Chapter 4:
Who are you?
Naru woke up to a face nearly pressed into her own. She was not inclined to admit it, and if anyone would ask her, they would get a blatant denial that she had screamed like a little girl and maybe head butted the young boy above her.
A few minutes, several colorful swear words on both ends, and two bruised foreheads later and Naru was able to talk things out.
"who the hell are you. Don't ya know not to scare a girl into a early heart attack, man I could kill you, stupid fool." Naru was practically foaming at the mouth. Her thoughts running along the lines of all the creative ways to hide a dead body. She was livid, how dare a man come and wake her up and piss her off.
"yeah, well maybe a konoichi- in -training shouldn't sleep so deep. You might just not get scared." the current enemy to Naru stated in a indignant tone, sarcasm bleeding out of his diction.
Oh if Naru was pissed before, she was nearly feral now. How dare this scrap of a boy, barely older then her and Hinata, tell her she was a bad konoichi. Oh she was defiantly going to commit a homicide now, and she would bury him in an unmarked grave and dance on top of his dirt covered body…dear Kami, she had passed the realm of psychotic and had hit bat shit crazy.
Breathing deeply in through her nose in a futile attempt to calm down her warrior blood-which was demanding an informal sacrifice, and forcefully started a half-assed conversation. "my names Uzumaki Naru, and my companion there is Hyuuga Hinata. Would you do the honor of telling me you name."
The boy gave a strange look, but in the end apparently decided not to argue with the fiery young girl. "names Rock Lee, I am a young shinobi-in-training."
In a slightly saner form of mind, Naru struck up a conversation with the boy. She became fascinated with Lee and asked as many questions as she could. She learned a lot about him:
Lee liked to train and wanted to fight using only Taijustu-he had been born with under developed chakra coils.
He liked curry and rice and was not found of reading novels but he did like reading training scrolls. He also was stuck as their guest in the hospital because he had endured a attack just like Naru and Hinata. She found this strange and resolved to talk with the Hokage when they were cleared.
Lee also liked the color green and was found of turtles. He said he was an orphan and that some uptight assholes had burned out his apartment. Luckily, he had moved out all his family things years ago and kept them in some storage scrolls in a lock box with the Hokage.
Naru watched as Lee told her a bit about his life. He tried so desperately to put up a strong façade, but in all reality nobody was better at reading people then her. Lee was in slight shock and seemed to be going stir crazy with worry about his future.
A plan started to form in Naru's mind then. It would have to be cleared with the Hokage first, but she was confident enough in her abilities to sway him for her side.
Looking over at the still sleeping Hinata, Naru gestured for Lee to sleep. Both were exhausted, Lee more so then Naru. It was plain to see that Lee had gone through the same anbu induction as both girls, but why and for what reason. How did the Hokage get another person join the ranks before they had graduated the academy. She felt that she knew the reason but was loathe to make the accusation until the details were hashed out for all to see.
Realizing that they had been talking for the better part of the day, Naru turned away from her sleeping companions. The moon was waning and she turned her thoughts into a extension of the beams that graced the floor and walls of the moderate room. How she had wished for a family and here was one finally being offered to her all she had to do was buck up and take it.
She followed a gentle swell of her friends cheek and traced a bushy eyebrow on her newest friend. In such a short amount of time, both people had latched onto her heart like leeches and refused to let go. Naru didn't know if this was a good or bad thing.
Laying down, Naru felt her thoughts empty like water from a busted bucket and sleep overcame her at last.
0-0-0-0-0
A week and three days is what it took for the three new friends to heal fully. As soon as the paperwork was signed, a small envoy of anbu suddenly swarmed out of nowhere, locking the stunned children in a barricade and set off for the tower of the Hokage.
Lee, fast as he was felt stunned silly when a group of seven anbu came out of nowhere to take them to the Hokage. He felt that somehow this was a great honor, yet all he could think of was how cool it would be to take up one of those masks.
Looking out at his two and only friends, Lee felt happiness fill him. He now had precious people to protect and if anyone thought him incapable of being there for them, he would kick there asses until they sought his forgiveness.
He ruminated on what this surprise was that Naru had failed to share with either him nor Hinata. Through the long, curved hallways he tried to mentally read the red-haired girls thoughts. He felt he was getting close when visions of frogs and dancing ramen bowls entered his mind, how he longed to get that image out of his head.
They were allowed to enter through a door, and sitting there was the third Hokage, one of the wisest men in Konoha, he stared at the three young children with crow feet edged eyes. They sparkled with a warmth the was near palpable and comforting as it was intimidating. Lee felt himself wanting to gulp, but forced the body reaction to a still. There was business to discuss.
0-0-0-0-0
The aged man, lit his pipe and walked around to face the three little ones standing before him. Though young, he had found out about their lives and looked even deeper to assess their skills and quirks.
Naru- the one who would thrive in the ancient world of espionage and seals. She would be a definite gambler and would learn more in the underworld of shinobi grace.
Hinata-definitely the healer of the group, she had never learned much in the ways of her ex-clan and would need a new purpose, she would have love for reading as her coping mechanism. Something gentle like her, something calming.
Lee-he would be the heavy Taijustu specialist, someone for the brunt of the fighting and heavy attacks. He would train as his method because he needs something tangible to hold himself to reality.
The Hokage sighed as he looked them over. All were special in their own ways and would make one of the greatest teams to ever come out of Konoha. He felt remorse at his own failures. He now knew that the time to let the baby birds flew from the nest was at hand, they would be facing the world head on and this would either make or break them.
"you have been called here for a very special reason. As of now, the three of you are officially anbu members and will don the cloak, armor, and mask of one of your station. You will be conducted through the ceremony and vows at sundown tonight." he paused and silently chuckled at the three's blatant looks of awe, before continuing. " in other news, Naru has come to me with a problem and a proposed solution. Lee, Naru has stationed an invitation to live at the compound with her and Hinata…bearing if you want to of course."
He watched as shock wore to happiness to sadness to finally a tear marked smile as Lee glomped his two friends and agreed. He motion to some anbu and ordered them to retrieve the boys' family things and stopped to order the two girls to help with getting him situated.
