This chapter didn't take six months to get out there. Anyway I do plan to go back at some point and tidy up the first four chapters and prologue when I get a sufficient opportunity, so I'll let you guys know if I've added more content etc…
Chapter 5
Leiko sat hidden on a branch eyeing the clone she had targeted, he was standing in a wide open area and she was in a perfect place to ambush him.
She giggled uncontrollably as she pulled an arrow from her quiver and set it down on the branch. While reaching for her water pouch she couldn't help but think how easy this test was, at first she had been worried that she wouldn't be able to defeat a Jounin like Naruto-sensei, however, this clone was turning out to be dumber than Shikamaru-sensei in her eyes and therefore that made Naruto and his clones useless and stupid. She was giddy that things were playing out in perfect fashion; she, a long range fighter, had the high ground against a supposedly superior opponent whose back was turned towards her. That stupid clone had no idea she was there and she was going to make him pay for it.
She positioned the arrow to lie horizontally in front of her and poured a small amount of water across the length of it. After she finished, she dried the arrow off and put it back in her quiver so she could start performing her jutsu. This was her ultimate attack; it was a technique she had worked on in secret after she discovered her ability to freeze water. She had seen her father dip a kunai in water before and pull it out to create a second one made entirely of ice. Though he never had explained to her how it worked, she was determined to learn how to use it and since he could use it, she expected to be able to use it, only better.
Forming the tiger seal and shut her eyes, concentrating her chakra to the tip of her tongue, after she had gathered enough chakra she blew gently across the watery spot where the arrow had been. As she blew the water took shape of the arrow and froze as hard as the thickest ice. Giggling, she pulled a glove from her pouch, one with no fingertips, and pulled it tightly over her hand. She picked up the arrow and drew the bow as she took aim at the clone. She couldn't believe the clone was making this such an easy picking. She focused her target at the middle of his lower back, this allowed her an area large enough to hit should she be off target, but then again, she was Leiko Fukushima; she was never off target.
She steadied her arms and her aim remaining completely still so she would not throw the arrow off target, by even an inch.
"Time to finish this" she said in a whisper as she let the arrow go.
The position she had taken on branch was perfect. It was an area where the leaves and branches were separated enough for her to squeeze her arrow through. Should the arrow had hit them, it not only would have given away her position it would give him time to react. However this was not the case, everything was perfect, she'd hit her mark, the clone was about to be destroyed and she was about leave her useless teammates behind. This situation couldn't be more perfect, but Leiko Fukushima didn't always think beyond the immediate future.
"You're too confident in your own abilities Leiko Fukushima!"
She watched in shock as the clone turned around and pulled the arrow from the air. Her eyes, big as saucers, couldn't fathom what had just happened, there's no way he should have been able to catch that and at such a critical point so close to his body. In fact it was so close that it had torn his cape as he turned around and left a small indent in his vest.
She did her best to remember her training and remained composed as she held two fingers in front of her body. That stupid clone may have thwarted her main attack, but, a ninja of her caliber always had a backup plan.
"Kai"
The clone clutched the arrow in his fist as he looked at it, thinking deeply, he was amazed by its potency and killing power. "It's ice…there is no elemental ice ability…what is this? I was told she could use water element…"
Studying the arrow he watched it melt and cling to his skin like some sort of sticky glue or tar. "Interesting…" The water started to freeze over his arm constricting his movements and limiting him from performing jutsu.
"Ice?" The clone flashed a fox like grin and slowly started to laugh louder and louder. "It's seems the stories are true Leiko Fukushima! You have the potential to be an amazing shinobi!"
She watched him carefully, not moving an inch, as he pulled out a kunai and started channel chakra through it. What was he doing with a kunai? Surely he didn't think he could cut through the ice did he? This was a special ability that she had practiced with many times and she had seen it was unbreakable; the ice was too thick for a simple kunai to break it.
He stabbed the ice near the joint in his arm and grunted as the kunai slightly pierced his flesh. A cracking sound filled the silence as the ice broke and fell to pieces on the ground. "The best jutsu and ability can make you the most talented ninja on the battlefield, but, you can't win a game of shogi if you don't use all the pieces."
Leiko was livid, how did this clone break out of the ice with nothing more than a kunai? He may have been stronger, but, brute strength wasn't enough. This ice was as thick and strong as the best quality steel. She focused her attention on the clone as he performed a hand sign causing a clone of his own pop up. He turned and started whispering to him as though he was giving him instructions. She leaned forward and focused her eyes on their lips in an attempt to read their conversation. Just what were they saying?
"Go back to the original and tell him of this."
The clone that had been summoned by the other clone looked up at Leiko from the corner of his eye. She had hidden herself well, however she had also given away her position when she fired her bow. What caught his curiosity was why she hadn't moved and tried to escape.
"How do you plan to proceed?"
