A/N: Finally! For the longest time now, the archive wouldn't let me upload this chapter, so my apologies to all those waiting to read the next installment...Yup! The story kicks up a bit from here...though I'm not entirely sure on that... ;
Mei: On with the show!
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the two anime featured here...only the OCs...
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Chapter 5: The Village of The Leaf
"There you are!" An impatient, yet controlled voice broke through the relative silence of the forest. "I thought something had happened to you three, and I was of a mind to go and look for you, leaving the portal unguarded!"
Kakashi slowed down, as did Gai and Asuma beside him, and glanced at the one who had spoken. It was a young woman, in her early twenties, with long, wavy black hair and garnet eyes. He smiled apologetically. "Gomen, Kurenai, but I was rather taken by Yuriko's performance."
Asuma stepped forward, smiling as well. "She's improved quite a lot since her last formal training session."
"Two of her friends were pretty good at fighting the Shinoki," Gai commented.
Kurenai's crimson eyes narrowed. "These friend of hers…they know her secret, don't they."
Kakashi nodded. "Yes, they do. That's why we've brought them – along with Yuriko – back with us. They should be coming any moment now."
For a few minutes, the four jounin were silent, listening for sounds of any approaching. Then…
"Whoa!"
"AAAAH!"
"Yuriko, what are you trying to do?"
"We're gonna crash!"
Kurenai blanched as Yuriko jumped down from a nearby tree, bringing behind her – riding on wind currents, apparently – six other teens. Four of them – three boys and a girl – were doing the screaming, Kurenai noticed. The other two were relatively calm, although the one who looked to be Chinese seemed to be sweating profusely from fright.
Yuriko landed in front of the four adults, then gently brought her companions down onto the ground. As soon as all six had landed safely, she made a slight gesture with her hands and there was a low rushing sound, that of air currents dissipating. The auburn-haired teen turned to Kurenai and bowed low. The woman gave a curt nod of her head, her own sign of acknowledgement, and then she turned to the tree that stood behind her.
"There will be time for introductions later, Yuriko," she said without looking at the girl. "Right now, we must hurry back through the portal; I can't keep it open much longer."
Yuriko nodded, and then turned to her friends. "C'mon, guys. I think Kurenai-sensei wants us to go through first."
Takao's stormy-blue eyes were wide. "But…but where? All I see is a huge tree!"
"You just need to step into the tree trunk," Yuriko replied. Still, not one of them moved, and she sighed. "Oh, all right…" Saying this, she went up close to the tree, and put a hand in; it disappeared within the tree trunk, creating strange ripples on its surface, as though it were only an illusion. Within moments, she had disappeared into the hidden portal.
After seeing this, Kai shrugged and stepped up to the tree, following Yuriko's example. It seemed that this gave everyone reassurance to try it themselves; one by one they followed the pair through the portal. Afterwards, the four jounin, too, went in and disappeared. Kurenai was the last one to go; when she disappeared within, the portal closed after her.
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"Where are we?" Takao asked, gazing at their surroundings.
"It's a forest, genius." Kai remarked sarcastically. And it was true; they were in a forest, though which forest it was exactly was anyone's guess.
"Kurenai-sensei mentioned this place once when I was training with her…" Yuriko said slowly. "She said it was called the 'Forest of Death', but I don't know why it was called as such."
Almost everyone shivered inwardly. 'Forest of Death' seemed an appropriate name; most forests would be practically buzzing with noise, indicative of life. However, this woodland gave off a rather unsettling vibe; it was too quiet, as though nothing lived in it.
Suddenly, Max thought he spotted something familiar. "Hey! What's that?" he cried, pointing to something in the distance. Everyone followed his gaze; beyond them loomed a mountain with five faces carved into it. "It looks like Mt. Rushmore!" the blonde continued, referring to a monument to the four greatest presidents in the United States.
"Yeah, you're right…" Kyouju observed.
Yuriko was silent as she examined the surrounding forest. She could tell she was in the land of her birth, but nothing felt familiar to her; she was saddened by this one fact. Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder; she turned to find Kakashi standing behind her.
