Chapter Two: Arc One: Academy Life/Taifū Life
Naruto woke up in a strange room. However, since the room was not dangerous in his eyes, he didn't pay it any mind. That didn't mean he wasn't wary of his surroundings. He didn't live this long in an orphanage this long without being careful.
He groaned, as he stretched his body, and popped his joints in place. He heard footsteps coming towards the room, so he tensed.
The door opened up, and a woman walked in the room, and set some clothes on the dresser. "Ohayo Taifū-sama. How are you this morning?" she asked, confusing Naruto.
Naruto cocked an eyebrow. "Taifū? I thought my last name was Uzumaki?" he said.
She giggled. "Silly, you were adopted last night...You are now a member of the Tatsumaki Clan, of the Taifū House, the strongest House in the Clan...You are now royalty..." she informed him, making his eyes widen.
Naruto promptly fainted.
Three hours after he passed out, he woke up in the room he saw earlier. This time, the woman who convinced him to release Kyōka Suigetsu was sitting on the bottom of the bed.
She saw him stir in bed, and knew he was awake. "How are you this morning Naruto?" she asked softly.
Naruto poked his head from under the covers. "I feel weird. The only home I ever had was Neko-chan's house, and now I'm royalty. I have a question though. Why did you adopt me? I am a normal orphan, only with a dojutsu." he said downcast.
She shook her head, and pulled him from under the covers. She hugged him, and said, "Not only that, but you have potential, and are a kind person. You could have killed that man, or simply raped Akira-chan as well. Instead, you save a girl you didn't even know, because you felt that it was the right thing to do, and punished the man who committed the crime greatly. That proved you have limitless honor. And that's what the Taifū House is about. Honor, love, and compassion are what we represent, and what you will as well."
Naruto teared up, and Shūchū wiped his tears away, and he began asking questions. "Can you tell me about the Four Houses?" he queried.
She smiled, and nodded. "Well, I'll start with the Taifū House. we are the strongest Suiton users in the entire clan, though everyone can use it powerfully. Also, we are the only Kenjutsu-Genjutsu clan in Konoha, and one of the strongest in the elemental nations, second to the famed Kageyoshi Clan of Kirigakure. Our House crest is the Hana Wachigai crest, which is a circle, with a diamond in the middle, and inside that diamond is a flower. The Harikēn House is next. They are the best Taijutsu users in our Clan, and will teach anyone in the clan any Taijutsu if they so wish. Their crest is the Unbound Vision crest, which is a circle, with two wings with a swirl at the end, with an eye in the middle, which represents the eye of the storm, and their endless wisdom and foresight. Next is the Teppōmizu House. They are the Ninjutsu specialists, and they are the holders of our prized Ninjutsu Scrolls. Their crest is the Tomoe Hachiman Crest, which is a circular shaped crest, with a spinning tomoe inside it, which shows their power since the Tomoe Hachiman is a tribute to the god of war, Hachiman. And finally, the Arashi House. Their crest is the Mon crest, which consists of a bold black line, with three circles in a triangle shape underneath, meaning nothing is beneath them. They are a well-rounded House, which means they use all three ninja facets. And the people in the clan that don't wish to be a Shinobi, may become maids if they wish, or babysitters for the young ones. However, we are not the Hyuuga Clan. We do not put seals on our family members. So, was that informational enough for you Naruto?" she asked.
Naruto was in information overload currently, and took him five minutes to fully process the information he received. "So, what am I going to do about clothes? This outfit is the only one I have..." he said sadly.
She smirked. "Well, you don't have to worry about that Naruto. You can either wear clan issue clothing, or buy them. Now that the idiot council has apparently changed their views about you. Though I wouldn't let your guard down, it could be a trick, just be weary near them." she advised.