The clone smirked and held up a shuriken. "Clearly this girl has great confidence in her abilities we have our orders to be only so strong. However, this girl needs to realize how useless her abilities can be. She didn't use the opportunity to finish me off. I carelessly shrugged her off and got caught in a masterful trap, at least masterful for a genin. Instead of taking advantage of the situation she watched as I disabled her attack, they are slow and bulky and need a lot of work but she could be better than Sasuke was at this age."
The clone looked shocked; this girl had that much ability? "I could be overanalyzing though, besides she hasn't realized that I'm a superior opponent and cannot be brought down by her alone. Now you have your orders, go."
The clone of the clone nodded and disappeared as Leiko slammed her fist against the branch. She couldn't make out what they were saying and hadn't finished off the clone. Now he knew of that ability and wouldn't give her the time to prepare it.
"Don't let your guard down!"
The clone turned and threw the shuriken at the base of the tree. Leiko smirked at the clone's poor aim, just why would he throw such a small projectile at the tree's base? Perhaps these clones were just as stupid as the original after all. She watched the shuriken tear through the stump and watched in confusion as it tore through the tree behind it…and the one behind that…and then stop in the rock behind that one.
"What the-"
All of sudden the trees, all three of them, started to fall forward. She leaped from branch to branch before landing hard on the ground. She opened her eyes and looked up to see the clone smiling at her. He knelt down and whispered in her ear.
"You're too loud"
A frustrated look stood defiantly on Naruto's face as he leaned against the memorial stone waiting for an update from his clones.
"Why didn't you tell me Aika was sick?"
Sakura wouldn't even look at him; she had no interest in meeting his look of frustration. He had no right to sit there and act like she was disregarding his feelings and emotions. "You were too busy being captain of the ANBU, didn't think you wanted to put us at risk!"
Naruto shot his head up and growled at her. "I at least deserve to know if anything happens to her, don't I?"
She turned to look at him with an angry look of her own. "I'll keep you updated on her when you actually realize that you're not helping us at all, when you actually become the father you never had!"
He turned his head away and grunted. "Hmph, better to have a loving mother than a homicidal father"
She moved quickly and slapped him, hard, very hard, across the face. "You're not a killer Naruto! You damn idiot! If you believe half the crap that comes out of your mouth then why haven't you abandoned the village yet?!"
Naruto rubbed his cheek and noticed how close Sakura actually was to him, the closest in a long, long time.
Still, she was furious at him though and continued her angry onslaught. "It's because you can't can you? Not only would the village suffer without your unique abilities but they would come after Aika!" Naruto narrowed his eyes as they filled rage "They would ostracize her for your defection and for being the daughter of the container wouldn't they?"
He growled menacingly and moved closer to her until he was right up in her face and their noses were touching. "Don't you ever say that again!"
Her voice went soft but, her eyes remained hard and determined. "Say what? That you would abandon her? Isn't that what you want to believe Naruto? Isn't that what you want me to believe? That you have abandoned us? You wanted me to find someone else, someone without your problems and yet I can see the jealous eye you hold, me finding someone else is you abandoning us Naruto, your protection is abandonment and your logic is stupid. The only man I want to grow old with and raise our daughter is you."
His own voice and eyes softened. "Why do you keep trying? Why can you not see I'm a danger to you?"
She put a hand to his face and started caressing his cheek. "Because the man I fell in love with always told me to never give up and never give in. I refuse to quit until I achieve my dreams of becoming the Hokage." She brushed a strand of hair from his face and shut her eyes as she remembered their first real date and repeated his words. "Ever since I laid eyes on you I've thought of you as special and someone worth fighting for. The kindness you showed to me in those days was rare and I took every word to heart. Just like my dream to become Hokage" She opened her eyes to look into his for a reaction. "I planned to never give up until I won your love."
He wiped away a tear from her face as he stared into her eyes, beautiful as they had ever been.
"That was four years ago Naruto. You won my love, Aika is proof of that. So why are trying to undo what you accomplished"
"Ahem" Both looked over to see the clone saluting and smirking. Clearly he had been there for a few minutes but both ninja were so lost in memory, they'd failed to notice his presence.
Naruto backed away from Sakura, much to her dismay, and turned his attention to the clone. "You're supposed to be testing the genin, so then why are you here?"
"Ah right sorry sir, I am clone one of clone two. I have information on one of the students' abilities sir and since clone two is testing them he had me come to deliver it." Naruto nodded and walked to the shadow clone putting a hand on his shoulder.
He sent a small amount of chakra through the clone and absorbed him, taking in all the information. "Damnit now my arms numb, geeze having my clones make clones really is a useless ability…Oh wow…really? This is very interesting"
"What is it?"
He smirked and looked over to Sakura. "Looks like our little genius wasn't bluffing…in some areas"
"How so?"
