I haven't been in an updating mood...so please excuse this long-delayed chapter.
And I know very little about ninjutsu...okay? So don't incinerate my com with flames just because I forgot or added something I shouldn't have.
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"Hey, Kyote?"
"Yeah?" The teenager glanced up.
"Why do you and Shinzuko fight so much?"
"Didn't I tell you just because?"
"That's not a real reason," Naruto shot back.
Kyote sighed. "It's something I'd rather not talk about," he said. "Now let's get on with this. Kakashi said to meet him in an hour."
"What's the first thing you're going to show me?" Naruto asked.
"The Shield of the Ox," Kyote replied. "It's the easiest of the seven. Which is probably why I chose learning that over the Wolf family's Stealth. The first part of learning it is memorization. You have to memorize the code for tapping into the power, and the signs. It also helps develop your chakra so you won't wear yourself out each time you use the technique. Unlike me."
Naruto clenched his fists. "Yeah?"
Kyote told him the code. "Then there's the signs. You know them all, right?"
"Hai, but I never learned how to use them."
"Okay, well, the first sign for this technique is the Dragon. Then the Ox." The teenager crossed his arms. "But you need to memorize the code first.
For the entire hour, the two shinobi practiced. By the time they had to go and meet Kakashi and the others, Naruto had memorized the code, and had almost been able to execute the defensive technique.
As the two walked through the woods, Kyote glanced at Naruto. "Are you all right?"
"Ne?" Naruto snapped himself out of his train of thought. "I'm fine. Why?"
Kyote grinned. "You're too quiet."
The younger boy stuck his hands in his pockets with a sigh. Kyote's grin disappeared. "What's wrong?"
Mark my words, Naruto. In a few weeks, you'll be thinking on the exact contrary.
"Nothing," Naruto muttered. In his mind he kept replaying his fight with the fox. Why is it that, after all these years, the demon decides to pop up now...of all fucking possible times!?
Kyote opened his mouth to object, but suddenly glanced up. "I smell smoke."
"Ne?" Naruto followed his gaze. He gasped under his breath. "I see smoke!"
A shout from not-so-far-off sent them running.
Sasuke appeared from nowhere and caught up to them.
"What's happening?" Kyote demanded, looking over his shoulder.
Sasuke clenched his fists. "You smell that smoke?"
"Yeah. Where's the fire?"
The black haired boy was about to reply...and then he remembered himself. Remembered the age-old feud between the Uchiha and Ryuuchi clans. "We...don't know," he muttered, his voice abruptly cold.
The three boys burst into the clearing where Kakashi, Shinzuko, and Sakura waited.
"What's up?" Naruto inquired. "Where's the fire?"
Kakashi pointed. "In the valley."
Sakura was standing on the edge of the cliff above the canyon. "And it's spreading fast!"
Kyote scanned the forested valley for the easiest way down. His twin brother was way ahead of him.
"This way," Shinzuko ordered. "I got a plan."
Kyote and Shinzuko slid down the rocky slope with the others right behind them.
In the valley, the smoke was worse. The shinobi held an arm over their eyes and mouth to keep out the gray vapor. But the strangest thing was...there was no fire.
Huge clouds of billowing smoke swirled upward, choking anyone foolish enough to inhale it. But there was no fire; only the smoke that wafted through the eerily silent valley on the light breeze.
"What the hell-?" Shinzuko was at a loss for words.
Sasuke glanced around. "There's only smoke!"
The Calm before the Storm.
As if on cue, a sudden explosion shook the ground below them all.
Sakura gasped, pointing several feet away. "There's the fire!"
The fire was everywhere in a moment. Everyone was coughing.
"H-how'd it spread so fast?" Naruto managed to yell.
"It's gasoline!" Kyote was suddenly angry. "Someone did this on purpose...!"
Kakashi watched them silently. This is one of the many tests along the way to becoming shinobi. Deal with the unexpected.
"Run!" Shinzuko yelled. "C'mon!"
Within minutes, the six shinobi were up on the cliff, gasping for fresh air. They were all dizzy and a little sick from breathing so much smoke, but no one was seriously burned.
"What're we supposed to do now, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura demanded.
Kakashi snickered. "You are the ones who are being tested and trained. You figure it out."
Damn. Naruto cursed under his breath. Thanks a lot, Kakashi!
"It's spreading towards the forest!" Sasuke shouted above the roar of the fire. "It could hit Konohagakure in a minute!"
"There's no way we can stop it before it gets there!" Naruto exclaimed in despair. "We'll never stop it in time!"
But there's one way to stop it. "Shinzuko." Kyote turned to his older twin. "What about the Deluge?"