The Hokage glanced up at a clock and motion to the children that they were dismissed, not before telling them that they had to report to the anbu HG at sundown for their ceremony.
He felt sad, knowing that he was forcing these young children to grow up faster then intended. But he was a leader to a nation, thus he was required to make decisions that many would deem cruel. This was what being a leader was all about, you were the one to make the tough choices, the one to take the fall for better or worse. Sadly for many, there was a lot that was for worse.
Now, looking at the awe-struck children, all from different walks of life, yet all from the same experiences, the aged Hokage felt the first waves of peace at his vast knowledge, for he knew they would face hell down, conquer it, and bend it to their wills. These were the living embodiments to the will of fire. This comforted him.
0-0-0-0-0
Lee walked out of the storage room, his arms shaking from the weight of the box in which he carried his sealing scrolls. Some were big and weighed a lot, and others barely were noticeable. The box was made out of cherry wood and was quite bulky. He remembered watching his father build this box, when he was little. He had loved seeing his father working on small home projects when he was not out on missions. Now though he couldn't even conjure up a mental picture of his male parent. He felt saddened at this, but let it go. He had a new family now, both Naru and Hinata were allowing him to live with them and they were all going to be in anbu together.
He had memorized the way to the Blue compound-as the girls had named it, and was walking from the Hokage tower towards it. He should have asked how far away it was. Seriously he was far away from any of the other clan compounds and was situated closer to the forest then anywhere else. Lee sighed, he should have just insisted he go with the girls. They had left for some things for the compound and him specifically. They asked him what his favorite colors were and left him afterwards when they got their answer.
Now, far away from human civilization, he was face to face with a dark marbled wall. He looked at the dark, forbidding gate and gulped. "well Lee, one small step in triumph and your going good." haring chuckles behind him, he turned and gave a mock glare at his friends.
He watched as the walked him through the steps of getting the gate to recognize him, and showed him the sign that would unlock the massive gate.
Lee, could honestly say that the beautiful blue stone and wood work gave the traditional compound a peaceful flare. he followed as the girls led him up to the largest house-he quickly deduced that this was the main house, and walked in through the door when gestured.
Taking off his shinobi sandals and walking around barefoot, he admired the artwork on the fragile sliding doors. Still carrying his box of scrolls, the small party walked into the living room. It certainly looked and felt lived in. large potted plants framed walls and more books had been added onto some shelves. A few pictures of Naru and Hinata lined the walls-in a few he saw a strange purple haired lady with a grin on her face.
Hinata smiled and welcomed him to the groups new home. "Lee, wh-why don't you-u put your things away. Naru could-d you show him his room while I get dinn-er ready." he gave a toothy smile towards her, she was not stuttering as much and only did so a few times. Seeing Naru nod in agreement, he followed her.
They passed a few rooms-Naru's and Hinata's were marked, and finally found his across from theirs. It was a large room, had several windows and a large pine wood bed against the wall. The room was white and blinding but was free of dust or clutter. Naru walked in front of him and handed him a bag. " this is some green paint we got for you, it has several shades-a dark green a bright lime and a bluish green. We also have some sheets and blankets in dark green too in there." though happy at what he got for his room, Naru's next words blew him away. "there is a door in the hallway marked as Dojo, its where you can train if you want, the room is located in the basement of this place and has weapons and training scrolls for our uses. If you want, after breakfast, me and Hinata go down to train before we go out to shop for things for the house or compound, train for our individual talents or we go to the academy."
He nodded in ascent. They had their own Dojo, and now he could use it too. He was kinda miffed about having to go back to the academy, but it was required to achieve shinobi status and to stay in anbu.
Looking at a clock in the hall way, Lee realized that Naru was walking away and calling over her shoulder that dinner was in a few hours. Once she was gone, he walked back into his new and got out some of the paints, he was going to work until dinner.
0-0-0-0-0
Hinata worked solidly at her task, she was making some leek and potato stuffed mushroom caps with some tempura on the side. She felt at peace when it was finished-cooking always had that effect on her, just like reading. She chewed her bottom lip in frustration, though she hadn't shown it, she was terrified of joining anbu, of donning the mask and becoming a shadow for the village and the Hokage.
Sighing she walked out into the dinning room- a small low table with large cushions for sitting and many potted plants adorned the room. At the far wall, the sliding doors were open showing their small training ground and Naru, practicing her academy kata. She set the table as she watched one of her best friends come in and announce that she was going to wash up before she ate. Chuckling Hinata watched her go.
She may have not become totally confident, and she knew it would take a long time before that happened, but being here with her new friends took the weight off of being depressed because her family didn't want her.
With the food done, she walked to Lee's room and grinned at his closed door- it depicted a pond with turtles swimming under the surface, everything was in varying shades of blues and greens with smidgeons of red mixed in. looking across the hall at her door, she traced the paining of a mouse napping within a hollowed out log in a sunlight bathed glen. Looking next to hers was Naru's door and its painting of a toad in mid jump, long tongue extended outwards at a reddish dragonfly.
Hinata walked back towards Lee's room. All the doors, minus the one main one, were all sliding paper doors. Though fragile, they represented a peaceful resolution and their paintings kept the occupants from being spied on.
Hinata walked up to Lee's door and knocked on the wall adjacent to it. Hearing a small grunt on the other side, she opened the door. Lee was on his bed, circular eyes closed and breathing quiet. He opened his eyes and watched as the young girl walked closer to him marveling at his color scheme. Hinata meanwhile was smiling, Lee had redone his room in a forest green, he had even made up his bed with the dark green spread. Not in the mood for conversation, Hinata informed her friend of dinner and told him to wash up before eating.
Walking back down the hallways toward the dinning room, Hinata felt lost in her thoughts. She remembered all the times her family had ridiculed her, she felt the hateful stares of the academy girls, and she knew she was weak, as of now though she felt fire course through her as she vowed to become the strongest she could be. Nodding her head in satisfaction, Hinata walked onward to a path hidden until now.