"Kekkai Genkai"
Shikamaru walked to the buildings entrance. It was one of Konoha's finer hotels, it was first built after the destruction by the Akatsuki known as Pain, and it served well for visiting emissaries and diplomats. The village had agreed to pay for one of its finer suites and one of the only suites with two rooms so that the Suna shinobi would be able to experience the comforts of home while not on a mission. The boys would sleep in one room while the kunoichi, Temari included, would sleep in the other. Shikamaru couldn't help but feel a bit awkward at being able to sleep in his own apartment but it also acted as a meeting place with Temari and the various other shinobi in charge of genin groups.
"This place sucks! Why the hell are we here again? Oh that's right our stupid Kazekage believes Konoha actually has value!"
"Lady Hokage has twice the strength and ability of your Kazekage and she makes sure the leaf village is considered the best of all the hidden villages!"
"For starters your leader is a stupid old bitch and your shinobi are weak compared to ours!"
"Ha! Your Kazekage and Uzumaki-san fought one another in the war eight years ago and Uzumaki-san kicked his ass!"
"Have you heard one word I've said?! Our Kazekage is stupid and weak! And who the hell is Uzumaki? Another useless Konoha bastard perhaps?"
He sighed in an annoyed manner, obviously Temari wasn't there or she had become incapacitated somehow, he wanted to believe it was the former. He yawned and walked through the doors, he'd been able to deduce that the room was on the second floor do to the ridiculous amount of noise. This Suna student…Kisho Shonji…he was going to be a real handful, how troublesome. Grabbing a cigarette from his pack he lit it and started up the stairs, he had hoped this cigarette would help ignore the children that were shaking the very foundation of the building. He was sure the caretaker wanted to say something, but, since this experiment was very important for the villages he had kept his mouth shut and smiled at him as he passed.
These kids were going to make him a chain smoker like Asuma if he wasn't careful. He had never bought more than one pack every three months but then he met Leiko…he thought he was finally free of her obnoxious behavior, but she had literally driven him to start buying a pack every two months and now today he had bought his first pack a month after his last. To top it off Kisho was bringing the worst out of Kameko.
He reached the door to the room and just stopped to look at it, inside there was hell incarnate. He sighed and turned the door handle, it was better to get this over with now rather than later. He opened the door and was greeted with very loud and annoying voices and then was followed up with a plastic cup hitting him in the head. He looked around the room and noticed all the furniture had all been moved, the glass removed from the windows and screen door and Kameko and Kisho wrestling on the floor while their quiet teammates cheered them on silently. Shikamaru began having this strange feeling…he missed Leiko…
"I can see you all are getting along just wonderfully"
Clearly he was being ignored so Shikamaru went over to the door leading to one of the rooms and opened. "Well there's the furniture and the glass" He shut the door and turned around to the other and opened it. There was Temari lying on the bed, her fan planted firmly next to her in a defensive position, and a bottle of sake next to her nightstand. He chuckled and walked in shutting the door behind him.
"Getting drunk so early in the day Temari I thought the art of the drink did not befit you…..at least this early?"
She turned her head she was clearly flustered from having so much. "Shut up and grab a glass."
He walked to the sake bottle, set down his cigarette, and poured himself a glass. "Don't mind if I do, but not too much. After all we still have a full day ahead of us"
She groaned and waved him off.
"Well I should say you have a full day to sleep while I go and attempt to mesh this group together."
"I'm sorry Shikamaru they, they're too much right now…traveling three days and Kisho would not shut up!" *hic*
He chuckled and downed his drink, the power of sake was sometimes very refreshing. "Don't worry you just rest, I'll take them out of here and get them to start training." He set his glass down and put out his cigarette setting it in the glass and opened the door. "Take care of yourself now" He received a drowsy groan as he shut the door behind him. The noise that had been going on had abruptly stopped causing him a bit of worry and gave him a bit of a quick step in his walk.
The sight that greeted him was the exhausted Kameko and Kisho lying dead on the floor and their respective teammates dousing them with cool cloths and glasses of water. He slapped his face with his palm and dragged it down slowly. These kids are going to ruin the experiment. What was the Kazekage thinking by sending Kisho here? Did he have an alternative agenda? What did he think could be accomplished with such an unruly student? Well he wasn't one to question the leaders thinking, after all Suna had seen a spike in prosperity from day to day since he took over.
"Alright listen up you have five minutes to gather your gear and get ready, were heading out to the training grounds to try and mesh together. Understood?" Kameko, Ame, and Hikaru nodded as they started to move, slowly, but efficiently to gather together their things.
Kisho had other ideas. "Go suck a log pineapple head"
"Hmph"
"What the hell? Why can't I-? Why am I standing up?" Shikamaru raised his arm and touched his noise. "Why am I mimicking your movements?!!"
"Shadow possession success."
"What?!"
"The Nara clan shadow jutsu's are known throughout the ninja world. I have taken control of your movements and can easily walk you out of here and keep you controlled for the entire day or you can cooperate and listen."
"You dirty piece of crap!"
"So you've chosen to have me walk you around then?"
