Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
Naruto surveyed the battle scene he was crawling closer to in the Sand Village. He hadn't spotted anything he deemed a threat yet, but it was only a matter of time. As he slowly sneaked toward the designated location, someone stopped him.
"Hey there, Naruto. What are you doing here?"
"I'm on a mission, so I can't be distracted, now, Kankuro." Naruto exclaimed, still slowly inching closer.
"Oh, that mission. No wonder Baki looked so happy. Look, we barely talk much—we're not exactly the best of friends—so why not talk why we have the chance. I think Gaara will understand if the mission isn't completed five minutes earlier."
"Fine. What did you want to talk about?"
"How's life going for you? Anything new and exciting?"
"Yeah, I got a new Genin team." Naruto said, while feeling bored.
"How're they?"
"They're a cool bunch of kids. Their teamwork is a little shaky, but they won't kill each other."
Kaito rushed in blindly, lashing out his right foot at Reiji's ankles. Reiji jumped up, sprang off the wall, and punted Kaito's face. Flipping backwards from the blow, Kaito slipped on the soapy water and slid out onto the Academy Training Area. Spitting, mud and blood out of his mouth, he narrowly avoided a shuriken that followed him out of the building.
Landing in a crouched position, ready to spring at any moment, Kaito inspected the surrounding forest. He knew that by now Reiji had already nested himself into one of the trees.
Scanning the area, he could not find his target. No other weapons had been thrown, making Kaito wait in suspense. Sweat started oozing down Kaito, as his eyes frantically darted from tree to tree.
Suddenly, a shuriken flew at his head and he bent backwards, letting it fly over him. Jumping sideways, he weaved between hundreds of kunai coming from all directions. Bobbing, ducking, dipping, and diving through the score of kunai and shuriken, he sprinted towards the edge of the clearing, hoping to hide and strike at Reiji's possible vulnerable points.
His luck finally began to run thin as a kunai grazed his cheek, and then another sank into his shoulder, followed by one into his leg. Ignoring the pain, Kaito continued to run, dodging even more weapons thrown at him.
Until, finally, a shuriken sliced into his stomach, causing him to bend over, gasping for breath, as blood leaked through his fingers.
All the weapons had ceased whizzing around, as Kaito fell onto his knees.
Gritting his teeth against the pain, Kaito took off his white undershirt and used it to bandage the stomach wound, binding it tightly.
Footsteps resounded behind him, causing Kaito to turn and throw one his own shuriken at the insufferable jerk. Reiji only casually ducked, avoiding the object, and then rolled out of Kaito's vision.
"You had enough." An arrogant prick breathed into his right air.
"Three hours!" Kiba roared. "It took you lot three hours to wash the Hokage monuments."
Kiba shook his head. He had thought that he might have been too generous giving them two hours to finish. Most people could have probably done it in one, solo.
"Fifty laps around the Stadium, followed by one hundred push-ups and two hundred sit-ups, rinse and repeat until sundown. It's only around two o' clock, now, so you should get plenty of exercise. Go."
"Wait, Kiba, sir. What stadium?" Tae asked timidly.
"The one where the Chunin exam finalists fight in front of the villagers; the only stadium we have. Now, run around it. I expect a good number of sets of these to be done by tonight."
Sighing, three Genin set off to start their first lap. Fuji soon fell behind the other two, too slow to keep up.
"It'll be ok Fuji," Tae told the other girl, as she fell back beside her. "We'll run them with you side by side, and so will Saru." Saru sighed in exasperation, but slowed down his pace to stay with the two kunoichi.
Fuji smiled tentatively, afraid they would speed off any moment—that they were only joking with her. Seeing them stay even after a few minutes, Fuji whispered, "Thanks."
"We're teammates and friends; it's the least we should do." Tae replied, grinning in return.
Lashing out to his right fist, Kaito hoped to hit the other boy while he was close, but his hand felt only air. Kaito yelled, partly in frustration and partly in challenge, "I'm still in this game! Don't count me out yet! I'm shut the egotistical mouth once and for all!" While Kaito struggled to stand up, Reiji backhanded Kaito across the face. The Uchyuga flew over the training area, scraping the ground as he landed before he finally skid to a stop.
