I do not own Naruto as a game, Manga, Anime series or a character. All original characters are mine though :P

Hi no Ishi (The will of Fire) - Five Ninja Academy Students

It's been a week since the Ninja-tag games. Class is back in full swing. However, it seems that certain students are holding back some painful secrets. What are they hiding? And why?

All underlinedterms are explained at the end of the chapter.

~ Hikaru's POV ~

"Jeez, if you two walk any slower I'll simply leave you behind!" Nee-chan warned. I don't know why she feels the need to rush to Yamashiro's apartment. So he promised her a pair of shades; wow. Let's all bow down to the all mighty accessorizer from hell.

"I mean it, Karu!" Came the second warning. Yuuna, of course, sped up to keep up, meaning I didn't even have the excuse that Nee-chan was walking too fast. To quote the laziest man on the planet: mendoukusei.

"Yeah, yeah." I complained, hoping to have heard the last of it.

"Hi-chan, don't you wanna see what Aoba-senseiis going to make for her?" Yuuna asked, bubbly as ever. No, bubbly wasn't the right word... Effervescent? Yeah, that'll do. Oh well, whatever.

"You're just curious cause he was talking about something for you too."

"Yukikami Hikaru!" Shit. Whenever Nee-chan has to say my whole name like that, I know I'm gonna get it. "Behave." She warned, pointing her index finger at me. Normally this would not really make anyone worry, but she was flexing her muscles menacingly... I dunno if you've ever been bitch slapped by a kunoichibefore, but it ain't pretty.

What's worse... she's the type to double punish you. What's that mean? Well, simple. First you get the initial reaction; that's round one, usually quite physical and always painful. Then there is the plotting, evil - possibly possessed by the devil - genius lurking within her. That is round two.

And you never see it coming.

Sometimes she waits a few days, sometimes a few weeks. One time, I accidentally walked in on her in the furo, seriously I didn't know she was there. There were no signs to ward me off. Nothing. Did she care? NO!

After giving me two black eyes, she plotted and waited a whole year! She arranged a full week of torture. Anything you can imagine doing someone, was done.

Honey (I'm still thanking Kami-sama it wasn't tar, or hot wax) and chicken feathers in the schoolyard, clothes missing in the middle of the afternoon while at the onsen, waking up in the Inuzuka kennels with what I could only assume was a hangover and one female ninkenthat was being a littletoo friendly.

That girl is evil!

The worst part was when I asked her why it was so severe. She just smiled at me - that innocent, 'I'd never hurt a fly' smile too - then she told me: "You had a full year to apologize to me, and you didn't." Excuse me for hoping you simply forgot!

Well, I've been studying her ever since! I simply needed to know when I embarrassed her or otherwise pissed her off, and immediately apologize! And when I say immediate, I mean trampling over anything that stood in my way immediate! That old lady survived, just so you know!

Still, to be fair, I've seen what she does to other people that earn her ire. I'm eternally grateful that she merely pranks me. The drunk chuuninthat attacked me for example, my shining example for how much Nee-chan loves me and is willing to protect me from anyone. I was unconscious for round one, but Yuuna told me it was four broken limbs.

Round two? Oooooooohhhh.

Round two happen after the man was released from the hospital, mostly because we were under ANBU surveillance that long. The chuuninwas released with instruction to take his painkillers three times a day and report for rehab twice a week. Well, his painkillers were replaced with coloured sugar from day one. After that, he was systematically driven mad. One day at a time.

How? Little things, like casting genjutsu to help him confuse the salt and sugar every morning when he needed his coffee, or overestimate how broad any given stair was.

Last I heard, which was about a month ago, he spends his time drinking away his new found - and totally understandable - paranoia at a pub on the edge of town.

And people worry about Uzumaki? Ha! I'd much rather that softy being pissed at me!

But don't you dare think she is needlessly spiteful! The only reason she slowly tortured the man was because he damn near killed me and tried to get away with it; and I swear to Kami-sama it was unprovoked!

"Karu, are you done narrating your life to what ever Kami is listening? Cause if you don't hurry up, you'll be sleeping outside tonight." Dammit! I know I wasn't mumbling to myself. How does she do that?