His brother was on him in a moment. "Bullshit, Kyote," he hissed in his rasping voice. "You know that you can barely take the strain of one of those techniques!" If it wasn't for the teenager's harsh tone, Naruto imagined that Shinzuko was worried about his brother.
"But I've almost memorized this one!" Kyote protested, sounding like the eager kid he would have been if his life hadn't been so harsh. "Let's just do it! I can't do this alone, you know. I'll need your strength to uphold mine!"
Shinzuko sighed. "If you say..."
The twins stood at the edge of the cliff. Kyote and his brother exchanged a glance, and the older one nodded.
Dragon! Dolphin! Two signs made in unison, and a flood of water washed through the valley. Deluge of the Dolphin Technique!
Within seconds, the fire was out. Smoke turned into wisps of steam. The silence was so abrupt that the shinobi thought it odd.
"Damn," Naruto said quietly. He looked to Kyote. "That was one of the techniques, right?"
The teenager nodded. Sakura instantly began asking questions.
"How'd you do that?" she demanded of Kyote. "And could you teach us?"
Shinzuko motioned towards the woods. "I'll teach you," he said, his habitual bad mood forgotten. "Kyote needs a break."
Abruptly, Sasuke caught sight of reflected sunlight from the corner of his eye. "What the-?"
Kyote followed his gaze. "Something shiny."
Shinzuko made a face. "Gee, ya think?!"
"I'll go see!" Naruto volunteered abruptly. Before anyone could stop him, the blond haired boy scampered down the cliff and ran towards the thing.
It's a damn trap! Sasuke sighed. That fool.
But, contrary to what the others thought, it wasn't a trap.
"Hey!" Naruto yelled up to them. "It's a chain!"
Shinzuko's eyes widened slightly. "Wait a minute..." He skidded down the slope with Sasuke, Sakura, Kakashi, and Kyote right behind him. "Let me see that!" Naruto handed it over.
The black haired teenager examined the pendant on the chain. It was in the shape of a dragon. He cursed.
Kyote gave the silver pendant a quick glance. "I think we know who started the fire..." he said.
"It was Taroshi and his bunch," Shinzuko said angrily. "Shit. I have to go." Without another word, he leaped into the air and dashed off.
****
"Who's...Taroshi?" Sakura asked when Shinzuko had gone.
Kyote groaned under his breath. "He's one of the strongest members of the Ryuuchi clan. And the most arrogant."
"What's Shinzuko going to do to him?"
Kyote gave the girl an odd look. "Why don't you ask him?"
****
Ryuuchi Shinzuko and Kyote had both been training the three members of cell seven with knowledge that came from being members of a militaristic clan. Almost everyone involved seemed to change. Sakura stopped badmouthing Naruto. Naruto stopped acting recklessly. Kyote was beginning to like being a jônin. Even Sasuke temporarily forgot about the feud between the Uchiha and Ryuuchi clans long enough to learn a lot.
So he could become stronger.
But I didn't say that everyone changed.
Shinzuko was still as harsh as ever. And Kakashi...well, he was still Kakashi.
But still, morale—and teamwork—was high in cell seven.
After several weeks of rigorous preparation, the first round of the tournament came. In this round, only the cells of Konohagakure would compete. The winner of this set would go on to fight cells from other villages and clans; cells that had won their own tournaments. This would go on until only one cell was left.
"And that cell is gonna be us!" Naruto said, filled with excitement.
"If this goes well, it's ramen on me," said Kyote.
Naruto eyed him skeptically. "I thought you hated ramen."
Kyote grinned as they entered the tournament area. "Oh...in your case I'll make an exception."
Shinzuko caught the warm glance that passed between the two boys and scowled darkly.
Cell seven sat in the place set aside for them between cells six and eight as they waited for their names to be called. Kakashi stood against a tree behind them, watching the proceedings with a seemingly-languid but actually concentrated eye.
The man in charge of the Konohagakure round of the tournament, Sameru-sensei, stood and called one name from each cell for the first category.
Demonstrating an elemental technique.
When he called Naruto's name for cell seven, Sasuke glanced at the blond haired boy. "Better not ruin this for us," he said warningly. "This is one of the categories that holds the most points."
Naruto smirked. "No big deal," he said confidently as he walked to the center of the circular area.
Sakura rolled her eyes. "Now I'm really worried."
Sameru surveyed the nine junior shinobi assembled. "Begin."
Each did their own technique. Some didn't do so well. Some did. Naruto was one of the latter.
"All right!" Sakura exclaimed when the points were announced. I can't believe that Naruto, of all people, actually did something right, she thought.
