steps of the Namikaze library, shutting the door behind him as Jiraiya followed him out. "Well seeing as you have some matters to attend to, we can begin properly tomorrow by the river. If you can master it before the tournament proper begins, come by and see if there are any other techniques you could use some help with." Jiraiya said professionally before giving the boy an affectionate pat on the shoulder.
With both shinobi entering the main area of the compound, it was time for Naruto to greet his newest 'Tennent'. "I thought she was supposed to be here a few days ago, what gives?" Naruto asked sarcastically as he made his appearance known. The only people around now aside from the new arrivals were Haku and Meizu, each one over by the kitchen segment connecting to the main room. Taking his exit as well, Jiraiya walked past the group that had recently arrived at the compound.
"Well if you must know, I—" Sakura began professionally.
"Forgot about it didn't you?" Naruto interrupted as he scanned the looks on all of their faces. Sakura was understandably agitated, Ino was clearly tired, but still emitting some positive energy, chuckling at Naruto's assessment, and then there was Kin. "I suppose this is all a shock to you?" he asked the clearly surprised genin.
"Uh well… yeah a little bit." Kin replied honestly as she stood stiff as a board.
"Well while you guys explain the house rules, I have some studying to do." Ino expressed as she did a few stretches, making her way towards the open library. "You don't mind if I borrow some of the Uchiha clan technique books, do you?"
"Not a problem with me, just make sure you're not up all night." Naruto stated nonchalantly while Ino was picking out all the books she needed.
"Yeah, yeah." Ino said sarcastically, walking upstairs toward the various studies.
"I have to get back to the hospital." Sakura said with a slightly annoyed tone, relaxing her want to pummel the smiling genin. "These are Mitobe and Koga, they'll be the girl's guards for the foreseeable future." Sakura explained as the two Inuzuka clansman walked through the door, their blood being temporarily added to the seal by Ino.
"Alright, that shouldn't be a problem. If you ever want to just sleep here, we have enough extra rooms." Naruto offered as he gestured for the three of them to take a seat. "Haku, Meizu, a moment if you have the time." Naruto called, causing the mist nin to make their way over to the various seats.
"Quite the place you got here kid." The elder chunin expressed as he took in the sights.
"Throw in a couple of dog kennels and we could make this fit for an Inuzuka." Koga expressed as he looked around in awe.
"Alright, since everyone is here, I suppose introductions are in order. Kin, this is Meizu, and Haku. They're both staying here for the time being as well." Naruto explained. "The only rules for you are until further noticed, there are only a handful of books in the library your able to use that aren't clan reserved and try to keep your rooms clean." Naruto expressed as he eyeballed the demon brother casually sipping a cup of tea.
"Wait hold on, are you not going to explain how you're in charge of this? Is this a prank or something?" Kin asked in confusion as she looked around the compound.
"That's a bit of a long story, but for now just know that this is technically mine, even if most the village doesn't know about it." Naruto confirmed. "Speaking of which, I trust the two of you can keep this our little secret?" Naruto said, looking towards the Inuzuka guards.
"Don't worry, it's not a problem." Mitobe reassured.
"Great, now I guess you guys should take up some positions for tonight. I'd recommend outside since we're gonna have four other shinobi staying here tonight." Naruto offered, causing the two Inuzuka to acknowledge the suggestion, leaving the compound swiftly as to not miss anything.
"Alright, so is this all you needed us for?" Meizu asked groggily.
"Basically." Naruto said nervously as he watched the man neutrally drink his tea.
"Alright, I'm going to bed then." He said tiredly as he began walking down the hall.
"Are you sure that it is wise to accept another stray?" Haku asked in her genuine, yet stoic manner as she looked toward the sound shinobi, causing the girl to look fairly uncomfortable.
"Would you want to stay in those stuffy apartments Zabuza is in? imagine that but you can't even leave the apartment full of only medical supplies, and hospital food." Naruto explained simply as a slight hint of dread could be seen on Haku's face.
"No, I suppose not." She replied still stoically if not a tad shakily. "I'm going to follow Meizu's lead then. Good night." Haku said politely as she stood to leave.
"Sorry about them, they're not typically the most social—"
"Why are you doing this?" Kin asked, seemingly becoming her new favorite question. "I know that Hana had already talked to you about this. Why?"
"Well like I said, those hospital—"
"You really expect me to believe that?" Kin said as a hint of frustration leaked into her tone.
Naruto paused as he observed Kin's posture, noticing the look of desperation in her eyes. "Look, if I'm being honest, there are quite a few reasons." Naruto began, causing Kin's own look to soften. "Firstly I guess you could say I still feel responsible for what happened to you." Naruto explained as his own mood began to shift into both a serious, and disappointed tone, seemingly targeted at himself. "Had I been more forgiving in that forest, you'd probably at least be on your way back to your sensei with both your teammates by now."
This revelation caused Kin's muscles to tighten as she thought about the idea of how that would have gone, returning a failure along with her teammates. "I never asked you to help me. I didn't need you to feel any responsibility. I told you that I understand why you—"
"That doesn't mean it was right." Naruto interrupted, confusing Kin.