So how did I spend the rest of my afternoon? Well, watching paint dry would have been nicer. I was holed up in a cramp apartment, with my sister, my girl and some guy I couldn't care less about, while they talked about shades for hours on end. SHADES! Not even more than one pair. Nooooooo.

This should actually be considered a criminal offence! This is worse than the girls shopping all day and leaving me hold the bags. This is worse than being dragged into a salon! All I was allowed to do was silently seethe in a corner.

Why would I put up with that? Because I REALLY didn't want to piss my sister off, and nothing pisses her off more than ruining something that she is exited about!

Not that Yamashiro even figured out she was exited. That ahothinks she is still being indifferent to him. Hell, maybe she does too.

"So you use your shades as a focus during a jutsu?" Sorry, what did you say? I heard jutsu! What jutsu?

"Hai, the Sanzeningaresu no jutsu." The 'thousand scattering crows'? Lame!

"You summon crows?" Yuuna asked, the slightly (note sarcasm please) higher pitch in her voice meant she was interested in what ever it was.

"Not summon, craft. I make them using kageton." Kageton? He can use shadow release? I thought only the brainiest of the bunch ever figure out how to use kageton. Oh well, whatever.

"That is soooooo cooooool!" Yuuna swooned over the mere thought of the jutsu; she was really an addict. Even after considering her family fuuinjutsu, and whatever odd jutsu Nee-chan could scrounge up, Yuuna couldn't seem to ever satisfy that curiosity and hunger for more.

"All right, jutsu-junkie. Take a deep breath." I teased, taking a deep breath and looking at her expectantly. That earned me a playful swat on the shoulder.

"So you guys like new jutsu?" Aoba smirked, still tinkering with the current incarnation of aggravation. Never know what it's gonna be tomorrow, but for now it was safely in his hands, driving me up a wall.

Before Yuuna opens up a can of worms that even Nee-chan couldn't close, I'd better answer that. "No more than anyone else." A pair of shocked eyes stared at me in complete disbelief. Fine, see if I try to save you next time!

"So if I decided to teach you the kurogaresu no jutsu, you guys won't mind?" He wondered out loud, clearly aiming for a reaction. Well, Lambchop, what's your move now?

My gaze never fleeted from her face, trying to see what her real reaction was; she was exited, but worried. Great, that's one less resistance member in position to strike! Nee-chan on the other hand was a bit more predictable: she was thinking. What she was thinking is definitely not something I want to figure out - females just aren't meant to be understood by their gender counterparts.

"What's the catch?" She eventually asked. Thank Kami-sama that I am not alone in suspecting this man! Jeez, what was with Yuuna?

"Same as with the shade: nothing." He answered. Huh? Nothing? As in no catch? For not just the... things, but teaching us jutsu as well? Okay, you've just been graduated to super-spy! If you think you're getting into our circle that easy, you've got another thing coming, shit-stain!

"And we're supposed to believe that?"I asked, not even waiting for her approval. She glanced at me. Askance at first, but she quickly agreed with me and nodded nearly imperceptibly.

"Fine, don't." Was all he said, but the trap had already been lain.

I guess you could compare our current situation with rats watching the cheese attached to a trap. You know it's not friendly, but you are tempted anyway. Then there is Yuuna, who is slowly inching towards the trap. She does it cautiously enough, but the trap is still likely to kill her if given the chance.

"U-I-Ne - Kurogaresu no-jutsu." He spoke slowly and clearly, before a puff drew our attention to his hands. Perched atop his Rat seal, was a crude, rather sketchy crow that seem to stare at everything at the same time. It was a bit eerie. "There are two things to keep in mind for this jutsu. One is that you need to practice using Kageton before even attempting it; the other is that this is a very difficult, but handy, jutsu to learn. Kurogaresu no-jutsu is a high B-class jutsu because it is so complex, yet it is not very demanding on your chakra."

"Great, now we just need someone to teach us how to mould kageton chakra." I complained, not really believing it would go any further than that. Still, this... Yamashiro had me curious.

I may not be a genius like Tatsuko-nee-chan, but even I knew that you have to learn to convert neutral chakra into elemental chakra before you can attempt to learn elemental jutsu. Tou-san taught me that. I miss him sometimes too, Nee-chan, but I'll be strong for you.

