Chapter 4
Hours later, all the genin went to sleep. Some, like Setsuko, slept with their eyes open, to make sure no one would try to kill him. Others, like Daisuke, just fell fast asleep, not caring what happens next. Jonin sat quietly outside of each room, with their ears pressed against the doors. Anko, Ibiki, and the Hokage all slept in one giant suite. Anko lay curled up, with an arm hanging off the bed. Ibiki snored loudly, drooling all over his pillow. The Hokage slept straight and peacefully, until he heard a noise that woke him up.
"Who's there?" he asked the darkness. He reached over and lit a candle and continued to look around. "Nothing." He said after a while. As he lay back down, he saw a man standing on the ceiling. The Hokage jumped out of his bed and shook Ibiki, but he didn't get up. "Who are you?" The Hokage demanded. The man jumped down and grabbed the Hokage by the arm.
"My name is Kashime Korosuke." He answered quietly. His face has shadowed by the light behind him, but his arm that he grabbed the Hokage with was misshapen. The Hokage was about to yell out for everyone to wake up, but Korosuke shot his other arm out at his mouth. The arm extended to cover the old man's face and the fingers wrapped around it. Then his hands began to glow and the Hokage choked out foam. "How does it feel to have all your organs changed to soap?" Korosuke asked, dropping the Hokage to the floor. Then he shifted to Anko and Ibiki. He grinned and knocked the candle over with his extended arm.
"Good morning, Saratobi!" Daisuke cried in her ear. She moaned and rolled over in the little bed she had. Their room was one of the worst, and the beds were terrible. They were thin, hard, and small, but Hayate had taken a liking to them.
"Go away, Daisuke." Saratobi replied, looking at a loud clock on the wall. Daisuke shook her violently until she fell off. "What the heck, Daisuke? What do you want?" she asked, annoyed. Just then Hayate rolled over, frightening them. He started snoring again, so they continued.
"I just wanted to see if you'd train with me," Daisuke said, flipping his hair.
"Why don't you ask Korosu?"
Daisuke shrugged, "I don't know where he is. I haven't seen anyone up yet. I must be the first one." He said.
"I'm impressed," Saratobi whispered, "but maybe that's because it's five o'clock in the morning!" Daisuke rubbed his chin.
"I'm impressed too." He said. Then Hayate quickly sat up. Daisuke and Saratobi froze in fear and stared at him. Hayate slowly turned his head to look at them, his yellow eyes wide open. Then there was a slight pause.
"Breakfast." He muttered quietly.
"Um…excuse me?" Saratobi asked, afraid.
"Breakfast." Hayate repeated at the same tone.
"Speak up." Daisuke said, without moving.
"I NEED BREAKFAST!" Hayate shouted, diving for Saratobi. Daisuke shot up and kicked him in the ribs before he got her. Hayate rolled around on the floor and whipped his head to Daisuke. He growled and got up. Then he walked out of the room and left the door open. Saratobi sat quietly on the floor.
"That was…weird…"
Ryu stood paralyzed in the middle of the towers central room. "Ryu!" Hayate called, slouching over. The Sand dragon, as he was called back home, still stood firm.
"Hayate," he whispered, "the Hokage, the leader of the village hidden in the leaves, is dead." Hayate cracked his neck.
"So? That will make it easier for the village hidden in the sand to strike, like we were planning to do anyway." He said. Ryu turned to face him, his beady eyes focusing on something of his own.
"You don't understand. All the jonin are gone, including Bashike sensei. And we are all in grave danger." Hayate inhaled deeply.
"I hate when this happens. I'll tell Hitomi to gather everyone here." Then he telepathically spoke with her.
Soon, everyone surrounded Ryu, wondering what's come of their senseis. "Attention!" Ryu called, pulling his mask down to annunciate better, "Last night, the Hokage was assassinated. By whom, I don not know, but know this! We were all left unharmed! This is an act of destiny! We are all meant to team together and vanquish this threat!"
Gaku scoffed, and stepped forward, "Don't tell me you believe in all that 'destiny' crap. If you ask me, we should get outta here before we go down, too." Some people agreed, but Hayate punched him across the face.