"But you said—"
"I didn't like doing that, especially considering how things turned out. That doesn't mean I'll hesitate to do my job in the future, only that I'll be taking responsibility of whatever outcome comes back to me." Naruto explained further as he looked up at the girl.
"I guess that makes sense…" Kin replied halfheartedly as she knew that there was another reason that she could see mattered more than simple 'responsibility'.
"Then there's the matter of you personally." Naruto said surprising the kunoichi. "During the preliminaries, not only were you surprised at almost all my interactions with my friends, but you seemed to think I was unprofessional, even alien. Then there was our discussion about teachings." Naruto explained as he awaited a response.
Kin sat in silence as she processed Naruto's reasoning. "So you what exactly does that mean? You wanted me here so you can prod me for answers to questions? That it?" Kin asked sounding seemingly betrayed, most likely thinking that Naruto had simply used her.
"Not at all actually." Naruto responded quickly, not allowing the notion hang in the air for very long. "I wanted to learn what you've been taught so I can show you a better way, just like during the preliminaries." Naruto explained, Kin sitting silently, staring at his newly appeared grin.
"W-What makes my teaching worse then yours…" Kin said weakly, not sounding like she was upset, but genuinely curious.
"Well I can tell that you've been thinking about it yourself." Naruto started, causing Kin's eyes to widen further. "I don't know if all of your teachings are 'inferior', but I would think that you're asking a question like that means that you at least find it possible."
It was clear to Naruto that at this point Kin was at least interested enough to hear him out as she nervously responded. "Well then… could you show me to my room…?"
O~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~O
Jiraiya was walking alone through the woods, making his way back to the village under the stary night sky. He was very relaxed as he made his way back, taking in the sights that he's seen plenty of times before, only a few years aged since the last time he'd seen the area. "I was wondering if you were going to come talk to me." Jiraiya said happily as he turned his head behind him, watching a familiar silver haired jonin trailing him.
"I was about to say the same thing." Kakashi replied as Jiraiya slowed to stand beside the sensei. "I trust training has been going well?"
"Well we haven't made much progress yet, but now that he's signed his own contract, we should be making plenty in the coming days." Jiraiya replied cautiously.
"And how is it that it took you so long to even begin that training?" Kakashi questioned.
"Well I needed to do some research for the next installment of my 'Make Out' series." Jiraiya replied cheekily as he watched the jonin's face shift to one that showed an embarrassed form of excitement.
"W-Well I guess that makes sense." Kakashi acknowledged as the two continued on.
"I'm not surprised. Even when we began the training this morning, we spent all day looking for his mother's contract."
"It shouldn't take long for him to master that, but I get the feeling you'll be extra busy considering you basically gave him the key to that archive." Kakashi stated both calmly, but with somewhat of an accusatory tone.
"I forgot that you had a summon yourself! I guess I have been gone too long." Jiraiya replied, seemingly ignoring the latter half of Kakashi's statement.
"Don't you think you're helping him too much? You and I both know how Minato sensei and Kushina were talking about his training. Not to mention the Hokage would hardly approve of him accessing some of those techniques." Kakashi expressed disappointedly.
"Well Kakashi, think of it this way. Seeing as Naruto is left with a surrogate family in place of his real family for the time being, it makes sense that your worried about the boy's discipline. Your basically the closest thing to a father figure for him in my opinion. With Kagami and Hiruzen passing down their own wisdom, it's only natural I, as the godfather, can spoil my godson from time to time." Jiraiya explained with a smile.
"I suppose I can't fault you for that." Kakashi stated, seemingly in agreeance with the prospect. "But that doesn't mean he should be coddled."
"I agree completely. Nobody said that his training would be easy." Jiraiya said with a devilish grin, his laugh echoing into the night as the two masters walked through the village gates.
O~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~O
For the next few weeks, the various genin trained hard with their trainers, gaining new skills, and perfecting their own crafts as they had been maturing over the years. With the Chunin exams finale arriving in just 2 days, the tension being built had seemingly reached its climax as the participants grew more and more eager. It was the dawn before the eve of the chunin exams as one of these genin was still working hard in his training.
"But I already have it down! How many times do you want me to practice it?! I thought you said you'd help me with other jutsu too!" Naruto complained as Jiraiya stood opposite of him with a serious face.
"If you can't use it effectively, why learn it in the first place?" Jiraiya responded calmly. "Once more, then I can look over whatever jutsu you want."
"But what if… really?" Naruto asked excitedly as he watched a smile grow on his sensei's face.
"Of course!" He replied with a jolly laugh. "Now summon a proper fox for me!"
"Right!" Naruto said in an excited yet strained tone as he began making the hand seals for the jutsu. Biting his thumb with enough force to draw blood, he then slammed his hand down as he cried: "Summoning Jutsu!".