Chikusho, why'd I have to think about something like that right now?

"Well, it's a little cramped in here, but as soon as I finish tightening this last screw we can go down to the training grounds. I'll run you three through the basics." He didn't even look up from what he was doing. Somehow, I wish I could have seen his face when he said that. However, if his body language was anything to go off of, he was relaxed... still, he seemed slightly tense? Like he was anticipating something?

Since when were guys that damnably hard to read? He'd better not be one of those 'girl stuck in a guy's body' types, or I'm gonna give him a free sex change operation!

"All right, you three. Time for us to rerun through the basics. I'll call off the seal, you tell me where to focus your chakra in addition to the handseal." Yamashiro-sensei stated. What was it, six hours after we'd started?

"U- Hare seal." He began.

"Heart." We knew it well enough, seeing that he made us focus on that one first. We had to sit completely still four almost an hour, just channelling our chakra from that blasted handseal to our heart. It was annoying, trifling and tedious, but he rocked for being that patient!

"I- Boar seal." He continued.

"Hara." To be honest, I was a bit worried about that one at first. Tou-san had me focus like that too for my basic suiton chakra honing exercises, so Nee-chan probably had to do that as well. I made sure to ask if it would affect that in any way, even though I half expected either no reply, or a snide and sarcastic one. But when he smiled and assured me that the worst it could possibly do is enhance any previous training, I was simply at a loss how to react.

"Ne- Rat seal." He finished.

"Brains." That one confused me at first. Why would you want to think like a rat? Luckily Yuuna asked that one, 'cause a certain blond individual would have laughed her little fanny off at me if I had asked.

/ "It's not about thinking like a rat. It's more about using intelligence to enhance your shadow release skills. In spiritual terms, the rat can represent a shrewd analytical power. Trying every avenue available to you, then using the swiftest route to get the result you want. Just like a rat." Yamashiro explained. The three of us just started disbelievingly at him. Rats are that smart?

"If you don't believe me, try catching a rat with your bare hands. It will do anything to get free. From biting or eating through your hand... to biting off its own limbs to get free. Their tactics are not the friendliest, but the results can't be argued with. The only way to catch a rat is to incapacitate it, or to kill it."

/

"All right, now that you have been introduced to the basics, I want you to try moulding kage charka in your hands. Don't worry too much about the shape or consistency just yet, I just want to see you do it for now." It was the first time any of us had moulded that chakra type, so logically no one should have been able to do it, right? So imagine my surprise, and my mortification, when I was the only one that couldn't do it...

"Kuso..." I mumbled, biting back any further response. I didn't want them to think it was bugging me too much, 'cause really I was happy for them. I would simply have to work harder to get the same result is all.

How long have I been sitting here? I don't even know any more. I know it rained earlier, or at least I think so. Was the sun even still shining?

I can only say for sure that I refused to budge from where I was sitting until I moulded kage chakra in my hand. It didn't have to be anything special, but I refused to leave until it was done.

"Hungry?"

Yuuna. I figured she would come and beg me to stop soon. She never did manage to convince me to give up, but she had been using Nee-chan's tactics to feed me and get me to rest that way.

'Using my weakness like that against me!' Sniff, sniff. 'Is that curry rice with...' Sniiiiiiiff, 'daikons, carrots, potatoes and...' Sniff, sniff, 'ground chicken meatballs with cayenne? That is so below the belt it isn't funny!'

'Yuuna, stop sticking that-' I have to mentally wipe away the drool - give me a second, 'deliciously distracting... wonderfully aromatic... Do I smell sweet omelettes too? Kuso! What was I supposed to be doing?'

"Fine, you win!" I snapped open my eyes, only to see a pair of chopsticks awaiting me, along with every single dish I had identified. Yuuna's bento were simply the best! She even used vegatable shavings to decorate the food. She made a rabbit with daikon shavings, a boar with carrot shavings, and a few rats with eyes of the potato. Kami-sama, I love this girl!

I dived into that food like a six hundred pound dieter who had just fasted for a week! All the while hearing Yuuna's addictive giggles escaping through her hand covered mouth.

