Episode 15: Tatsuzo's Squad
Tatsuzo and his squad were doing push-ups. Tatsuzo was looking up at his squad, being across them them.
"Five hundred..." Tatsuzo called. "We're done."
Everyone was exhausted.
They've sure come a long way... Thought Tatsuzo.
Back when Tatsuzo first meant them, he had them sitting on a bench. He was standing across from them.
"Alright. Everyone introduce yourselves. I'll go first. I'm Tatsuzo Tekkan. I like to train. I dislike my old sensei.* I became a ninja because I wanted to be strong." Tatsuzo pointed to one of them.
He had white hair, and teal eyes. He was wearing a black shirt with torn sleeves. He also had black pants, and his arms were scared up pretty bad. He had a small brown monkey standing on his shoulder.
"I'm Yoichi Tahara. This is Ryu." Yoichi gestured to the monkey that was on his shoulder. Ryu stuck his tongue out at them. "We like to strengthen our bond, and that's why my arms are so scratched up. We don't like anything to spicey or sour, and most candies make Ryu's teeth hurt, so we normally don't eat candy. We became ninja because we always liked to fight- even as a little kid."
Tatsuzo pointed to the kunoichi.
She had long fire red hair tied back behind her head. She had brown eyes. She was wearing golden ninja gear, with grey accents. "My name is Kiyomi Hase. I like to read, and I hate to waste time. I became a ninja because-" She frowned. "I don't really know."
Tatsuzo pointed to the last guy.
He had pepper colored hair, and hazel eyes. He was wearing tan ninja gear, and instead of the standard saddles, he had big combat boots on. "I'm Daichi Machi. I like to have days off, and I dislike to repeat myself."
"Wait, what'd you say?" Asked Yoichi.
"Before saying something idiotic, ask yourself... you feelin' lucky,
"I don't think I like that tone of your voice." Said Yoichi.
"Shut up, Yoichi. You're a moron." Kiyomi put in.
"So it's everyone versus us, huh?" He growled.
"It's no one versus no one." Tatsuzo growled. "Finish what you were saying."
"I became a ninja because I wondered what it would be like."
Tatsuzo went back to normal. "I'm going to give you guys a test. To see if you're capable of being in my squad."
"What?" Asked Yoichi. "We already passed the test to get out of the academy, why would we need to take another frigging test?"
"That test was for your Sensei to see if you could be a Genin. My test is going to be so much more difficult. The chances are against you- you probably won't pass. My expectations are very high."
"I'm sure we'll be able to pass this test." Said Yoichi.
"I'm sure you're too self confident." Daichi told him.
"And what's wrong with self confidence?" Asked Kiyomi.
"HA!" Yoichi pointed a finger at Daichi. "This time she's on my side!"
"If you don't want to die, then I suggest that you shut up, Yoichi." Kiyomi growled.
"So you aren't on my side?"
Tatsuzo slammed his fist into the ground. "You're a squad so act like it! You're ninja, you aren't children! If you have petty squabbles like this on an actual mission then you'd be torn apart!"
"You don't understand, Sensei!" Cried Yoichi. "My personality doesn't fit with these guys' personalities! We're too different!"
Tatsuzo's nostrils flared. "When I was a Genin was on a squad with two different people that my personality didn't mix with! A person who loved fighting so much that he'd slaughter the innocent, and a person that hated fighting with a burning passion! And you know what I did? I made our personalities fit! Do you know how many squabbles we've had? None."
Tatsuzo took a deep breath. "I'm sorry I yelled at you. But things like that can't happen on a mission. Tomorrow come to the same
Back in real time, Tatsuzo had them spar against each other.
"Beast Mimicry!" Cried Yoichi.
Back when Tatsuzo's squad formed, everyone was sitting on the roof of a building, aside from Tatsuzo.
"Sensei's definitely falling for it." Said Kiyomi.
"Right. And it wouldn't be working so well without Yoichi's good acting skills."
"Don't put yourself too far behind me." Yoichi smiled. "I'd say our acting skills are about on par." Ryu crossed his arms, and nodded his head.
Tatsuzo was standing by the bench the next day. His squad showed up, all of them coming from the same direction.
"Alright..." Tatsuzo said. "Follow me, guys."
They came across Rinji, who was holding four flags, each of them having a different color. He handed Tatsuzo the flags. "Thanks, Rinji."
"Yep." Rinji leaned back against the wall. "My Squad should show up in about ten minutes."
"Right. Have fun."
Tatsuzo took his squad to the other side of the village, and then stood there. He faced them. "Each of you will be given a flag. You need to get two people's flags, unless it's mine. Then you only need one. The rules are- once I teleport you to a place you need to leave your flag there. You can conceal it with anything you want, but you cannot carry it on your person. You can move around, but you need to go back and get your flag when and if you get a hold of someone else's flag. Then the twist is you need to find the exist. I win once none of you can fight any more. You can only hold your flags once you're taking it back to your flag, or when you're leaving."