As the plume of smoke came from the seal, Naruto waited for the summon to appear. As the smoke cleared, Naruto's mood suddenly shifted to disappointment as he saw the small red fox sitting patiently before him. "Inari? Why didn't any of the others come?" Naruto questioned.
The small fox laughed before replying. "Well they've been summoned enough times to know that your still training, so they just decided to send me instead." It replied in an innocent manner, excitedly waving its tail.
"I suppose that's fair enough." Jiraiya replied embarrassed. "I guess I'll take the blame on that one." He said with a laugh.
"Well since I have you here I might as well have you a message for me." Naruto continued as his mood began lightening.
"Sure thing!" the young fox replied excitedly.
"Could you let Ino know to meet me at my apartment when she gets done with Anko? I want to make sure that everything is ready for tomorrow." Naruto asked, already knowing the young foxes respond. "And don't forget anything this time, the last thing I need is another scolding because you only told her half of what I meant."
"You got it!" the eager fox replied as it scampered off into the forest in the direction of Konoha.
"So what's tomorrow?" Jiraiya asked inquisitively, taking a seat on a rock.
"Well it's Sasuke and Satsuki's birthday tomorrow so I want to make sure our gift for them is completely ready." Naruto explained. "Anyway, since you said you'd help me with another jutsu…" Naruto began as he pulled out some paper and ink. "I was wondering if you could help me with this." He continued, placing a tri-pronged kunai in front of Jiraiya.
"Oh? So you want to learn the Flying Raijin? I suppose it was only a matter of time." Jiraiya replied. "I take it you figured out that the formula written on the kunai doesn't exactly work at its full potential for you?"
"Well yes and no. I've managed to nearly finish my own formula, but I know it's missing something." Naruto replied as he brought out his own kunai with a noticeably similar, yet minimally different seal.
"I see." Jiraiya expressed as he picked up the two kunai. "And what's the problem?"
"Well with the original, its stupidly inaccurate whenever I try the technique, but with mine, I can be accurate, but it drains much more chakra." Naruto explained.
"Well then there isn't a problem per say, just that you haven't fully mastered yours yet. Though if I were to guess, it looks like the only problem is the level of sealing used, Minato's has been tweaked relentlessly throughout the years to optimize the seal for him. The only thing I can suggest is continue reading up on your seals and you'll eventually find the perfect formula." Jiraiya explained casually.
"Well if that's what I gotta do then that's what I'll do." Naruto replied with a grin as he grabbed the two kunai back from Jiraiya. "Before I leave though, could you look over these three items? I put different seals I've been practicing with, but I want your advice." Naruto explained as he took a storage scroll out of his pouch, letting a plume of smoke exit from the scroll, along with three different items that really caught the sannin's eye
O~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~O
"You wanted to see me?" Ino asked in a playful tone as she entered Naruto's apartment, seeing him tinkering with a seal paper, his tri-pronged kunai sitting beside it.
"Oh perfect! Now we can make sure everything is ready for tomorrow." Naruto replied excitedly as he pulled out a storage scroll. "And I guess technically tonight?"
"Wait, that's what you wanted to see me about?" Ino replied disappointedly. "I thought we already had everything set up and ready…"
"Well I wanted to ask you if you wanted to join me in giving them the gifts. I mean you were a big help in Satsuki's, might as well make it a joint gift." Naruto explained.
"Well, I thought that you asked me here for another reason…" Ino started. "I guess Inari only got me half the message again.
"Well I figured he would, that's why I made the important part the first part." Naruto explained. "We still have a couple hours till midnight… that is, if you had something in mind to do while we wait." Naruto said in a cheeky manner, shooting Ino a grin.
"Well then I guess I'll stay here for a little while to kill some time. I mean, it's only fair I go with you." Ino replied as she mirrored the smile. "But I'm pretty tired, mind if we just relaxed for a while?"
"I guess that's fair , I heard You've made a ton of progress with Anko. I mean with you and your new jutsu that utilizes your Kekkei Genkai." Naruto teased.
"I've already told her that's not what it was, but she said, 'only you guys can use it so it's essentially a Kekkei Genkai." Ino stated in response, making sure to emphasize one of the woman's favorite phrases.
Both shinobi made their way to a small couch he had in his apartment, sitting down, simply enjoying each other's company. As the two sat down in peace and quiet, Ino laid her head onto Naruto's shoulder, the two in a completely blissful state. "We should do this more often when these exams are finally over." Ino suggested as she made herself more comfortable.
"I agree." Naruto replied as he placed a gentle kiss on the blonde's forehead, enjoying the time that they had. "But don't think that it's always going to be this calm." He said with a smile.
"Of course it won't always be quiet, I mean, I'm dating you." Ino said with a quiet chuckle.
"Hey, I'm not that bad, am I?" Naruto replied in a joking manner, resting his head onto Ino's
"Maybe not." Ino finished as the two enjoyed their quiet night, waiting for the rest of the night to pass, however wishing for it to take its time.
O~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~O
*Thunk* *Thunk* *Thunk*
The sound of three kunai hitting three consecutive bullseyes was heard as Sasuke stood in the middle of the dark, training intensely. "What are you doing up?" he asked over his shoulder as he noticed Satsuki's presence from behind him.