0-0-0-0-0
Naru blinked water from her eyes. Both she and Hinata had retired to the bathroom to wash their hands and faces in preparation of their anbu recognition. This was the night that they all would don the mask and cloak, this was the night they would be inducted to walk through the shadows. Naru shivered in excitement, this was something bigger then herself, yet she felt no fear. Looking in the mirror, she saw a slightly round face tanned from birth, marred only by three whisker-like marks on each cheek. Deep blue eyes narrowed as cooper red hair moved across her forehead. She felt strong and brave, she imagined her warrior blood singing in apprehension for this night.
Done with their washing, the girls exited the room and walked to the main door. Lee waited for them, and at her nod, they all made their way to the Hokage's tower. It wasn't a long walk, seeing as they ran most of it, training for hours on end does that to someone. Walking up the long hallways toward the office that was their ending point, the took in pure, unbroken silence. The Hokage greeted them, ceremonial robes closed and presented with the ever present hat adorning his gray head.
Naru waited with bated breath, soon she would be considered a true adult in the eyes of anyone privy to her identity, this ceremony was one of the most important in the village and thus was always conducted in secret. Once you were given you gear, mask and cloak-the anbu commander presented you with a codename.
The Hokage made a hand sign, next thing the three of them knew was that they were in a huge building in a large circular room. There was no noise and it was very dark, Naru felt her body go on guard. She could see nothing but she knew she was not alone.
Then the lights came on.
0-0-0-0-0
Crane glanced around the room. There was the whole of anbu in a large ringed circle around five young initiates. Two of them were in their early twenties and had been training within anbu for a while. Then there was the three children that had been straight tested from anbu combatants. He had pondered for hours upon hours for the codenames and identities for these additions to the family of shadows.
Looking up to the Hokage and received a nod in turn, he started the ceremony.
"I am Crane, leader of anbu. I am the master of this ceremony and thus I will be the one to take away your names and give you one benefiting to your rank." the room stayed silent as he beckoned a anbu member over-in his hand was a tray with five porcelain masks, and continued. "Takshii Ran- now known as Boar." he handed a light blue Boar mask over to the young man. "Yukushan Etsu- now known as Ape." he handed a yellow ape mask over to the young women. "Uzumaki Naru- now known as Toad." he handed a orange Toad mask to the girl and smiled behind his mask. "Hyuuga Hinata-now known as Mouse." he gave a light gray and lavender mask to the pale eyed girl. "Rock Lee- now known as Turtle." he gave the young boy a nod and cleared his throat. "these are now anbu and thus are committed to serving the Hokage and their village at the cost of their lives and will start that creed tonight as adults in our world!"
Crane watched as the new anbu members placed the masks on their faces and tied the red cords at the back. A crème colored cloak was placed over them and a small tanto was placed in their hands. Several anbu moved through the small group and presented the anbu uniform to the new ones thus concluding the ceremony and allowing the rest of anbu to go back and do missions or patrol.
He nodded at the Hokage and walked back towards his office, intent on finishing some of his paperwork.
0-0-0-0-0
Lee felt power settle over him as he donned the new uniform. They were informed that they would only start missions when they had finished the academy-reminding them that they had class the next morning. Looking at himself in a mirror thankfully provided in the locker room of the anbu HQ. His bowl cut and huge eyebrows had a habit of freaking people out not to mention he had a obsession with the color green.
He still felt the warm blush on his face when he realized that he would be changing in front of his friends because anbu locker rooms were co-ed. It made him more embarrassed still when he realized that meant showering also. Knowing that he would become used to it made him keep the objections in his civil mouth.
Selecting a locker with Naru and Hinata they placed some soaps and towels and other such necessities into them. Satisfied that this was done, they were given a tour-they were shown the restrooms, training rooms, and cafeteria. A small forge and Amory made weapons and amour for the anbu. A meeting room and classroom were placed in the lower confines of the HQ. Once finished they were released to go home. Lee felt as exhausted as Naru and Hinata looked, not even bathing they just went to sleep as soon as they got home, setting their alarms for class tomorrow.
It had felt like he had just gotten to sleep when a blaring alarm woke up Lee. He contemplated going back to sleep but decided against it as he smelt breakfast. Walking toward the closet he pulled out a Chinese type top and some black shinobi pants and a slight over shirt.
Practically running over Naru as she was exiting the bathroom, he took his time looking her over and seeing what she was wearing for class.
Naru had a long orange trench coat with a black mesh tank top underneath. Long black and orange gloves covered her arms until the elbow and were fingerless. She wore standard black shinobi pants and tapped them off at the ankles. On her feet she was wearing her black combat sandals. Her red hair was cut in a A-line fashion.
She looked geared up to go to war and when he raised and eyebrow at her, she just grinned and walked away motioning for him to follow her. He opened up the door to the dining room and both sat down as Hinata was placing the last food item on the low table. Saying a quick thank you the all dove into the food with the savagery of a pack of hellhounds. To say the least, Lee felt much better after eating and even helped Naru clean up afterwards. They only had a few days before graduation and the all needed to be ready and aware for that day fast approaching.
Quickly locking the front door, Lee ran after the girls, quietly panting at the blatant need to, live life fast. Ducking down side streets, through alleyways, and across abandoned courtyards got the three friends to the academy with several minutes to spare. Walking along deserted hallways, Lee walked away from the girls and promised to wait for them after classes. He started toward a solid sliding door and opened it, coming face to face with a person he could now say he despised- Hyuuga Neji . The boy was a pompous fool who believed in all things fate and destiny. The boy currently was glaring at him, what right did that failure have in coming to class after missing a week and a half of it. Lee as if hearing the thoughts revolving in his comrades brain glared at him, mentally snarling-something many would deem impossible for the extremely kind and caring boy, but then again he only showed parts of himself to people who had earned that right. so this is the boy. He really doesn't look like Hinata, to say that this is her cousin seems almost insulting. How could a clan just get rid of someone who was family. I don't understand it and Naru told me to talk to Hinata, but, every time someone says something about clan Hyuuga she starts to withdraw herself. Neji, how could your people go through with this. Lee narrowed his thoughts down, it wasn't fair to Hinata if he attacked her cousin out of spite, but in the end he knew it would speed up a slow process.
