Episode 8: The Vicous Tiger Boy! Team 5 vs. Han!

The 8th blew smoke from his pipe into the air, bringing his fingers to his chin in thought. Four people, all with similar appearances and requests, all coming to his village. All of them suspicious too, not telling much about their mission. Things were just too...suspicious. He took another long drag from his pipe. Four of his best jounins were teachers, and all four were gone now. Blowing smoke into the air, he could only hope that nothing would happen.

Gan sighed; his only hopes of having an exciting day were now crushed. Sure, this mission was unlike any other, and even higher in class than the usual ones. That didn't mean that there'd be action though. On top of that, it was quiet, and he couldn't stand quiet.

"So uh..." He tried desperately to make some conversation. "Anyone's clan do anything special?" He asked.

"Uh...not really..." Sei mumbled, scratching his head.

"Yes, us Uzumaki's have a dormant red chakra deep within us." Rei piped in. "It's very powerful, and only the strongest Uzumaki's know how to control it."

"Interesting..." Gan thought, unconsciously stroking his dog hidden in his coat. He smelled something...weird. He looked at Seiya. No not him, plus he had a chakra coating on. He turned to Rei, then Kabi. None of them. "Wait..." he thought. "Where's the old man!?"

"So what's special about your-"Rei didn't get to finish her question, for Gan was screaming.

"Where's the old man!?"

"Hey, don't interrupt me!"

"Forget about that, where's the old man!?"

"Look buddy, you need an attitude change!"

"Forget about that!"

"No!"

"We're on a mission, and we're about to fail it!"

"I don't want to hear it until you say you're sorry!"

Gan lowered his head, all this screaming had woke up Kuro. He yipped a bit and jumped out of Gan's coat. Gan then looked surprised, looking around. His teacher and teammate were gone!

"They're gone...?" He asked.

"What?" Rei looked around too. They were gone. "Where's the old man?"

"Oh man..." Gan sweat dropped. "Come on."

"Hey!" Gan grabbed Rei's arm and jumped into the trees, and soon he was on the scent of his teacher, dragging Rei along. When he finally reached his teacher and teammate, he was out of breath. Seiya shushed him.

"Gan, you could warn me when-"Rei was interrupted again, this time by Kabi's hand turning her head in the direction of the road. She stopped talking, covering her mouth.

In the road was three people. Two of them had masks on, but you could tell by their voices they were female. Another of them was quite strange looking. He had a human body, yet he had feline features. He had the ears of a tiger, and marking on his face like whiskers. His feet were without shoes, but then again, no shoes would probably work for his paw like ones. There were long claws coming from them.

"There are people tracking us, Han." One of the female ninjas said to the cat boy.

"Oh don't worry," The boy, Han, said. "You two can go on back, I'll stay behind for a bit."

The two female ninjas nodded, and disappeared. Han remained, and walked over to a tree. It was out of sight, so Team 5 had to move closer. What they saw, however, made their hearts jump.

The old man was tied to a tree. Han just sat beside the old man, as if waiting for something. Or someone...was he waiting for them?

"It was a cat all along..." Gan said to himself, getting his kunai ready. He hated cats a lot already, and this cat person was no exception.

"Okay students. It's time for your first real battle." Kabi's usual expressionless face was...still expressionless. However, there was a hint of excitement. "I'll get the old man to safety while you fight. I think this will be a great learning experience, as well as a good way to get acquainted."

"Wow Sensei. That's the most I've ever heard you say." Seiya chimed in, getting ready to pounce on the enemy.

"I'm so ready for this..." Rei was stretching. "Riku will be so jealous."

"Ready..." Gan began. "Set...GO!"

All three genins jumped down from the tree, and landed on the ground, rushing the tiger boy. He smiled, jumping up, and braced for their attack. He jumped right over Gan, who was the first one, then kicked Seiya in the face. When Han landed, he swept his foot around, tripping Rei. By now, Seiya had hit a tree.

"It's about time you attacked." The boy said. He seemed quite hyped for the battle.

"Damn cat." Gan thought, turning around. He ran towards Han, and the two began fighting. Each punch Gan would throw, Han would deflect, and when Han would counter, Gan would deflect. It went in this cycle for a while, until Han's cat reflexes one out. He hit Gan away, Kuro had jumped out of the trees and latched on to his arm.