"I should be asking you the same thing. Haku had me stay a while longer than usual, seemed pretty adamant about it too." Satsuki admitted as she watched Sasuke throw another three kunai, this time the targets being much more long range. Each kunai hit, but one of them was slightly off target, causing Sasuke to sneer in disappointment.
"Regardless, you should head to bed, I've got more work to do." Sasuke replied as he reached for his pouch once more, grabbing his last three kunai from his pouch.
"You need to rest, we still have another day before the exam, I'm certain that you'll be fine." Satsuki scolded as she watched Sasuke ignore her, instead throwing his kunai, burying them into some closer targets.
"I can't be too careful. Afterall, you're my opponent." Sasuke replied seriously as he turned to face Satsuki, his expression serious, and solid.
"Good to see that you're not underestimating me, but that doesn't excuse the fact you need to—"
"Did we come at a bad time?" a familiar voice asked from the darkness.
"You've got to be joking. I don't need to be dealing with him AND Satsuki's nagging." Sasuke thought as he turned to the gate where he saw Naruto and Ino, both of whom were holding boxes, Ino's being slightly larger.
"Yes, if you would kindly—" Sasuke began before Satsuki cut him off.
"Of course not, but its nearly midnight, what are you two doing here?"
As the two made their way to the two, Naruto began explaining himself. "Well firstly, Happy Birthday Sasuke." Naruto stated as he extended his arms, offering Sasuke the box.
"Thanks…" Sasuke said cautiously as he carefully grabbed the box, still skeptical of what was happening. "But that doesn't mean that you should be he—"
"Aaaaaand Happy Birthday to you Satsuki." Ino interrupted as she looked up at the moon, now perfectly centered above the four, shining down a bright ray of moonlight.
"Awww Thank you!" Satsuki said thoughtfully as she gave both Naruto and Ino hugs before Ino handed over the box.
"Sorry we waited so long to give you a happy birthday Sasuke, but I thought this would be more fun." Naruto admitted anxiously.
"Whatever. If that's all could you guys leave? I'm in the middle of my—"
"Naruto… you shouldn't have…" Satsuki said in a quiet shock as she removed her gift from the box.
"So are they just going to show up and keep interrupting me? I guess that should be expected considering their all still acting like children." Sasuke thought as he watched Satsuki pull out a new bow and quiver from the box, tears welling up in her eyes.
"I was able to get some high-quality chakra metal from the shops, the forged steel should be plenty flexible for a bow and arrow, don't worry. But the real kicker is in the string and seal!" Naruto expressed excitedly.
"The string is pretty fine in quality too. Strong and flexible enough to last you for a while!" Ino expressed in a prideful tone.
"So the seal that was on my mother's is—"
"The very same, however now you can have much more variety." Naruto said with a smile. "I was able to recreate it from the remains of your mothers, however now I can add more to it if you ever want some more firepower since the material is more conductive!"
"I-I don't know what to say! Thank you!" Satsuki said as she gave her friends yet another hug, her bow still in hand.
"That's… pretty cool…" Sasuke mentally admitted as he looked down at the small box, curious as to what was inside. Slowly unwrapping the package, he opened it up to see a pair of bracers similar to the ones Naruto wore, only darker in color.
"Glad to see you're interested Sasuke." Naruto teased as he made shifted his focus to Sasuke. "Why don't you try them on?"
"I suppose that would be fine. But its…" Sasuke paused as he slipped on the bracer.
"Like it? The material used for under the metal is ridiculously soft! I made sure that Naruto used it!" Ino stated in her continued prideful tone as she watched Sasuke revel in the comfort.
"On top of that, look at your forearm." Naruto stated as he lifted his own, showing a seal that wasn't there before. Quickly checking, Sasuke saw the exact seal on both his own bracers.
"What exactly does it do?" Sasuke questioned, trying to not sound impressed, however Naruto was quick to pick up on excitement.
"Well considering your pretty good at Kunai throwing, this is a way to free up space in you pouch." Naruto explained as he demonstrated, quickly drawing out a kunai from the storage seal, smoothly transitioning into a perfect bullseye on a nearby target. "Yours can still hold a little bit more than mine, but that's only because I haven't tweaked mine just yet, so I'll let you know if I end up being able to upgrade that." Naruto said with a smile as he watched Sasuke's face crack a rare smile as he looked down at his new bracers, quickly replicating the movement that Naruto demonstrated threefold, nailing the targets.
"This is surprisingly good. Thanks." Sasuke admitted as he continued inspecting the newest gadget in his arsenal. "Now if I can do something similar to Satsuki…" Sasuke thought as he looked back to Naruto. "Hey Naruto, if I came by the compound tomorrow, could you help me out with something?"
"Wait really?!" Naruto reacted in shock as he didn't expect the offer. "I mean sure, but it'll have to be after my training—"
"That's fine, I have my own to get done as well." Sasuke replied as he began walking towards the house.