"Yuriko, it's all right. It's understandable for you not to feel any familiarity to Konohagakure-"
"My birthplace?"
"Yes. Anyway, there is no time to feel sadness at trifles such as not feeling at peace here; that will pass soon enough. However, we must hurry into the village now. Tsunade-sama has been expecting you, ever since she accessed the records detailing 'the assault'."
"'Tsunade-sama'?" Yuriko asked, puzzled. The last she'd heard, the elderly Sarutobi had come out of retirement as the Sandaime Hokage.
Kakashi silently filled her in on what had happened previously, revealing what it was that had been so urgent it temporarily halted the formal trainings she'd had with him and his comrades.
"Kakashi, let's get going!" Gai suddenly called. The silver-haired young man and the auburn-haired teen both glanced his way. Gai, Asuma, and Kurenai were already gathered in the clearing, and near them were Kai and his friends. "You know the Godaime Hokage doesn't like being kept waiting," the man with a bowl haircut grinned, flashing his pearly whites.
"Hai, hai…" Kakashi replied, steering Yuriko towards the group. A few moments later, they were walking through the forest; there was no path, but the jounins seemed to know where they were going. Yuriko sure didn't, so she made no move to strike out on her own, even though she didn't like being led like a child.
Almost suddenly, huge gates loomed up ahead of them, with the symbol for fire painted on them in bright red. As soon as they approached, the gates swung open, and they crossed the massive threshold into a bustling, thriving city.
Gai grinned. "Welcome to Konoha!" he said majestically, throwing his arms out for emphasis.
Kai leaned towards Yuriko. "This city is your birthplace?"
Yuriko nodded. "Kakashi-sensei told me so, but it doesn't feel like home…" Several kids ran past, laughing and shouting happily to one another. Up and down the street were various shops and stalls where people were buying things to eat and drink, accessories, books, and other knickknacks.
"Come on, everyone; it's this way," Kurenai prodded, indicating the largest building that seemed to be at the heart of the city. "Tsunade-same will want to see your friends, Yuriko. Our only orders were to bring you back, nothing more. Once she learns we have brought your companions, she'll want a full report of the circumstances, and she'll give them the usual warnings and procedures."
"'Warnings'?" Hiromi turned to give the older woman a puzzled look. "About what?"
"It's standard procedure for every newcomer or delegate ninja to Konoha," Kurenai explained. "We want to make sure that none of you are spies of any sort from any of the neighboring countries."
After around ten minutes of walking, they arrived at the huge building, and the four jounins ushered the seven teens inside and directed them up a set of stairs. Soon, Yuriko and her companions found themselves standing before an unremarkable-looking door, but the amethyst-eyed teen could sense a distinctly powerful chakra signature emanating from behind it. Kakashi stepped up to the door and knocked once, twice, three times. Then he stepped back.
After an uneasy silence, a muffled voice sounded in answer to the jounin's knocks. "Haitte."
The door opened, and then Kakashi, Gai, Kurenai, and Asuma ushered the teens into the room. They filed in, one by one, and Gai shut the door behind them.
Yuriko allowed her gaze to wander around the room. This was the Hokage's office, she realized, because of all the documents and papers heaped on the desk and the filing cabinets that stood in a neat line against a wall. And seated behind the desk, just in front of the huge glass windows, was a blonde-haired woman – Tsunade-sama.
The woman stood and walked out from behind the desk to stand a few feet in front of them. "Kakashi, why are there seven of them? I recall telling you to bring back the child who survived 'the assault', not a whole group."
Kakashi cleared his throat and laid a hand on Yuriko's shoulder, as he had done in the Forest of Death. Sensing that she was supposed to introduce herself, the auburn-haired teen bent forward slightly. "I am Takenoichi Yuriko, Tsunade-sama," she said, willing her voice to be loud and clear enough to make her understood. Then she straightened up and introduced her friends. As their names were mentioned, each bowed in the same manner.