"Sure you are." Reiji rebutted sarcastically, as he chuckled. "You can't even get up, let alone still fight me. Just give up; it will be easier for you this way." Kaito lifted his head off the muddy ground and pushed up with his arms, straining his muscles to lift himself up.
Before he could rise anymore, a hand shoved his face back into the ground, breaking Kaito's nose.
"I don't get you, Kaito. I tried, but I just can't. You think you're tough shit--you think you can beat me, but whenever the chance comes up you barely last more than two seconds. I easily crush you without trying, every single time. Some, Uchiha you are; Daddy must be so proud of his little failure."
"Shut up. You think that you're tough shit, too, yet you hide in trees throwing things at me. That's how a squirrel would fight." Reiji yanked Kaito up and held him by his collar staring him straight in the eyes.
"Funny, if you want to think like that, you've lost to a squirrel. Throwing things is all I need to do to beat you, but if you want I'll kick you're ass in a 'fair' fight, as well. No weapons, ninjutsu or genjutsu."
Kaito grinned; there was no way he would lose to a Reiji when the coward couldn't hide.
"Tomorrow--" Reiji continued, until Kaito interrupted him.
"Right now." An exhausted Kaito panted.
"What? Are you crazy? I've already beat you today. I mean you're still bleeding from…everywhere."
"No. Right here, right now. I've waited so long to finally kick your ass; I'm not waiting any more."
Reiji sneered. "Your funeral, little man."
When Reiji let go of his shirt collar and stepped back, putting a few yards between the two, Kaito only smirked. This was his chance, and he was going to enjoy it.
"You three are doing great," Ino screamed. Her Genin squad was currently trying to retrieve a cat that had climbed a very large spruce tree.
One hundred plus feet into the air, Yuu was inching farther out onto a frail branch, stretching his hand to catch the missing tabby cat. Suddenly, an abrupt snapped echoed throughout the woods, as the limb snapped in half.
Yuu screamed, as began to plummet toward the ground, until Airi grabbed his foot. She was hanging from a tree with her legs wrapped around another—stronger—branch. Ouji reached out snagged the falling cat, grinning sheepishly.
"Ino-sensei, we're done." Ouji yelled down, glad the mission was finally over. He was deathly afraid of heights.
"Good job team. Come on down and let's get that cat back to old lady Bielli."
When they were on the ground, Yuu turned to his kunoichi squad member. "Thanks for catching me. If you hadn't I would've been a goner."
She smiled. "No problem."
Kaito rushed forward, again, blindly lashing out with a strong—but sloppy—punch. His opponent sidestepped, catching the fist, and flipped Kaito over, slamming him into the ground.
Kaito rolled forward immediately, jumping away from a drop kick that connected with where his head had been.
Lola had finally worked up the courage to come out of the Academy to see what the two boys were doing. Horrified at a bloody Kaito, and an evilly grinning Reiji attempting to kill each other, she desperately attempted to prevent the scuffle from continuing.
Waving her hands to get their attention, she yelled, "Kaito, Reiji, this isn't right. Stop fighting, please."
Both combatants ignored her plea, as they flung themselves at the other again. Kaito sent punch after kick after punch again sailing at the trench-coat-wearing boy, but Reiji squirmed away from every blow utilizing his speed and agility.
"We're a team. Teams don't kill each other; they work together." Lola yelled from the sidelines, trying to work up the bravery to physically stop them.
Every counter attack that Reiji threw wailed into Kaito's body, staggering him time and time again. Tiring, Kaito urgently commanded his body to stay upright.
"Naruto-sensei said that those who abandon their friends are worse than scum." Lola pleaded, again.
As Reiji tripped Kaito onto his face, he laughed. "You're making the dangerous assumption that we are in fact friends. Kaito and I hate each other. You aggravate me, Lola. And Kaito is too focused on trying to be the strongest to care about anyone, especially a coward like you. None of us are friends and none of us ever will be."
