I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.
Reinforcements
Ryuu stepped into the third training ground, finding Kiba and his team waiting, Shino standing silently off to the side and Hinata pleading with Kiba not to fight Ryuu. Behind Ryuu, Fu followed in silence, fully supporting Ryuu, and Tayuya followed behind both, having given up trying to convince Ryuu not to protect her.
"You ready to lose Ryuu?" Kiba snarled.
"I'm going to do you a favor and make this quick and humiliating," Ryuu said, cracking his knuckles.
Kiba charged, slashing at Ryuu with his claws rapidly. Ryuu had healed the scratch Kiba had given him before, but they had left for scars, barely paler than the rest of his skin, making them practically invisible. The scars were on his left cheek, angled from the corner of his jaw up toward his eye but only reaching a couple inches.
Ryuu knocked a slash upward finally and slammed a punch into Kiba's gut, Kiba lifting off the ground nearly a foot, doubled over in the air. Then, Ryuu clasped his hands on his left, swinging them around and bashing Kiba away from himself. Kiba bounced once and flipped, landing on his hands and feet and snarling.
"As soon as I beat the shit out of you, I'm going to make that red-haired whore my bitch!" Kiba snarled. "And then I'm going to rip her guts out and feed them to her!"
"And yet you still haven't made it past me," Ryuu said.
Kiba growled and charged, streaking toward Ryuu only for Ryuu to appear in front of him, slamming a kick into his face as if his head were a soccer ball. Kiba flew backward, crashing into a tree and dropping, clutching at his shattered nose. Ryuu watched him in silence.
"That's enough, Kiba," Ryuu said. "It's over."
"Hardly!" Kiba snarled, readying himself again. "That bitch has to pay!"
He shot forward, Ryuu sighing. Then, Kiba shot past Ryuu, stabbing his claws at Tayuya. However, just before they hit her, Ryuu appeared in his path, Kiba's claws driving themselves into Ryuu's gut, Kiba freezing instantly. Ryuu pulled his arm away, healing his stomach, then picked Kiba up by the throat.
"Enough, Kiba," Ryuu said. "This is over. You're going to leave her alone. You're not going to fight me like this again. And if I do, I'll be letting Kurenai know you are going against her orders. Understood?"
Kiba growled before relaxing, nodding. Ryuu set him down and Kiba sighed, staring at his hand.
"I'm sorry," Kiba said. "I didn't mean to stab you."
"No, you meant to stab my teammate," Ryuu said. "Don't worry. I'm not holding a grudge."
Kiba nodded and turned to leave, hesitating. "Thanks for not ratting me out."
Then, he left the field, Shino following.
"Thank you Ryuu," Hinata said. "I'm sorry about the way he's acting."
Then, she hurried after her team, Ryuu sighed and rubbing the inside corners of his eyes.
"Why did you do that for me?" Tayuya asked.
"Because you're my friend," Ryuu said. "Kiba's being an asshole, but he'll get over himself soon enough. He just needs time."
"I hope so," Tayuya mumbled.
Ryuu turned to his two teammates and sighed. "Anyone else hungry?"
"Kiba made you work up an appetite?" Fu asked, raising an eyebrow.
Ryuu shrugged.
"Sure," Fu smiled. "I can eat."
"When can you not?" Ryuu snorted.
"I'll come too," Tayuya smiled.
Ryuu nodded and they all left the training ground, heading to Yakiniku Q's. Fu and Tayuya went to sit down as Ryuu stopped, spotting Shikamaru, who was staring at Tayuya, as was Choji. Ryuu sighed, walking over to them and stopping.
"So, I suppose you'd like an explanation," Ryuu said, both nodding once.
"What the hell is she doing in our village?" Shikamaru asked.
"She's on my team," Ryuu said. "I found her after your fight, half-dead and pinned. You had left her, so I assume you thought she was dead."
Shikamaru nodded.
"Well, I healed her enough to get her back to the village, then treated her injuries while working information out of her. What I found out is that she was never loyal to Orochimaru."
"Could have fooled me," Choji said.
"She served him, yes, but she wasn't loyal," Ryuu said. "She was afraid of him. Terrified. He used to torture and rape her almost daily. So when she had the opportunity to stop it by being his bodyguard, she took it. like anyone would. Then she was just too afraid to run away. If he ever caught her, she would be tortured to death."
"But why is she here?" Choji asked.
"Tsunade," Shikamaru said. "You asked Tsunade to give her a chance to join, right?"
"I did," Ryuu nodded. "She just had to show she wasn't a threat to us. And so far, she hasn't shown any sign of hostility toward us."
"Who else knows?" Shikamaru asked.
"Everyone from the team besides Neji," Ryuu said.
"I see," Shikamaru nodded. "Well, if Tsunade's accepted her, then there's really nothing we can do about it. What a drag."
"Kiba tried to kill her," Ryuu said. "I ended up fighting him twice to stop him."
"I'll talk to Kiba," Shikamaru said. "And I'll give Neji a heads up. Just be careful. I wouldn't trust her."
"I know," Ryuu said. "That's why she's on my team. In order to earn someone's trust, it has to be given first."
Shikamaru sighed and nodded. "Hey, by the way, did you hear? Apparently Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro are teaching Suna's new academy."
"Suna's got an academy?" Ryuu asked.
"They just started it recently, and they copied Konoha's format," Shikamaru said. "How a woman as mean as Temari ever became a sensei, I'll never know."
"Oh don't pretend you don't like Temari," Ryuu snorted. "I wonder how Gaara's doing."
"What do you mean?" Choji asked.
