Kitsune no Ken GAIDEN Chronicles

by Neon Majestic

During the periods of time skipped over by official records, people did not sit in a vacuum. They lived their lives, being who they were, doing what they were able to do. These chronicles tell tales of people who lived at the same time as the Kyuushingai. SUPPLEMENT to "Kitsune no Ken: Fist of the Fox." GAIDEN 64, "Mist City Chronicles, Part 8," now up!

62. Mist City Chronicles, Part 6

Kitsune no Ken GAIDEN Chronicles

Written by Neon Majestic

(DISCLAIMER: The Naruto franchise and the characters therein belong to and were originally created by Masashi Kishimoto.)

OoOoO

GAIDEN 62 – Mist City Chronicles, Part 6

(N.B. This Gaiden takes place on December 27, immediately after the events of Gaiden 61, a few days prior to the start of the main story.)

Tuesday, December 27, 6:00 a.m.

"Hmm…hmm…hmm…hmm…"

The tall, musclebound man grunted low in his throat as he did one pushup after another in the room he occupied. The room had only one bed off to one corner, a small table with a single chair, and over on one side there was a bathroom with a small shower and a toilet—but he didn't seem at all concerned about the lack of other furnishings or wider space, only focusing on his morning exercise. He didn't even break stride when, just then, a lock turned in the door to his room, with the door opening fully to show a newcomer standing there.

"Good morning, good sir," the newcomer greeted him.

Still he kept on with his pushups. "Hmm."

"Today's the day. You'll get some action in a few hours. Be ready."

"Mmm-hmm," he replied, not looking up and still not breaking stride.

And with that short exchange done, Kurosawa Mifune closed and locked the door, leaving its occupant to himself again, and walked off up the corridor with a knowing smile on his face.

OoOoO

7:00 a.m. saw the sun shining high and bright in a sparsely-clouded blue sky, with vehicular traffic already building up along the roadways as commuters sought to get out of their homes and be at work early and on time. In some homes, families or individuals were bustling about making breakfast and getting ready to start their day. Since it wasn't quite time for school to resume, the children and teens of the various homes would no doubt prepare themselves for some amusements, something their longsuffering guardians would have to oversee or at least regulate.

It was not much different in the Kimura twins' home, where Maki was just then looking about breakfast. "Oi, o-nii-san! Come on out and eat while the food's still hot!" she hollered.

"Yeah, yeah, don't yell the roof off the house, I'm up already," her brother's grunted reply came to her ear, and then a minute later he emerged in a sleeveless shirt and pajama pants. "What's for breakfast?"

"A good old-fashioned breakfast bowl with rice balls!" Maki announced importantly, pointing to a tray sitting on their dining table. "See?"

Mikoshi looked at the tray, which bore a bowl with two sausages, a fried egg, and diced lettuce leaves, and a small plate with two rice balls. "Looks nice," he remarked as he sat down. "Itadakimasu."

Maki came over with her own breakfast tray and sat down beside her brother. "Itadakimasu. So, what're your plans for today?" she asked as she started to eat.

"I'm going to meet up with Roshi-san and Yamazaki-san. We've made plans for today," said Mikoshi.

"Oh, really? And you didn't invite me? That's not nice," Maki complained, sticking her tongue out at him.

"Well, it's not like I have to involve you in every aspect of my life, you know," Mikoshi rebutted. "Besides, don't you already have your own plans that don't involve me?"

"Weeeeeell…I was thinking of doing some post-Christmas shopping for myself, after I check in with Auntie. She'll be pulling an extra shift today, so she won't be home till late tonight…" Maki shook her head. "…and she's already had to be doing quite a bit of overtime lately. She had to leave out early this morning before we woke up. I really feel bad for her, you know."

"Mmm-hmm." Mikoshi looked down into his bowl as he absorbed the information. "She's been good to us, though, hasn't she?"

"She's the best." Maki was solemn.

There was silence as the twins took a few extra bites of their food. Then Maki looked at Mikoshi again. "So, about these plans of yours…"

"F-Y-I, I'll be back a little late. But don't worry, I'll fill you in on all the details after I get home. That's a promise." Mikoshi nodded at her.