"Well that could be bad news." Satsuki said with a smile with Sasuke still in earshot.
"Why's that?" Ino asked in confusion.
"He's stopping his training early. He's pretty confident he'll win." Satsuki explained causing Sasuke grin widened further as he entered his house.
O~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~O
Shikamaru was leisurely strolling towards the training zone the day before the final tournament. As he walked into the entrance he was met with the stern gaze of his sensei, as well as a napping Choji. "You're late."
" I didn't realize *Yawn* we were gonna be training the day before the exams. Isn't this supposed to be a recuperation day or something?" Shikamaru argued as he casually nudged Choji with his foot, waking him up.
"Typically yes, however seeing as you've made few improvements outside strengthening your fundamentals and your training with Shikaku, I figured one more day wouldn't hurt." Asuma explained in a disappointed tone. "You need to take this more seriously."
"What a drag… look, frankly I only agreed to participate because if I hadn't, Ino would have killed me. Why didn't you just train her?" Shikamaru admitted as he sat down calmly next to Choji, who was still waking himself up.
"Because realistically, her style doesn't much suit my own brand of combat, which isn't what she needs in this instance." Asuma explained as he approached the relaxing candidate. "You on the other hand, while you might not be suited for my style either, your further behind her, and that means you're more malleable at the moment."
"Malleable? You want me to just change over to your style of combat?" Shikamaru questioned in an accusatory manner.
"No, I just know that I have the ability to improve your abilities more than hers since she's already been proficient at taijutsu, ninjutsu, even some Kenjutsu since she started training in team ten. It's much harder to shift from that to what I'm sure she sees as a more brute force style." Asuma continued, attempting to explain further. "And Anko will most certainly have been able to find a more… creative way to advance her abilities."
"That makes sense, but I still don't get what else you have planned. I'm not exactly very great at combat outside my family jutsu. Not to mention even then, it's not the most effective without teammates." Shikamaru expressed in an uncaring mood.
"Your telling me that you haven't been able to learn the Shadow Strangle jutsu yet?" Asuma asked in disappointment.
"I have, but it's not gonna be able to carry me through a match. Especially since my opponent has seen my jutsu in action. She'll definitely be able to counter it considering the insane range of that fan." Shikamaru complained, slightly easing the jonin's mind.
"But you can still beat her, right?" Choji asked eagerly, fishing through his bag and finding a bag of chips in it.
"Well that all depends. Since out match is early, then my strategy would work, but if it happens last until around noon then…" Shikamaru trailed off, nearly falling asleep in his own thoughts.
"Your skills will be enough to balance out the deficit." Asuma said reassuringly. "At least the so long as you can close the distance."
"Frankly, I'm more worried about my second match." Shikamaru admitted, knowing that his teammate was in the bye round.
"Well this is reassuring." Asuma said with a long exhale, catching his student's attention. " The fact that your thinking about the next match suggests you have at least some drive to win the first." Asuma teased with a smile. "Come on, we're just gonna do some light technical training for today." He said extending an arm to his student.
Shikamaru smiled as he gripped his sensei's large hand, allowing his sensei's strength to pull him up off the ground. "I suppose that's not so bad…" Shikamaru said in a more positive tone, accepting the explanation and training of his sensei.
O~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~O
Kiba stood in a familiar spot, his defensive stance firm as his eyes darted from side to side, scanning through the thick mist. As he observed he noticed the faintest of shadows, as the punch came in, he was able to deflect the strike, using its sheer force so reposition himself in the fog. "Your eyesight has improved, now how about we move to your more dominant senses." The demonic voice complimented.
"Right." Kiba said calmly as he closed his eyes. With his focus taken away from his sight, he could focus more of his energy on his second-best sense. Kiba remained as quiet as possible to not allow any unnecessary noises interfere with his tracking. "Three paces right…" he thought as he followed the insanely faint sound of his attacker. "15 paces left…" Kiba's eyes shot open as he met a fierce kick with his shin, nullifying the attack to a point to where the damage was minimal.
"Good to know that your hearing is refined enough to match a blow of my own." The voice stated impressed. "However, the next sense is certainly your weakest."
Kiba sat in silence as he focused on breathing out of his mouth, closing his eyes once more, and channeling all his concentration into his skin. He could feel the slight movement of the fog throughout his body as the slightly wet air caressed his skin. A slight shift in the momentum was enough for Kiba to react as he made an attempt at a block.
"Still too slow." The voice chastised as Kiba's body made contact with a nearby tree.
"That was damn close!" Kiba roared, showing his frustration.
"Well 'damn close' is the difference between life and death in this world." The voice echoed as another shot to his stomach caused him to keel over, his breath leaving his stomach. "You dropped your concentration."
"Yeah, no shit." Kiba replied sarcastically as he returned to his feet, beginning to regain his breath. "I'm not holding back anymore." Kiba stated as he closed his eyes once more, this time focusing his breathing on his nose.
"I suppose it's only fair you go on the offensive now" the voice expressed with some excitement.