"We had to bring them back with us, Hokage-sama," Kakashi added, a small smile on his face. "Yuriko had had no recourse but to tell them once they witnessed her in action against one of the assassins sent to kill her. There is no doubt that, had these six –" here he gestured towards Kai and his teammates – "remained there, the Shikino would have used them to try to gain information on her, thus endangering each of them."
Tsunade gave a small smile. "You've thought this over, haven't you?"
Asuma, Kakashi, Gai, and Kurenai glanced at each other and grinned; they weren't in trouble for deviating from the original orders!
"So…since it's obvious the six of you are here to stay for some time…" Tsunade continued, walking back to her desk. "As well as you, Yuriko, that means we'll need to find you apartments of your own. But in the meanwhile, I suppose I'll have to ask some of the clans to take at least two of you in, while you have no permanent place to stay." She sat back down and gazed steadily at Yuriko. "Although you might want to take up residence at your clan's compound. I hear it's been rebuilt."
Rei turned to his teammates and mouthed, "Clan compound?" Everyone shrugged in reply.
Yuriko pondered the suggestion, and then smiled. "Yes, I think I'd like that, Hokage-sama. That's probably the last place the Shikino will think to look for me, if ever they figure out that I am not in Tokyo anymore."
"If that's the case, then we need not find apartments for you; the compound will be sufficient to house all seven of you – in fact, I think it will be a bit too big…"
"It's all right, Tsunade-sama," Yuriko once more bowed low. "In fact, if there are only a handful of us living in the compound, it will be harder to detect any one person within such a large area…"
"You have a point…" The yellow-haired woman looked thoughtful for a moment, and then glanced back up. "It's settled then. Asuma, Gai, Kakashi, Kurenai, the four of you are dismissed."
The four jounins bowed, and, in the blink of an eye, disappeared, leaving the seven teens in the Hokage's office. "As for you," Tsunade continued, "I'll send for you once preparations for your move have been completed. You'll need furniture, of course, and other essentials – two weeks' worth of food, for instance. Afterwards, I'm afraid you'll have to fend for yourself. I'm only offering this initial service because all of you are relatively new here.
"As long as you stay here, you will be treated as units of Konoha, with or without the proper ninja training. Besides, the 'untrained' part can always be remedied…
"Now, feel free to explore and familiarize yourselves with the city. That is all."
Yuriko bowed once more, as did her friends. And then, one by one, they left the room, went back down the corridor, descended the staircase, and then went back out into the street.
"Uh, Yuriko?" Kyouju tapped the girl on the girl, and she turned to face him.
"Huh?"
"What's the 'Hokage'?"
"Well, that's the highest rank a ninja of Konoha can attain," the auburn-haired teen replied. "And, usually, once you attain that rank, you also become the village leader.
"The official rank is 'Kage' – shadow, pertaining to the ninja's ability to remain unseen. Therefore, the 'Hokage' is 'the fire shadow'; the 'Kazekage', 'the wind shadow'; and so on."
"How many Hokages are there?" Max asked.
"There are five, the same number of faces carved on that monument. Each time a Hokage retires or - in the worst case scenario - dies, another one takes his place, and the new Hokage's image is added."
"Oh, okay."
There was an uneasy silence, which was broken a few minutes later. "That Tsunade woman said we could explore, right?" Takao asked, stretching his arms upward.
"Yeah…" Rei answered.
"So…where do you guys want to go?"
"I don't know…"
"I was thinking of looking for the different clan compounds…"
"Do you think there's a river near here?"
"Hey," Hiromi cut in suddenly. "Has anyone seen Kai?"
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Leaves rustled as Kai pushed through the bushes and into the Forest of Death. He didn't feel like exploring the city of Konoha with his teammates; he'd already set his mind on training that day, and since circumstances back in Tokyo had prevented that, he decided to go through with the training as planned. He just changed the venue. Besides, the slate-haired teen thought as he reached into his pocket and took out his launcher and blade, there's no one here. And I don't think this place is off-limits to anyone…
Soon, he began to feel the rush that only Beyblading brought; also, he'd just tweaked his launching method a bit and there'd been a change in Dranzer's attack pattern. He could tell it was a good one, and now he was working on perfecting it so that it required little effort to perform.