He started towards the door, taking the student with him. "Wait fine! I'll get ready!"
"Glad to hear it. Kameko you know where the training grounds are right?"
"Yes sensei"
"Good, I'm taking off I'll meet you all at training ground six in one hour."
He walked towards the door and opened it showing himself out at a nice slow pace that reflected his general character. "Don't be late"
As soon as he shut the door behind him Kameko and Ame burst out laughing at the clearly embarrassed Kisho. To be handled and imitated by a leaf ninja so easily had to have been the biggest insult to someone who was so confident in himself.
Shikamaru stopped and listened for a brief moment as the girls started laughing and Kisho started to shoot his mouth off at them again. He sighed as he walked down the stairs, these kids would probably never get along but he had a duty to make them try. He reached in his pocket and pulled out the carton of cigarettes and took a careful look at them. "Damn kids" He put the package back in his pocket and flashed a smile to the caretaker on his way out, he had to show some restraint to these addictive things and besides he had to visit someone he knew hated the smell of cigarettes.
"You're a feisty one aren't you?"
The clone stood atop the branch scanning the tree line carefully looking for his target. This boy was a swift and silent one. He didn't act unless he had the advantage and he waited patiently to make his move, in fact he hadn't attacked for the first hour. The clone shut his eyes as he mentally scanned the imagery of the forest in his mind.
Hiroshi looked down through the branch of leaves that served as his cover. The clone had either failed to notice the genin above him or he was toying with him. Either way this all figured into Hiroshi's plan. He checked his fingers and counted the strings attached to each other. Very thin and very light the strings blended in with their surroundings, giving the genin a distinct advantage…the clone had failed to notice the trap that lay around him. Hiroshi mentally counted down in his head.
5…4…3…2…1…
He clenched his right hand around a kunai as all five strings broke sending several volley's of hidden kunai at the clone.
"What the hell?!"
The clone jumped from branch to branch avoiding each kunai by only the slimmest of margins and made his way towards the tree Hiroshi was waiting to spring his ambush.
"Phase two"
He wiped his brow and stopped contemplating where the kid would strike next. "Well that little brat has quite the arsenal up his sle—Oh crap!"
Hiroshi clenched his left hand around another kunai that, like the other, had a string of its own tied to the end. The five strings tied to his left hand loosened causing the branch the clone was on to explode and making him start jumping upwards towards a set of branches Hiroshi had marked as his target area.
"Damn this brat" The clone jumped and dodged kunai and explosion as he moved quickly around the great oak tree he had figured he'd been led to on purpose until he landed on a very large and very thick branch.
"There!"
Hiroshi threw both kunai and started picking up kunai that lay in front of him, with strings of there own, throwing them as quickly as he could with deadly accuracy.
The clone stood up on the branch and smirked in embarrassment, he had been caught in a genin's masterful trap. "When did you set all this up?" two dozen kunai were stabbed in different branches and trees surrounding the clone and explosive tags were placed at strategic points along the strings to make sure he couldn't escape.
Jumping down from his hiding place, the genin landed gracefully on the branch below him holding a kunai with all strings attached to it. "Shikamaru-sensei told us that strategy is one of the most important attributes for a shinobi to have in addition to analyzing your opponent's habits. When you have the opportunity to do both of these you can formulate a winning plan and get out alive, even against a superior opponent.
The clone chuckled and held out his hand. "You seem to understand a lot of the important basics to being a ninja. You however have yet to realize the most important." Chakra started to swirl visibly in his hand causing a slight panic in the kid's mind. Though only a genin he could sense the danger in such a technique and he had never seen that much visible chakra. "Until you grasp this concept I cannot be defeated!"
Hiroshi, with a look of determination on his face, used a fire jutsu and quickly fanned flames quickly down the strings causing the tags to explode fiercely knocking down branches and trees that he had hoped would help keep the clone from finding a way to escape. As the explosions got closer and closer the clone smirked and turned around.
"Rasengan!"
He pushed the attack threw the tree as quick as he could cutting clear through it and jumped out from the trapped area.
Hiroshi swore at the situation as he watched the clone escape from the trap and in doing so failed to realize he hadn't moved himself out of the danger area. He turned around in time to see a tree had not fallen the way he had hoped and was mere seconds away from crushing him.
The clone had used the part of the tree he'd cut, to launch himself quickly towards Hiroshi. He had seen the tree falling at the boy and seen that he had been so focused on killing him; he failed to notice he'd misplaced one of his kunai and caused the tree to start falling towards him. The clone flew by the boy, grabbing him by the collar and landing in a small open area a safe distance from the explosions. He then threw the boy at the nearest tree and smiled arrogantly.
"For someone who seems to be such a student of Shikamaru's teachings you panicked when things fell apart, failed to notice the mistake in your plans and have yet to realize the importance of his teachings."