"Shut up. Ryu can see into the future! If you don't believe me, then whatever, but when you recall his battle: how did he predict the moves of a shadow clone? He didn't! He read the mind of the real Kiyuta, who was nearby!" he shouted. Korosu nodded.
"His partner Hitomi also spoke of your psychic prowess." He said. Hayate glared at Hitomi with fire in his eyes. Her jaw opened as if to say something, but instead she just fell to her knees and started crying.
Zawato folded his arms, "So what do you want us to do, Mr. Future Destiny?" Ryu closed his eyes and thought.
"Set out in your newly assigned groups. This mustn't be done alone, nor with the ones you know and love." Then he turned around. Oiyoba flew up and pointed out the door.
"You heard him! Get out into that forest! Ten- hut!"
Saratobi followed Daisuke and Hayate as they leaped through the trees. She was in deep thought, and had a question for Hayate. Of course she was too afraid to ask. But when the two boys stopped jumping to gain their bearings, she gathered the courage. "Hayate…" she said quietly.
"What?" he snapped back without looking at her.
"I want to ask you something…" she inhaled deeply and stood up on the thick branch, determined. "I want to know about your past!" Daisuke frowned.
'Why doesn't she care about my past?' he thought. Hayate sighed and sat down.
"Do you really want to know? It's a dark story, but I'm not afraid to talk about it." Saratobi nodded and sat down in relief. "Okay. Here's how it began…
"I was born in the village hidden in the sand, as I'm sure you knew. As a kid, I was normal, pulling pranks and cussing until my mouth was full of soap. But my parents loved me, and I loved them. But one day, a clan of shinobi stormed the village. They ran around spreading insects everywhere, which fed on the chakra of others. My parents locked my brother and themselves in a room with me. They told me that these beetles won't go unless they can sense no more chakra. So we were trapped for days without supplies. Since the first day of our entrapment, my parents had been grinding my teeth with a rat's bone while I was sleeping. When I finally asked them why on the third day, the said that only I can continue the family. My brother was too young to go out on his own, and my parents had grown old. They told me…I had to eat them. I didn't want to at first until my dad shoved his fingers in my mouth. He forced me to bite them off with my sharp fangs. So…after a few hours, I devoured my entire family, on their willing. For another day, I continued to sharpen my teeth and develop a keen hearing for the beetles outside. They hadn't died down yet, so I grabbed the bones of my mother and father and burst out into the horde of insects. Then someone called them back and a saw a tall ninja with sunglasses and a coat up to his nose. He beat me with my families' bones and gave me all these scars. Then something clicked. He stepped back to ready for another beating, but he saw me lick up all my blood and was disgusted. That gave me the chance to kill him. He escaped however, and I followed him outside. The sun was so bright, though, that I fell over and passed out, sick from blood. That's why my pupils are sharp, as well, from that damn sun and all. The next three years were the worst. I was always sick from training while being a cannibal. Villagers hated me, and I was temporarily exiled. Then, two years later, I came back. The village leader was new, and he didn't recognize me. He asked for my name, but joked and said, 'what is it? Sharp eyes, sharp teeth, sharp reflexes…is it wolf?' I grinned and told him it was Hayate."
"That's terrible," Saratobi muttered, scootching away from him.
"Yeah, well now you know." Daisuke raised an eyebrow.
"Okay, but why'd you become a ninja? Revenge?" Hayate nodded. "How generic." Daisuke continued. Hayate stood up and tightened his fist.
"I'll kill the Aburame clan! If it means my life!" he shouted to the trees.
Then Daisuke shot up in surprise, "Did you say the Aburame? That's a hidden leaf village clan!"
Hayate shrugged, "So," he said, jumping to the next tree, "I'll just have to kill anyone who gets in my way."
Korosu looked around the corner quietly. His new group had been the only one to remain inside to tower. He had split the team up to cover more ground. Then he opened a door and stepped in. The Hokage lay on the floor with foam all over him. Korosu examined the old man suspiciously. Then he pulled out a kunai knife.