"Wait—not even a hint as to what you're doing?" Maki cocked an eyebrow.

"I don't want to jinx anything, that's all," Mikoshi shrugged. "Don't worry about it, sis. Have I ever been the type to get myself into trouble? I'm just going to make sure those two stay out of trouble."

"Hmm…" Maki frowned. "Well, maybe I could understand with Roshi-san, but I don't get the vibe that you and Yamazaki-san are friendly like that…"

Mikoshi eyed her. "You'd be surprised the way things change when circumstances force it. Like what happened when you got kidnapped the other day."

"…point taken." Maki focused on her breakfast again. "Just promise you'll really let me know how your little venture went when you return, all right?"

"Gotcha." Mikoshi nodded again, before resuming his own meal.

OoOoO

8:50 a.m.

"Hmm…" Yamazaki Omoi, clad in a white tank-top, camouflage-green sweatpants and black boots, strode determinedly along the walkway leading to Mist City's docks, a duffel-bag slung over one shoulder. "Which one is it, then…"

"Whew! Am I late? Are we late? Tell me we're not late!"

Looking up at the sound of the familiar voice, he beheld Roshi Ajisai running toward him from the opposite direction, she wearing a red leather jacket, tight blue jeans-shorts and white sneakers, and hefting a fairly large carry-on bag. "They better not have left already!" she cried out.

"Calm down, Roshi," Omoi said dismissively. "It's only ten minutes ahead of the deadline."

"Is it? Whew!" Ajisai let out a clearly relieved sigh. "Okay, well, let's just make sure I have my entry coin…" and she pulled it out of her pocket and held it up triumphantly. "I can't wait to get my game on!"

"Let's hope you can keep up with the other fighters in this Zenkusen," said Omoi, pulling out his own coin to show her. "Especially me. I haven't forgotten you and I owe each other a match."

"Yeah, I remember," said Ajisai. "Only this time, Mikoshi won't have any excuse to get in the way."

"Ah, I see you two have arrived already…"

They both looked up in one direction, in time to see Mikoshi himself, wearing a yellow jacket with rolled-up sleeves, a black undershirt and black jeans and boots, with a knapsack slung over one shoulder. "I was told you two were also going to be in this competition…I'm assuming you got one of these," and he held up his own entry coin.

"Damn right!" Ajisai grinned.

"So you have yours too, Kimura. Good." Omoi nodded. "Things should get really interesting once we reach the tournament venue."

"Hello, there, you three!"

The voice was calling from the direction of the docks, and all three looked up to see the caller—a green-haired young woman wearing a long white dress with a slit at the side of the skirt and matching high-heeled shoes—approaching them from that side. "Come along, now, and I'll show you the ship that'll be our transport," she told them.

"Jomae Hanare," Mikoshi said in a low voice.

"One of the Three Paragons…" Omoi's eyes narrowed.

"She's the one who approached me with my invitation," Ajisai supplied.

The trio headed over to Hanare, who was smiling quite pleasantly as she came up to them. "Good to see you've all made it on time," she said. "Let's only hope you're as good at fighting in the big leagues as you are punctual."

"What about your fellow Paragons?" Mikoshi inquired.

"They're on the boat already," Hanare explained, now turning to lead them along the docks. "They're maintaining order among the other participants."

"Then we're the last ones to arrive?" Omoi cocked an eyebrow.

"Pretty much—but not by that big a margin. Some of the others actually just made it here a while ago, too," said Hanare. "You'll soon meet them."

By and by they came upon a large silver yacht with a large, sullen-looking man standing at the entrance to its gangplank. He scowled as he saw the quartet approaching. "These are the new kids, Miss Hanare?" he asked. "They look pretty green for this, if you ask me."

"So were we Paragons before we became who we are, boat-master," Hanare said flatly. "As it stands, these three have their entry coins to join this year's Zenkusen. That means you can't refuse them, regardless of your personal opinion." She glanced over her shoulder at the others. "Give him your coins."

Omoi, Mikoshi and Ajisai obliged, pressing their coins into the boat-master's hand. He, in turn, clasped his hand around the coins and nodded toward the top of the gangplank. "Everybody's here, now. We leave in five minutes."

