"It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog."

-Mark Twain

Chapter 4

Rising Thunder

Standing above the rooftop of Furinkan High was a lone figure, dressed in a formal blue kimono with a black hakama to match, and wielding a wooden blade, a bokken.

"In the world of today, society is depraved and twisted, full of vile knaves and wicked schemers who plot every day to unleash their schemes upon helpless maidens. Who hunger for the flesh of young, nubile girls and who weave a vile web of treachery to ensnare them.

"And in this world, there is one lone defender, a champion of virtue, one final knight who hearkens back to the days of olden yore. Who stands for what is good and right, who, with his mighty blade stands between the innocent maidens and the twisted villains who seek to take them.

"And that defender is I, Tatewaki "Blue Thunder" Kuno, age seventeen." The brown haired young man finished in a solemn tone, eyes closed. In the distance, a peal of thunder rumbled.

"How long was that Nabiki?" one girl asked, giggling as they peeked up at Kuno from the windowsill of the classroom.

Nabiki Tendo looked at her stopwatch. "Five minutes. Pay up people." She said, thrusting her hand out distractedly.

As people forked over their money, many complaints toward "Blue Thunder" were heard.

"Jeez, do you think his ego grows with time?"

"You mean like a fungus?"

"Stands for what is good and right? He's more of a pervert than the rest of us!"

"How does he do that thunder trick, anyway?"

"Probably paid someone to do it for him."

Kuno scowled. "Insolent knaves."

---

It was an unusual companionship, but one that perhaps, just maybe, she needed.

Gaara wasn't quite sure why he was continuing to listen to every word of her stories, nor was he certain of why he needed this information, these memoirs of what a friendship was, and might still be.

Sakura didn't understand why Gaara was paying so much attention to these random anecdotes about Naruto and Sasuke, but she found that it was therapeutic, and, as the conversation went on, her apprehension of the redheaded Sand ninja was fading away (but some part, she suspected, would always remain).

And as she remembered all the times that Naruto and Sasuke revealed their strength, showed their resilience, she began to grow more and more aware of the rift between their power and hers.

Sasuke's comment that she wasn't even as good as Naruto. Her inability to do more than beg him to stay.

Naruto's promise of a lifetime. The way she stood there and just let him take care of things, just like he always did.

They were strong... both of them.

She wanted to be strong too.

And so, she did the only thing she could do.

Gaara walked with her the whole way, still listening to her anecdotes, often posing a question every now and then. He noticed where they were going, but said nothing, and only made a reaction when he nodded, having deigned to stand outside and let her go in alone.

No one questioned her presence, or perhaps they were simply too busy, handling the recovery of the Hidden Leaf with all speed.

Sakura reached the door.

She paused, hand hovering just above the doorknob.

And breathed in.

And opened the door.

The Godaime Hokage looked up at her from the cluttered desk, seemingly unsurprised.

She breathed out.

"I want to become your apprentice."

Tsunade smiled gently, and folded her hands together. "I thought you might."

---

"Geez Akane, ya didn't havta hit me so hard, y'know." Ranma grumbled, rubbing the back of his head in annoyance as he ran along the fence.

"Oh, shut up. We're already late because you had to go chasing after Happosai." Akane shot back, rolling her eyes irritably as she ran alongside him, on the ground. "You should know better than that by now."

"Stupid, uncute maniac," the pig tailed boy muttered under his breath. Akane made a low growl and swung out at him with her bookbag.

Ranma jumped off the fence, sticking out his tongue in response, and landed in the courtyard of the high school. "Missed me, Akane," he began-

"RANMA SAOTOME! PREPARE TO DIE!"

"Aw, man." Ranma complained, forced to perform an acrobatic back flip to avoid a powerful downward slash, landing with easy, practiced grace atop the school gates. "What the Hell do you want now, Kuno?" he asked irritably, rubbing the back of his head.

Tatewaki Kuno raised his wooden blade, eyes narrowed and wrists tensed. "Vile sorceror! Stand your ground and fight!" he roared, swinging the blade down once again, smashing the wall and demolishing the section that Ranma had been standing on.