"Go, Dranzer!" he shouted, willing his faithful blade on. Though he was normally relatively silent during training, it had been a long time since he'd trained properly. He figured it was all right, though; what was the harm in being a bit verbal?
Apparently…a lot.
"Aah!" Kai exclaimed, stepping backwards; he'd just managed to avoid being skewered through the face! He glanced at the object that had nearly taken his head off; it was a kunai, and it had embedded itself in the tree trunk nearby. He walked over to it and quickly pulled it out, then turned around and pulled his scarf up to his face once more.There was a rustle in the nearby bushes, and Kai poised himself to fight.
Thnkthnkthnk!
One by one, the kunai lodged themselves into the circular targets, and with a muffled thump, Uchiha Sasuke landed gracefully on the forest floor. He straightened up, and then walked over to the targets to retrieve his weapons. He'd been training for nearly an hour now, but he didn't feel like stopping.
Suddenly, his attention was drawn to the nearby clearing, where a subtle whirring sound was emanating from.
What the-? The dark-haired sixteen-year-old went closer, just to check if he was hearing things. What is that sound? He thought, coal-black eyes narrowing suspiciously. He wanted to leap into the clearing and attack whatever was making that sound – it just didn't belong! – but he knew it wasn't the way he ought to go about things. He had to think this through first. Not to mention he wasn't sure if there was anyone in the clearing at all! So Sasuke remained where he was.
That is, until he heard someone call out to someone – or something – else. He couldn't make out the words, but he could tell the voice belonged to no one in Konoha. The raven-haired teen activated his Sharingan in order to pinpoint the person's location, and he found him – or her – almost dead center in the clearing; he didn't know if this was an ally or an enemy, but he could take no chances. Sasuke carefully slipped one kunai into his weapons pouch, then flung the other one through the trees towards his target, holding the remaining one in his right hand.
Thnk! Came the sound of a kunai embedding itself in a tree trunk; of course, the Uchiha didn't need to listen for the sound, for he saw with the aid of his Sharingan that his target had been able to dodge his weapon.
Moving into a crouch, he tensed his muscles and then jumped into the clearing. As luck would have it, one of his feet brushed against a bush, creating a slight, but still audible rustle. Damn!
He landed, rounding up onto his feet immediately, and nearly gasped. In front of him was what he thought was another ninja, who looked to be around his age or older. But that wasn't the only cause of his surprise. It was his opponent's eyes: they were crimson, too, just as his and his brother's were whenever the Sharinganwas activated.
A-another Uchiha? He thought, trying to keep all emotion, especially shock, from showing on his face. Instead, he rushed quickly at this person, thrusting quickly with his kunai. And then he froze; his opponent, whoever he was, was no longer there.
The Uchiha sensed movement to his left and quickly jumped away. The crimson-eyed stranger had moved rather swiftly and attempted to attack him from the side. Now Sasuke was even more confused; why hadn't he been able to sense this movement, as the doujutsuwas supposed to enable him to do?
He jumped backwards, throwing his knife at the teen in front of him. Unfortunately, his opponent's arm moved upwards, deflecting the projectile with the kunai Sasuke had thrown earlier.
"Who are you?" the slate-haired ninja asked, expertly catching the deflected blade before it could fall to the ground.
"I should ask the same of you," Sasuke shot back, bringing two more kunai out the pouch, cursing himself all the while for literally handing his opponent an additional weapon. Moving as quickly as he could, he leapt into the air, once more launching an offensive.
It seemed though, that he and this newcomer were evenly matched, for some strange reason. They moved from weapons combat to taijutsu, and the crimson-eyed stranger nearly matched him blow for blow.
And then, suddenly, Sasuke backflipped away from his opponent, performing seals as he did.
"Katon! Housenkaa no Jutsu!" Moving as quickly as possible, he threw several shuriken at his opponent, concealing each within a fireball.