"Good! Now that that's out of the way…follow me, please." Hanare strutted up the gangplank importantly, the others following after her a moment later. A moment later, they were standing together on the deck. "Now…what do you guys think?"

"I think whoever's hosting us for this gig has a lot of money to spend," Omoi answered, looking around.

"You weren't told?" Ajisai glanced at him. "It's Kurosawa Mifune, the CEO of Kurosawa Foods. My mom's a big fan of their products."

"Is he here, by any chance?" asked Mikoshi.

"No, he's awaiting our arrival at the island venue," Hanare explained. "He'll give all of us his official greeting and start the tournament once we get there and get settled in. In the meantime, why don't we get you acquainted with the other participants here…"

"Giving our newest participants the grand tour, Hanare?" another voice caught their attention; looking up, they saw a certain man with light-blue hair approaching them, followed by a stout-bodied man with reddish-brown hair. The former was clad in a dark blue tuxedo; the latter, in a black biker jacket and black jeans.

"Just making sure they found the right boat, Junichi," Hanare answered. "Guys, meet the other two Paragons, Gushiken Junichi and Ito Ryota." She looked pointedly at Omoi and Mikoshi. "Of course, you two would have met one of these two previously."

"Yes, Junichi gave me my invitation." Mikoshi said this quite carefully, eyeballing Junichi as he did.

"And Ryota said he wants to kick my ass." Omoi smirked. "Good luck with that, by the way."

"Hmph. You're too big for your britches, buddy," Ryota scowled at him.

"Now, now, boys, save the energy for when the Zenkusen actually starts, huh?" said Hanare. "Now come on, let's have you see who your competitors will be," and she gestured to the rest of the deck.

There were ten other persons there, all of varying ages and body types, and some of them gave the newcomers brief glances as the latter came closer. "Some of our guests here have participated in the previous two Zenkusens," Junichi said smoothly. "Aside from you, we have four other newcomers to this year's staging. Let's all get introduced, shall we?"

"All right, everybody!" Ryota barked, causing all to look his way. "We're all here now, the boat's about ready to leave, and we've got newcomers among us for this year's tournament! So for the sake of getting acquainted, what say we introduce ourselves so we don't have to refer to one another as 'hey, you' or some such crap, all right?"

"As inelegantly as it was just said, he does have a point. It would certainly be inconvenient for even those of us who've been through this before to be referred to in such a manner by our newcomers," said Hanare. "So, as possibly the nicest one out of our entire group here, I'll go first. I am Jomae Hanare, one of Mist City's Three Paragons, and the winner of the Zenkusen's original staging two years ago. During the 365 days, I regularly defended my family's restaurant, Jomae's, from local hoodlums who tried to take advantage of the business's location in downtown Mist City. On one occasion, I held off three gangs simultaneously, for two straight hours, all by myself, when they tried storming the restaurant just because we refused to let them eat for free."

Ajisai blinked at that, but she noted that Omoi and Mikoshi didn't look at all surprised, nor did any of the other participants—that story must be a familiar one to them, she decided.

"My turn," Ryota said gruffly. "Ito Ryota's the name, and I'm another of the Three Paragons. I once broke the limbs of 50 punks who thought it would be funny to kidnap my girlfriend in order to run a rape-train on her. Stormed their hangout, saved her, left them and their lair in ruins. Oh, and I won last year's staging of the Zenkusen, and I'm planning to win it again this year."

Ajisai eyed him keenly. Now THAT story about the girlfriend, I can believe.

Junichi spoke up next. "I am Gushiken Junichi, butler to the illustrious Kurama family here in Mist City since I was 18, and the third of the Three Paragons. I polish the silverware, I dust the furniture, and I make sure my master's meals are always well-prepared and served on time. Oh, and I've also been known to kill intruders using nothing more than a serving tray."

Ajisai face-faulted. He's not serious. Then she noted Junichi's perfectly straight face, as well as the utter lack of incredulous reaction from Mikoshi, Omoi, Hanare, Ryota, or any of the other participants. Holy crap, he IS serious.