"Damn dog!" Han pulled out a kunai and stabbed the dog, but no blood came out. It almost seemed like the dog was stuffed...

Han's eyes grew wide, and he looked to Gan. The boy was smiling. He quickly pulled the dog off his arm and tossed it up into the air. It burst open, and it began raining kunai and needles. When it was over, Han had been hit with a few. He looked around, only to see no one.

"One of the girls should've stayed behind instead." He said to himself.

Just then, all three of Team 5 jumped down from the trees, much to Han's surprise. He easily dodged Gan's punch, and Rei's kick was even harder, but Seiya's punch was just too much. And unfortunately, Seiya was quite good with taijutsu, therefore, it hurt. A lot.

Han jumped out of the circle Team 5 had formed around him and backed up into a tree. His stomach was hurting, he had cuts all over him, and it was three on one. But he was still smiling. He began to do some seals, but it was too late for them to stop him.

"Tora Kaihen (Tiger Transformation)!" He yelled.

Han's body to bulge with muscles. He human hands no longer human, but were now covered in fur and had claws. His canines grew long, and his eyes turned yellow. His pupils, human before, were now cat pupils. To top it all of, he was covered in orange and black fur.

"Anyone have a silver bullet?" Gan asked, laughing nervously. Even Kuro, who hated cats, was cowering, hiding in his jacket.

"This isn't the time for jokes..." Rei squeaked. She wanted to move, but she couldn't. She was petrified.

"You guys, we have to make a pla-"WHAM! Seiya was interrupted by the weretiger slamming its shoulder into him. He flew back and hit a tree, hard. It was both fast and powerful.

Rei turned to where the weretiger was, but it was gone now. She turned to Gan, and he seemed just as scared as she was. Seiya was down, and both of them didn't know where the beast was. "Where's Kabi-Sensei when you need him?" She wondered to herself.

"I'm going to fight it." Gan said. "Juujin Bunshin (Beast Human Clone)!"

Akamaru reluctantly leapt onto Gan's back and became a replica of Kiba. Kiba grew claws too, and began to look more beast like. The two jumped off into the trees.

"I guess you have to beat a beast with a beast..." Rei thought. She finally summoned up the will power to move, right before the three of them fell out of the tree.

The two were again facing off, but this time, each one was trading blows. Gan punched Han in the face, and Han countered with a kick in the stomach. Gan then jumped onto Han's back and began punching him. Han roared and grabbed Gan, slinging him into a tree. Then he rushed forward, raising his claws to finish him off, but Kuro jumped in. Kuro kicked Han, and while Han was still in the air from the kick, he jumped on him pinning him to the ground. Kuro then jumped into the air.

"Gatsuuga (Double Piercing Fang)!"

Gan and Kuro became two tornadoes of claws and both were charging at Han. The weretiger got up and held it's arms out. When the tornadoes collided with him, there were cuts all over his arm. However, he had stopped the dog and its master from whirling. Han reverted to his human form, and so did Gan. Kuro turned back into a puppy. They were all out of chakra.

"Now, you die..." Han said, raising a kunai above his head. He was ready to stab Gan, but a needle flew into his hand.

"Ouch!" He dropped the kunai, turning around. There was still one more left, but he hadn't the chakra for her.

"There," Rei said triumphantly. "Now I've participated in the battle."

"I'd better be getting paid good for this..." Han sighed, jumping into the trees and away.

"Thanks..." Gan said. "I'm exhausted. I don't think I could've stopped him."

"Is the battle over yet?" Seiya asked.

"You're awake!" Rei exclaimed.

"I was always awake." Seiya replied. "It's just that I was seeing how strong you both were. I could've beaten that thing easily."

"Right." Kabi said, coming out from behind a tree with Ra. "I actually wasn't expecting you guys to win. When we get home, I'm gonna train you guys so hard..."

"Hey hey." The old man spoke up. "Worry about getting me to that lake first."

Seiya stood up, rubbing his back. Hitting that tree really did hurt. Rei stood up too, and went to help Gan up. Kabi was still talking about training. He was getting starry eyed now, talking about how they would pass the chuunin exams and the other jounins' students wouldn't. Then he was talking about bragging.

Well, it sure beat walking in the quiet.

A/N: Like it? Hate it? Don't worry, more fighting is to come, and everyone will get their chance to shine! I'll have the next chapter up by Monday.