Kiba took in a slight sniff with his nose, but that was enough for him to be able to pick up the demon's scent. "Got you!" He called as he charged in what appeared to be a more mist, however it was clear he knew what he was doing as his eyes shot open, beginning a combination of feral strikes with his claws and feet. While it was difficult to see, he could just barely make out the silhouette of the man as he narrowly dodged the Inuzuka's strikes.
"Impressive, it seems that I didn't have to do much help your sense of smell but let's see if you can keep it up when you have to utilize all of your senses!" the demon spoke, this time close enough to where Kiba knew he was speaking directly to him, not through echoes and tricks. It was only for a moment, but Kiba blinked, giving the man enough time to disappear from his sight, forcing Kiba to once again attempt to locate the attacker.
"You think you're getting away that easy!" Kiba cried as he charged the place he knew the man was at.
"I expected this, but are you expecting this!" Zabuza cried as he met Kiba's first strike, quickly countering with a second.
Since he was now fully pumped with adrenaline, his body could feel the punch gliding through the air, almost as if the mist was acting as his own personal alarm. Or at least it would if his sensei weren't there. Kiba made an attempt to dodge, but the attack connected in time to do some damage to his shoulder. "Damn!" Kiba winced.
"Your nearly there! You just need the final push!" the demon cried in an excited manner, almost as if he were enjoying the thrill of the bout.
"Don't underestimate me!" Kiba roared as he began his own counterattack. Kiba through punch after punch, however they were effortlessly dodged, of knocked away by the expert movements of the assassin. His defense on the other hand needed to find a key component as his only option was to block. "You know what… I'm starting to feel something…" Kiba thought as he anticipated another attack, this time attempting a quick slip to some success, managing to avoid more damage than before.
"Don't get cocky kid, keep pushing!" Zabuza stressed as he changed the tempo of his attacks, making it harder for the boy.
"I think…" Kiba thought silently as he attempted another dodge, this time the strike barely grazing him. "It's just… happening." Kiba thought finally as his instincts took over, cleanly dodging the next strike on auto pilot.
"A lucky dodge isn't gonna cut it!" the man scolded as he quickly threw even faster punches at Kiba. To his surprise, none of them landed. "Suiton: Water Bullet!" The man called as Kiba was washed away in a quick tide of pressurized water, hitting a nearby tree as the mist started to clear.
"Hey! What the hell was that?!" Kiba cried in frustration as the Demon of the Mist began to materialize in front of him.
"Your training has been completed. As of now, your prepared enough for the tournament." Zabuza stated in a final tone.
"That doesn't answer my question!" Kiba responded angrily as he shook himself as a dog wood, causing the water to fly off his jacket.
"Well Hana told me to make sure you had a proper bath before you came home." Zabuza replied coldly as he began walking away. "I trust that you and your pet will give her my best wishes… this is one of two debts that are now fulfilled." He stated cryptically as he vanished into the woods.
"Well that was odd. You'd think that the guy who was so passionate in that last training match would have been a little more interested in… wait a second… HANA?!" Kiba cut himself off as he realized what the shinobi was implying.
O~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~O
A dim light shone through the window of the room Kin was occupying, catching her eye stirring herself awake, the atmosphere she awoke to seemed unnaturally calm compared to what she was used to from before she ever entered the leaf. "I don't think this is something I'll ever get used to" she thought as rose from her bed.
"I suppose I shouldn't be surprised your up." A feminine voice stated from the doorframe.
"I guess I shouldn't be surprised that your still keeping an eye on me." Kin replied in an exhausted tone, seemingly used to the interaction.
"So what is your intention? May as well make this simple." Haku stated as she entered the room.
"Couldn't sleep, I'm just going to sit outside for a while." Kin replied calmly as she walked passed Haku, making her way to the exit.
"I see, might I join you then?" Haku asked as she followed the kunoichi.
"I suppose, it's not like I already have two chunin watching my every mood, what difference does it make." Kin replied as she made her way to the main door with Haku in tow. Kin looked up into the sky to observe the beautiful full moon surrounded by thousands of tiny stars.
"You seem to be struggling to adapt to this situation." Haku stated as she leaned against the compound wall, watching Kin take a seat beside her.
"You can't exactly blame me for that… after being here for a while, and talking to Naruto whenever he came by… I feel like everything I've ever known is wrong…" Kin admitted as she thought back on the weeks of preparation for the tournament. "But at the same time, everything I know makes sense!" Kin expressed, camping her hands on her head.
"I'm afraid I do not understand. Why is it that this affects you to this degree?" Haku questioned, tilting her head as if she were a child asking her parents a simple question.
"I wouldn't expect you to understand… My training was so brutal, my teachings so merciless… and then there's Naruto and the leaf." Kin responded coldly. "Its as if what they say is a counter in nature."
"Are you talking about how they can so easily enjoy themselves, even if they are professional assassins?" Haku speculated. "I thought that Naruto already explained that to you."