Kai's eyes widened as he saw the small but deadly fireballs fast approaching. Then he remembered that Yuriko had used this technique before on her opponent. Smirking beneath the mask, he quickly dodged each fireball as it came, and then moved closer towards his startled raven-haired opponent. He wanted to end this as quickly as possible; this would be the second time today that he'd had to fight someone, and he was getting rather tired of it.
Clutching the kunai tightly, he thrust it at the startled teen…
"Kai! What are you doing?"
Kai stopped short and turned around; his opponent froze in mid-counter.
"Yuriko?" The slate-haired teen stood up straight, dropping his hands to his sides. "How'd you know I was here?"
"Because we told her that you liked going off on your own to train…" Takao replied. Beside him stood the rest of Team BBA
"And I figured you'd come here to the forest; it's practically the only place where you can train with no one to bother you," the amethyst-eyed teen finished as she nimbly leapt above a bush and landed within the clearing. "Anyway, Kai, you haven't answered my question: what were you doing a while ago?"
"You can ask this guy," the crimson-eyed teen replied, gesturing to the raven-haired youth, who had gotten up as well and retrieved the two knives, which Kai had dropped. "He's the one who suddenly launched an attack on me,"
Yuriko peered intently at the teen Kai indicated, and then she went closer to him. "Aren't you…Uchiha Sasuke?"
The brunette's dark eyes widened for a split-second, and then narrowed. "How do you know my name?" he half-whispered.
"Kakashi-sensei showed me a photograph of you and your teammates one time."
Once more, Sasuke started. "You know Kakashi?"
The auburn-haired teen gave a small smile. "I was under his tutelage for a time, but he wasn't my only teacher."
Sasuke was quiet, processing this information. He'd have to ask the masked jounin for confirmation about this. His gaze wandered over to Kai, and then back to the girl in front of him. "And what about your companion there?" he asked, jerking his head in Kai's direction. "Who is he?"
"That's Hiwatari Kai, one of my friends,"
He's not an Uchiha? Sasuke was surprised. If he wasn't – nor was this one related to Kurenai, he sensed – then why the blood-red eyes?
"Well, Sasuke, it seems you've already met our newest companions," Kakashi's cheerful voice suddenly broke in. The dark-eyed teen turned to face his mentor, who was standing behind him.
"Kakashi, this girl claims to know you. Is it true?" Sasuke asked, gesturing towards Yuriko.
The silver-haired man smiled and nodded. "Hai."
Sasuke frowned. If this girl was telling the truth, and Kakashi had just referred to her and her friends as their 'newest companions', that would mean they were allies of some sort, and since he had attacked one of them…
The jounin seemed to know what he was thinking; he came up to the teen and laid a hand on his shoulder. "It's all right, Sasuke; you were only acting on your instincts, and none of you were prepared for their arrival," he said, attempting to reassure the youth.
One by one, Takao, Max, Rei, Kyouju, Hiromi, and Yuriko stepped forward to introduce themselves properly; Kai did not move, purely because he knew he'd been introduced earlier.
"Shall we head back to the village, then?" Kakashi asked, breaking the awkward silence that followed the introduction. "Tsunade-sama told me to look for you to tell you that the preparations are complete."
"So soon?" Yuriko looked shocked. It barely seemed like an hour or two had passed since their first meeting with the Hokage!
Kakashi nodded, still smiling. "Only a few more things were needed, so…"
Sasuke looked puzzled. What preparations? He knew these people were newcomers and allies to Konoha, and usually such were accommodated in the compounds of willing clans or in various apartments found around throughout the city. If that were so, what did Kakashi mean by 'only a few more things were needed'? Did these seven youths suddenly procure their own dwelling? It seemed so improbably that it would happen so, but his curiosity was aroused.
"Kakashi, should I go back, too?" he asked, just as the jounin was about to turn around and lead the seven teens back to the gates. The gray-haired man turned to face him.
"You can stay here and train if you want, Sasuke, but you can also come with us. It's only fair that you know where your comrades are going to stay, right?"
It was an invitation, one that Sasuke pondered for a while. "I guess…I'll go with you," he said after a time.
