Hi no Ishi (The will of Fire) - Ninja-tag Arc
I do not own Naruto as a game, Manga, Anime series or a character. All original characters are mine though :P
A new class is introduced to Umino Iruka as things get tossed on their head quickly. How is it that so many exceptions are being made? And since when were so many Clan Heirs gathered in one class? How can a little support affect our favourite blond dobe?
All underlinedterms are explained at the end of the chapter.
Sarutobi Hiruzen stood in front of the tent that had just been erected for him. On it's front flaps were the kanji for Fire and Shadow. There was no doubt what so ever that there would be comfortable seating within the tent. Along wit a table, on which would sit his late wife's tea pot, filled with his favourite tea. Even though he was a warrior at heart, he had to admit that he liked the little comforts whenever he could get them.
His eyes perused the little camp they had made for the day. Though it was a temporary camp, even though it was situated well within the outer walls, and thus secure. Even though he could shunshin to his office and be there in under a minute, his ANBU guards refused to let him go without his battle tent, a Medic tent for the students and a large tarpaulin covered area where they could eat without worrying about the weather.
As it was, they were expecting it to rain later on in the day. 'That is the reason we planned on having the games today, isn't it? I wonder how this will affect the children? Will it wither the Will of Fire that I so hope to see burning within them?'
The Hokage felt five chakra signals moving closer to the camp at fairly moderate speed, which sadly broke him out of his reverie. He half expected it would be his personal ANBU team coming to inform him of the progress of the students over the last few days. So, imagine his surprise when it turned out to be Team Aoba!
The sun was about a half hour from rising with the moon completely hidden behind the clouds, so it was especially dark just then. However, the way the group was moving made it clear it didn't affect them in the least. Though the value of that seemed to drop somewhat when the he noticed they were simply racing through a clearing free from obstacles.
'Still, that kind of speed is incredible for academy students; easily genin class... and did Aoba adopt one of them? Those are definitely his shades.' The ageing shinobi peered a little closer, wondering what new surprises the Yamashiro boy would bring him this time.
"Well, well, Aoba - it looks like your artistic flair has inspired the younger generation." The Sandaime Hokage laughed as Team Aoba arrived, fifteen minutes before the scheduled arrival time.
"What can I say, Hokage-sama. I'm a trendsetter." Aoba smiled proudly. Akamaru barked at the chuunin a few times and panted, obviously a bit worn out.
"He said that you only inspired her to push us harder than normal to get here. I ain't disagreeing with him this time. Jeez, I didn't even know that you could move that fast. Or that I could move that fast." Kiba himself was a bit out of breath, as was Yuuna.
"Yeah, Nee-chan, I thought only Hi-chan knew how to push me THAT hard." Yuuna complained in her whining voice, though only just loud enough for those closest to her to hear.
"Now, now, there is nothing wrong with a little enthusiasm in the morning." Aoba defended her, smiling at the look on their faces.
"I'll remember that AFTER the sun comes up. Until then, it is still NIGHT TIME... as in TIME TO SLEEP!" Akamaru barked and growled at him, causing Kiba - who was the only one who understood a word (or bark) of it - to laugh.
"What's he so worked up about?" Aoba asked, completely unaware.
"I'm sorry, Akamaru. You must be tired after all that running. Would you like some water?" Tatsuko placated the puppy, taking out a canteen and a bowl to accommodate him. "We can't have our sweet little Akamaru getting tired before we even begin." Akamaru barked happily and drank every drop she poured out for him. Then barked twice at Kiba again.
"He said thanks." Kiba said, with a slight blush on his face. Because of the early morning, no one noticed, but Tatsuko saw his cheeks grow five tints redder...
"What did you really tell him, Akamaru? I know he is holding something back. But we won't tell him, it'll be our little secret, okay?" She spoke like any eleven year old girl would talk to a cute puppy: like it was a baby. Not just any baby, nooo, like it was HER baby. She then lovingly rubbed his ears and kissed him on his nose.
Akamaru barked once, paused for a moment, then barked again. Then he growled softly and tilted his head to one side. Tatsuko saw every movement in 3D, though she had no idea what it meant... Kiba's deepening blush gave her a clue.
"I think you're cute too, Akamaru." With that, Kiba was no long blushing. No, this graduated into a totally different category now. Tatsuko could see that his ears were glowing like they were on fire and he found a very interesting spot on the ground to his left to stare at. 'You're so cute when you're like that.' She thought to herself.
"Well, we should be expecting the others shortly; and Tatsuko-chan?" The Hokage called to her.