Hiroshi, on his knees gasping for air, looked at the clone and spat on the ground. "How am I supposed to kill you when you're using techniques of that level?!"
"That's just it YOU can't!"
Raidon found himself working harder than he had in a long, long time. This was supposed to be his nap time, after all just last week Shikamaru-sensei had been giving one of his final lectures before the final review for the academy test and he had slept through every word. In fact to retaliate from his napping in class Shikamaru left him sleeping long after the academy had let out for the day. He sighed, how he missed being able to sleep through the day and let the world pass by. He could never understand why Shikamaru-sensei, who appeared to be a lazy guy himself, always kept them busy as though he was talking from experience. He may look like he was lazy but, Raidon was sure he had been some kind of workhorse his entire life.
He pulled a kunai and waited for the clone to come out of the brush and expose himself to the open. He had never really cared about being a ninja, ever since he entered the academy and was swarmed by the instructors who kept reminding him that he was supposed to be some kind of prodigy. He got sick of being expected to ace every test, and pass every course with flying colors. So one day he decided he didn't want that pressure anymore, it had become more of a bore than an actual adventure. At age eight he had been the best student in class, by nine he was in danger of failing out of the academy. It was then that he met Shikamaru-sensei; he had expected to be given another lecture about applying himself. Instead he was laughed at and treated like some lazy bastard who wasn't worth his time, it was then that Raidon started developing respect for his new sensei, and though he really didn't care about being a prodigy, he didn't want to be looked down upon by him as useless.
"You know getting lost in your thoughts is a great way to be killed, especially when you're fighting"
Raidon shook his head free of thoughts and turned around to see the clone resting up against a tree reading the newest volume of the Icha Icha series. "When did you?"
Shutting the book he put in back in his pouch and turned his attention to the genin. "You seemed pretty deep in thought there, thought I'd let you be while you sorted it out…so what were thinking about? How to beat me? What you needed to do to be successful? I've heard you had the makings of a genius. I've heard you understand, more than anyone in your class, what it takes to become a ninja."
He huffed and put his kunai back into his own pouch. Crouching he put his hands up into a defensive position and moved his feet into a launching position.
"Oh now you're just showing off"
"I gotta remember what mom taught me. Focus….focus…" He shut his eyes and started to take in his surroundings. Just what was the best path to take?
"So Shikamaru wasn't kidding, you seem to have a good grasp on what was taught to you, and yet you're not preparing to kill me are you?"
"Hmph, I don't care about myself, I am a ninja because my mom wants me to be and it seems like it would be more exciting than normal boring life. For once though I agree with Leiko, Shikamaru-sensei really gave us a giant prick for a sensei. I'd rather go back to the academy than deal with you. However…"
"You know I have feelings too and your words kinda hurt them"
"I wont let you keep my friends from failing this stupid exam" He used his incredible speed, incredible only because the clone had not expected him to be as fast as he was, and launched passed him. He smirked and started jumping from branch to branch as he made his way towards his teammates.
The clone smirked and shut his eyes. "Impressive" He started to laugh loudly causing Raidon to stop and look over his shoulder. "If you go to any of your friends and 'help' them then I will have to not only disqualify you, but I will disqualify them as well, and I'll instruct the others to kill the teammate you help."
"What!? You…Bastard!"
He turned around and looked directly into the angry boy's eyes. "That's right; can you go to your friends so confidently and help them defeat their opponent? Knowing not only that you will be the sole reason they fail but in addition could you defeat their opponent before he kills them? Or could you use a powerful attack or projectile to take him out without endangering your friend?"
"Give me your answer kid"
Rage began to fuel Raidon's temper. This guy was out to destroy all of their hopes. "You never planned on letting any of us pass did you?!?"
"I don't know; to be honest you haven't given me any reason to pass you guys. Can you give me one?"
In a flash Raidon charged at the clone, his intent to kill him had become visible as his eyes gave way to his inner rage. With a slash of his arm he swung downward and attempted to use brute force to crush the skull of the clone and make sure the original one felt it.
The clone sighed and took a couple steps backwards. "That unfortunately wasn't the answer I was looking for." The genin had put all his strength into that one attack in hopes of defeating him and when he missed, his force took him forward straight into the ground crushing his arm under his body and hitting his head hard enough to knock him unconscious.
The clone sighed and shook his head as he looked at the unconscious boy. "A ninja must see underneath the underneath. You let my petty words control your actions, although maybe I was a bit harsh? Ah well they have to learn these things…besides" He looked down at his vest and watched it rip into two along with the shirt he had on underneath it. "I want to know exactly what you just did"
Leiko was out of breath, she wasn't going to allow that clone to get away form her, not when she was so close too killing him twice now! although he seemed to laugh at every time she came within an inch of hitting him. She figured he may have been taunting her since he seemed to be better than she initially gave him credit for. She however, was better. She was Leiko Fukushima and almost no one had a better pedigree than she had, and to top it off she had a kekkai genkai that not even her father had as strongly as she did…then again she never actually told her parents she'd learned how to do this.