Another of the invitees now spoke up, he being a stern-looking man with slicked-back black hair and pronounced cheekbones, and clad in a gray karate gi. "I am Zosui, a participant from the first Zenkusen. I have spent the past two years since that time training, and am back to claim the honor of being the tournament's final victor."

Another spoke, he being a stout-bodied man with a goatee and clad in a blue robe. "The name's Funari, and I practice sumo wrestling. This is my first Zenkusen, and nobody's going to stop me from winning—not even the Paragons."

Said Paragons appeared to smirk a little at that declaration, but made no comment.

The next participant to speak was a woman with two large brown hair-bangs hanging over her face, and her attire consisting of a metallic-gray body-suit complete with a mask that covered her nose and mouth. "I am Pakura, a bodyguard-for-hire. I prefer to let my skills do any additional talking, but I will say this much more: I am not afraid to put down anyone who comes at me."

The next speaker was a man with light-brown hair, a scar running right across his forehead and another scar running down the left side of his face, and he was wearing a green jumpsuit with a white scarf covering his mouth and neck. "My name is Kyoya, of the Kazaha ninja clan of eastern Water County. I got my scars while participating in last year's Zenkusen, and now I've come back to repay that deed with banker's interest," and here he glanced across at another of the participants.

The other man that Kyoya was looking at, a man with spiky sea-blue hair and wearing a red-and-black track-suit with a black scarf covering the lower half of his face, simply shrugged. "Name's Sabiru," he said. "I'm from the Ishi no Hi ninja clan in the western end of Water County. The rep speaks for itself."

The next speaker had spiky black hair and wore a black T-shirt and orange sweatpants. "I'm Morio. I'm a capoeira practitioner, and this is my first Zenkusen. I've come to test my skill after training for this event. Nice to meet you all."

The speaker after him was a tall, imposing man with long black hair tied back in a ponytail, as well as a goatee, and he was wearing a baggy blue cotton jacket and matching shorts. "My name's Gantetsu. I'm well-known in Water County's professional wrestling circuit, and I've been in the previous two Zenkusen tournaments. Don't worry, I'll go easy on the little kids that are here," and he eyed Omoi, Mikoshi and Ajisai with a small smirk.

Ajisai glared at him. Real confident.

The next contestant was another woman, she sporting a boyish dark-gray haircut and wearing a yellow belly-baring top and similarly yellow shorts. "I'm Ahmya. I fight for the sake of honor. Experienced or not, none of you are going to get in my way."

The next one was a bulky man with odd blue markings on his chin and both cheeks, and he sported red-lensed glasses, a black bandana covering the top of his head, and an indigo-colored robe. "Hello, I am Chukichi, a disciple of a 100-year-old warrior-monk order. I am also a newcomer here, and I have come to reap the fruits of my training."

The last one was a young man with shoulder-length blond hair, wearing a blue business suit complete with buttoned-up coat and a maroon-colored tie. "My name is Gelel Temujin, inheritor of the Gelel Foundation situated in southern Water County. I'm here to win this tournament in order to show the strength of my company, so underestimate me at your own peril."

"Gelel Foundation…?" Ajisai hissed out of the corner of her mouth to Mikoshi.

"A 50-year-old family company. They specialize in health care provision," Mikoshi whispered back.

Noting that the other two were holding their own conversation, Omoi took the initiative. "In case anyone here doesn't know me, I'm Yamazaki Omoi," he said. "I'm the toughest street fighting punk at Mist City High School. This might be my first Zenkusen, but I intend to make my mark on it even before it's over."

Now Ajisai turned her full attention back to the group. "The name's Roshi Ajisai. I'm also a newbie for the Zenkusen. I aspire to become a champion female boxer, and this tournament's just as good a time as any to practice for it."

Now everyone's eyes turned to Mikoshi, who cleared his throat. "My name's Kimura Mikoshi, and while I may not fight very often, that doesn't mean I don't know how. I've had to learn and train in fighting since I was nine years old."

Ajisai's eyes narrowed as she recalled what Maki had told her about the twins' upbringing.