When I finally looked up from the empty bento in front of me, Yuuna's baby blue eyes were glued to me. She had that look that seemed to steal the air right from my lungs... Her eyes were half lidded, a shy blush stealing across her cheeks and that smile. That little unsure smile of hers always did weird things to my insides. And were her pupils dilated? Not sure what any of that means, but she loves giving me that look when she watches me eat her food.

She wasn't fidgeting with her hands, or showing any of her nervous ticks. And trust me, I know her nervous ticks. She likes to play with her right earlobe when she's nervous, or rub her knuckles... or she smoothes her hair excessively. She isn't doing any of that, so she can't be even remotely nervous. She's never scared around me; she knows I'd give my life to protect her. What else could it mean then?

"Hao-" She cleared her throat briefly. Curious. "How'd it taste? Was it any good?" She finally asked. Although, her breathing was a bit hitched and she seemed to have a catch in her throat? Females.

"Delicious!" Her blushed deepened. Curiosity got the better of me, so I decided to lay it on a bit thick to see how she reacts. "You're food is simply the best I've ever had!" She suddenly found her hands to be more interesting than anything in the world. And she was rubbing her knuckles?

"I'm the luckiest guy in Konoha to have you here, you know that?" Her hand shot up to her ear and she started massaging her earlobe methodically, which seemed to have turned red from the intensity of her blush. Then she smoothed her hair with both hands and got up. Strange, I don't remember her sitting down to begin with.

She stammered out something about not making it too late, before heading off into the night. Was it really that late?

"Hey Yuuna, hold up. Let me walk you back, you know I don't like you being alone at night!"

The next day... class. I had to suppress yet another sigh as I sat in my chair. I wasn't learning anything in school. Well, nothing useful anyway.

"Good morning class, today's lesson will be on-" Something useful I bet, "the rein of the Nidaime Hokage." Well, you got Nee-chan hook line and sinker. As for the rest of us? I knew I heard a 'mendoukusei' being muttered a not far behind me, and I'm pretty sure I heard Akamaru whine. Was that a bag of chips opening?

I might just have to have the head-specialist test me for ADHD at this rate. My attention was playing hop-scotch over every subject imaginable; other than Senju Tobirama, or what he did for Konoha.

The only times Umino-sensei ever kept my attention beyond 'Good morning class', was when he was explaining something about jutsu. Basic as it was, learning every intricate detail of any jutsuis a fetish of mine. Well, everyone has their quirks, right?

Now that I think about it, Yamashiro wouldn't know to play into my jutsu addiction to win me over, would he? No, not without Nee-chan spilling the beans; which was about as likely as the Hokage choosing me to be his successor. 'Well, if the sun rises in the west tomorrow, then I'll really know the world is conspiring against me.'

"Naruto! You're late again!" Umino griped. And sure enough, one tardy Uzumaki was standing in the doorway. Well, standing was a bit of a stretch at the moment, he was leaning against the doorpost, and he was bleeding? This won't end well, I can already see Tatsuko and Yuuna tensing at the sight.

Without thinking, Yuuna was at the boy's side, ushering him to the school nurse. "Hikaru, I don't trust this; go with them." An excuse to get out of class? YATTA! Before Umino even had a chance to object I was out the door and helping Yuuna drag Uzumaki down the hall.

I've had to put up with a lot of crap in my life, really I did. The scar of my face was testament to it, and my lips and fractured nose were only now started to revert to their normal state. But Uzumaki seemed to trump me on every card I could play in that department!

He was bleeding profusely from both nostrils, clearly from a shattered - not broken, but actually shattered, as in someone had to hit him flat in his face with a sledgehammer - nose. There were welts the size of softballs on his head, shoulders and arms. The way he tried to limp I'm sure he had either fractured or broken bones in his left foot... and to make it worse, I counted at least two missing teeth.

Someone was going to pay for this... and pay dearly. It's no wonder Nee-chan sent me with them, she needed someone to take notes, and she refused to have Yuuna stay behind or go unsupervised.

Then, as we entered the School Nurse's office, she tried to refuse looking at the gaki... Oh. Hell. NO!