"I have a bad feeling about this…" he whispered. He used the kunai to tear open the Hokage's chest. All of his inner organs had been replaced with the same foam coming out of his mouth. Korosu jumped up and ran out the door. "I knew it!" he yelled, trying to attract the attention of his new partners. "It's a Kashime! It was Henshin!"
Ryu continued sitting on top of the tower, thinking. Then Kiyuta jumped up and folded his arms. "We're not doing anything, so how about we finish our battle now?" he asked. Ryu sat quietly, eyes still closed. Kiyuta grew quiet also. He sat down across from Ryu and waited patiently. Then suddenly, Ryu looked up at Kiyuta.
"I'm not going to fight now. I am, however, wondering if this is worth it. Perhaps we should all just get up and leave?" he said. Kiyuta shook his head.
"No, Ryu. Think about it: what would happen if we didn't stop whoever did this? How would anyone become Chunin?"
Ryu pondered and nodded, "Yes, I suppose you are right. But I still won't fight you after this…I know you've been trying to get on my good side so I'll agree to a battle. I can read minds, remember." Kiyuta got up and jumped off the tower, frustrated. Ryu leaned over the structure's edge and called down to the Waterfall boy, "I'm going to challenge the Kashime brothers first!" Then he sat back down in the middle of the tower. 'I know how this will end. I mustn't let anyone get hurt…'
"See that, kid?" Oiyoba asked, pointing down at a strange figure. "What is that? Is that a person?"
Isshinta squinted and looked down at it, "Um…It looks like a person. Who could it be?" Oiyoba spread his wings and flew down and found the figure to be a wooden cross. He smiled and began laughing. "What's so funny?" Isshinta asked, climbing down the tree they were on.
"I got me a great idea." Oiyoba replied, rubbing his hands together. He made a bird noise and waited.
"Oiyoba, Setsuko said not to call him unless you found something…" Isshinta pointed out shyly. Then out of the shadows of the forest, Setsuko came running.
"What is it?" he asked, cautiously. Then Oiyoba grabbed him and tied him to the cross. He grabbed Isshinta and started running away.
"The penalties of looking like a scarecrow, my friend! See ya!" he called back. Setsuko frowned and used replacement jutsu to switch places with one of the birds flying towards him. "Expect to have your wings clipped, fool…" he said under his breath.
Oiyoba finally stopped running and laughed. "That wasn't nice, Oiyoba." Isshinta muttered.
"What was that, punk?" Oiyoba asked, starring in Isshinta's eyes. Isshinta's lower lip started shaking and he curled up on the spot, in fear. "Geez, kid. I was just messing with you, you don't gotta be all afraid. It's just so boring now. I wish the fights could've just continued so I could go home." Then the wind shot through the trees, causing his bare arms to shiver, "By the way, give me your coat, before I hurt you." Isshinta slowly got up and removed his coat and handed it to Oiyoba. "Like a dog! You, my shy friend, are just like a quiet little puppy dog. You'll obey me and you won't complain!" Oiyoba cried happily. Then Isshinta shivered.
"What's wind like this doing in a forest?" he asked. Then the wind stopped and a man appeared before them. He lashed his disfigured arm at Oiyoba, setting off his bombs. The explosion caused the man, Korosuke, to pull his arm back, but Oiyoba was knocked out by his own explosion. Isshinta scrambled back in fear against a tree.
'In Oiyoba's fight, he could survive his explosions! Maybe my coat prevented him from executing a technique that nulls the damage!' he thought. Korosuke shook his hand wildly in the air.
"Ow! That explosion!" he shouted. Isshinta took advantage of the opportunity and tried to run away, but Korosuke grabbed him by the back of his shirt. Isshinta still tried to run, and it caused his shirt to rip off, revealing a giant tattoo that covered his entire torso.
"Sausuke clan. 'Shinkan Okage: Silent King of Shadows…" Korosuke muttered, "I am right? Of course I am. I'm right." Isshinta tried to run again, but Korosuke grabbed him by the head and pounded him on the ground. Isshinta lay on the ground, fearing for his life. Korosuke approached him, his hideous arm moving viciously. Isshinta covered his eyes and screamed.
