Chapter 2
Hi! So, last chapter wasn't nearly as long as I had planned, so this one will make up for that. Also, I negelected to mention what clan Lucas was from, he's an Uchiha, I know right? Well, the chúnin exams begin today, with these nations participating: Leaf, Sand, Cloud, Mist, Rain, Stone, and of course, Star.
To clarify something, I didn't realize at the time that The Hidden Star Village was a real place in Naruto, but in this universe, they still use the Meteorite for training and technique purposes.
Chapter 2:
Kazama awoke with a sigh, sunlight pouring into the room. He rolled off his bed, and untangled himself from his purple sheets. Scratching his back, the brown haired youth stumbled to the bathroom, dragging his feet all the way. 'I shouldn't have agreed to do the chúnin exams' he thought bitterly. It wasn't just the five great villages he was worried about, but the Ninja from his own village as well. Though they had few major clans, the ones they did have were very powerful. Karafuru, though mostly extinct, Swartzlander, Ault, and the Uchiha. Legend has it, Obito Uchiha apparently had a child with a woman from this village, thus, starting another Uchiha clan away from Konoha. Though, none of them had the Sharingan, they still had excellent flame control.
After performing his daily morning rituals, Kazama trudged back to his room, and put on his usual attire. Feeling slightly refreshed, he grabbed a energy bar, and hopped out his bedroom window, carrying only a satchel of kunai with him.
Landing on the ground below, he slowly got up, and started walking towards the town center, where he was to meet his team. The leaves rustled around the dirt path, and the trees shook in the breeze. Overall, it was a beautiful day. Kazama reached into his pocket, and pulled out his energy bar. Chewing it thoughtfully, he wasn't aware of a presence behind him. Suddenly something big and furry tackled him from behind, pinning him to the ground. Kazama looked around frantically, before hearing laughter above him. There stood his fellow genin, Dan Ault. "Man, Robin sure got you didn't she?" Dan said smugly. "Ugh, just get your beast off me." Kazama replied. The Ault's were known for summoning large cats, such as lions and tigers. Dan's was a lioness. "Sure, in a sec." Dan reached down and plucked the energy bar out of Kazama's hand. "What?!? Give it back Dan!" Kazama whined. Dan just smirked at him, and ate what was left of it." Ah, thanks Kaz!" Dan said cheerfully. Robin hopped off Kazama and ran down the path with Dan. 'Stupid Dan' Kazama thought to himself.
Brushing himself off, Kazama got up and walked down the dusty path towards the statue of the current Hoshikage, Iboturas. Kazama entered the village, with all the shipowners opening up for the day, people stepping out onto their porches and stretching, kids playing in the streets. 'This town may be small, but I still think everyone in it is worth protecting.' Kazama thought to himself. Smiling, he waved at a woman passing by with her child.
--Another Pagebreak thingy?!?--
Arriving at the statue, he saw all 4 teams of The Star Village genin. "Kazama! Get your ass over here!" Mizuki shouted at him. Mizuki was 5'3" with sort blond hair reaching just past her shoulders. Clad in her usual outfit of a purple shirt(Think of Ino's shirt thingy.) Mizuki ran up to Kazama, grabbed his hand, and dragged him over to where Nick and Lucas were standing. "Now that were all here, I think we should go over the rules, and then we'll start on our journey to the Leaf village, it'll take us about two days to get there." Nick said. All of Team 3 huffed. "Great, love the enthusiasm guys." Nick said sarcastically. "Anyway, the only main rule is if any of you are caught cheating, then you'll all be disqualified. Similarly, if one of you fails, you all fail." At this, Nick looked at Lucas. "That means take this seriously Lucas." Lucas laughed, "I'm always serious" Lucas replied. Kazama sweatdropped at this, 'I can't remember the last time he was serious about anything' Kazama thought.
Gathering there things, Team 3 started on their journey to the Hidden Leaf Village. As they started to enter the forest, Lucas suddenly stopped. "Wait! I almost forgot!" Lucas turned to Kazama with a face-splittting grin. "Where's my hug Kaz?" Kazama stiffened, but walked over to Lucas nonetheless. He looked up at Lucas ruefully, then swung one arm around his waist and quickly squeezed before stepping back. However, Lucas wasn't having any of it. He shot both arms out and wrapped them around Kazama's waist. Squeezing him, Lucas sighed contentedly, before letting go. "Thanks Kazama!" He shouted cheerfully.
Nick looked at them questioning "What was that about?" Kazama ignored him, and walked past the him into the forest.
--A few hours later--
Team 3 was jumping through the forest, flying through the trees. "So, what are the chúnin exams like Sensei?" Mizuki questioned. "Well, it changes a little bit every year." Nick said, "There's always a tournament of sorts at the end, but the events leading up to it change often." Leaving Team 3 to their thoughts, Nick started to think about the different types of enemy Shinobi his team could encounter. The Uchiha clan was back to its former glory in Konoha, and Gaara Sabaku had apparently started a clan before his death as well also. Additionally, the was rumors of the Uzumaki clan reinstating their village of Ushiogakure, that would be a true nightmare.
Team 3 travelled until sundown, and stopped at a clearing to rest for the night, as the genin were nearing the end of their chakra. "Mizuki-san, go check the perimeters." Nick ordered. Mizuki nodded, and zoomed off into the trees. "Lucas, set up the tents," Lucas groaned, but started to unpack the tents nonetheless. "Kazama, come with me, there's some ruins that we passed on the way here." Kazama was a bit surprised, but followed his sense into the darkening forest anyway.