"You've got two choices, woman. One is us filing a complaint after you treat him... the other is you filing a complaint after you find your tongue." My tone of voice was so cold that I actually felt Naruto wince at hearing it. Yuuna was too busy staunching the blood to care about anything else.

Long story short, we ended our day waiting to be interrogated by the ANBU for threatening our superior.

"If you even think about entering that room without the old man's permission, I will make sure you do so on two broken legs." I heard a very pissed of Senju on the other side of the interrogation room's only door.

"Great, another threat from you lot? Did no one teach you manners?"

"Yes, the same person that taught me how to kill someone in their sleep for fucking with my flesh and blood. Care to test that?" I knew that there was no chance anyone would cross that girl when she was pissed; and seeing that Yuuna, Naruto (after being tended to by none other than Kenichi-senseihimself) and me were waiting to be interrogated for trying to tend to Naruto... Well, let's just say that not even Nidaime coming back from the dead asking her to calm down would make any difference.

"Senju-dono, please-"

"If anyone tells me to calm down one more time I will-" The rest was nothing less than very graphic and seriously posed threats to the health of the offenders, their family and basically anyone that associated with them. Times like this really make me appreciate my Nee-chan.

Then there was (relative) silence. That means the Hokage showed up and is actually listening to her explain what really happened.

"So, all this happened, and no one thought to even ask the nurse that refused to treat a seriously injured academy student?" I heard the edge in the old man's voice. He may not always be well informed, but it was obvious he had a soft spot for Tatsuko and Naruto, both of which were very much involved in this most recent fiasco.

"Hokage-sama, it is difficult to do our jobs if we-"

"If you don't listen to someone that was an eye witness, or even bother to ask anyone else that would have seen Naruto enter the school, or the classroom a bloody mess, then you have no business telling me what you can or cannot do in regard to your job. If you sense I am being too lenient, then you are calling Umino Iruka a liar for giving me his report before I was called here to deal with Senju Tatsuko. I have already confirmed the girl's story, so I suggest you stand down immediately." Well, no arguing with a triple wammy.

Not investigating before interrogating Konoha citizens, denying an eye witness baselessly, and hesitating after being ordered to stand down by the Hokage himself... He'll be lucky if the old man doesn't have him retired by the end of the day.

There was a long pause, probably them waiting on someone to leave - wilfully or not."Although I do not agree with your tactics, I thank you for seeing justice prevail in this matter." The old man's voice was more compassionate now. Even through the closed door, and no windows or any way to truly perceive the situation, I could still see her features soften as his words.

"One of these days, Hokage-sama, they are going to push me too far. Those ANBU of yours are too jumpy to persecute us, and I will not stand for it any longer." Her words were harsh, but there was at least some warmth in them. So she couldn't be pissed off; probably just making her point.

"What of Naruto's situation? I assume you will deal with it?" Huh? Was he asking us to deal with whatever was going on with Uzumaki?

"Six merchants attacked him in broad daylight, simply because he ran through the alley their shops' backdoors were located in. They will claim he was trying to break in and that they were well within their rights to retaliate. Your hands are tied on the matter, so what else could you possibly suggest?" Damn that girls gets her information fast. We were only here for an hour, which is the standard time to wait while the papers are being processed and the Hokage is informed of the situation. Anyone who tries anything before the old man approves is possibly executed for high treason in that regard.

"I already received their official complaints about Naruto. They seem to suggest that I should finish off what they started. A shame that there were no witnesses of what happened, so you're quite right, my hands are tied." One look at Uzumaki spoke volumes of how shitty he felt at that exact moment. "However, I also could never fully prove who retaliated against those merchants in the past could I?"

"Just the way it's meant to be. How is old man Gichi doing?" Another, more uncomfortable and slightly more profound pause ensued.

"I had received the autopsy reports just this morning. Please tell me that it was actually suicide." Now Uzumaki is completely shocked. Old man Gichi was the father of the chuunin that attacked me. He launched an official complaint against Naruto and Tastuko claiming we tortured his son and drove him to madness. How absurd! Naruto had nothing to do with that! Though it was common knowledge that he was one of the more avid mob members that gathered every morning.