"Concentrate on your surroundings kid!"
She stopped and hid up against the trunk of a giant oak tree and peered over her shoulder, narrowing her eyes as she watched the scene in front of her. "Gina" a small thought tugged at the back of her mind. The clone hadn't realized she was there yet…maybe she could just take her clone and make it her own kill! After all he hadn't actually given them specific clones to fight did he? Hmph he probably would credit Gina with the kill though and then she would pass.
"Hmph, If there is any justice I could kill him and move on, leaving Gina and those other idiots behind."
"Hey" whispered a voice "Maybe you should help her? Then she could help you pass."
"Hell no" she whispered "I have to save my arrows to kill my own target, besides she isn't worth my help"
"Well that's not a very nice attitude"
"So what, she always gotten mor- wait a minute!" Leiko turned back around and looked to her right to see the clone leaning up against the same tree looking over his own shoulder at the girls' fight.
"Hi there"
Leiko grabbed a kunai and swung it at arms length, the clone ducked down placing both hands firmly on the ground as her kunai imbedded itself in the trunk of the tree.
"Earth Element: Earth Prison!"
A wall of dirt and vines crept up from the ground and from the tree's trunk enveloping the girl tightly in a prison leaving her only head uncovered and moveable. "Hey this isn't fair!"
"Being a ninja isn't fair Leiko Fukushima and besides, you've failed to do anything right and with all this ability you claim to have, I am left disappointed and betrayed that Shikamaru spoke so highly about all of you, especially the things he said about you."
"Shikamaru-sensei…"
"Now be quiet and watch. I'm curious to see how this girl performs."
Shikamaru leaned up against the fence pole, his arms crossed and eye shut, as he waited for his friend to come out from their appointment. After all, today was the day she got her physical and completed her entry into the kunoichi classes.
"Did you see mommy! She said I was gunna be a strong kunoichi!"
"That she did."
He looked up to see the girl, with a hyperactive drive going crazy, dancing and running around as her mother smiled and hummed a tune to herself. Obviously things went well and she was soon headed to start her own schooling that would last until the instructors deemed her ready to participate in the duties of a ninja. "I expect nothing less of a Sarutobi!"
The girl stopped and looked up smiling brightly, a smile that would have made Asuma one weak kneed father. It was his job to act as a father and mentor to this child, for that was the promised made to his dying sensei. It was a promise he intended to fill.
"Shikamaru!" He knelt down and opened his arms, preparing to catch the charging girl. She ran full speed and straight into his chest, hard enough to knock him off balance and onto the ground.
"How can one so small have such strength?"
She positioned herself so that she was sitting defiantly on top of his chest, pinning him to the ground. "I'm a Sarutobi! we're the village's strongest clan! cousin Konohamaru said so!"
"Heh, they certainly have no lack of ninja ability that's for sure" He embraced the girl tightly as he sat up, to stand up, and pick her up. He grunted as he lifted himself off the ground. "I must be getting old if a girl who's not yet a genin can take me out in one hit."
Kohana shut her right eye and stuck her tongue out at that the shadow user, then buried her face in the crook of his neck. It had become a habit for her growing up. Whenever he took care of her, when her mom was off on a mission or was away, he would end up taking care of her weeks on end and spent many a nights being rocked to sleep by her uncle, or surrogate father. It was also this little practice that she learned of his habits causing her to berate him every time he came around. "You smell bad again!" she scrunched her face in disapproval as she lifted her head to look him straight in the eyes and let him know she didn't like it when he had that bad smell!
He chuckled uneasily under the steely gaze of the five year old. "Ahh, here I thought I could escape your nose but alas I cannot."
Kurenai chuckled as he put on an old lazy and annoyed face while her daughter took the place of Asuma by lecturing him about his bad habit and how she didn't like it when he smelled so bad. "I hate to interrupt this friendly banter but I'm sure you're not here for a long visit."
He sighed and put the girl down on the ground, squatting down to meet her eye level. "Yes I actually came to talk to you Kohana."
"Okay!" She smiled brightly and showed all her teeth in a bright manner to the man who had been there for every major moment in her life.
"I came to tell you that I won't be around too much for awhile, Lady Hokage has given me a job that will require a lot of my time and so I'm not going to see you too much for the next couple years."
The girl's bottom lip started to quiver as she did her best to hold back her tears, but didn't do so much to hold back the fact she wasn't happy about it. "What do you mean!?" She whined and took a step back from him.
"You're about to start Kunoichi class and begin your ninja career. I have been tasked with giving young ninja's, older than you, the final years of teaching before they become full fledged ninja's themselves. I'll still be around, just not nearly as much as I have been…do you understand Kohana?"