"All right, then!" Hanare clapped her hands together once. "Now that we're all introduced…"

Braaap!

"That would be the yacht's horn…and it seems that now the boat-master is starting the engines to get us moving," Hanare continued without breaking stride. "Now that we're setting out for our island venue, feel free to mingle and get to know one another. This will be especially important for our newcomers."

"But no fighting, please—that, as you should know, is reserved for the actual tournament," Junichi put in.

"That goes double for anybody here who's looking to have a grudge match," Ryota added, and he set a hard glare on Kyoya and Sabiru. "Anybody who tries it while we're on the boat will be swimming home."

"In the meantime, the yacht's crew will be coming with some small refreshments for all of us momentarily, to tide us over till we arrive," Hanare spoke again. "So let's enjoy ourselves in the meantime, everyone."

OoOoO

Kurosawa Mifune sat on his patio, calmly eating a sandwich for his brunch, when a uniformed servant arrived at the door and waited to be acknowledged. "Yes?" Mifune spoke to him.

"Sir, we've just received word from the boat-master," the servant informed him. "They've just left Mist City's harbor. They'll arrive in another half-hour from now."

"Good." Mifune nodded. "Make sure everything is in place to welcome our guests."

"Yes, sir." The servant nodded and then left Mifune to his meal.

OoOoO

Ajisai leaned against the side of the boat, breathing in deeply as she took in the sea-scented breeze. "Hmm…this isn't bad at all," she murmured.

"Hello, there. Enjoying yourself so far?"

Looking up, she saw Temujin approaching her, a champagne flute in one hand. "Uh, yeah, thanks," she answered. "You're that Temujin guy, right? Something I can help you with?"

"No, not really. But perhaps I could help you," said Temujin. "I couldn't help but notice your confusion when I mentioned the Gelel Foundation. Most people who've grown up anywhere in Water County know about my family company."

"I haven't been in this side of the country long," Ajisai admitted. "Mom moved here for work a few months back, and I got dragged along for the ride."

"Ah." Temujin nodded in understanding. "Then perhaps I could educate you on what's what where my company is concerned."

"Mikoshi gave me a small summary—you handle medical equipment, and the company's 50 years old," said Ajisai.

"That's…a very concise summary, actually, and fairly accurate at that," Temujin admitted. "But there's a lot more to it than just that. You heard Junichi-kun say he's the butler to the Kurama family…in a nutshell, the Gelel family and the Kurama family have had a business rivalry going on for some time now. Think of it as a localized version of the Hyuga-Uchiha rivalry."

It was Ajisai's turn to nod in understanding. "I hear you. So these Kurama people, they deal in medical equipment too?"

"No, they specialize in holistic medicine," Temujin explained. "Specifically, the family matriarch, Kurama Uroko. Her husband, Murakumo, is the current Member of Parliament for Central Water County."

"Oh, okay," said Ajisai. "So have you been in this tournament before?"

"No, this is also my first time here," said Temujin. "Junichi-kun himself gave me my invitation some time ago. To be able to cross fists with him…it should prove interesting, even if only as an extension of the rivalry we represent from our respective groups. Did he give you your invitation, or was it one of the other Paragons?"

"It was Hanare, actually," said Ajisai. "She seems pretty interested in my potential as a fighter. She said it gets boring being the only girl Paragon."

"Really?" Temujin took a sip from his champagne flute. "If one of the Paragons takes interest in your fighting ability, that's a pretty big deal. Let's just hope you can impress her and the others when the Zenkusen begins."

"Hmm…yeah." Ajisai nodded. "Good luck to you too, when it starts. Even if I end up kicking your ass."

"Heh-heh! Well, we'll see, won't we?" Temujin smiled.

OoOoO

Not far away from where Ajisai and Temujin were having their conversation, Mikoshi was standing off to one side, an eyebrow cocked as he studied the pair. "They sure seem to be getting along," he murmured.

A heavy hand clapped down on his shoulder. "Oi, man, there might be hope for you yet!"

"Eh?" Startled, Mikoshi turned to see that the speaker was Morio. "What's that now?"