"I did not touch the man, nor did anyone else. His wounds were self inflicted. I'm sure the autopsy confirmed that."

"Yes, yes. But no one could have known that without being directly, or indirectly involved. Autopsies are classified you know."

"Yes, they are. And attacking citizens of Konoha are against the law, yet they happen all to often, don't they." Listening to them talk was like listening to a game of chess being played. You know moves are being made by the clicks on the board, but you have no idea who was doing what.

"Often?"

"Daily."

"Daily?"

"Did I stammer?"

"I see. And Gichi was involved in this."

"One of the ring leaders in the joint attacks. The only reason why Naruto got off so badly this time, was because the power went out in the group home and his alarm likely didn't get a chance to go off. That alley is the shortest route to the Academy. Don't you check your map before checking a story?"

"I see. So how are you getting all this information?"

"The same way you get yours, people talk. Some more reluctantly than others, but they always talk."

"It's no wonder Aoba requested you be introduced to the T & I department. But you do realise that you will be introduced to a lot of people you've threatened over the years?" Yamashiro has some explaining to do when I see him!

"And you do realise that I couldn't care less? If they threaten what's left of my family, they got off easy with words." I wonder why it took me so long to realise that they do not know we can hear their every word.

"I am starting to reconsider your early admittance into ANBU, but I think you would simply turn the entire organization on its head before the day's out." She was invited to join ANBU? That's my Nee-chan for you.

"I will no doubt join their ranks eventually, but I have my priorities, and they seem almost intent on making them impossible for me."

"Try to see it as they do, most of them were investigated for years before being even considered. Only to finally be injected into the ANBU after a decade of serving Konoha. While you are not even a genin but are being hounded to join."

"If they truly wish to trade places with me, I can arrange it."

"Somehow I doubt they would be half as... effective as you are." Why am I still listening to this? Oh right, I don't have a choice.

"Their problem, not mine."

"That it is. Still, I am curious as to how well our plan is coming along?"

"Terribly. She is doing well enough, but I am simply too distant from him to work effectively. He will need to be placed solely in my care for an effective execution of the objective."

"That will not be easy to cover up."

"Do you really want to be the one to explain to the Yondaime why his will is being so blatantly subverted?"

"Even after what was done to you, you still wish to carry out his will so thoroughly?"

"The die is cast; the only direction left is forward."

Silence ensued. 'The third pause, she loves that insipid number. I wonder if she partly respects the Hokage because he is the third?' I looked around the interrogation room, at the two pairs of now forlorn, baby blue eyes.

"If only I had more shinobi with your dedication."

"Then you would have a village with a lot less inhabitants."

End Chapter 13

A/N: Lots of love being sent out to Kiravu for being patient with me, especially with this chapter! Hikaru is probably as close to a self-insert as I am willing to get; but he really is just like me.. well, mostly anyway. For those of you who don't like Hikaru, or wonder why he views his 'Nee-chan' in such a violent light, probably doesn't have and older sister. They tend to traumatize their younger brothers, calling it 'bonding time', while telling them that it will prepare us for their eventual girlfriend, and even more eventual wife. Well, those who have survived, YOU ARE NOT ALONE!

Lol, anyhoo, I hope you all enjoyed my latest update. And I would just like to mention that I have the rest of this Arc plotted out, I just need to mete out the fight scenes in small doses. You will understand why in time.

To all my loyal readers, I love you guys! It really helps me to move along with my hectic life to know that there are some that really apreciate my effort and my views on - what can only be determined after the fact as - insanity.

I also wanted to send a specially warm thank you to RedRangerBelt who seems to have been stalking me faithfully :D I swear it wasn't me that called the cops! Seriously, you can put the axe down now, we're friends right? No, seriously, if you chop off anything it will slow down my chapters! Lol, no but seriously. Thank you for your interest and your faithful reviews. I really appreciate it :D

Next time we will take a gander into the past that formed Hikaru into the nutcase (said will all the love of his greatest admirer) he is at this point in the timeline. See you in Chapter 14, or Arc 2 Chapter 4, which will be cryptically titled:

Arc2: Student 2, fall fell, fallen

(Who wants to try to guess what it means?)