Giving a curt nod, Lee walked into the room and chose a seat farthest from the arrogant Hyuuga. Looking out the window, he watched as students filled up into the room and chose their seats. No one sat by him, and though it did sting, his energy levels didn't let him care. Their plain looking sensei walked into the room, scanning the crowed of excited students, he allowed his eyes to land on Lee, giving a indifferent look, he called out names and started the lesson, which was on what the graduation test would cover. Already knowing what was going on and how little it applied to him, Lee took out some note paper and started drawing a new mural design for his room.
A few hours passed and Lee finally put away his supplies, intent on leaving the class and heading back to his friends. At lunch they had met briefly and discussed plans for some grocery shopping and a trip to the Hokage. All he had to do was not be late, unfortunately for Lee, fate is a unhappy bitch and it came in the form of another unhappy bitch: Kana Ishade, number one harpy four his class and a fan girl. He could barely contain his shudder, fan girls were a scary race and quick to anger. He gave a large, toothy smile and nearly yelled her ear off. "HI KANA-KUN." mentally looking for a radical escape route.
Ishade glared, and had to slowly count to ten in her head before she could talk normally. "Lee why the hell were you glaring at Neji-kun." Lee felt sick at the blatant knowledge that whatever he did or said, it was going to piss of the girl in front of him. So in a brief moment of fear and anger he executed a powerful leap over the still screaming girl and took off down the hallway and out into the courtyard before anyone was the wiser. Finding the two blurs of lavender and orange, he grabbed both his friends and sped down the street, determined to escape the banshee fan girl. Stopping in front of a stand with a sale for grapes he allowed himself to calm down and then started to sweat bullets as he realized he was being bombarded with the KI of the two girls who hadn't taken very well to their impromptu kidnapping.
He grinned and then prayed for the end to be swift.
0-0-0-0-0
Hinata sighed as Lee walked away. Naru just grinned at her and motioned for her to follow to their class. They prayed for a miracle and were burned before karma. Uchiha Sasuke, ever since both girls had joined the academy, he was there. He never approached them, just sat there and watched them. To Hinata it was scary and dangerous. To Naru, it was a annoyance that needed a swift kick where the sun didn't shine and a smack to the face. He was watching them now and both were silently cursing their luck. Walking to the back of the room and sitting in their unofficial seats, they were actually surprised to see Sasuke standing in front of their table.
Hinata wanted to ignore him an hope he left, unfortunately for her Naru thought differently. "oi, Sasuke-teme, what the fuck do you want. If your looking for you fan club, they ain't here so beat it before I beat you!" Hinata stared in silent awe of her friend, this was strength and courage she desperately needed.
Sasuke sneered at the orange monstrosity that graced these hallowed halls. He knew he was wrong for becoming infatuated, but how could he not when two exceedingly beautiful girls were left in the tender care of the academy. He defiantly couldn't wait to ask them both to become his wives. He liked the silent nature of the Hyuuga and the fiery temperament of the Uzumaki. He felt that in no time they would begin to see him in the same light that he them and they would come willingly into his arms.
He smirked arrogantly and replied in a flippant voice to the girl. "girls should know their place in the world and leave the aggression to the men. Ha, girl-listen and listen well. You will come to me and maybe if your good I'll allow you the comfort of living as the first wife of the Uchiha clan…truly I am lenient when your behavior was less than cra…" he never got the last word in.
Hinata had never seen her friend so mad. Naru was practically foaming at the mouth and pulling at the reigns. In fact Hinata was surprised that it took that long just to finally shut the egotistical asshole up. And boy, Naru got the job done. A high kick to the face and a gut buster punch when he finally came down again. Mentally grinning, Hinata watched as the Uchiha was put into his place. Ten minutes later of Naru's persuasive tactics and the class was just about to begin, Sasuke being somewhat smart, left before the fan girls showed up and decided to take care of his hurts themselves-which inevitable would lead to some cooing then groping of things that hadn't been injured.
Wincing in sympathy, Hinata congratulated her friend for her victory and got ready for the day as Naru got caught up on some sleep. It wasn't that Hinata hated people, no she quite liked them and wanted friends, but people like the Uchiha drove her towards the cliff named homicide. She silently wondered how her other friend Lee was doing, she knew he was in a class with her older cousin Neji-san and that he was…difficult to handle at times. Sighing, she turned her attention back to the lesson and nearly groaned as she realized she already knew what was going on.
Now with nothing to do, Hinata just stared at the clock, silently counting down the minutes until she and her friends were released into the wild once more. Twenty minutes later and she was ready to scream, albeit in a calm and sincere way, none the less she wanted out. Sasuke had already came back and was throwing nasty glares at both her and Naru, Naru more so.
With nothing to do and a jittery feeling through her body, Hinata poked Naru awake, eager to see what she would do. She didn't disappoint.
0-0-0-0-0
Bright blue eyes shot open, while a yawn broke through the contours of her face. Sharp white teeth glinted in the meager light of the room. Looking around, Naru felt her self being awoken. She knew it was Hinata who had poked her awake, not that she minded but it would be nice to just sleep. Looking over at her friend, she felt herself thrown for a loop. Hinata was surrounded in a weird bluish-white glow, thinking she still had the sleep in her eyes, Naru rubbed them and was seriously started to get annoyed when the glow didn't disappear.
"Hinata why are you glowing?" Naru almost wanted to retract her question when she was hit by a blast of surprise. Even more worrying was that it wasn't hers. The class was staring at the two girls, both of whom were desperately wishing for the floor to swallow them up.
Looking down, Naru gave a mumbled sorry and waited for the class to resume before looking over at her friend. The glow was gone. Thoroughly annoyed at the thought that somebody was playing a trick on her, Naru looked back to the front of the class and waited for the bell.
About an hour later both girls had yet to say anything to each other and the silence was awkward at best. In the end, it didn't matter if anyone had said something, because a green blur had erupted from the front doors of the academy and was currently grabbing both her and Hinata and practically flying down several streets before being dumped in front of one the market stalls. Boy was she pissed. Already having a bad day and now Lee had the gall to kidnap them. What was the world coming to.
After giving Lee a high kick to the chest, they all set out for groceries. Hinata was looking at fruits and vegetables, Lee got the spices and some cookbooks and some breads from the baker, and she was currently heading to the butcher and the seafood stall.