Too young to actually grasp what was being told to her, she stomped her foot and ran away from him and too her mom. Shikamaru stood up and kept a solemn look on his face as he smirked wryly at Kurenai. The young girl was crying, angry at him for not wanting to be around her. As a young girl she didn't care that he'd still visit. To her this was his way of saying he would never come back.
Kurenai put a hand on her daughter's head, now clinging tightly to her leg, and looked up sadly towards her former student. "Shikamaru…"
He put a hand up, stopping her in mid sentence. "You don't need to say anything sensei." He reached into his pouch and grabbed something. He opened his hand revealing a small black box. In a quick motion he threw the box to Kurenai. "Those are the earrings your father gave to me…keep them safe until I see you again."
Kohana stopped crying, for only a moment, and turned around only to see that he was gone.
Leiko grunted as she struggled against the binding force of the dirt prison surrounding her body. This was an awful predicament she had gotten herself into. Being caught off-guard and so close to Gina's battle. Now she was going to end up failing her exam because that stupid clone had put her in this stupid prison. She looked up to the sky and whined to her guard. "This is soooo not fair!"
"And what did I say before? Well actually I didn't….never mind." He turned his attention away from the battle and pointed at the girl. "You. Quiet!"
"But!"
"No…Q…U…I…E…T."
"How am I supposed to pass if you're not being fair to us!?"
"For you to pass, I have been more than fair enough. Just five minutes ago I gave you a chance to pass and you failed."
"I tried to take you out and you locked me a prison of dirt!"
"No…you failed before you tried to strike me with your blade"
Gina was tired out, she breathing heavily and wiping sweat from her brow. She had tried everything she knew against the clone but could not break his defenses. Granted she figured she didn't stand as much of a chance as the others when they started, but, she at least figured she could lay a scratch on him, but even that she couldn't accomplish. She leaned back against the tree trying to catch her breath, and covered her head with her hands in shame. She was failing her father and everything he said she would be. She pounded her fists against the ground. It wasn't fair! She had gone through her childhood trying to learn everything the sensei's taught her by herself. Only Raidon ever really gave her a hand but he couldn't always be there and he was learning the stuff at the same time she was. So why did Leiko grasp everything so quickly and she couldn't even throw a kunai straight?
She wiped a tear from her eye and hardened her resolve. Her father would have slapped her across the face if he knew she was ready give up and forget ever being a ninja. He had always said he would be there for her after all and now was as good a time as any right? She reached in her pouch and pulled out the headband looking at it with deep thought; maybe, just maybe she could put it to use.
She took a peak around the stump of the tree and scanned the brush for the clone…there! The clone had his back towards her looking towards the west. He was in a perfect position for an ambush and with the sun starting to set it was hitting the perfect spot in the brush. She set the headband down and pulled out kunai slicing a small bit of skin along her index finger. Holding the finger out over the headband, she let a couple drops of blood fall on the metal plate. She rubbed her thumb lightly across the plate, smearing the blood, as she held it around the tree and positioned it to reflect the sun.
The clone saw a light flicker from the side of his eye. "There you are!" He turned around and threw a kunai at the flicker. It was a blunt throw, one that should have been easy to dodge. However he heard the tearing of flesh and the light whimper of a girl as she cried in pain.
"Damnit!"
He moved quickly to the spot where he expected the young genin to be hidden. Landing at the base of the tree he saw the girl…lying in a pool of blood, the kunai had struck her in the side of the head cutting her headband and leaving it to soak up the blood that was seeping heavily into the earth. He leaned over and picked the headband looking over it carefully…it confirmed his suspicions. He folded his hands and whispered.
"Kai"
The genjutsu released and just in time as Gina swung down her dagger aiming for the clones head.
The clone looked up and grabbed her wrist stopping the kunai just in front of his head. "Ill admit for a split second you had me, lucky for me your genjutsu is weak enough to detect easily. I will say I'm impressed kid, you've fought hard the whole time only to fail repeatedly and yet you haven't given up…should I ask what drives you? Why haven't you thrown in the towel when you're clearly tired and outmatched?"
Leiko stared dumbfounded at the clone that had captured her. "How does an elite ninja like yourself get caught in a genin level genjutsu…"
He crossed his arms and in a huff declared proudly. "We clones don't fall for genjutsu's. Only the original falls for them, especially since they're his weakness. Though normally he can break out of them thanks to his sage abilities."
Leiko blinked a couple times before realization hit her. "So that's not a clone fighting her then?"
"No, and I didn't actually trap you in dirt, we also didn't defeat Hiroshi's trap or crush Raidon's spirit."
"What the hell!! We've been fighting him the whole fucking time!!!"
"Such harsh language you have, should a girl your age be using such words?"
Leiko struggled against her prison determined to get out and kick her sensei's ass as hard as she could. Their orders were to kill the clones and if they ended up fighting the damn fool who made them then that was unfair. He really didn't give them a chance; from the minute they had started they were doomed to fail.