"That's just apart of it. Their training is fundamentally different, learned in an academy, practiced as if it were some game, then when they leave their still just as capable, no more capable even though I was trained with the intention of becoming an assassin. I don't understand!" Kin replied in a heated fashion. "I feel so… inadequate."
"Now this is much simpler to understand." Haku said in a calm tone as she moved to sit next to Kin. "My master is in the midst of going through a similar dilemma."
"Really? And how do you figure?" Kin asked with contempt in her voice.
"Are you aware of who my master is? Or the traditions of the village we hail from?" Haku asked.
"I know all about the final exam you mist nin experience. Even in the sound we aren't as cruel, at least not until after we become shinobi." Kin admitted as she remembered the face of her menacing mentor.
"Are you aware of the story of the Demon of the Mist?" Haku asked to a negative response. "During his final exam, rather than simply defeating his own opponent, he killed every single one of his classmates."
"Sounds like he was a natural born killer." Kin granted.
"He still is, and he also was the one to train me." Haku stated, causing the girl to jump. "And yet, we were both defeated by that boy, and his allies."
"You mean to tell me that you two were also defeated by them? Konoha is full of monsters…" Kin stated harshly.
"I don't know about that… but I do know that there is definitely some truth to what he says. I've started to quite like it here." Haku stated, some positive emotion soaking into her tone.
"I don't understand why I'm having so much trouble with this… I've talked to him plenty, I understand him at least a little, but I don't know what's stopping me from accepting it." Kin admitted for the first time, however to someone she hadn't expected considering they hadn't really talked any prior to this outside the occasional light conversation.
"I know exactly why." Haku said calmly.
"Why?" Kin asked desperately, her head snapping in the direction of Haku.
"Because your—"
*Thump*
Haku was interrupted by the sound of a loud thud near the outside of the compound. "That didn't sound good." She stated calmly as she drew three senbon from her pouch, along with her hunter nin mask. "I'd stay back." Haku suggested as she calmly made her way out of the main gate.
"Not happening." She heard from behind her. After a quick glance she saw Kin standing behind her, senbon of her own in hand.
"Very well." Haku stated as she made her way to where she heard the sound. As she crept quietly, scanning the side of the house, she saw a relatively small discrepancy alongside the house, almost as if a creature was curling up in fear. "I think that—"
*Thump*
A significantly louder sound was heard behind the pair, this one creature like the other, only bigger. "No… those can't be…" Kin started before she ran to the bigger creature, rolling it over to see a horrifying sight.
"My, my! It's been too long Kin!" a familiar voice called quietly from above. Quickly looking up she saw the glint of the moonlight shining off the glasses of a familiar face. The figure was holding something in its arms.
"Nin hounds. Haku quickly surmised as she glanced at the dog belonging to the older Inuzuka chunin.
"N-No!" Kin stammered as she looked closely at what was in the man's hands.
"Oh? What's a mist nin doing here in the leaf?" The man questioned as he tossed the two masses on the ground, each landing hard as their figures were clear as day. Staring back at kin was the petrified lifeless eyes of the young Koga, dead.
"R-Ru—" the other began to speak before a surgical knife found it's way into the chunin's neck, killing him.
"And I was certain he was dead, talk about an annoyance." The man stated with a chuckle. The man swiftly stopped as he caught a senbon in between his fingers. As his eyes leveled at the mist nin that had thrown it, a smile widened on his face.
"I was hoping you'd do that."
O~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~O
Hana was walking down the streets towards the main gate, on her way to do a psych examination of her charge. As she walked, she was cheery, her demeanor reflecting it as her three companions followed her in satisfaction, recently feasting on a barbeque buffet. "You spoil them." Sakura complained as she walked beside her master.
"Hey that's what a good owner does! If I don't spoil them, I have no right to ask them to do such dangerous things in the field!" Hana rebutted cheerfully.
"Honestly, sometimes I can't even tell that what's going through your head." Sakura stated with a chuckle.
"I suppose that makes sense. I mean I'm vastly more powerful than you. Surely that means I'm harder to read!" Hana commented.
"Or because your unusually happy today?" Sakura corrected.
"I mean perhaps you're right, but don't say I never treated you either! As I recall you ate just as much as the boys." Hana grinned deviously at the now embarrassed Kunoichi as they arrived at the gate.
"Good you're here." A voice said menacingly from behind them, causing Sakura to jump out of her skin.
Hana turned to see one of the few people she had intended to meet on her trip to the compound. "Bout time you gave me a report. How'd it go?" Hana asked with her devious smile, Sakura still recovering from the shock.
"What's going on here!" she called as she regained her composure.
"Nothing that concerns you. I'm simply finishing a job." The executioner said as Sakura recognized the man.
"Job? What Job!" Sakura cried as she looked at Hana.
"Just training Kiba a little, nothing major." Hana answered casually. "But by that comment I assume it went well?"
"As well as expected, He shouldn't have any trouble." Zabuza confirmed. "That's one, so once you think of something for the other, let me know as soon as possible. I prefer to not owe anyone anything." Zabuza commented professionally.