"Alright, that's it! I'm already late damnit, so get the Hell out of my way!" Ranma snapped, and suddenly Kuno was soaring through the air and into a low orbit via uppercut.

"Oh honestly... is there ever a day when you don't have a fight?" Akane asked rhetorically, already standing at the entrance to the school, tapping her foot impatiently.

"It ain't my fault every jerk in the world has a bone to pick with me." Ranma replied, crossing his arms testily.

---

Not too far away, a young man sneezed.

"Jeez... I hope I'm not coming down with anything." He muttered, rubbing the bridge of his nose with his finger.

An old man and his horse driven cart rolled by. The boy sighed, knowing it was that time again.

"Excuse me... where is Furinkan High School?"

---

Naruto groaned, slapping his forehead, completely at a loss.

"WHERE AM I!" he shouted into the skies.

The skies answered with a body crashing with a resounding, authoritative thud into the pavement in front of him.

Naruto blinked.

The crater groaned. "Curse you... Ranma Saotome..." A hand popped out of the crater, gripping a wooden sword tightly.

"Holy crap! It's alive!" Naruto shouted, pointing and staring openly at the brown haired young man who was pulling himself free from the crater.

"I am not an 'it'!" the sword wielding older boy yelled loudly, waving his weapon about. "I am Tatewaki Kuno, age seventeen." A confident, sophisticated smirk crossed his face. "However..." he paused, building the dramatic tension.

Naruto felt a small uncomfortable feeling building in his gut.

"You may have heard of me by another name, for I am the rising young star of the Kendo world, the young man who strikes fear into the hearts of his enemies, the man known as the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High!"

In the distance, thunder rolled and rumbled, filling the soundless void.

Naruto blinked again.

I don't believe it. I found someone worse than Fuzzy Eyebrows and Super Fuzzy Eyebrows.

---

TenTen sighed, uncrossing her legs and placing her hands on her knees. She was currently watching over Neji, feeling that it was part of team spirit for her to keep company to her gravely injured friend.

Besides, if she didn't, Gai-sensei would find her and force her to do it.

She knew for a fact, since he had convinced Neji to visit Lee in the hospital before.

Needless to say, Neji most certainly was more than a little dangerous during training- one of the reasons why she had suddenly fallen ill for a week after that incident.

"Is he okay?" Rock Lee's voice was lacking its normally exuberant tone, possessing a somber, downcast tone that TenTen found she didn't like. The black bowl cut and green jumpsuit wearing, thick eyebrowed boy was looking rather serious as his big black eyes stared down toward the sleeping Neji.

"He's resting right now." The bun headed girl said quietly. "He got hurt really bad, but they were able to heal him before anything serious happened. He should be waking up anytime soon..."

Lee frowned. "I wish I had found him earlier. I might have been able to help..." he said, a trace of bitter wistfulness in his tone.

"Is something wrong, Lee?" TenTen asked, turning toward her bowl cut brandishing teammate with a careful, studying look. "You seem... sad."

There was terse, quiet pause.

"Naruto and Sasuke never came back." Lee said quietly, and his fist clenched tightly. "I wasn't able to help them... not really."

"But didn't you beat one of those Sound ninja?" TenTen asked, her knowledge of the battle sketchy, considering it was all second hand information, passed through to her by gossip.

Lee shook his head. "No. I couldn't use the Lotus and fight at full strength in my condition... Gaara of the Desert saved me." His voice held no resentment, only respect for the redheaded boy who nearly destroyed his ninja career.

"Gaara?" TenTen blinked, and gaped. "You mean... that guy? But he... he..."

"He hurt me. I know, TenTen." Lee said softly, leaning against the wall. "But he's changed since then."

"I bet Naruto had something to do with it." A shaky, rasping voice said.

"Neji!" TenTen and Lee said in unison, looking toward their now conscious teammate.

The dark haired, white eyed boy struggled to sit up, pushing the pillows up until he was sitting upright. Neither of his teammates moved to help him- not out of apathy, but out of the knowledge that Neji Hyuuga would never allow them to help him do something so simple.

"Naruto... he changes people." Neji continued quietly, nodding in thanks as TenTen offered him a glass of water. After he swallowed half the glass, he spoke again. "There's something that just makes you want to..."