"Yes, Hokage-sama?" She asked curiously.
"It's good to see that you are finally letting your guard down with someone. Even if it is only a little." He smiled at her warmly. "Aoba, I'm sure that you will be keeping an eye on her from now on. So let me know if there is something you need for her training." Aoba nodded and smiled, thinking how observant the old man still was.
"Why do you suddenly care?" Tatsuko asked in complete disbelief that he was being even vaguely altruistic. Her voice was kept coldly neutral, like she spoke to a complete stranger, or worse.
"Tatsuko, mind your manners. There is more to Hokage-sama than someone of your age could possibly understand." Aoba warned her. The Hokage took a few steps away, his eyes closed.
"I promised someone dear to me."
"Hokage-sama, everyone has arrived." Iruka announced. Everyone was lined up perfectly, and all present were deathly silent.
Except of course Shikamaru, who was yawning. Or Choji's stomach, which growled in silent witness to its desire to open a bag of chips. Or Akamaru that was complaining about something, it seemed. Or Naruto, who groped about being stuck with Sasuke-teme. Let's not forget Sasuke, who was groaning about being complained about again.
Okay, so it wasn't deathly silent, but then, to Tatsuko, nothing was silent any more. Thanks to the shades she was wearing, she could keep her doujutsu activated and no one would ever notice.
"Hey, Tatsuko, cool shades. Didn't know the sun was getting in your eyes." Shikamaru told her, now noticing the shades for the first time. As usual, he spoke like he was complaining.
"Thanks, it helps with this cool trick I picked up." Tatsuko said, trying to sound completely neutral, but sweat dropped from her brow anyways.
"Like what? Keeping the sun outta your eyes?"
"You're not much of a morning person. Are you, Shikamaru?" Tatsuko stated more than asked.
"Not really... Mendoukusei." Tatsuko giggled a bit at that. "... and now I'm being laughed at, too. Could this get any worse?"
"Good morning students." Iruka-sensei began. "I will explain the rules to the first round of ninja-tag. As you know, this is a zero-contact game, but there are a few extra details you need to pay attention to. For starters is your team's season. After your season is appointed to you, you must then proceed to that season's territory. Which is marked on the maps that I will hand out in a moment.
"Now, the goal of round one is to target the previous season. So if you are the summer team, your target is the spring team, and the winter team's target is the autumn team. You will all be given three 'suwaru' tags and sticky string at the beginning of the round, which is the only thing you are allowed to use to tag your targets. Any other contact with participants not on your team will disqualify you from the round and if so decided, from the rest of the day as well. Whether that is a twig that was thrown to distract them, or even a slight touch.
"Hokage-sama himself will be keeping the scores and will make any and all decisions. So this shall be considered an official test of skills. Now the function of each territory is twofold. It is your home base, where your chuunin leader will remain at all times. It is also a way of knowing where to hunt.
"Now as for the function of the chuunin. They are the core strategists. All plans must be discussed with and approved by the chuunin. At the beginning of every round, there will be a thirty minute truce in play, to allow each team some time to develop a strategy. Once the allotted time has passed, a gong will toll and you may commence your strategy.
"Now, the most important part: point tallying. Each target you hit is worth five points. Should you tag all three students on a team, you get a bonus five points. But if you should tag the chuunin, you automatically get twenty-five points, along with all other points for that round. Again, there are only three tags, use them wisely. The only way to avoid being tagged out, is to dodge. Should you successfully dodge a tag attempt, you are allowed to claim that tag to be your own. You get one point for each successful dodge.
"All rules, tags, string and the map are in this pouch, which I will hand the chuunin in charge of the teams. Once you receive it, you may check your maps and leave. You may leave anything you wish here, other than one of your teammates." Iruka's train of thought was interrupted with Naruto's 'kuso'...
"Team Raidou: Spring."
"Team Izumo: Winter."
"Team Kotetsu: Autumn."
"Team Aoba: Summer."
~ In Summer's camp, Team Aoba was discussing their strategy ~
"We've got a major problem. We've got bushoumono for a target, and two super competitive girls nipping at our heels. What the heck're we gonna do 'bout it?" Kiba complained the second they began their strategy meeting.
"Well, we need bait to get their tags, then we need to tag Raidou's team one by one." Aoba explained simply.
"Bait?" Kiba asked incredulously.
"I think I know where you're going with this, Aoba-sensei. I'll be the bait. Ino and Sakura will be beside themselves trying to tag me, and Shino will not trust either of them to let them go off by themselves." Tatsuko offered.
"Are you offering to show you skills, Nee-chan?" Yuuna asked uncertainly.