Kakashi seemed pleased with his decision. "Great! Then when Yuriko and her friends are settled, perhaps you could fetch your friends, Sasuke, and then all of you can get to know each other…"
"Maybe…"
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"But, Sasuke-kun, isn't that part of the village supposed to be uninhabited?" Haruno Sakura asked, trying to keep up with the Uchiha's quick strides.
"Yeah! We passed that place before, didn't we, Sasuke? And then Kakashi-sensei said that no one lived there! Why are we going there now?" Blonde, noisy Uzumaki Naruto asked, all in one breath.
"Well, dobe, Kakashi said that you guys are supposed to meet up with some newcomers."
"Are they ninjas, too? What level are they?" the azure-eyed teen persisted with his question.
"I've already met them, a while ago in the forest, but so far, I know that only one of them is a ninja – she said she trained with Kakashi and the others before – and another is skilled in various forms of combat, though I'm not sure if he uses any jutsu. I don't know about the others."
"How troublesome…" Pony tailed Nara Shikamaru grumbled, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his trousers.
"Really, now, Shikamaru," Light blonde-haired Yamanaka Ino admonished, her hands on her hips. "We're just going to meet someone, and already you're acting lazy! Geez…"
"It's all right, Shikamaru," Akimichi Chouji said in between handfuls of potato chips. "This is a get-together, after all. No one's asking you to fight anyone."
The shadow-manipulator just grunted in reply. Nearby, the six other chuunin kept silent. Aside from Team 7 and Team 10, there were the Hyuuga cousins Hinata and Neji, sunglasses-wearing Aburame Shino, skilled weapons-user Tenten, extremely wide-eyed Rock Lee, and the man-beast duo Inuzuka Kiba and Akamaru.
Soon they arrived at a foreboding looking gate, when suddenly from inside came the unmistakable clang of metal colliding with metal. The twelve teens glanced at each other: were the people they had come to meet under attack? Sasuke quietly slid the gate open; it hadn't been tampered with. They quickly filed inside, and then rushed towards the main house, where the clashing sounds seemed to come from.
"Stop right there, evil intruders! We -" Naruto began as he burst through the front door, and then stopped short. The others crowded around him to see what had made him freeze like that, and their jaws hung open.
Instead of enemies, as they had been anticipating, there were only seven teens – five boys and two girls – there. Two of the boys were standing and the rest were sitting on the padded floor, apparently watching the two who were battling with some strange spinning tops. Were these the ones they were supposed to meet?
Naruto arched an eyebrow. "Who are you guys?"
One of them, the girl with purple eyes and wavy dark brown hair, stood up and came over to him. She stopped around two feet away from the twelve and bowed. "Konbanwa. I'm Fujiwara Yuriko." She straightened up, glanced at Naruto and Sakura, and smiled. "Oh! The two of you must be Uzumaki Naruto and Haruno Sakura, Sasuke-san's teammates! It's a pleasure to finally meet you in person."
The blonde reacted almost as Sasuke had, only with less control. "H-how'd you know that?" Naruto practically yelled; he was very freaked out because he didn't know this girl, yet she seemed to know him! Sakura just blinked, looking very surprised.
Yuriko continued to smile. "I'm sorry if I shocked you; it's just that Kakashi-sensei's told me about you before, but only in passing."
"Fujiwara-san," Sasuke broke in, anxious to get this get-together over and done with. "I'd like you to meet my…comrades." The raven-haired youth was still quite iffy on referring to people as his friends. One by one, he introduced them, and then Yuriko took her turn and introduced the members of Team BBA.
Soon everyone was seated on the floor and the two who had been standing earlier – Rei and Kai, they now knew – were about to put away their blades when Sakura, who was seated quite close to Rei, noticed the strange design in the middle.
"Rei-san, what's that?" she asked, pointing to the illustration.
"Huh?" The neko-jin looked confused for a while, and then smiled when he realized the jade-eyed teen was asking about his 'partner' in Beybattles. "Oh, that. That's a picture of Driger, my bit beast."
"A 'bit beast'?" Lee asked, looking puzzled.