"That was great, Naruto," Kyote said steadily. "You did Shield of the Ox better than I taught you."
The blond haired boy grinned. "Domo," he said sheepishly.
"But it still needs work," Shinzuko cut in.
Category #2 was "personal" techniques, which were ones that involved shinobi using things. Like bunshin no jutsu.
Sakura was called up for this one. Naruto frowned.
"Why couldn't I do this one?" he demanded of himself. "Everyone knows that Art of the Doppelganger is my best technique!"
"Exactly," said Kakashi behind them. "This tournament is about developing areas of weakness. Not to enhance strength."
Naruto looked to Kyote.
"What he said," the teenager agreed.
"Begin."
Sasuke impassively watched the demonstration. "What technique is Sakura using?" he asked.
"Four Corners Technique," Kyote explained. "A Ryuuchi variation of Art of the Doppelganger."
The boy grinned slightly. I must admit...Sakura's much improved. She's a better shinobi than I gave her credit for.
****
In the brief interval before the last category was announced, cell seven went over the tally of points that Kakashi had been keeping.
"We've got enough to put us in third," Shinzuko figured. "But we need first to get to the next round...!"
"Thanks for stating the obvious," Naruto muttered sarcastically.
The black haired jônin was about to retort but shut his mouth. Chikushoume.
"You're the one who's sparring, Sasuke," Kyote reminded him. "So do something...unpredictable. To get us in first."
Sasuke nodded wordlessly.
"Cell seven," Sameru-sensei called. "Uchiha Sasuke."
Kyote nodded towards the boy. "Good luck, Sasuke."
The younger one clenched his fists. "Hn." He walked into the circle and he and his opponent, a boy named Roninki from cell four, bowed to each other. Then they turned and bowed to Sameru, who was acting as a referee.
"Begin."
Roninki's hands moved swiftly to his shuriken holster. Within seconds, a fierce shuriken barrage rained down on Sasuke. The black haired boy leaped back to avoid it, but got cut on his arm.
"Sasuke's hurt!" Sakura cried.
"Nai, but you are overreacting!" muttered Naruto.
It was evident from the beginning that Roninki was fast. Shuriken flew at will as he literally ran circles around Sasuke. The younger boy fought back in anger, throwing his own shuriken. Roninki only snatched them out of the air and threw them back.
"Damn!" Kyote muttered.
"He's as good as Master Kakashi!" Sakura noted.
Sasuke was feeling an uncharacteristic urge to panic as he sidestepped a well-aimed attack. He's good. Roninki spun and directed the force of a technique at him. Real good. The blast of fire barely missed burning him. But I'm better.
Kyote suddenly smiled.
"What's so funny, Kyote?" Sakura demanded.
The black haired teenager crossed his arms. "Do you see what Sasuke's doing?"
"He's taking a major beating," Naruto put in.
"He's letting Roninki wear himself out," Kyote corrected. "I know that the second Roninki lets down his guard. It'll be over."
Sakura frowned. "Hm..."
Sasuke was thinking the exact thing that Kyote was...but the only problem was that Roninki didn't seem to be getting tired at all.
Dammit! How long is this going to take!
Cursing under his breath, Sasuke decided to make his move. He used the Four Corners Technique, which was something that he had only seen Sakura do...
But it worked. Four flashes of light, and Roninki was down for the count. Sasuke stood above him, breathing heavily. All right.
"YES!" Naruto yelled, leaping to his feet. "We did it! We actually won this round!"
There was silence for a moment. Then everyone began to talk.
"We're going on to the second round!" Sakura was happy enough to revoke her crush on Sasuke.
"You learned faster than I thought you would," Kakashi put in.
"Same here," added Kyote.
Naruto sighed. "I guess you are the reason we get to go to the next round," he said half-grudgingly. "So...very nicely done."
Sasuke grinned slightly. "Thanks," he said quietly.
Only Shinzuko didn't compliment the black haired boy's success. He stood apart from the others, scowling darkly. Kyote noticed this and came over to his brother. And he did it cautiously. His twin had a temper to be reckoned with.
"What's wrong with you?" he asked, hiding the fact that he was angry.
Shinzuko was watching Naruto with the eyes of a hawk. "Since when, dear brother, did you make 'exceptions' for those who have killed members of our family?" he hissed mockingly. "It's almost as if you have a crush on him."
Kyote winced. First Lord Hokage and now Shinzuko. "At least I have gotten over Father's death," he muttered before running to join the others on their way to the Ichiraku Noodle Bar.
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Soooooo...what'dja think?!?!? R/R and let me know!!!
~KR