"Shinkan Okage!" His tattoo shot out and enveloped Korosuke in shadow. Then Korosuke found himself floating in a black emptiness. Isshinta flew at him and delivered a punch to Korosuke's face that caused him to jet out of the shadow. He found himself back in the forest with Isshinta and Oiyoba gone.
Daisuke, Hayate, and Saratobi all jumped down in front of Isshinta, catching him by surprise. "What happened? We heard an explosion!" Daisuke cried, confused. Hayate studied Oiyoba, who was still knocked out. "Isshinta! Tell us what happened!" Daisuke yelled, but Isshinta did nothing. Saratobi stepped forward and grabbed Isshinta's hands.
"Please, Isshinta. Tell us what happened." She pleaded.
"…There's a man with a big, deformed arm. He disguised himself from Oiyoba and I as the wind…" he sputtered.
"Disguised as the wind?" Saratobi repeated, "Daisuke, is that possible?"
Daisuke shrugged, "I've only heard of shinobi becoming wind back when I was a child. My entire clan but Korosu and I could become wind."
Ryu stood up on the tower. "They found out. Now's the time to summon them all back…" he said. Then he sent out psychic messages to Hayate and Hitomi, telling them to tell everyone that it was time to regroup at the tower. Kiyuta jumped back up with Fey.
"What's wrong, Mr. Ryu?" Fey asked. Ryu looked down at the two.
"Prepare for battle."
Soon everyone returned to the tower. Korosu told Daisuke that he knew the intruder was of the Kashime clan, confirming Daisuke's suspicions. Ryu stood on a stump, looking over everybody.
"So, after reading the minds of all of you, we know the assassin is of the Kashime clan," Ryu announced, "So you must watch out for the Henshin transformation ability." The genin all stepped away the Kashime brothers, except Saratobi and Zawato's original cell.
"What! I don't know who it is either!" Daisuke yelled, annoyed.
"Calm down, Daisuke. If nobody else trusts you, then forget them," Saratobi whispered, "We'll believe you."
Gaku turned to Daisuke, "Look, I'll come along too. I'm still furious at you for making me wear this cast, though." He said. Then the genin walked away into the tower. Ryu stayed outside with Daisuke and co.
"You guys get to the top of the tower, and we'll fight off this guy. Then it'll be up to you," he said, "We're going to cheat destiny."
"Screw 'em, I say." Bo said in the silence of the waiting genin, "Why bust our butts on 'em if they could be working for this assassin? Y'all are crazy." Setsuko leaned against the wall under the stairwell.
"Taking chances is part of life. Get over it." He replied. Bo shook his head and went back to messing with his staff. Sasuma and Satsuma sat together watching Hayate. He was yelling at Hitomi, although, being on the other side of the room, they couldn't hear him.
"I told you not to tell anyone! There's an exception for when I did it, but you just opened your dumb mouth and said, 'hey, I'm Hitomi! The stupidest whore this side of the village hidden in the crap!'" he yelled. She kept looking away, in fear. Ryu was near, but did nothing except watch. "I told you about the consequences, didn't I? Say goodbye to your hand." Then he reached for it, but Ryu stopped him.
"No, Hayate. Take mine in her stead." He whispered. Hayate growled and got up in Hitomi's face.
"Lucky you. I'm really hungry, so his hand will do better in my stomach. You should thank him." Hitomi began bawling as Hayate grabbed Ryu's hand and pulled out a kunai knife. All the other genin gathered around and watched, horrified as Hayate brought the kunai down and cut Ryu's hand, but it didn't go all the way through. Ryu screamed and shot flames out of his mouth uncontrollably. It burnt his mask off and blood flowed from his wrist. "Dammit!" Hayate cried, ripping the kunai out. He cut again and almost missed, but got Ryu's hand off. Ryu became silent as he gasped for breath.
"Hayate…" he whispered, "That was a rigid-edge kunai." Hayate looked around at the unhappy crowd and stormed off past the sobbing Hitomi to join the Kashime brothers upstairs.