A big white building with baby blue trim blocked Naru's path. Through the window she could see a rich array of meats from pork to pheasant and everything in between. Looking down at her list she groaned. Why did Hinata need so much stuff, maybe if she had traded with Lee this wouldn't have happened to her. Sighing in what she hoped showed her displeasure of this project-she walked through the door and up to the counter. Nobody was in the building it seemed, and try as she might, Naru could not control the small shiver of uncertainty. Looking around for something that would get anyone's attention, she very nearly gave a whoop for joy when she noticed a small silver bell. wasting no time, she smashed her fist down on it and returned to waiting patiently.
Just about to leave, a voice stopped her. "well hello there miss, anything ya need today?" turning around Naru analyzed the man in front of her. He was big and had large muscles, evident that he worked at chopping up heavy meats throughout the day. What was left of his hair was white and thin, framing the sides of his head but not the top. He had very nice straight teeth, white and clean with a chip in one of them. He was wearing a black tee-shirt and grey sweat pants. A smudged white apron hung over his toned chest. If she had to guess, she would say his age was about fifty-seven maybe more. That alone earned some respect from her, though nowhere near the Hokage's age, he was impressive in the least and old and wise at the most. He had a square like face with dark brown eyes and slightly crooked nose.
She grinned and rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment- a habit she had picked up from Lee. "Yeah, old man give me three pounds of the chicken breast, one pound of the duck breast and one pound of the pork cubes please." she grinned even more when the man laughed heartily in reply before he went to the back and got to work.
Hearing the rhythmic thud of a cleaver in the back, Naru let her eyes wander the room. Several seats lined the back of the walls and little magazine slots held the aforementioned item on the sides. A few pictures lined the walls-one of the old man when he was younger and a girl, the old man holding a baby, the first opening of the shop… it was charming to see a bit of someone's personal life at their job. Shaking her head she noticed the old man wrapping the meats in separate white paper with the items name on front. Paying for the meat she left for the seafood stall. Sad dark brown eyes followed her out.
after her excursions in the market, Naru walked towards the park. It was near the market place and a convenient place to meet up with her friends after the shopping. Naru didn't have to wait long.
Hinata was the first one to arrive, several bags of fruits and vegetables weighed her arms down. Naru noticed she had gotten some seeds to. Looking through the bags of each other to make sure they had everything, both were pleased with the others choices.
Naru smiled at Hinata's choice of food. Red apples, oranges, grapes, some peaches and mangos. For the vegetables she had gotten leeks, celery stalks, onions, some beets, a few carrots and many others. Both girls sat down on a bench content to soak up the afternoon sun while waiting for their other friend. Ten minutes later and Lee finally showed up. Once Naru smacked the back of his head, they all walked back home, intending to eat and then get dressed for training.
Dinner was tense as all parties concentrated on the flaws of the day.
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Lee got dressed in the locker room at anbu HQ. Not looking as Naru and Hinata got dressed beside him. Fastening the last latch on his chest armor, he turned to the full wall length mirror and saw how the uniform fit. It was a full length body suit with white ankle bandages and black combat sandals-Naru just wore hers. A large purplish chest and back armor covered the torso. Lee had placed his Turtle mask on the side of his head until the left the locker room. His round, black eyes took in the many other anbu who were getting ready for patrol, missions and training tonight. He felt Naru come up behind him fixing his weapons pouch and his mask.
Looking back at his friends all he saw to identify them was the unique colors of their hair. Nodding the all got ready for tonight's training. Being that they were all young and ill taught by the academy, they would be taught by commander Crane himself.
Lee led the way to room 137, a small training room. Crane was already there, sitting on the floor in a meditative pose. Getting in a straight line, the three bowed and then waited for instruction. Seeing the lesson about to begin they stayed quiet.
Crane nodded and jumped to the topic of chakra. "welcome, as of now you will call me Crane-sensei or sir. As you know you have all been placed in anbu by the right of out Hokage, but that does not mean you are ready for missions or even patrol. When you graduate in the coming days you all will be provided a special rank and mentor in which you will be trained in you specific talents. Until that time though we have only several days to get you to chunin rank. Any questions?"
Lee felt that combined shock of several academy students including himself. How the hell were they going to get to chunin rank in a few days. It wasn't possible, it was insane. "Crane-sensei, how are you going to get us to chunin rank in a few days. It took us forever to get to this level in the academy."
Crane laughed and caused identical tick marks to appear on their faces. Why was he laughing?
"ha, listen up. You are going to pass that lukewarm genin test and you are going to train until you wish for death, but hey that's all good and well, now lets train in chakra control." oh Lee was going to hurt him in sparing.
Hinata raised her hand. "Crane-sensei, how are we going to train our chakra?" Crane raised a hand to his chin in forethought and gave a sinister grin, oh he was going to enjoy this.
"We are going to work on tree-climbing, and then after that we will work on tree-fighting." seeing their blank faces he nodded. "lets go newbie's, we are wasting time." Crane had to fight the urge to laugh again when he heard Naru mumble that it was dark outside and there was no time to waste. Oh academy students.
Lee held on to Naru and Hinata as they walked out into the woods. Crane seemed adamant about going somewhere and he didn't even use a light to see around him, saying the moon and stars gave off more than enough light to see by. Lee called bullshit and Naru agreed. Suddenly they ran into a hard muscled body and toppled over each other, shinobi skills not coming in handy at the moment.
Looking around Lee noticed they were in a clearing with one huge pine tree in the middle. It had to be higher then fifty metes high and it was spaced so if one fell he would land on the hard forest floor. Wincing at the thought, Lee walked forward towards his sensei. "Crane-sensei, what happens now?"
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Crane watched as the new recruits fell in a unflattering heap. Ah, so young, they reminded him of his genin team. A sad smile flittered across his face, he would do everything in his power to make sure they survived and didn't follow the same fate as his friends. "well Turtle, we are going to climb this tree with out the use of your hands. You must apply chakra to the bottoms of your feet-one of the hardest places to cultivate chakra, once you have gathered an amount climb up this pine. Be careful though you must maintain a balance-too little and you'll fall, too much and you'll be ricocheted off the tree and have to start over." he watched them take everything in and raised his hand. " Mouse, you first. Toad your next, Turtle bring up the rear. You all have three hours each to complete this before we move on…ready begin."