"They won't see much, all I need to do is act like I am preoccupied and they will strike, then Shino will spot an opening when I go to pick up the tags. I dodge the third strike, then collect that tag and come back here for us to make a better strategy for dealing with Shikamaru."
"Sounds good to me, but can you handle three of them alone?" Aoba asked, trying to figure her out a bit. He knew that she was good, two full days training her showed him that. He was, however, not used to seeing her confident side.
"Worst case scenario, they get five points and lose the other two tags. At least we can still win them out by going for ten points. If they get me, I will whistle to warn you all, if not, I will meet you all here. Make sure to hide just in case."
"But what if they come here disguised as you?" Yuuna asked worriedly.
"Ask me to take my shades off. If it really is me, I'll say that pigs will sooner fly." Tatsuko offered.
"Fine, but one last thing: the safe word." Aoba reminded her.
"Right, I doubt I'll need it, but best to be safe."
"Frog."
"Ribbit? Frog? Where? Get it off me! They're so gross! Why me?" Yuuna complained, flailing her arms to hit the frog off of her.
"Not a frog, the word 'frog'. That is the safe word." Aoba corrected.
"What's a safe word?" Yuuna asked confused.
"If I am worried about getting tagged and know that the enemy is close by, I can use the safe word to get a five minute immunity, and force them to flee." Tatsuko reminded her. "Iruka-sensei explained this like three days ago, silly."
"Ohh yeah, I guess I didn't think we would use it, so I just forgot about it."
"Probably, you are usually good at remembering stuff like that, when you want to." Tatsuko rubbed her head and jump out of the tree, leaving a slightly miffed Yuuna behind.
"Neee-chaaaan! You really need to stop ruffling my hair like thaaaaaaaat!" Yuuna whined at the departing silhouette, then pouted and crossed her arms trying to appear vexed. Too bad she added: "I didn't even bring my special brush to fix it."
~ In Spring's camp, Team Raidou were lazing around ~
"Great, we have Sasuke and Hikaru as targets, and we have Tatsuko and Kiba as executioners. What do you think Shikamaru, are we screwed?" Choji asked his friend worriedly, with his hand fishing around in a bag for fresh chips to munch on.
"Possibly. Especially since Tatsuko will know how to get all three tags from Ino's team." Shimakaru summarized.
"Wouldn't it be better to try to go after our target before we get tagged then? I mean, at least we fulfilled our mission that way." Hinata suggested in a small voice.
"Nope, that would actually be worse, because then we would be focussing on the attack and leave ourselves wide open to them. To make matters worse, they might decide to try and tag Raidou-sensei then too. That gives them even more points. No, our best bet is to wait for them to come to us and get their tags. The trouble is that our only viable defence is dodging, which is why we need you to warn us when they are getting close, Hinata." Shikamru explained.
"Wow, that might just be the longest I have ever heard you talk, bushoumono." Raidou teased him. "But you may well be right, that is likely our best way out. Even though it kinda plays into your mentality and will be predictable."
"I thought of that too, but the problem is that no matter what else we try, we will only make ourselves more vulnerable."
Raidou laughed at the clueless looks on Hinata and Chouji's faces. He knew what the boy was getting at, but it was obvious that the others didn't. "You might want to explain that a little better to your team." He took out the map Iruka had given him and offered it to the now sighing boy.
"Mendoukusei. This is what I get for opening my mouth. You two come here, 'cause I don't feel like explaining it twice." Shikamaru took the map and rolled it out, putting a few stones in the corners to keep it as flat as possible. His team crowds around him to see what their lazy team mate wants to explain.
"We're team Spring." He points to the Northern circle where they are currently located. 'Which is obvious, since Iruka-sensei pointed that out... and I'm pointing at the kanji for Sping. Mendoukusei.'
"So we have to go after our target, team Winter," He points to the Eastern circle, where Sasuke and his team are located.
"...but they won't be in their territory. Simply because they need to go after their target, team Autumn." Here he points to the Western circle.
"So we'd have to look in Ino's terrirtory, but they will be chasing their own target, team Summer." He points to the Southern circle where Kiba and Tatsuko would be.
"For those of you paying attention, that is the exact group that is gunning for us. This is the first round, so no one will likely have a solid plan other than 'get the enemy', so there will be no point in acting stupid and troublesome by falling in with the crowd. Or jumping into a battle royal that has nothing to do with us." Shikamaru ended his explanation by rolling back up the map, handing it to Raidou... and muttering: "Mendoukusei."