"Why are you so interested in these ruins Nick-sensei?" Kazama asked as they jumped from tree to tree. "Well, rumor has it that this was where the Hidden Rain Village once was, and if so, then those ruins could contain some powerful scrolls and techniques." Nick replied. Kazama looked ahead, and halted, the ruins looked to be the remains of a warehouse of sorts. With vines climbing up the side, and even into some of the broken windows. "Well, lets go." Nick said. Kazama nodded, and together they pushed open the door into the warehouse.
The heavy iron doors creaked, the rust falling off of them. Inside, the warehouse was dark, and not much could be some except for shadows. "Eien no hi (Everlasting Fire)" Nick said, going through some hand seals. A flame appeared in his hand, then expanded into a long line, and curved around the room, illuminating it. "Well, thats useful." Kazama said blankly. The warehouse was filled with boxes and crates, covered by tarps. In the far left corner, there was a staircase leading down to a basement. "I called basement!" Kazama shouted enthusiastically, the sound echoing through the large, empty space. He ran over to the staircase, and ran a hand over the railing, dust covering his hand as he did so. "Fine, just be careful okay?" Nick said. Kazama nodded, and walked down the creaky iron steps.
Kazama reached into his bag and produced a flashlight. Flicking the switch, he shined the beam around the room. The light sowed some more crates, and in the corner, some scrolls. Kazama grinned, and ran over to them. Grabbing the first one he saw, he undid the seal quickly and opened it up. It was written in a language he didn't recognize, but the overall format revealed it to be a summoning contract. 'I should show this to sensei first before I even think about signing it' he thought. 'Then again, it could come in handy for the chúnin exams. I could keep it a secret, and use it as a trump card if we get into some real danger.' Rolling up his sleeve, Kazama grabbed a kunai from his bag, and quickly cut his finger. Signing the contract quickly, he slammed his hand onto the the contract. "Summon!" He shouted, albeit quietly, as to not alert Nick. Kazama poured all the chakra he had into the summoning contract. A puff of smoke filled the room, and Kazama stepped back. He couldn't see much, but he could see ten silhouettes standing in the smoke.
"What the hell is going on here?!?!"
--What's this?!? A unneeded page break?!?--
Mizuki had finished scanning the perimeter, and was now watching Lucas attempt to set up the tents. Keyword: Attempt. "You could at least help me you now!" Lucas shouted, getting very frustrated. Mizuki just smiled cheekily at him.
Nick suddenly appeared in the campsite, causing both genin to jump. He had a few boxes of supplies in his hand. "I just came to drop off these supplies, I'll be back with more later." Nick said quickly, before shushinning (Did I spell that right?) away. Lucas threw the tent poles down in frustration. "Whatever, we can just sleep under the stars anyway." With that, Lucas unrolled his sleeping bag, and laid down in it angrily.
Mizuki rolled her eyes at his actions, beige unrolling her own sleeping bag, and getting to work on a fire, as the darkness surrounded them.
--Back to Kazama--
The smoke clears, revealing ten figures in odd looking robes. Kazama coughed, before looking at their odd appearances. Some just looked odd, while other downright strange or even terrifying. One even looked like a shark. "What kind of summoning contract did I just sign" Kazama muttered to himself. One of them, with black hair and red eyes, apparently heard him. "We, are the Akatsuki." He said slowly. "What!?!? But you all should have been dead years ago!" Kazama shouted. "Ahg! Your hurting my hears you little heathen!" Yelled one with grey slicked hair. Some of the others nodded in agreement. "Silence." Commanded one with orange hair and piercings on his face. The silver haired one immediately silenced himself. "Perhaps some explanations are in order. We, the Akatsuki, were punished by the Shinigami for our sins. He decided that Hell was too good for us, and to humiliate us, he made us into summons." He said in a deep voice.Kazama was shocked, and stared at them incredulously. "W-well, that's nice? I guess?" Kazama said, for lack of anything better to say. "Kazama! Cmon, we're leaving!" Nick shouted down the stairs. Kazama quickly dispersed the evil group, and wrapped up the scroll, and placed it in his back pocket. "Coming!" Kazama ran up the stairs, and joined his Jounin sensei.
"I found this really old Bingo Book, if you want it." Nick said. Kazama gratefully took the book out of his hand, and put in his bag. 'Maybe I can learn their names and abilities.' He thought to himself.
--4th page break today, Yay...--
Laying in his sleep bag, Kazama was in a tent with Lucas and Nick, after Mizuki set them up in five minutes, much to Lucas's annoyance. Once everyone was asleep, he pulled out the Bingo Book, and filled through the pages. He opened one page, and saw the name Hoshigaki Kisame. 'Kisame' he thought to himself. 'Yep! That's my name, don't wear it out!' A voice in his head said. Kazama jumped, and inwardly shouted. 'What are you doing in my mind!' He said, or rather, thought. 'We're not quite sure either.' The leader from earlier said.
After the entire Akatsuki had introduced themselves, they figured out that they could only appear in his mind if he tried to talk to them, or if he said their names. 'Well, my life just got more difficult.' Kazama thought, before going to sleep.
End
Well, what'd ya think!? It was longer than last chapter at least, and I stayed up till 12:17 writing it.
1. The Akatsuki aren't the only things that can be summoned from the Contract, its full of all kinds of villains, but our protagonist won't find that out until later.