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Hinata ran forward, gaining momentum and giving herself time to cultivate the necessary chakra at her feet. She ran several steps up the tree, feeling the rough bark under her sandals. Four steps, six steps. She made her first mistake. By getting excited she fluxuated her chakra causing herself to give too much energy making her fly off the tree. Thinking quickly she flipped in the air and landed hard on her feet, wincing at the harsh bark of her sensei telling her to do it again. She analyzed her predicament, and tried again and again and again, always getting higher up until she hit the highest branch. Looking down she smiled at her friends as they cheered her on. Calmly walking down, she felt the even chakra coating the bottom of her feet and smiled. you see father, I can be strong. Not that you will ever know that now, its to late for you to take me back, I have a new family now-my best friends. We will get stronger then any shinobi and we will accomplish the future together. looking back up at the tree she had taken two hours and thirteen minutes to overcome, all Hinata felt was satisfaction. She one of the dead lasts in the academy, one who was never taken seriously had done what many would deem impossible. And she was proud of it.
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Naru watched as Hinata got higher and higher up the huge pine. Though proud of her friend, she was also confused. The strange glow was back and it was surrounding both Lee, Crane-sensei, and Hinata. She looked at lee and saw his glow was a gold color, he was beaming up a thousand watt smile at their friend. Her sensei had a pure white colored glow. She couldn't tell what he was thinking, but if she had to guess on body language, she would say he was proud and happy. Hinata had a coldish gray colored glow-very different from the one she had in class. Sneaking a peek at her hands she wanted to yell, her hands had no colorful glow they looked like regular hands. is something wrong with me, am I ill why, why don't I glow like the others. All right Naru, get a grip. Go talk with the Hokage later. Maybe he knows what the hell is going on.
Looking back up from her musing, Naru saw Hinata land wobbly on the ground. "Hey-y Naru, i-its you turn." Hinata was pushing the tips of her fingers together-a clear sign that she was nervous. Naru smiled comfortingly at her, not that she could see it, and nodded. Walking forward, she felt Lee pat her on the back in good luck.
Breathing in deeply, Naru slowly gathered her chakra into her feet. It felt odd, like sharp knives were being forced out of the soles of her skin. It stung but it didn't hurt. Bending down in a low stance, she charged. A million and one emotions flew through her mind and Naru felt her chakra waver. She was already six feet up and slightly panicked. oh kami. she wasn't scared of heights and really didn't want to be, but she quickly realized that being up really high in a tree with wavering chakra and no place to hold onto causes one to feel pretty uncertain. Naru held down on her chakra with a will she never knew she had.
She looked into herself and noticed what looked like two streams of colored light: one deep blue and spiraling and the other dark red and thrashing. To her it looked like the two lights were battling it out and it seemed the blue one was losing. She felt desperate, she didn't like the feel of the red light, it felt dark and addictive and heavy. In a moment of pure, unadulterated fear one will do things that may seem rash and uncouth. So Naru gabbed the end of the red light and held on, it burned her, making Naru feel like her skin was boiling off, but she didn't scream and she didn't let go. What was also weird was that she could "feel" emotions coming off the red light-anger, uncertainty, and rage. Thinking up a plan she threw the red light over to the side. It spun there, trying to right itself. Not wasting anytime, Naru made a glasslike tubing system. She left a opening and stood in front of it. Waiting for the red light to attack, she didn't have to wait long. Upon righting itself, the red light transformed into a large red colored fox and snarling, charged at her. The thundering of the foxes claws hitting the ground and the beating of her own heart was all Naru knew, she stood her ground as the red colored beast came at her and at the last moment possible, Naru leapt out of the way.
The Red light turned fox didn't have time to turn his course and collided with the opening to the tubing system. Moving quickly before the light could escape, Naru made a odd hand sign and slammed her open palm against the opening to the tube. A odd looking spiral made out of black ink spread out, kanji moved around the tube system closing it off but allowing it to still be used and circulate in her body. Tired and sweating but filled with a humming energy, she did the same thing with the blue light but she didn't seal it up, she just made the wall thicker and held by black ink colored brackets. Moving the two separate tubes around each other she made them both spiral downwards toward the center of her being. With that done, Naru let the exhaustion course through her. She felt that she had completed something great and with the finality of the thoughts in her mind, she closed her eyes and let the calm darkness take her away.
Warm darkness, like heavy, comforting velvet laid around her in a protective blanket. "Naru." she didn't want to listen. "Naru." she rolled over, she felt the need to leave, but she couldn't. she started to panic. "Naru, listen to me. You got to wake up." that was Lee, why was Lee here. He shouldn't be here. "Naru wak-ke u-up please." Hinata, she was here too. A bright red light started to surround her. She yelled, "Lee, Hinata, run away. Get out of here." she faced the malevolent glow with narrowed eyes and a snarl painted on her lips. "get the hell away from my friends! You have no right to hurt them!" a hideous laughter nearly slapped her and she growled out at the glow. A booming voice bounced around the darkness tinged red. "Foolish mortal, what can you possible do to stop me. You may have succeeded in sealing my chakra for your own use, but I assure you, you will come to regret your meddling choice. Beware the dark of passing out, little Uzumaki, I wont be so lenient next time we meet and I plan on making you pay." with that the glow shaped itself into the form of a giant red eye and she felt herself pushed into the realm of the awake. "until we meet again, Naru." the voice gave a mental laugh as she growled at the last shreds of red light and then she was gone. She fascinated him, to be so young and yet so talented. He would enjoy the next battle they fought. Closing his red eyes he laid in his cage and thought of the young girl.
Naru coughed as she woke up, air oh, glorious air. Her blue eyes cut to the faces of those peering down at her. Lee and Hinata hid poorly concealed sighs of relief, while her sensei just nodded at her. "what happened?" she couldn't remember anything after the small, but tense battle in her body. Her sensei gave a sigh before launching into a short explanation. "when you started to climb the tree, we saw you move faster and faster. Before long you had started too fall and we moved to catch you but as you were falling you emitted a wave of chakra and you flipped around and caught the side of the tree with your left foot. You hung there for a few seconds and then you started to run the rest of the way up the tree, completing the assignment. Then you made it to the ground before you passed out." Naru didn't know what to feel. On one hand she was excited that she had completed the training early but on the other hand she was sad that her battle had kept her from enjoying the experience. "did Lee complete the assignment, sensei?" he nodded and she felt even worse. She had missed a cornerstone moment in her friends life. How horrible could she be. Lee patted her shoulder and smiled in encouragement.