Each of them were standing at different sides of the maze.
"Ready, Ryu?" Asked Yoichi.
Ryu nodded.
Yoichi made a hand sign. "Monkey Screech Jutsu!"
Ryu howled loudly. The jutsu increased the radius of the scream.
What the hell was that? Thought Tatsuzo. Was that Ryu? So the fighting has already begun...
Daichi ran towards the sound, and so did Kiyomi.
After a minute of running, they found Ryu and Yoichi. Ryu stopped screaming.
"Let's do this." Yoichi said, they all then darted off.
Tatsuzo was sitting up on the wall. Suddenly, Yoichi charged down the hallway.
Tatsuzo jumped down on the wall. His feet landed on the flag, and then he jumped down to the ground.
Yoichi made a hand sign, and so did Ryu. "Beast Mimicry!" He cried.
Suddenly, claws extended from his fingertips, and his teeth sharpened into fangs. He got half an inch taller, and Ryu turned into the same form.
Yoichi grinned. Ryu nodded, and then the two charged at Tatsuzo.
Tatsuzo clenched his knuckles.
Tatsuzo kicked Yoichi in the chest, and then kicked him backwards, spun around and kicked down onto Ryu's head.
Yoichi slashed at him with a kunai, but Tatsuzo jumped backwards, dodged it, then ducked under Ryu's kick to the face.
Tatsuzo rolled to the side and then punched Ryu in the forehead, knocking him backwards. Yoichi then punched at Tatsuzo's head, but he caught his fist. With his other hand, Yoichi grabbed Tatsuzo's wrist.
Suddenly Daichi dropped from the sky and he punched downwards at Tatsuzo.
Tatsuzo pushed Yoichi backwards, and then jumped away himself.
Daichi's fist connected with the ground, creating an immense crater.
Tatsuzo jumped backwards, and then he tightened his fists. He punched at Daichi, purposely missing, and he hit the wall right behind Daichi's head, making a crater almost three times the size.
Daichi's eyes widened. Suddenly Tatsuzo felt as though he was getting put in a full nelson, but there was no one visible behind him.
"What the-"
Daichi punched him in the stomach, and then Yoichi and Ryu kicked him in the face at the same time. Both of them turned back into their normal appearance. Ryu jumped up into Yoichi's shoulders.
Tatsuzo was dropped to the ground, and he fell to his knees. I better let them think that they won. He thought.
Daichi looked over, and then he spotted the flag.
Suddenly Kiyomi appeared, right behind where Tatsuzo was. She was the invisible force that held him in a full nelson. The group all walked towards the flag. Each of them got positioned around it, and they all grabbed it at the same time. They lifted it from the ground, and then Daichi and Yoichi let go of the flag.
"So you guys pass." Said Tatsuzo, was standing right outside the maze. "But how did you guys work together so well? I thought you didn't like each other."
"We never said that." Kiyomi said. "All that was an act so you wouldn't think that we would work together well. Actually my father requested that we were on a squad together to the Kinkage. We've been working together sense we were at the academy."
"I see... so who's plan was it to do the acting?"
"It was Daichi's." Said Yoichi. "He said that we needed to trick you, but the actual idea was Kiyomi's."
"You guys are all smart kids. I look forwards to working with you later."
Yoichi grinned. "Twenty percent skill, eighty percent fear, be one hundred percent clear, 'cause Ryu is ill!"
"What? Ryu's sick?" Asked Daichi.
"No, that's a song. It's called Remember the Name, it's by Fort Minor."**
Tatsuzo smiled. This going to be fun. He thought.
Notes: *He's not dead yet, so Tatsuzo isn't speaking ill of the dead. If he was dead, I don't think Tatsuzo would talk about him like this. This is a flash-back episode about Tatsuzo's crew.
**I listen to music as I write, and that song came on as soon as Tatsuzo said that he was a smart kid, and I couldn't think of a good line right there. And I didn't make Yoichi's monkey named Ryu just for that line, it was just a coincidence.
Also, if I say the name Saru I mean Ryu. In an old fanfiction that I made a while back (I didn't post it, so don't go looking for it), there was a character with money jutsus (just like Yoichi). But his name was Saru. And when I can't think of jutsus for a character, I just take it from my old fanfiction that was over flowing with characters with original jutsus. I was going to call him Saru, but the name Saru means monkey and that would be kind of stupid to name a monkey monkey. So I named the monkey dragon, (Ryu means dragon) and Ryu is an actual Japanese name (according to the name generator that I use for Japanese names).