Kaito, ignoring the conversation, hauled himself onto his hands and knees, only to have a foot meet his face with a sickening thud. Flung into the air, Kaito seemed to float, suspended above the muddy earth. Until, Kaito felt Reiji grabbed his foot and smashed him headfirst into a splintered oak. Twisting around, Reiji slammed Kaito into a huge rock formation.
As Reiji drove Kaito's face into one of the large boulders—grinding it against a rough, jagged edge—Reiji snickered with glee. This was more fun than he had had in years.
"You sure about that? I remember my old squad days. Temari and I lived in constant fear that Gaara would turn around and kill us one day. You need to make sure you fix any potential problem before it rockets hopelessly out of control." Kankuro said, wincing as he thought about the old Gaara.
"Relax, Kankuro. I think it's more like Sasuke's and my old relationship. We were rivals and we may not have liked each other, but we didn't try to kill each other. We only were extremely competitive, trying to beat each other at everything. Sasuke and I weren't going to kill each other." Naruto replied off-handedly, unconcerned that anything serious would happen.
"Until he stabbed you in the back. From what I heard, it started like what you said, until it gradually worsened, spiraling out of control. Eventually, eating contests become all out brawls, and then he betrayed Konoha, trying to kill you as he left for more petty power."
Angry, Naruto began yelling. "What do you know about it? He came back, didn't he--?"
"Whoa. Whoa. Calm down, Uzumaki." Kankuro intervened, holding his hands up as a sign of surrender. I'm only trying to say don't let this little rivalry escalate too far or you may regret it."
"Now, stay down." Reiji said as he kicked the already downed Kaito. "I put up with your lip for far too long. I let you mouth of to me way too much. My fault; I should've done something like this sooner. Now, we know once and for all who's better."
Lola seeing how badly injured Kaito was, rushed over to help. When she arrived, she kneeled down next to him, asking if their was anything she could do. Kaito seemed oblivious to her presence, focused solely on the retreating back of Reiji.
"You're right," Naruto sighed, standing up. "I'd better go back and check on them. I'll be back to finish this mission for Gaara a little later. He'll understand, won't he?"
"Don't worry, man. I'll explain everything to him." Kankuro said, as Naruto disappeared in a flash, racing back to the Village Hidden in the Leaves.
Reiji sauntered away, seemingly without a care in the world. He was almost inside the Academy doors, when Kaito's rage exploded, once again. He grabbed one of the kunai that littered the ground and threw it straight for the back of Reiji's head.
Reiji turned and caught it with ease. Without any facial expression, he nonchalantly chucked it straight back at Kaito.
There was no way he could dodge it, he was too exhausted and beat up, while the kunai was rushing at him too quickly. Thinking on instinct, he grabbed the nearest object and held it in front of him, hoping to shield himself from the weapon.
He gasped in surprise when the object he used to block with, screamed in agony. Letting the object go he shakily rose to his hands and knees.
He saw Lola writhing on the ground in agony, bleeding profusely where the kunai had sank into her back.
This was another kind of short chapter, because nothing light hearted was meant to eat up too much of this more serious chapter. My content was limited to more serious tones, or showing the polar opposite of the teamwork in Kaito's team.
I realized I backed myself in to a corner last chapter; because I rushed it out too soon. I gave Temari kids without resolving whether it would be InoShika or ShikaTem. I could give Temari another dead OC, like Gaara had, and decide all this later. What do you guys think? Also, the twins vs. Naruto would not have been a good backdrop for this chapter because Reiji vs. Kaito was far too serious for that too have worked. So, that will happen in later chapters.
I realized that I made it so that Saru is the kid's last name. Oh, well, just think of him like the kid everyone calls by their last name. Everyone has at least one at their school.
Someone complained about the spacing; I agree it is annoying I'll try to fix that. Lola, has not had much character development compared to the others so she may get her own chapter in the future. Some think she's already annoying and others think she hasn't enough lines to tell, so I'll be working on that.
Does anyone want to see Rei, Rira, or the inside of the Uchiha complex, again? Neji should pop back up, again, also.
Please comment on any aspect of the fic you want. Flame it if you want. Any criticism will just make this better.