"Think, Korosu, did anyone survive besides mom and dad?" Daisuke asked, pacing the suite that Hitomi, Fuu, and Satsuma slept in.
"You mean excluding…her?" Korosu added, cautiously.
"Of course. I told you, until I see her alive, she's dead to me." Daisuke replied pointing at his brother.
"Who are you talking about?" Saratobi wondered aloud.
"Uh…just a girl. She's nothing, really. Don't worry." Daisuke said, waving his hands. Saratobi got up and pinned him to a wall.
"Tell me or face the dire consequences." She commanded. Korosu nodded.
"Okay," Daisuke sighed, "The infamous Kashime brothers actually have an older sister. Her name was Muchu. She was beautiful, but she never learned her lesson."
Korosu stood up and continued for his brother, "The people of the Kashime clan are named after they reach the age of ten, so they can have a fitting name. Mine, for example means 'to kill' because I had killed before I reached ten. Daisuke means 'great help' which he's not, but he once was. Muchu means 'rapture' or 'bliss.' She was always so happy and carefree. This was because she couldn't stay in touch with reality. But, none the less, she was the clan's top ninja. But when our clan slowly died off, she disappeared, so we assumed she was dead." Saratobi sighed.
"It seems everyone but me has a story to tell." She said. Then she glanced at Zawato. "What about you?" she asked.
He folded his arms and continued staring out the window, "I have nothing to say. My past was normal, Saratobi; you should remember. We hung out every day." Isshinta shifted in his seat, as if to gain attention. Daisuke slapped Isshinta in the back.
"What about the Sausuke clan member? Tell us about yourself!" he shouted. Isshinta breathed in heavily and poked his fingers together.
"Well…um…You see…I…And…uh…um…" he stuttered. Saratobi grabbed his hand.
"Calm down, Isshinta. You don't have to say anything." She whispered.
"Yes you do." Daisuke said. Then he was smacked, yet again, by Saratobi. Isshinta tightened his fists.
"I will tell." Then he stood up, "The Sausuke clan lives on the outskirts of the hidden leaf village. Everyone there is hardened by the rough way of life…except me…Most of the time, Sausuke people don't even become ninja. They just work. But because I was so afraid all the time of our own power, they sent me here. When we're kids, we're branded with a hot iron that the shape of this tattoo you see on me," he pointed to himself, "When I learned the true nature of this mark, I was afraid. Then I was sent here with specific instructions not to use its power. But I fear I already have." He looked down, relived that he got that off of his chest. Just then Hayate barged in.
"You done contemplating defeat yet?" he asked.
"We're not going to be defeated once we know what we're up against, you mental case!" Daisuke cried. Hayate grinned.
"Now, now. Let's not get violent in front of the kids." He said.
"What do you want, Hayate?" Gaku asked, facing him coolly.
"Just checking up on my favorite rookies." He replied, walking over to a bed and jumping down on it.
"If I'm not mistaken, this is your first year also." Korosu said, adjusting his glasses. Hayate shrugged.
"Whatever you say buddy." Then his eyes widened. He jumped of the bed and gasped.
"What now?" Daisuke asked, annoyed.
"He's here!" Hayate cried, running out.
"We'll kill him here, understand?" Ryu asked the line of genin. "After this, we'll go back to my village and continue the Chunin Exams. Until then, this is your test. I saw how this would turn out if I didn't tell you each my entire plan. You'd all die. But now that I told you, follow it and live to die another day." Then Hayate ran down, stumbling over the last set of stairs.
"Let's go!" he said, standing next to Ryu. The doors slowly opened and thousands of kunai came flying in. Ryu and Hayate, in the front line, blocked them all with flashy moves that would've been cooler if Ryu had both hands. Then Setsuko made a hand sign.
"Byakugan!" he cried. While everyone else felt the chakra of another ninja, Setsuko could see a hideous creature crawling on the ceiling. "He's there!" Setsuko shouted, pointing up. Oiyoba threw a bomb up and it hit the creature, sending him crashing down. It appeared visible to everyone as it tried to flip itself back over. Then Kiyuta ran around it so fast, it was stuck to the ground.