"Another good point. Jeez... you'd be a kick ass strategist, if you weren't so lazy." Raidou pointed out. "Hey Chouji, you got any more chips?"
~ Over in the Eastern 'circle' Team Izumo was, well... not much of a team ~
"Just gimme my tag, and point me in the right direction. I'm going straight for their leader, cause he's worth the most points!" Naruto declared.
"That sounds like an excellent idea, Uzumaki. Hey Uchiwa, why don't we give him our tags too?." Hikaru replied sarcastically. Somehow his sarcasm was always wasted on these two.
"What, so the dobe can throw away his life AND our tags?" Sasuke complained. "If he wants to waste so much, at least let him do so as a distraction so that we can tag our targets."
"TEME! I'm going to be Hokage someday, so you better stop disrespecting me!" Naruto bellowed.
'Why didn't I pack pain killers?' Izumo complained to himself, rubbing his temples in slow, soothing circles.
~ And in the remaining team's camp? ~
"If you think you have any chance of tagging Tatsuko before I do, you're dead wrong, billboard brow!" Ino shouted defiantly.
"When pigs fly, Ino-pig. I'm going to tag her at least twice before you can tag her once." Sakura declared.
"Not if I have two tags." With that, Ino grabbed Shino's tag right out of his hand.
'This is why I refused to get married!' Kotetsu complained.
Shino said nothing, he just sat down and played with his bugs.
~ In the Hokage's tent, Hiruzen was focussing on his Telescope jutsu, with Iruka and six ANBU watching raptly ~
"Just like I suspected, only two teams made any strategy at all." Iruka groused slightly. He was glad that he knew his students that well, but was still irked that it was only two teams.
"Well, it seems that Tatsuko has finally come out of her shell." Sandaime said in a happy tone.
"I agree with you, Hokage-sama, but aren't you being a bit biased? I mean, Shikamaru is the one that is showing the most improvement. Normally he just complains about what he has to do and does a bad job at it." Iruka explained.
"True, but the apple seldom falls far from the tree." The smirk on the Hokage's face was almost too much for the ANBU nearby. They all had to fight to suppress their laughter.
"Nara Shikaku was that lazy too?" Iruka sounded surprised.
"What do you mean was? If it wasn't for his wife pushing him, I doubt he would have gone any further than chuunin, at best." The Hokage smiled, wondering how Iruka could miss their presence, when they were too busy trying to stifle yet another cackle-fit! "To the subject at hand. Who do you think will complete their task in this round?"
"Honestly, only Aoba-senpai's team and Raidou-senpai's team are showing any kind of team effort. So they are most likely. The fact that Shikamaru is Tatsuko's target, makes it that much easier for Team Aoba to win this round." Iruka thought out loud.
"So who will be more interesting to follow for now then?" Sandaime asked impishly.
"Honestly, Tatsuko-chan. She will likely be the target of the first round of senseless violence." Iruka deduced with a deep sigh. The Hokage just laughed as he focused on the crystal ball for Tatsuko to come back in view. She was seen walking, almost like she was in the park. No concern on her face what so ever. She barely seemed to pay attention to anything at all.
"Well, I've never seen her so aloof." Iruka sweatdropped. "Do you think she is underestimating her opponents?"
"We will see very soon. Iruka, the gong."
Once the gong was heard Ino and Sakura ran straight for Tatsuko's territory. Leaving a boy and his bugs behind.
'We'll see who wins this time, Ino-pig! Shannero!' Inner Sakura punched through a wall.
After hearing the gong, Naruto ran straight for Sakura-chan!
"Hey dobe, they won't be there. They will head straight for Kiba's turf." Sasuke explained.
"Tch, I told you I'm going for their leader!" Naruto shouted defiantly.
"Fine, then I'll tag Sakura myself." Sasuke pushed his buttons, knowing the reaction he would get.
"TEME! I'll tag her WAY before you even see her!"
"Sure is noisy around here." Choji said, between bites.
"Hinata, every three minutes or so, I want you to scan the area. Don't overdo it, becuase then we'll just end up worse than we started. Focus most of your attention in that direction." Shikamaru explained carefully, pointing in the direction of where Team Aoba's territory was. He knew that Hinata admired Naruto's 'do or die' attitude, but he wouldn't have that on his team.
"Understood." She focused for a moment. "Byakugan!"
"Hey Aoba-sensei. What are we going to do when Tatsuko gets back?" Kiba asked, feeling a bit bored.
"Well, depending on whether or not she completes her task as well as she seems to think she can." Aoba said, not entirely as confident as she was.