Naruto smiled. Then she continued talking. "Also, now that you are in the Tatsumaki Clan Naruto, you will have to have a tutor. I looked over your grades, and one of the Arashi House members did an evaluation of your teachers, and we didn't like the results. One of your sensei at the Academy clearly sabotaged your learning there, and thus is why your grades are so poor. So we will rectify that. Now, when you get out of the Academy today, your private lessons will begin, and I will teach you a jutsu to quicken your learning pace, though you must never use this jutsu in battle. It is a chakra waster, and makes you dependent on the jutsu. So, go go to the bathhouse, and get dressed. Your clan clothes are on the bench on the side of the bathhouse." she told him as she left.
Naruto was about to get out of bed, but she walked back in. "Oh, I almost forgot. Akira wanted to thank you, so she will see you after you return." she said.
Naruto nodded, and went to the bathhouse. He never felt that good in his life. The water washed his stress away, and he just melted in the water. Forty-five minutes later, he still was in heaven, until a member of the Teppōmizu House was sent to retrieve him.
"Naruto-sama, it's time for the academy. Go get dressed, and meet me in the front of the compound." she said.
Naruto sighed, and vowed to return to his new favorite place in the compound.
What was selected for him was a grey shirt with the Hana Wachigai crest on the back, slightly tucked in a pair of loose black pants, with a white belt tied in a bow around his midsection (called shimenawa.) There was a pair of grey geta for him to wear. He had to say, it wasn't orange, but it had style.
As he was walking to the front, he saw the person whom was going to be accompanying him to the Academy. Naruto had to take a double-take. She was stunningly beautiful. She was his height, long whitish blond hair, and grey eyes, that looked as if he was staring into a hurricane, then he noticed her having the Unbound Vision Crest on her jacket, and he instantly knew she was a member of the Harikēn House. She wore a white jacket, with the Crest on the back of the jacket. The jacket was sleeve-less and half-way zipped, showing her curves and black fishnet shirt. She wore some grey loose shirts with shin guards and medical bandages on her forearms and legs and feet. She had on some standard issue shinobi sandals as well.
Naruto couldn't help but stare for a second. Unfortunately for him, he was staring at the wrong thing; her breasts. As soon as he made eye contact with her, he saw her beautiful grey eyes narrow. She didn't know enough about him to classify him as a pervert, but she would make sure he wasn't.
"Are you staring at my chest Naruto-sama?" she asked sweetly, making him shudder. He shook his head furiously, not wanting to piss off the martial artist.
She knew he was lying, so she decided to play with his mind. "Aww, too bad, I was hoping you were..." she said, as she pushed her breasts up, in a provocative manner, making him blush madly.
"I-i was-" was all he could say, before he knew he was caught." 'Crap...' he thought.
She gave an evil smirk. "Well, next time you stare at my chest, make sure you don't get caught..." she said as she opened the door, and walked out. "Oh, by the way, the name's Kiko Nakatome Harikēn." she said.
Naruto heard that, and ran after her. "Wait, does this mean I can look at your chest?" he called out to her. He ran to her with a perverted smile on his face. "Wait up!"
They made it to the Academy, and after twenty minutes of perverse flirting on both sides, they went in to the Academy. Naruto's mood was shot to hell. Though he didn't get mad, or even upset, his pupil started shaking, meaning that at the slightest joke about him, hell would be unleashed.
Kiko saw this, and smiled slightly. "Calm down Naruto-sama. All I can ask is not to permanently scar their brains, ok?" she asked, making his mood brighten.
They knocked on the door, and a brown haired Chuunin, by the name of Umino Iruka, opened it. "Hello, may I help you?" he asked, unsure of why she was here.
She nodded. "I am Kiko Harikēn of the Tatsumaki Clan, and as you know, this is Naruto Uzumaki Taifū. I'm sorry we're so late today, it's just that Lady Shūchū had a talk with him this morning." she said, and everyone in the room heard.
Mizuki was pissed, now the brat had protection! Ino, Sakura, and Sasuke laughed. Nobody paid them any attention though, much to their ire.