The sound of a loud bell rung throughout the training ground signaling the end of the three hours. Leiko felt her prison disappear causing her to fall to the ground and land on her knees. She shook her head free of the dizziness she felt and brushed herself off. Looking up she saw the clone release itself leaving her next to rest against the tree.
"Damn dirty sensei"
Leiko struggled against the tightness of the ropes trying her best to get out of them. "This is stupid! You can't do this to me sensei!"
Naruto stood staring at the exhausted students, his arms crossed, with a cold, hard, set of eyes. There was Leiko tied to the middle post like he'd been and the rest of the group lying on the ground trying to catch their breath and hide their looks of shame. Perhaps the clones had been too rough on them…either way he had found all of them to posses unique abilities that, if trained properly, could make all of them trained killing machines and protectors of the village.
"Shut up Leiko."
The girl stopped struggling and furrowed her brow as she gave Naruto a stubborn look of defiance. This guy had toyed with them the entire time. He had no intentions of making it fair for any of them and he didn't even to attempt hiding it!
"You made a mockery of us you jerk!"
Raidon sat up, clearly he was still trying to recover from Chakra exhaustion, and spat at the ground in front of Naruto's feet causing him to look down. "You treated all of us like crap and used us for a few simple hours of enjoyment. I can't believe there was someone who was more of a jerk than Leiko!"
Sakura eyed Naruto's reactions with curiosity. She knew the basic idea of what he was doing and having a test that was different from the bell test was interesting and different, however just what had he done with these students. How did he plan on getting his point across and did he truly do this only to make sure they didn't pass?
"You didn't stick with your own damn rules! You fought all of us yourself making it impossible for any of us to defeat you. You liar!"
"I gave you all plenty of chances to pass, you just didn't take advantage of the opportunities."
"Bullshit!"
Naruto smirked and pointed at the angry boy. "A ninja must see underneath the underneath Raidon! Words can be a most powerful tool on a battlefield, they can even mean the difference between victory and defeat. After all you were quick to let your rational disappear and replace it with anger. You were ready to be selfless and help your friends only to succumb to anger and despair."
His face flustered and embarrassed Raidon stared at his sensei wanting to rip out his eyes and stomp on his head. Could this be the anger he was talking about?
Naruto turned around and smiled in a mischievous manner at Sakura. "How's my Kakashi impersonation so far? Awesome isn't it!"
She narrowed her eyes and walked up to him getting about a nose length away from his face. She shut her eyes and took a deep breath. "BE SERIOUS FOR A MOMENT YOU IDIOT!" She hit him hard on the head and walked back to where she had been standing before.
Rubbing his head he turned back to his students who's angry faces had been replaced by satisfied looks of happiness. They were reveling in the idea that someone had control over their stupid sensei.
"Anyway back to business. "I'm inclined to give you three a second chance as per the rules." He pointed to Hiroshi, Raidon, and Gina. "You however Leiko Fukushima…I'm not going to send you back to the academy. In fact I'm going to try and get you disbarred from ever becoming a ninja!"
She was to say the least shocked. She didn't expect any of them to be given a second chance by this fool, but this…this was a slap in the face! He was willing to give the others a second chance but fail her and send her home, never to become a ninja! She shut her eyes trying to keep herself from crying. She had been embarrassed almost every ten minutes since she had met her sensei five hours ago. He had seemed to have it out for her from the minute he met her…though the fact she had thrown a kunai into his gut couldn't have helped that.
Sakura watched solemnly as the girl was visibly doing her best to keep herself from crying although failing as the tears running down her cheeks were clear as day.
"That's not fair!" Gina stepped up and put her foot down. "Why do we get a second chance but Leiko doesn't!"
His eyes remained emotionless. "Because I dictate the rules and I get to choose those I think have the potential to be ninja's"
"I'm not leaving Leiko behind! She may not be the nicest person in the world, but she's done nothing different than we did!"
She walked over to her and pulled a kunai from her pouch.
"What are you doing!? Do you want to give up your ninja career just like that?"
She smiled and started cutting the ropes that held her to the post. "I still have that hairclip you know"
She stopped her tears and looked into Gina's eyes. Smiling she whispered. "Thank you"
Raidon stood up and brushed himself off. "Leiko may be mean, but she's always been a good ninja and if Gina won't leave her behind then neither will I." Grabbing his own kunai he walked over and started cutting the ropes.
"Same here" Following suit, Hiroshi stood up and walked to where the other three were standing.
Naruto looked them over a small smirk graced his face as he contemplated their actions. "So all of you are ready to forever give up your ninja careers and become nothing more than common citizens then?" He sighed, walked over to the memorial stone and picked up his bag. "I can't argue with results. I'll see you all tomorrow in front of the Hokage mansion for your first mission. Seven in the morning, don't be late" He walked over to Sakura and whispered in her ear. "Can you take everything from here?"
She nodded slightly and walked towards the genin.
As the last ropes fell from around her she could only mutter a few words. "What the hell just happened?"