"That explains why you helped me forge my sword almost as soon as we got back from waves." Another voice entered the scene as Naruto strolled towards the growing group.
"Oh great, that brat is here." Zabuza replied in a hostile manner.
"Well Hana asked me to come help her with Kin's evaluation. Apparently, she seems pretty interested in me, though its not hard to understand why all things considered." Naruto claimed as he joined Sakura.
"Actually, she just responds to you more, it's not like there's anything more to it." Sakura said in an attempt to cut down Naruto's ego.
"Well that's just great. The last people I'd want to be traveling with." Zabuza mumbled as he stood waiting. "Well come on. If we're going to leave, we might as well start now." He grumbled walking passed the group.
"Well he's as charming as ever." Naruto teased as he followed Zabuza's lead. Following closely behind, Hana and her own party started making their way down the trail with Naruto and Zabuza. "Well I guess we may as well get going. Wouldn't want to keep grumpy waiting." Naruto continued with a smile.
"I'm right in front of you kid." Zabuza said in a menacing tone.
"I hardly think that matters." He replied with a chuckle.
"Can you two just cut it out?" Sakura scolded as she walked behind the two, standing beside her mentor.
"I'd just let them be. Its not hurting anyone." Hana replied calmly as she watched the too bicker the entire trip, enjoying the free entertainment.
"We should be getting close." Sakura stated as she looked up towards Hana. "Are there any additional preparations we need to—" Sakura cut herself off as she walked into a perfectly still Naruto. "Hey watch where you're! ...where you're…" Sakura paused as her gaze was glued forward.
Hana shifted her gaze from her pupil to see what the hold up was, but she immediately regretted it as soon as she did. Looking at the compound she saw blood scattered across the grass, the trees, the walls, anywhere you could think. "What the hell…" she said to herself as she, along with the others, quickly began running toward the building.
"Hakuuuuu!" Zabuza roared as he quickly sprinted into the training area.
"What the hell is going on!" Hana cried to nobody as she ran in confusion.
"Hana!" Naruto called as he arrived over to the side of the house. "You need to see this!"
Hana quickly moved to see what the genin had found, but she regretted it instantly as she was shown the sight of her dead clansman, along with their nin hounds. "Kin!" Hana said in shock .
"What's going on over—" Sakura paused again as she saw the contorted face of Mitobe staring right back at her.
"Mito…be?" she asked in a cracked voice, hoping for a response that would not come.
"What the hell happened here!" The three heard Zabuza roar from the dojo. Hana and Naruto quickly began running to where the demon had been searching, Sakura slinking along quietly as she forced herself to walk away from the dead Inuzuka. Hana saw this as here eyes fell with disappointment. "We'll have time to mourn later…" she thought as she ran through the gate to see Zabuza with Meizu, who looked as if he were on the brink of death.
Hana was able to hear "He… took…" from the dying man before she arrived at the shinobi. Quickly reacting to the situation, she began attempting to stabilize the man.
"Sakura Help me here! Trio investigates for a trail!" Hana barked, not receiving any pushback as those ordered did as they were told.
As Meizu began to slowly come back, just barely, he began to speak again. "A man with glasses… overpowered me… took the girls…" he managed to get out before passing out.
"What!" Hana asked in a panic as she desperately tried to shake the man back to consciousness.
"Hana sensei! That won't help!" Sakura yelled shakily.
"Y-Your right." Hana admitted as she continued healing.
"Hana, one of the triplets found the trail!" Naruto exclaimed.
"Good, It's time I lived up to my name." Zabuza expressed viciously. "I'll make sure he suffers in blindness!" Zabuza said in an almost trance like state.
"Not alone your not!" Hana called after him. "Naruto! Sakura! Stay back and take care of Meizu!" Hana ordered.
"Summoning Jutsu!" Naruto cried as a small fox appeared before him. "Go find someone, anyone! Tell them to come here now!" he quickly ordered the fox, surprising the little creature before it could properly see the bloodstained environment.
After the little fox bolted into the forest towards Konoha, Naruto turned back to face the jonin. "When they get here, I'll send them with one of the triplets! Go!"
Hana quickly nodded, trusting the boy as she ordered one of the dogs to stay with the pair as she and Zabuza followed the hounds into the woods.
O~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~O
Authors Notes: This is the last chapter before the tournament starts! While I'll be wrapping up this plotline in the next chapter, I will also be commencing the tournament! I promise, the first match WILL be held. A couple of things that I need to discuss. The time jump in this chapter is merely so I do not have to go excessively in depth within the training. I understand Shikamaru isn't getting much love, but he will in the coming tournament. I hope you guys can understand I don't want to rush things between the main couple, thus why their time together isn't expressly overdone. I have only really gone into detail about Kiba's growth this chapter, this is simply because I want to save the others for the tournament, and because it fit with where the narrative outside of training was going. The seemingly rushed and whiplashed ending of this chapter will certainly come off as rushed, however I must say expressly this is intentional, and in no way an attempt to be lazy. The next chapter should be full of excitement! So I hope you come back for [Old Wounds ].