"Believe in him." Lee finished, nodding and smiling slightly as he pushed off against the wall. "He's quite the guy."

They fell silent after that. Each of them allowing themselves a small moment of reflection, quiet, and consideration of the future in contemplative silence.

And then Gai came in.

"Neji! I hope the fires of your youth have not fallen to ash!"

"Gai-sensei!" Lee's spirits quite literally bounced back up to their normal, absurd heights within moments. "Neji has recovered!"

"Excellent work Lee!" Lee's idol and almost exact clone (except for the age difference and the vest) gave the "Nice Guy Pose", his teeth shining brightly.

TenTen idly looked away, used to the "Nice Guy Pose" at this point.

Neji, on the other hand, cursed his incredible Byakugan vision, and fell back onto the bed, feeling the burning in his retinas. He loathed the "Nice Guy Pose".

"I am proud of all my students! You have all survived your ordeals with the power of youth!" Gai shouted, smiling brightly and cheerily at all his students.

TenTen blinked. "I had an ordeal?" she said blankly, but her bowl cut wearing teacher was already too far gone.

"Gai-sensei! Perhaps we should bring Neji some gifts, to speed the recovery of his youth!" Lee shouted, pumping his hand into the air energetically.

"An excellent idea Lee! What a great teammate you are!" Gai applauded, and the two of them shined their teeth, reflecting the light off of the other's teeth like mirrors.

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

The usual manly sobs and hugging broke out, filling the hospital room with the sounds of Lee and Gai's sounds. TenTen was very, very glad no one was around to see it. She absolutely hated being around when Lee and Gai were bonding.

The stares people gave her made her rather uncomfortable.

Neji looked over at TenTen with an impassive stare. "TenTen?"

The bun haired girl looked at him curiously. "What is it Neji?"

"Get me some more anesthetic. Please."

---

Sasuke opened his eyes, and, without even thinking, looked over to Naruto's bed, which looked like the blonde boy had left in a hurry.

"Where'd that idiot run off to?" the Uchiha prodigy muttered, rolling his eyes as he reached for the water which was beside the meal that someone had placed next to his bedside. As he drank, he gave a slow considering of everything.

He was stuck in some weird place with even weirder people, if Spatula Girl was any indication.

Worse, he was stuck in some weird place with Naruto of all people.

It was bad enough Itachi had killed the clan off. It was worse that he had been alone, with no friends but plenty of people who were just trying to hang around with the "Uchiha genius" or girls trying to date with him.

But being stuck in a place with cross-dressing girls with giant spatulas with Naruto was truly Hell.

And what truly topped it off... he had no idea how to get back.

Back to Kono- no, back to the Hidden Sound. To Orochimaru, and to Power.

Back to his quest for vengeance.

But until he could figure out how exactly he came here, Sasuke understood that going to Orochimaru and killing his brother would have to wait.

Deciding that to dwell on the cruelties of fate any further was pointless angst, Sasuke checked over himself. His left arm still felt pained and stiff, and, with a slight grimace, Sasuke realized that, while having avoided complete chakra exhaustion, he had probably damaged his arm badly.

His body was recovering, and thankfully, the degradation he'd been warned about when using the curse seal Orochimaru placed upon him wasn't taking place.

On the other hand, Naruto was already up and about. In fact...

Now that Sasuke had to reflect upon it, Naruto hadn't ever been injured for very long. Wounds, injuries, they all seemed to be forgotten with rapid speed.

Frowning, Sasuke decided that the matter would have to be investigated... later.

Right now... his bowels were calling him to another quest, toward the bathroom.

---

"Kabuto... where is Sasuke?" the Master of the Hidden Sound and member of the Legendary Sannin did not sound pleased. His face and body were covered in white bandages tightly wrapped, so only a single golden eye was visible as he sat upon his throne, fist supporting his chin.

The small candlelight was dim and wavering in the darkness, but neither occupant of the throne room of the Hidden Sound was uncomfortable in the shadows.