"touching moment really, But we should be heading back now… Good job at completing the assignment all of you. Nodding in assent they all walked back to Hq for must needed showers and their actual clothes.
Walking into her room that night, Naru looked out her window at the moon. Her mind in turmoil. who was that voice? Was that red light a different type of chakra and was the blue light her own chakra. Why do I have two different types, is that normal. I didn't know chakra can talk back or manifest itself in different forms. She rubbed the bridge between her eyes and walked to her bed, falling on top of her covers. Sleep didn't come easy fro her that night nor would it ever again.
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Training had slowly killed the three young adults. They had all been training non-stop for the past week and now today was Friday, the day of the genin test. Lee watched as Naru picked at her breakfast, dark circles hung under her eyes and she seemed weighed down by something. Hinata had told him that Naru was having trouble sleeping, he wanted to help but he had no idea how. they all wore their new outfits Lee wore a green jumpsuit that a man named Gai-sensei had given to him, Hinata wore a light purple jacket over black shinobi pants and her blue shinobi sandals. A black tee-shirt was under her closed jacket. Naru wore her usual outfit. Lee led them to the academy, and they entered their respective classrooms. Alone, Lee walked into his full classroom and chose a seat at the very back content to wait for his test to begin.
The sensei handed out tests, each was standard for what they had covered over the year. The only difference between his test and everyone else's was the fact that he was doing this to graduate early. The written test was a cake walk and he scored a 84% a passable grade. They waited for everyone to finish before they were herded outside to the sparring ring for the Taijustu portion of the exam. They were all paired into twos and were told to use academy style kata to defeat their opponent. Lee was paired with a student he didn't know and easily wiped the floor with him. Moving to sit in the shade , he thought about how well Hinata and Naru were doing. They both had to be on the written test by now or the gengestu portion. Hearing the call for everyone to go inside, he looked across the field and saw his friends exit to start their Taijustu exam. Giving them a thumbs up, the smiled and waved before the closing doors separated him from them. Sighing he walked with the rest of the class back. In the gengestu exam he got a 67%, in the physical he passed with a clean bill of health. Now he was waiting to be called back into the room where the justu was to be conducted, for him he would be explaining why he could not do justu and then he would pass. "Rock Lee."
Rolling his shoulders he stood in front of the academy sensei's and awaited the verdict. He wasn't alone, the Hokage had showed up. He had motioned outside and mouthed Naru and Hinata's names. He nodded in affirmative. "well Rock Lee, we would like to present you with a haita-ate in honor of graduating to genin. Congratulations." he bowed to both the Hokage and the sensei's and calmly walked out. He got two steps before he was glomped by Naru and Hinata, they yelled and laughed while showing each other their new forehead protectors. Naru had chosen a orange colored ribbon and Hinata a dark purple. His was a red colored ribbon. He saw Anko turn a corner and grinned at her-they had been introduced several days ago and both got along just fine. It was time for a celebration and the Hokage and Crane-sensei had arranged for it all.
Walking to the Hokage tower they let their new forehead protectors shine in the bright sun. the looks they received were a mixture of shock, disdain and anger. They didn't care.
The party lasted well into the evening and many gifts and food were passed around in good company. Naru got a mixture of scrolls on training for her new style, a beautiful fighting staff and a new, larger pouch for her weapons'. A glove fastening in dark brown leather was given to her for her staff which was collapsible. Hinata was given a giant scroll on medical ninjustu, some protective gloves, a medical pouch filled with supplies, and a large scroll-which the Hokage explained was a summoning contract that had been left to her from her mother. Lee was given some nunchuku, a large weapons pouch, and some training scrolls for several Taijustu styles.
When the party was winding down, they were summoned to the Hokage and Crane-sensei and told that as of now they were a three man team, unfortunately they would not be able to do missions together ubtil they learned enough in their respected talents. On his desk the Hokage picked up a cloth that had covered three scrolls in varying colors. One was green-this was handed to Lee, and he was told to report to training ground nine at dawn tomorrow. The next one was brown and white-this was given to Hinata, she was told to wait at the village gate at ten'o clock tomorrow and to pack for several weeks. The last scroll was gray and black-this was given to Naru, she was told to wait at the Hokage's tower at two in the morning and not to be late. Dismissed they all walked back home, content in knowing that they had passed and were now going to train with their new sensei's.
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A blaring alarm woke Naru as she scrambled to launch out of bed to stop the shrill ringing. It was one 'o clock in the morning and she decided to head to the bath house. Grabbing her towel and walking along the hallways she noticed that the lights in Lee and Hinata's rooms were off, indicating that they were still asleep. In the bath house, the smell of sulfur laced with cherries hit her full blast. Discarding her pajama's she hopped in to the hot water. She washed her hair and body with her mango scented shampoo and conditioner and relaxed for a few minutes. She felt so comfortable, but like all good things it had to end. Grumbling about people who didn't know the value of sleep, she got dressed and walked to the Hokage tower, grabbing some muffins from a shop that had opened on the way. She arrived and noticed the coming and going shinobi, most seemed to be getting back from missions and were getting paid. A few even nodded at her, while most whispered about how she had passed her genin exam.
Walking into the Hokage's office she wasn't surprised to see him working. Giving him a small bow, she walked to the couch and sat down, waiting for her new sensei. An hour passed before the Hokage stopped writing and looked up at a man with long white hair. He seemed to be around fifty and had wrinkles prominent near his eyes. Two long red marks like tear tracks ran down his face. He was very tall and heavily built. On his back he wore a large summoning scroll. His clothing was a mixture of red and greens. He wore wooden clog like sandals on his feet, he wore no Konoha forehead protector, but rather a horned one with the kanji for oil on it.