"I can't imagine many people in Suna would want to be his student," Ryuu said. "I hope he's not too offended."
"That's a good point," Shikamaru said. "I'm sure someone wanted to learn from the most dangerous guy on the planet. It is Suna after all."
Ryuu chuckled, nodding. "Well, anyway, I better go before Fu decides to eat my food for me."
"She probably would too," Shikamaru grinned. "See you later."
Ryuu nodded, walking to their table where Fu was cooking pork on the grill, Tayuya sitting across from her, leaving a seat beside her for Ryuu.
"How did they take it?" Tayuya asked.
"Well," Ryuu said. "They're skeptical, of course, but they're willing to give you a chance."
Tayuya nodded, smiling slightly.
"Now, what are we going to train today?" Ryuu asked. "Speed?"
"You're always training your speed," Tayuya complained.
"I have to keep up with Fu somehow," Ryuu shrugged. "Alright, how about we teach you Taijutsu then, Tayuya?"
"Sure," Tayuya shrugged. "Why not?"
Ryuu smiled, nodding as they all ate quickly before heading back to Ryuu's house. Once there, Ryuu created a clone to run through Taijutsu training with Tayuya. While it did, Fu and Ryuu worked on their own Taijutsu, as well as speed. Finally, after several hours, Ryuu released the clone, turning to Tayuya.
"Alright, let's see what you've learned," Ryuu said.
Tayuya nodded, sprinting forward, moving to throw a punch at him, only to leap back as Yomo shot in front of her face, cawing loudly before circling around and landing on Ryuu's shoulder. His eyebrows furrowed as he looked over at Yomo.
"What's wrong?" RYuu asked, stroking Yomo's head.
Yomo cawed, tilting his head to look up, and Ryuu followed his gaze, eyes instantly picking out a messenger falcon from the Land of Wind. Ryuu turned instantly, sprinting to the Hokage's office, Tayuya and Fu just behind him. As they reached Tsunade's office, Ryuu knocked on the door, the door opening and Shizune letting them in.
"Perfect timing," Tsunade said. "You're going to help Gaara of the Hidden Sand."
"What's happened?" Ryuu asked.
"His student has been kidnapped," Tsunade said. "He and his siblings have been sent to rescue her. You're being sent to aid them."
"Right," Ryuu nodded. "I know exactly who I'm taking."
Tsunade nodded. "You have thirty minutes to gather the team from the Genin. Then you have to leave."
"I'll need Shikamaru as well," Ryuu said.
"Take him," Tsunade said.
"And Sakura," Ryuu said.
"Why?" Tsunade asked.
"Emergency medical team," Ryuu said. "She's better at it than me, but I'm better at combat. If I'm too busy fighting to heal someone, she'll do it."
Tsunade nodded. "You'd better get moving."
Ryuu nodded, leaving and scattering clones to gather the others. He landed at the main gate, Fu landing beside him a moment later. He had chosen to leave Tayuya behind in order to avoid any unnecessary complications with the Sand Siblings recognizing her. As for the others, he had chosen Shikamaru, Choji, Naruto, Kiba, Akamaru, Ino, and Lee. Hinata, Neji, Sakura, and Shino had been sent out ahead of the rest to scout for the four targets. During the fight, they'd be staying out of the way and heal whoever needed it.
Once everyone had gathered, they all set out, Ryuu explaining that they'd be pairing up. Shikamaru would go with Ino, Naruto with Lee, and Choji with Kiba and Akamaru. Naruto and Lee would be the main offensive force, with Ryuu and Fu coming in just behind them. For a while, they all travelled in silence. Everyone had had the plan explained, and everyone knew the general drill of what would be happening. The main problem would be to actually find the targets.
"Anything yet?" Choji asked.
"I can only sense so far," Ryuu said. "And the further away I try to sense, the less clear the picture is. As for the others, Shino will send word when they find them."
"When will that be?" Kiba asked.
"I don't know Kiba," Ryuu said through clenched teeth. "Let me just consult my crystal ball and get you an answer."
"Hey thanks, that'd be really useful," Kiba said.
"That's enough you two," Shikamaru said. "Kiba, we'll get there when we get there. Until then, quit antagonizing."
Kiba rolled his eyes just as Ryuu stopped, staring off into the distance diagonally ahead and to the left. The others stopped around him, all looking between him and the trees.
"What is it?" Shikamaru asked. "The targets?"
"No," Ryuu said. "It's probably nothing. I just thought I saw something is all. Come on."
He turned, continuing, the others doing the same. Ryuu kept his senses aimed at the spot he thought he saw something, but he couldn't sense anything. Finally, Shino's insects formed words in the air in front of Ryuu and Shikamaru. Ryuu sighed.
"We've spotted them," Ryuu said. "The fighting's begun. Kiba and Choji head to the West from here about half a kilometer. You'll be helping Kankuro. Shikamaru and Ino to the hill to the north. Temari's there. Shikamaru, I'm expecting you to have a date by the end of this."
"Shut up, idiot!" Shikamaru grumbled.
"Naruto, Lee," Ryuu said. "Gaara is in the forest to the northwest about a kilometer."
"What about us?" Fu asked.
"You're going to fly us past Gaara," Ryuu said. "We'll get Matsuri back for him."
Fu nodded, picking him up and extending her wings.
"Alright," Ryuu said. "Good luck everyone. And everyone wish Shikamaru luck with his girlfriend."
"Shut up!" Shikamaru shouted as Ryuu and Fu laughed, Fu flying away.
The others laughed as well before scattering, heading to their fights.
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