"Orochimaru-sama... forgive me, but we have lost track of him." The silver haired, bespectacled medic ninja replied respectfully, bowing his head deeply. He had little fear of Orochimaru killing him- of all the Hidden Sound, he was perhaps its most valuable member, besides the soon to arrive (hopefully, anyway) Sasuke Uchiha.

Still, Orochimaru was known for inflicting terrible agony upon those who failed him.

"Is it possible that the Hidden Leaf has managed to hide him from us?" Orochimaru wondered out loud.

"Maybe... or perhaps Sasuke merely got lost. We've received reports that there was a massive explosion of chakra in the Valley of the End. Perhaps he has been injured and is currently unable to join up with us." Kabuto replied, keeping his head low.

"I suppose it does not matter at the moment." Orochimaru mused softly, lazily. "However, I want you to continue searching." A dark, malicious hunger flared behind that single golden orb.

Though Kabuto could not see it, even he shivered slightly before the Snake Sannin.

"Sasuke will be mine."

---

Kuno smirked, running his free hand through his hair with a confident, arrogant laugh. "I suppose you are awed by my presence. Rest assured, young lad, that I-"

"Do you ever shut up!" Naruto shouted, pointing and staring at the sword wielder with irritation practically visible on his person. "I mean jeez! You're so annoying!"

"Insolent whelp!" Kuno roared furiously, narrowing his eyes. "How dare you speak to your betters in that manner!"

"Do you want to fight!" Naruto roared back, fists tensing up and eyes narrowing with unrestrained fury.

Kuno made a small snort, rolling his eyes. "As if I, Tatewaki Kuno, would ever lower myself to fighting with mere children."

"Are you afraid or something?" the blonde shouted, trying to goad the sword wielding older boy into a fight.

This time, Kuno made a louder snort. "I? Tataweaki Kuno, the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High, afraid of a mere boy?" he made a low, derisive laugh. "Do not jest so, for it is in delusion only."

Naruto's eyebrow twitched. "GOD! You're so annoying!" Naruto roared, and charged, no longer caring about anything other than silencing the older boy's boasts.

Kuno sighed in fake regret, falling into a battle stance with a confident smirk. "Very well then. I tried to be merciful."

A second later, he was eating a fistful of... fist.

Naruto grinned. "Finally." He said happily, just glad that the annoying sounds coming out of "Blue Thunder"'s mouth had finally ceased.

Kuno fell backwards, holding his mouth and wincing. "You... you..." his whole frame was shaking with rage, his eyebrow twitched, and the hand holding the wooden blade tightening until the knuckles were white. "You dare to strike at me, heir to the noble house of Kuno? Very well then, have at you, knave!"

With a roar, he rushed forward, and came down hard with his sword. Naruto barely had time to react, and tried to sidestep the blow, but ended up taking a hard hit to the shoulder with a vicious crack.

His body immediately flared up with a protest in the form of more pain than the blow should have made.

Damn... guess I haven't healed all the way yet. Naruto was worried. He had never had trouble feeling better after a fight, and usually recovered within a few hours. Even fights like the one against Neji Hyuuga hadn't hurt him this badly.

Or maybe... maybe it was using that extra power from the Kyubi that was slowing the healing down.

"Have you had enough yet, insolent whelp?" Kuno asked arrogantly, smiling and pointing his blade at Naruto's throat.

No way am I losing to this guy! Naruto thought furiously, eyes narrowing into slits as he ducked the blade and lunged forward, slamming his fist with all his might into Kuno's stomach.

The Blue Thunder of Furinkan High wheezed and staggered backward from the vicious haymaker, not expecting the retaliatory blow.

"Have you had enough yet, you loudmouthed asshole?" Naruto asked mockingly.

If there's one thing about Tatewaki Kuno that made it very easy and very hard for Ranma to beat him, it was his infamous short temper.

"You... DIE!" Kuno roared, and utilized one of his few special techniques- a rapid fire set of jabs so powerful that the air pressure alone can crack stone.

Naruto wasn't aware of the power, nor of the speed of the technique, and so it came as a surprise when all of a sudden he felt a fast series of blows that connected solidly with his torso.

In a moment, the breath was driven solidly from his lungs and he was fairly sure there was a small bit of blood rising into his throat. That's going to hurt in the morning-

With a final shout, Kuno swung out in a mighty sweeping motion that struck Naruto's collarbone solidly with a loud crack.