"It's something we can call on to help us fight in Beybattles. A Beybattle is something we do with these tops, which are called Beyblades," Max replied, holding up his own blade.
"Basically, we launch it into a stadium, and then start attacking the opponent using it."
"That would account for the metallic sounds we heard earlier?" Shino ventured. He already knew the answer, but felt that if he asked the question, it would clarify things for some.
Takao nodded.
"So…you are the bit thingy's master?" Naruto asked, leaning over and rubbing a finger over the picture of Driger.
"Not really…" Rei replied, reaching for his blade and pocketing it. "We're more of partners; the beast won't attack well if we don't trust and befriend it."
"It's somewhat similar to you and Akamaru, Kiba-san," Yuriko added, glancing at the fanged teen.
"So…I'm a bit beast, too?" Akamaru asked suddenly, causing Kyouju, who was sitting next to him, to fall over in surprise.
"The dog talked!" he exclaimed, eyes wide with shock. "Now I've seen everything…"
"Um, yeah, Kyouju, whatever…" Takao piped up. "And…Akamaru, right?" The huge dog nodded, and the dark blue-haired teen continued. "While you are a beast and Kiba's partner in fights and stuff, it doesn't automatically make you a bit beast. Dragoon, Dranzer, Draciel, and Driger aren't what we'd call tangible; they're only light or energy, or something like that."
"Plus, we still need to summon them," Max added. "Because if we called them out of their bits at the start of the battle, it would be too tiresome. This also gives them time to gather their strength. Akamaru, on the other hand, seems to be beside Kiba at all times and doesn't need to be summoned and stuff…"
"You said 'summon', and also something about energy," Naruto cut in. These newcomers were getting interesting. "What seals do you use?"
"We don't use any," the neko-jin replied. "We just have to be 'in sync' with the beast, I guess. It's hard to explain, though; we got so used to doing it that we don't know exactly the step-by-step procedure."
"But how do you control the 'Beyblade', as you call it?" Tenten spoke up. Being a weapons specialist, she'd be interested in this aspect first of all. "You said that you launch it into a…a ring, and use it to attack an opponent's blade. If you're not holding it, how do you make it move the way you want it to?"
"That's the hard part," Max began. "When we started blading, all we had to do was think of what we wanted the blade to do, and it would do it…"
"But later on, it became a bit more physical," Takao added. "Kai, for example, had to move exactly the way he wanted his blade to move, or if it was a special attack – which required Dranzer's energy – he did it through special hand movements, though I'm pretty sure they weren't seals, which Yuriko told us ninjas use for their techniques."
"That sure is complicated," Naruto commented, lying back down on the floor.
"Excuse me, everyone," Hiromi suddenly broke in. Everyone turned to see her standing in the doorway that led to the kitchen and holding a tray. "We thought you guys might like a little snack, so Hinata-san and I fixed up something." She went to join the group, setting the tray on the small side table and then sitting down in the space between Takao and Kai. Soon after that, the shy Hyuuga heir came out of the kitchen, carrying a second tray. She, too, set it on the table and then went to sit back down.
"Arigatou," everyone said in unison. Yuriko, who was the nearest one to the table, passed around the small sandwiches the two had made, and then later on, cups of tea.
Everyone fell silent as they began to eat. Kai was the first to finish; he stood up, set his cup back on the plate and then went out, sliding the door shut behind him.
"Is he always like that?" Naruto asked, leaning towards Yuriko. The amethyst-eyed teen smiled apologetically.
"Unfortunately, yes, he is. He isn't exactly the social type…"
"Reminds me of Sasuke…" the blonde muttered. He took a sip of tea and shuddered. "If not for their different family names, I'd say they were related!"
CRASH!
"What was that?"
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A/N: Aaaaaargh! This was such a crappy chapter, I just know it! Gomen... ; Anyway, what do you guys think?
Aki: (mumbles) Do I really have to say it?
Mei: Yes! You haven't done anything here for the longest time!
Aki: All right, all right...Read and review, minna...
Me: Peace out, and God bless!