"If she says she's going to come back with the tags, she will come back with the tags." Yuuna said firmly. Aoba saw the complete faith she had in her sister.
"You're right, Yuuna-chan. Well, once she gets back what we could do is..."
'Well they really are taking their time to get here. Jeez if I make my position any more obvious a toddler would know it was a trap. But then again, knowing those two when they get worked up...' Tatsuko moved from the dense undergrowth to a long path between two rows of trees, she was humming the entire time.
"How do you manage to put up with those two girls?" Kotetsu asked the still silent Shino.
"By ignoring them for the most part." Came the obvious answer.
"Good point. Hey do they do any tricks?" He asked, motioning at the bugs. Shino smiled his creepy smile, assuring his sensei that he was in for a show.
"Jeez, took them long enough." Tatsuko thought to herself. She kept humming, happily, keeping perfect tract of their location. "And look, they brought some friends."
"Anything yet Hinata?" Shikamaru asked. He was playing a few possibilities through his head, but he made sure to remind the girl to check around when the time came.
"Byakugan!" A few moments of silence ensued. "They are all four hundred metres that way." She pointed to the South-East, where their opponents were gathering.
"So the battle royal is about to begin... Glad I'm not in it." Shikamaru said in his half whining voice, as always.
"No, wait. There is only Sakura, Ino, Sasuke, Hikaru, Naruto... Five. Tatsuko seems to have moved on already."
"Which way is she heading?" Shikamaru knew that the the girl was good, but this was ridiculous.
"Back to where Yuuna and Kiba are hiding."
"Did she get the extra tags?" Sweat was starting to drip down the side of his face; he was really starting to worry.
"..."
Tatsuko jumped into the tree where she was supposed to meet her comrades. "Hi honey, I'm home!" She called out playfully.
"Ohh really? Then why not take off your shoes?" Yuuna threw her voice so Tatsuko couldn't guess where it was coming from.
"Yuuna, stop playing around the question was supposed to be about my shades, silly." Tatsuko was really starting to worry about that girl.
"Ohh, that's true." Yuuna jumped into view rubbing her head a bit embarrassed.
"Anyways, who loves me?" Tatsuko asked rhetorically, holding six tags up for inspection.
"Ummm, what just happened here?" Ino asked, clueless.
"I... I don't know." Sakura was no better off.
"We've been had. Thanks dobe." Sasuke pinned it on Naruto as usual.
"TEME!"
"All six tags? She managed to swipe all six tags?" Shikamaru was sweating profusely now. "I always thought she was as lazy as me... then how could she..." Shikamaru thought back to to their exchange earlier.
/"Hey, Tatsuko, cool shades. Didn't know the sun was getting in your eyes." Shikamaru told her, now noticing the shades for the first time. And as usual, he spoke like he was complaining.
"Thanks, it helps with this cool trick I picked up." Tatsuko said, trying to sound completely neutral, but sweat dropped from her brow anyways.
"Like what? Keeping the sun outta your eyes?"/
"Hinata, can you see what's behind her shades?" Shikamaru asked.
"Behind her shades? I think so, why?" Hinata asked a bit thrown by the odd idea.
"I dunno why, but this sudden burst of guts on her part is influenced by something, and it has something to do with those shades." Shikamaru explained.
"Okay... I'll try..." Hinata focused as best she could, trying to see everything... But she had watched the entire exchange when Tatsuko was supposedly attacked, and was beginning to tire from the prolonged use. She just couldn't focus hard enough. "I'm sorry, I just need to take a little break." She said meekly, sitting down to catch herself.
"Well, that was interesting." Iruka said, not entirely sure if he really saw what he saw.
"Still think that Shikamaru is showing the most improvement?" Sandaime asked him.
"Well..."
End chapter 6
A/N: Kiravu, I love you more and more with each chapter!
Even though this chapter is a bit on the short side, I like it. I especially like the changes Kiravu suggested! Shikamaru's strategy is actually better worked out because of her, and I really feel that it comes across more cannon this way.
Just a side note, do you guys hate Sasuke, or do you just not feel like interacting with the writer? Jeez, I give you guys some leeway and you just trudge on like the emo himself! Oh well, no votes in the pole, means I can have my own fun with it. If you don't like it that way, then you are not going to have the right to complain. There are about another four chapters in this Arc, after that, the voting will be closed and the next Arc will begin.
Kuso - Shit, crap. Knowing Naruto, he could mean it either way, but I'm guessing it usually gets translated to 'crap'.
"Yare yare. You know that I will not be in this for a while, Fayth-san, so why are you asking me to say something to your readers?"