Iruka smiled a hundred megawatt smile. He actually missed the blond. "Ahh, hey Naruto-kun, glad to have you back!" he said happily.
Naruto smiled back. "Glad to be back Iruka-sensei." he said, pupils still shaking. He liked Iruka, but he wouldn't put up with anyone's crap, especially Mizuki's.
Kiko smiled, and turned to Naruto. "I'll return to get you when the Academy lets out. Have a good day, I guess." she said, as she gave him a quick peck on the cheek, making Naruto blush even harder, and Iruka laugh hard. "Bye Naruto-sama..."
She shunshined away in a mini-hurricane.
Naruto was speechless, so he just walked up the aisle, and sat down next to his best friend, Kiba Inuzuka.
He slapped him on the back, and chuckled. "Aww, Naruto's blushing!" he teased.
Naruto punched him on the arm.
"Ouch!" Kiba yipped. Naruto smirked, and Iruka began his lesson.
"Alright class, time for today's lesson. The topic is: Ninja Strategies & Stealth."
Everyone besides Naruto, Sasuke, Shino, and Shikamaru groaned, Naruto because this was actually the few lessons he excelled in. How could he not? He painted the Hokage Mountain in broad daylight!
Naruto paid attention to the lesson.
Iruka nodded, and began. "Now that you know the lesson, let's begin. Who knows why Shinobi need stealth training?" he asked.
Naruto raised his hand, and once Iruka nodded his approval, he answered. "Mainly because of the fact that Shinobi hide in the shadows, and strike when the target least expects it."
Iruka smiled, and Mizuki frowned. He couldn't sabotage this lesson, mainly because the boy was a genius in Stealth & Tactics.
"That is correct. Since you knew the answer to that question, answer this. If you were sent on a mission to Kumogakure, and your mission was to infiltrate the Raikage's office, what would you do to gain entrance, and how would you get the information needed by the Hokage?" he asked.
Everyone looked at him, expectant. Even Sasuke knew how good he was on this subject.
Naruto thought about it for a minute, and smiled. He answered, "Well, first I would gain entrance by scoping out the obvious ANBU surrounding the office, and see what patterns I could find in their routine. Then, I would systematically take one out, and switch clothing with the ANBU agent I subdued, and take his shift. When the shift was over, I would wait until the Raikage
left to go home, and then wait until the period when all ANBU switched out, and then gain entrance to the office. Then I would wait, until they switched out again, and sneak out, as if nothing happened."
Everyone was in shock, even Mizuki. That plan was fool-proof. None could deny that he was a tactical genius.
Iruka smirked. Naruto's answer was perfect, not missing a step. "Good job Naruto, now moving on..." he said, as he continued the lesson.
Naruto was walking out the Academy, and was surprised by his new friend Kiko. She smiled, and waved lightly to gain his attention.
Naruto walked towards her, and smiled. "Hey Kiko. How was our day?" he asked glad to see her. For some reason, he felt good around her. He didn't have to subconsciously activate Kyōka Suigetsu around them.
She smiled back. "Fine, we had to give one of the sensei in your class a long talk during your afternoon break. How was your day?"
Naruto remembered Mizuki leaving the Academy grounds for a while, and came back after break pissed of for some reason. Naruto paid him no mind, because if he came at Naruto pissed, he would swiftly activate Kyōka Suigetsu.
Naruto shook his head of those thoughts. "It was fine. We talked about Tactics & Stealth, and I kicked ass!" he shouted.
She smirked, and sneakily draped an arm around his shoulder, though Naruto caught on, and snaked his arm around her waist.
She felt his warm arm around her, and she grinned. "So soon Naruto-sama? You'd have to buy me dinner first..." she whispered so only he heard it.
Naruto blushed furiously, and turned his head away from her, making her laugh at his embarrassment.