"I do so love vacuums." He said. Then it was a free-for-all on the creature.
Meanwhile, upstairs, Daisuke, Korosu, Saratobi, Zawato, Gaku, and Isshinta waited patiently. "I hear something…" Korosu said quietly. Then the door blew open and in stepped Korosuke. He lashed his arm out at Zawato, and then a growth on that arm grabbed Gaku.
"More of you than I thought, although this is not a problem…" Korosuke said, launching a giant mouth from his stomach at Saratobi. She shrieked and was eaten.
"No!" Daisuke yelled. Isshinta collapsed and began crying. Korosuke looked down at the boy.
"You're the Sausuke kid. From the Sausuke clan. You have inflicted pain on me." He said, causing an arm to reach out of his back. It slowly stretched out for Isshinta. Right before it grabbed him, Korosu stabbed it with a needle. The arm twitched and turned black.
"What happened to you?" Korosu asked. Korosuke's jaw opened unnaturally wide and fired needles at Korosu, witch were deflected by Daisuke's swords. Daisuke jumped at Korosuke and stabbed him. Then he jumped back and shot his hidden kunai on a chain from his sleeve. It pierced Korosuke's chest. Daisuke followed up his combo with the poison sack and katars. He threw both katars and the sack at Korosuke's face and pulled on the chain. Korosuke flew up and out the window. Before he hit the ground, Daisuke used the string and chain together to pull him back up and toss a bomb in his mouth. Then Korosuke's head exploded. He hung ten feet above the ground. Isshinta got up and looked out the window.
"We gotta get Saratobi!" he cried, jumping out. Korosu followed, impressed by his brother's move. Daisuke stood there, holding the chain and string.
"Yeah, just leave me here." He said.
The crowd of genin flocked around Korosuke's corpse. "Ryu, I thought that creature we fought was the threat the Kashime brothers faced." Kiyuta said, confused.
"Yes, and in my original foresight we didn't fight it. The Kashime brothers were on the central floor with us. We didn't expect to be assaulted. Korosuke, as this disfigured fool is called, burst in and killed us all, because we weren't prepared." Ryu replied, "So I did what I never thought I'd do and opposed fate. Messing with fate alters your destiny." He put the one hand he had on Korosuke's side and chuckled, "He was so easy for the eldest Kashime." Then they all walked away. Everyone but Daisuke, Korosu, and Saratobi followed.
"Ryu was right. This was too easy," Daisuke said, "I wonder what happened to this guy?" Korosu adjusted his glasses as he stared at the bleeding cadaver hanging from a chain.
"Our elder once told us a man left here with intents of overusing Henshin. Maybe he performed it on himself?" he asked.
"That's so sad. No offense, but I'd hate to be from the Kashime clan." Saratobi said, removing slime from her hair in disgust. Daisuke shook his head and walked off. Korosu bowed and followed his brother. Korosuke floated back and forth from the chain in the sunset light. "It's almost dark," Saratobi said loud enough for the Kashime brothers to hear, "What are we gunna do now?"
The next day, the three got up and left the forest without saying anything. Ai met them at the Forest of Death's entrance. "Oh, hey, Ai. What's up?" Daisuke asked.
"Gensai left already." Ai replied cryptically.
"What do you mean! Gensai's still alive!" Saratobi shouted, shaking Ai by the collar.
"Yes, yes! Of course he's alive! We all are!" he cried.
Korosu removed some hair from in front of his eye and pushed up his glasses, "Then where'd everyone go?" Ai shoved his hands in his pockets and jerked his head behind him.
"To the Sand country. The Chunin Exams will finish in the village hidden in the sand." He said.
"Is everyone going?" Daisuke asked.
Ai nodded and walked off, "Let's go."
Meanwhile, back in the forest, Korosuke twitched. He cut the chain with a growth off his arm and landed.
"Mission complete, Miss. They're going to the Sand village, just like you said. Good call." He said.
A young woman walked out of the shadows, "Good job, Korosuke. That's why I made you…to do what I say." Korosuke blushed.
"Well, I do what I can. So now where? Where should we set off to?"