Naruto let out a loud groan of agony, and the blood that had built up in his mouth was flying through the air. He staggered backwards, feeling a small trickle of his blood slipping down his lips as he clutched his chest in pain.

"Now you have experienced the vengeance of heaven. Surrender. I am not an unreasonable man." Kuno said boldly, smirking with a superior look on his face.

"I'm not beaten yet!" Naruto roared in response, and his hands flew together in a series of movements that Kuno's eyes couldn't track.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Kuno gasped, and took a step backwards. "What vile sorcery is this, whelp?" he demanded, staring at the crowd of blondes with apprehension.

The Naruto army, which numbered probably two score and a half, all roared in unison, "SHUT UP!"

They charged, steps and indistinct shouts ringing throughout the street.

Kuno tensed, and swung out in another sweeping blow, taking out two Naruto clones in a single movement. Confidence returning, he swung down, sending a crashing blow into another clone.

"Ha! Mere sorcery cannot defeat the Blue Thunder of Furinkan-" Kuno's boast was cut off as one Naruto delivered a powerful right cross to his jaw.

"FOR THE LAST GODDAMN TIME, SHUT UP!" the blonde roared as Kuno went flying backwards, doing a small twirl in midair so that he was now facing downwards.

"You have not bested me yet, whelp!" Kuno managed, spitting out a bit of blood as he continued in his backwards movement.

Naruto merely grinned.

It was then that Kuno realized that three more Naruto's, coming from three different directions, were sliding toward and under him.

"U!" the Naruto who struck Kuno roared.

"Zu!" a second shouted.

"Ma!" a third chorused.

"Ki!" a fourth answered.

Kuno suddenly felt three kicks connect simultaneously and solidly with his abdomen and he let out a loud groan, rising into the air, helpless. He felt his blade slip from his nerveless fingers, and clatter to the floor, which was steadily moving farther and farther away from him.

Above, a fifth Naruto was already high in the air, reaching to the point where his apex would be just above Kuno's.

The blonde's leg was raised up high, and, the moment that the Blue Thunder was within range, the leg came down with a vicious axe kick to Kuno's back.

"Naruto Rendan!"

With a thunderous crash, Kuno met the pavement once again, this time, for an extended period as he groaned, twitching on the cracked ground he was lying against.

Naruto grinned, and then winced as he felt his collarbone suddenly screaming out in pain. The clones dissipated in puffs of smoke as he began to walk away, holding the base of his neck and making a few grimaces every now and then.

"And I'm still lost..." Naruto complained tiredly, as he continued to walk. "Stupid jerk..."


Author's Notes

Techniques

Kuno's Technique- Unnamed since Kuno doesn't really have a name for it. A simple series of rapid jabs whose air pressure can break stone.

Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Technique)- Forbidden ninjutsu that only the highest ranked ninja are supposed to know. The chakra and strength of the user is distributed equally among the number of clones, and each and every one of them has a real, physical body, making it impossible to tell which is the original. Each clone can only take a single hit before disappearing, however. Also, this technique is dangerous because of the division, and because of the great amount of chakra necessary to make it properly effective.

Uzumaki Naruto Rendan (Uzumaki Naruto Combo)- Naruto's first personalized taijutsu technique, utilizing the cloning ability of his Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. One Naruto delivers a right cross, sending the opponent backwards. After that, three Naruto's slide under the opponent and kick the opponent into the air. The finishing blow comes from a fifth Naruto coming down on the airborne enemy with an axe kick, sending them crashing to the ground.

Writing a quiet, contemplative Lee... man, that was hard.

Now, Kuno, I believe, is pretty good, but gets distracted easily and is fairly predictable, making it easy for Ranma to beat him. Naruto isn't as fast or as strong as Ranma, nor was he prepared or had the means to distract Kuno, so naturally Kuno could do damage to him.

I haven't been able to write a lot of Sasuke scenes yet- but don't worry, he will get his turn in the sun soon enough.

I liked this chapter. It really got the feel of what I wanted out of the story- humor, without sacrificing action or drama.