The Hokage beckoned her over and the man simply watched. "Naru, this is Jairiya of the sannin, he will be your mentor in training you in espionage and seals." she nodded at the man and he gave a small nod back-both to tired to say hi. "you will need to pack some things for a trip of about five weeks…dismissed." bowing to the Hokage she turned on her hells and walked back home.
Heading into her room she pulled out several outfits and her new gear, making sure her staff was packed with her gear on her arm. Writing a quick note to her friends, Naru ran to the main gate and her mentor. He was waiting and without a word they both set out for the training sites.
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Hinata woke to the sound of someone leaving. She blinked the sleep from her tired, lavender tinted eyes, and cracked her jaw in a yawn. Looking around the room, Hinata felt safe and warm and was loathe to get out of the confines of her comfortable covers. Then her alarm started to ring. Sighing in fates cruel gestures, she slipped from the bed and walked over to the vile object. Slamming her palm down on the off button, she walked over to her closet and took out some clothes for the weeks ahead.
A smile broke through her face as she held the haite-ate of Konoha, the smooth metal engraved with a sharp leaf stared back at her. She had done it, she had graduated and she was now going to leave the village for her training. see father, I may be weak now but, I know I'm stronger than any of you because I value true strength. I'm going to be trained as a med-nin and save lives. Maybe one day I will come to see why you did this father, but until that day I thank you, if I had stayed in that poison's filled clan, I would have never gotten strong. Packing up the rest of her things, she stopped and turned around, laying innocently against the wall was the summoning scroll of mice. She was curious about the thing, especially when she found out it belonged to her mother. She didn't remember much about the kind women, all she could think of was that she died not long after Hanabi was born.
Still, the scroll beckoned her until she heaved the heavy roll up. Placing it on her back she grabbed the other scrolls for her medical gear and left out the door and down the hall ways. Looking around, she noticed that both Lee and Naru's doors were closed, yet both were gone. Sighing she left the house grabbing some rice cakes and leaving towards the main gate.
Yet when she got there, no one was there to greet her. Feeling left out, she walked out onto the dusty road, not knowing were she was heading. It seemed like minutes before she was stopped. Several Konoha shinobi barred her path. From their flak jackets she assumed that they were chunin. One of them stepped forward, he looked her over and made a hand sign, muttering "kai" under his breath. When nothing happened, he nodded and stepped back. "are you Hyuuga Hinata." she gave a jerky nod, he motioned with his hand for her to follow. Seeing no other option, she complied. Several tense moments later they arrived in a clearing, it was spread out with large white medical tents. Med-nin scurried hither and thither, never stopping but always in control.
A large breasted women with a scar on her forehead met them halfway. "My name is Shifune. You may call me Shifune-sensei if you wish. I am going to be your mentor, and pass onto you the teachings of medical ninjustu. You are going to start slow, but things will increase when we head for the border. Here is a special med scroll, you may start once you've put away your things." Hinata looked around the organized camp and walked over to an empty tent, stowing her things, she ran back to her new sensei ready to begin her lessons.
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Lee ran around early morning shoppers and merchants as he navigated the way to training ground nine. Jumping over random civilians and cargo, he knew that he was getting nowhere fast and finally decided to take the high road when a crowd of old lady's created a blockade in front of him. Gathering as much chakra to his feet as he dared, he jumped onto a wall and ran up to the roof. Lee felt that momentary thrill of being able to at least cultivate this much chakra for such a staple part of a shinobi's lifestyle.
He felt a little sad that neither Naru nor Hinata had come to see him off, but soon pushed that feeling aside. He really couldn't blame either of them-being as Naru left way early and Hinata needed some sleep for her own journey.
Still it would have been nice too see both of them off. Hmm, I wonder if this was the Hokage's plan to begin with- separating us to make us stronger in our own abilities without the hampering and distractions friends can be…still, I won't see both of them until our trainings are done. Lee ran like a madman, he could see the wide fields of training ground nine and a bolt of excitement hit him like a high powered arrow. Training ground nine was a place specially favored by Taijustu users, in that it was flat enough for learning new kata and techniques, but overgrown enough to provide a challenge. The grounds were mostly made up of grassland, with a nice river on the side and a smidgen of trees for practicing tree fighting.
Landing gently on the ground outside the training field, he cast his eyes around for his new sensei. Nothing…there was nobody in the abandoned area. Feeling ire at the fact that he saw nobody, Lee was about to head home, when he heard a crash and a sickening thud. Not caring that he could be heading straight into a trap, Lee pushed off the ground and ran towards the noise. please don't let this be a trap…please don't let this be a trap… these thoughts flowed through his mind, worrying him but filling him with rightful energy.
Not stumbling once, though his legs were being grabbed at by weeds and roots, Lee pushed on. Soon he came upon a decimated clearing. Trees had been destroyed and the ground was littered with craters. Three training posts had been uprooted and haphazardly thrown in random directions. He took all of this information in quickly, and then froze as a noise on his right made itself known. Turning around slowly, mentally preparing himself for a fight, Lee looked upon the man that had destroyed the clearing and let his guard drop.
"Gai-sensei…what are you doing here!?"
The man could have easily been Lee's deceased father. Gai had dark black hair cut in a bowl cut, big eyebrows, and a jonin flak jacket pronouncing his rank. On his legs he wore orange leg warmers. His body was covered by a green spandex outfit, with his hai-ate on a red dark red ribbon around his waist as a belt. it was widely acknowledged by most every shinobi, that Maito Gai was one of the best Taijustu users to ever come out of Konoha. More acknowledged than that was the fact that he was clearly eccentric.
"Ah, Lee. In answer to your youthful question, the esteemed Hokage asked me to mentor a student and pass on my hip ways of youth to a new generation!" fire burned in Gai's eyes as he went on a tangent about youth and Taijustu-Lee sat down and listened, thinking his new sensei to be the greatest man he had ever met.
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In a office, and old man sat at his desk and smiled. Yes, those three would defiantly become the greatest shinobi the leaf had ever produced. All of them burned with the will of fire and would use this will to keep the leaf warm in all difficulties.
Chuckling to himself, the Sandaime Hokage got back to work and ruminated on three other children who he had once taught-with all his ageing heart, he desperately wished for them to not turn out like his team.