As they reached the compound, Naruto sported a massive nosebleed, reasons unknown, besides the fact that Naruto would forever cherish his right hand.
They opened the door, and saw Shūchū waiting on them.
She smiled as she saw Naruto and Kiko. "Ahh Naru-chan, Kiko-chan...Nice to have you home. Naruto, how was the academy?" she asked.
Naruto smiled, and answered, "Pretty good. Had my favorite lesson today, which I aced."
She nodded, and saw how Naruto was looking at Kiko out of the corner of his eyes. "Ahh, Naru-chan, whatcha looking at?" she asked, letting Naruto know what, no who he was looking at.
Naruto shook his head at a breakneck speed. "Nothing!" he chirped.
Shūchū smirked. "Well, now that you are here, we can get to training. Go and get dressed into your training clothes. They are on your bed, and I want you to wrap your limbs in medical tape, to protect your bones." she told him.
He just ran off to his room, and went to get dressed.
Meanwhile, Kiko and Shūchū had a little talk. "So, what's going on between you and Naru-chan?" she asked Kiko.
Said girl shrugged her shoulders. "Naruto-sama is a pervert, and I like messing with him, that's it..." she said, as she blushed.
The Tatsumaki Clan Head snorted. "That blush says otherwise. You already have a crush on him? Well, I really could care less about it, just don't hurt him, otherwise you will end up hurting yourself..." she said cryptically.
She left, to go to the training grounds, to train her pupil/clan member.
About ten minutes later, Naruto walked outside. He was wearing a simple white shirt, with a pair of black hakama. He went barefoot, with his feet wrapped up, and arms wrapped to his elbow as well.
His tutor was none other than Kiko, and she wore the same thing he did, and he knew this was standard dress for all that trained.
He looked at her as a future enemy, which was expected of those training. No other emotions were supposed to be shown on the training grounds, Neko and Weasel taught him that. They gave him the basic training to survive in the harsh village of Konoha.
Kiko spoke to him. "From here on out, we will train your Taijutsu. No ninjutsu or Genjutsu, or else I will not go easy on you..." she threatened, causing him to smirk. "What's so funny?" she asked.
Naruto simply said, "Don't hold back, I heal easy." And with that, he settled into a sloppy Taijutsu stance. He closed his eyes, and opened them, only to find that Kiko was missing.
He felt a fist in his gut. He almost threw up his lunch, but barely held it in. He tried to move out of the way, but a swift kick to the shins stopped all movement.
"Never lose focus of your enemy." Kiko's cold voice said. "Get up. I will fix your poor Taijutsu if I have to break all of your bones to make your body learn the movements."
Naruto struggled to stand up. When he finally did, she disappeared again, only to punch him in the jaw, sending him into a tree. She launched another kick to his face, only for him to narrowly dodge, and punch her in the face.
She grinned, "Not bad, but stop. I will be teaching you two styles of fighting: Jujutsu and Judo. Jujutsu is literally translated to "art of pliance". More accurately, however, it means the art of using indirect force, such as joint locks or throwing techniques, to defeat an opponent, as opposed to direct force such as a punch or a kick. This is not to imply that jujutsu does not teach or employ strikes, but rather that the art's aim is the ability to use an attacker's force against him or her, and counter-attack where they are weakest or least defended. Methods of combat included striking: kicking, punching, throwing: body throws, joint-lock throws, unbalance throws, restraining: pinning, strangulating, grappling, wrestling and weaponry. Defensive tactics included blocking, evading, off balancing, blending and escaping." She explained.
Naruto was excited, but didn't dare show it, lest she punch or kick him.
She continued. "Judo, literally meaning "gentle way" or "way of softness", is a modern grappling-based martial art, practiced primarily as a sport. It contains substantially the same emphasis on the personal, spiritual, and physical self-improvement of its practitioners. Which one do you want to learn first? Remember, we will not move on to the other until you have completely mastered the one you pick, so choose." she instructed.