"Oh, you and she aren't an item?" Morio's eyebrows shot up. "Because it sure seemed to me like you were getting a little jealous that Mr. Pretty-Boy over there just went and started chatting her up. But you never know—just go talk to her, never mind that you are competitors in this tournament. It wouldn't be the first time love blossomed in the vicinity of the arena."

Mikoshi gave him an odd look. "You like watching romance movies, don't you?"

"Hey, the occasional one doesn't hurt," and Morio shrugged.

"…weirdo." Mikoshi rolled his eyes.

OoOoO

Omoi was leaning against the railing of the yacht's bow, eyeballing the island that they were heading toward. "Just a little while from now," he muttered.

Then he became aware that he wasn't alone—Pakura had walked up to another section of the bow, a few feet away from him, and was also staring out across the water. "Come to enjoy the view, huh?" he asked.

Pakura didn't reply.

"Okay, so I guess you've said all you needed to say in your intro back there? Fine, then." Omoi nodded. "But just so you know, I don't care about any of you. I'm going to win this tournament, no matter what."

"Good luck getting any further words out of her," a different voice on his other side spoke up, and he turned to see Zosui approaching the other end of the bow. "She participated in the first Zenkusen, as I did, and she was a woman of few words then as now," Zosui added.

"Yeah, well, I wouldn't expect you to be the social type," Omoi grunted.

"I only speak to you now because I see it fit to give you some…professional advice." Zosui spoke coolly. "You might be considered special where you come from in Mist City, but the Zenkusen has a way of revealing the dogs who bark the loudest to actually have the least amount of teeth. Consider where you sit on the totem pole before you open your mouth next time." Then he walked off without another word or even a backward glance.

"…screw you too, pops," Omoi grumbled.

Pakura glanced in his direction, but still didn't say a word.

OoOoO

Elsewhere on the deck, the rest of the fighters were engaged in their own interests as they endured the trip. Kyoya and Sabiru were several hundred feet apart, both leaning on the yacht's railing while glaring daggers at each other. Chukichi was sitting in a cross-legged position off to one side, apparently meditating. Funari was eating one sandwich after another from a nearby table where the promised refreshments had been set out, while Gantetsu was drinking from what seemed to be a beer bottle while leaning casually against the yacht's railing. Ahmya was off by herself, looking out to the horizon.

On an upper deck just above the rest, Junichi, Ryota and Hanare were looking down and observing all the goings-on. "All right…everything's set now," Junichi commented. "Let's make this Zenkusen one to remember, what do you say?"

"I know I will—after I get done schooling the lot of you," Ryota declared.

"That remains to be seen," Hanare reminded him. "Remember, we have new arrivals who might just surprise us this year."

"True enough," said Junichi. "I'd say we chose well this year. Let's see how it plays out when everything begins."

"Hear, hear!" Hanare grinned and held out her clenched fist to the other two.

"You're still doing the fist-bump thing? What a dork…" But Ryota nevertheless touched Hanare's fist with his own. "Wonder what that makes me…"

"It simply makes you one of us, is all. Now…" Junichi touched his fist onto theirs. "Let the game begin."

OoOoO

END GAIDEN 62

00000

NEON MAJESTIC: The other Zenkusen participants have been introduced, the journey has begun to the island…next Gaiden chapter, the fights for the tournament begin!

By way of providing information, every person introduced in this Gaiden is someone who you can readily find by putting in their names in the search-bar on the Naruto wiki, except for Ahmya. In canon, she was an unnamed kunoichi who was also the leader of a group of unnamed Takigakure kunoichi that Naruto and Iruka met upon at one point. The name Ahmya, which is the name I decided to give her for this story, translates to "black rain."

Kyoya's and Sabiru's respective ninja clans were also made up for this story. The name of the "Kazaha" ninja clan is translated quite literally as "wind blade." The "Ishi no Hi" ninja clan's name is translated as "stone fire."

As for Temujin, he doesn't have a revealed surname in Legend of the Stone of Gelel, the movie where he appears; the name "Gelel" comes from the titular Stone of Gelel, which was used as a power source by Temujin and others in said movie.

Next Gaiden chapter…a couple of surprises get unveiled as the Mist City Chronicles continue!