Naruto thought about it for a second. "I pick Jujutsu, so when will we start?" he asked, then got a feeling in his gut that said he shouldn't have asked that particular question.
He suddenly was thrown in the air, and palm thrusted as soon as he descended. He flew into a tree, and groaned. "Now." was his answer.
Naruto got up, and was pissed. He ran towards her, as fast as he could, and she palmed his leg, and his leg locked up, and she caught his arm, and tossed him unto the ground roughly.
She shook her head. "Jujutsu is about letting your opponent make mistakes, not you, so calm down, lest you want me to combine both Judo and Jujutsu..." she said, making him shiver.
"Good, now we will begin your training." she said, as she created a clone of herself. "Naruto, this is a Kage Bunshin (1). It is a complete copy of myself, and can use all my styles of fighting and jutsu. You will defend yourself against it, using only the principles of Jujutsu. That means no Genjutsu at all." she said.
Naruto swore, and prepared to defend yourself. He slipped into a rough stance, when he was assaulted by a barrage of kicks and punches.
Kiko called out to him. "Your too stiff, loosen up a bit! And spread your legs a little more apart, an calm yourself!" she yelled.
Naruto did as told, and got into the correct stance, and prepared himself for the incoming attack. He wasn't disappointed when she leapt into the air, and attempted a drop kick to his midsection, when Naruto tried to palm her legs like she did to him, but it failed, and he was launched to a tree, which seemed to be what he was going to be seeing a lot of during training.
She called out with more instructions. "When you palm thrust, make your palm flat and hard, and wait for the perfect time to strike. Then use a small bit of chakra, and strike!"
Naruto nodded internally, and straightened his palms. She reared a fist to his face, when he found his opening, and slapped her fist away with his left hand, and locked her arm with the right.
Kiko smiled. He was a fast learned, though she knew he didn't want to get hit again. "Good job, you got the palm strike down, so we move on to lesson two: restraining. Ok, this is the first restraining technique that I will teach you, it is called the Guillotine choke. It is a chokehold in martial arts applied from in front of the opponent. The choke involves using the arms to encircle the opponent's neck in a fashion similar to a guillotine. The technique is either a type of tracheal compression restraint (wind choke) that prevents air flow to the lungs, or a blood choke depending on how it is applied. When executed from the ground, the person applying it will try to control the opponent by the hips, for instance using a closed guard. This is done to prevent the opponent from escaping the hold, and to be able to apply additional pressure by extending the hips. It's a very effective maneuver when performed correctly." She explained to the already excited boy.
Naruto processed all of that information. "So, basically, the Guillotine Chokehold is meant to restrain and to take down opponents, right?" he asked.
She nodded, and commanded the Kiko Kage Bunshin to go by him, so he could practice it on her.
Naruto circled his arms around the Kage Bunshin, but for some reason, he couldn't get the part down when he had to use the tracheal compression restraint. He kept trying, but to no avail. He could get the form down, but could not execute the technique.
Kiko decided to help him out. "Naruto, all you have to do is slightly stretch you arms, and tighten them, so you can fully execute the technique."
Naruto tried what she said, and found out that she was absolutely correct. If he stretched his arms, then he could wrap his arms around her neck, and cut off her breathing pathways, and after five minutes, the clone poofed away, showing that he was successful.
She walked up to him, and congratulated him. "Good job Naruto, you can go rest now. Remember, you have training after the Academy lets out. And tomorrow, Shūchū-sama will teach you the Kage Bunshin technique, so we can get the other ninja arts down." she said, as she shunshined to the compound, and left Naruto to run to his room, and fall asleep peacefully, to rest, and to let his body get over the torture it went through today...
Jutsu Corner:
(1) - Kage Bunshin - Shadow Clone, which allows user to make a perfect copy of him/her, which can take solid hits. Uses a good amount of Chakra. B-Rank Technique.