Made of Fail
Chapter Seven
Newcomer
Kuro gracefully leapt from her desk, pulled out a kunai…and promptly tripped over the chair and fell flat on her face. "Fuck!" she yelled in English – she didn't want to curse in Japanese in front of her kids. Rubbing her nose and grumbling, she looked up at the intruder. "What do you want?" she grumped before pointing a finger at him. "And it's rude to enter someone's home without knocking and taking your shoes off!"
The man looked at her. He wore the standard ANBU uniform, and judging by the position of his ANBU tattoo (left shoulder), he was a man. He had gravity-defying silver hair which flew upwards and to the left, and wore a dog mask. Her eyes narrowed. She knew exactly who this guy was.
The ANBU – let's call him 'Inu' for now – looked at her from behind his blank porcelain mask as he registered the gleam of recognition in the girl's eyes. "My apologies," he said stiffly, in his monotone ANBU voice. The girl looked at him for a moment before laughing.
"Wow," Kuro said after her giggles receded. "Quiet type, huh? Okay, Wallflower, what'd'ya want?" Inu – or 'Wallflower' – simply looked at her, thankful for his mask, since his eye was twitching. 'Wallflower…?' Seeing as she was still expecting an answer, he spoke. "Hokage-sama wishes to see you as soon as it is convenient." Kuro nodded. "Mmkay," she said. "I'll be right there." She quickly stood, having spent the entire conversation seated on the floor, and washed her brush with a small suiton jutsu before putting it down and putting the cap on her ink before turning to look at him – he'd disappeared. "Teme…" she muttered under her breath.
The rest of the family looked at her in amusement. "'Kā-chan!" Fū yelled. "That guy… Was he one of the weirdoes you were talkin' 'bout?" Kuro shoved a pinky finger in her ear. "Geez, Fū-chan, don't yell."
"Sorry."
"And yeah, he's one of the weirdoes. He actually comes off as a lazy, terminally late, aloof, pervert." Kimimaro shook his head. "Why would anyone do that?" he asked. "It seems to serve no purpose." Kuro smiled at him. "Actually," she said, "it does serve a purpose. He gets people to leave him alone that way. And he's not the worst. You ever seen Maito Gai? It's really amusing to watch." With a laugh, she waved goodbye and hopped out of the tree.
Outside, Inu was hiding, following her. She had seen through his ANBU disguise and was able to understand that his aloof manner was a mask. It was…strange.
She had the power to see through ANBU disguise. Hokage-sama would have to be warned.
Kuro hummed a happy tune as she trotted up to the Hokage's office, attempting to enter through the window without realizing it was closed – and smashing into it. "Ow…" she muttered, holding her sore nose. Sheepishly, she stood and knocked on the window, much to the amusement of the Hokage and the others in the room. With a chuckle the old man opened the window and Kuro stepped in, rubbing the back of her neck in mild embarrassment. "Hehe, thanks Ojī-chan."
A few of the people in the room frowned at this, while others chuckled. One, a dark-haired man with pale skin and black eyes, spoke. "Insolent brat, that's the Hokage. Show some respect." Kuro frowned and rubbed the back of her neck, giving the man a squinty-eyed, inquisitive look. Abandoning the rubbing of her neck, she instead began to stroke an invisible beard while inspecting the Hokage up and down, still with the same squinty-eyed look.
"Nah," she finally said. "I don't see it." There was a pause. Then, "What's a Hokage?"
Sara, who'd been leaning against the wall, stood up straight and walked over to Kuro. "He's one of the nice old men with the funny hats, Ro." Kuro nodded in understanding. "Ooh…" Then, clearing her throat, she turned to the Hokage and bowed respectfully. "In that case, I duly apologize for my lack of respect, Hokage-sama. Please forgive my insolence." Hiruzen looked at her with a mild pout before turning to Sara.
"I thought you weren't able to corrupt her?"
"I can't corrupt someone who's already insane, Hiruzen, I told you that." The old man sighed and told Kuro to rise. She gave him a giant grin. "So…why am I here?" Hiruzen smiled and gestured for her to take a seat at the table where the other people were sitting, and on closer inspection, she realized that they were all clan heads. Suddenly a bit nervous, Kuro tugged at the bottom of her happi coat and quietly sat down, glancing around the table and catching everyone's eyes as she did so. There was Uchiha Fugaku, Hyūga Hiashi, Aburame Shibi, Yamanaka Inoichi, Nara Shikaku, Akimichi Chōza, Inuzuka Tsume, and, of course, Sarutobi Hiruzen. He sat at the head of the table, while Sara leaned against the wall behind him.
"Now, everyone," he said. "I understand you're wondering why you're all here. The truth is that another clan is to be joining us." A few mutters broke out, but for the most part, they were silent. A few, however, had directed their gazes towards Kuro, who gave them a big grin and a light finger-wave, making Sara snort.
Hiruzen cleared his throat, and everyone's gazes returned to him. "Kuro, if you would be so kind?" Kuro, alarmed at being put on the spot, froze up and her eyes widened like a deer in the headlights. "Um, wha- hu- wha?" Then, she realized that while she was caught like a deer in the headlights, an actual deer-man was at the table, too, making her took at Shikaku and snicker, earning herself a 'troublesome'.
Sara, at this point, decided to step in. "Introduce yourself, Ro." Kuro grinned. "I can do that!" she chirped. "Let's see…what's my…? Oh, yeah, okay, I'm Yin Kuro Tsukiakari, last surviving member of the Yin clan. Quite honestly, I'm not too optimistic about its future if I'm in charge of it, 'cause I can't even remember my own name half the time. I like…stuff… Oh, yeah, um, I like… No, wait, I forgot again. Sorry, my brain doesn't really work too well this early in the morning."
"It's two in the afternoon," Chōza pointed out. Kuro nodded sagely. "Exactly," she said, "and I'm just about ready for a nap. Who's with me?" Sara and Hiruzen raised their hands, and everyone expectantly looked at Shikaku. "It's too troublesome to raise my hand," he explained.
"And yet it wasn't too troublesome to explain that it was too troublesome to do something that was too troublesome to do? Wait, what?" Kuro asked, confusing herself by the end of her question. Shikaku stared at her for a minute before wordlessly leaning back down and closing his eyes, not even bothering with a 'troublesome' this time.
Kuro grinned. "I win!"
"It's not like you had a very willing opponent," Sara pointed out.
"I take what I can get." Hiruzen cleared his throat, and all was quiet once more. "Well, now that Kuro has introduced herself, albeit in a rather…unorthodox way, please introduce yourselves." And so they did. Inuzuka Tsume, who was sitting to Kuro's right, went first. "I'm Inuzuka Tsume, head of the Inuzuka clan."
"I am Uchiha Fugaku, head of the Uchiha clan."
"I am Yamanaka Inoichi, head of the Yamanaka clan."
"I'm Akimichi Chōza, head of the Akimichi clan."
"Troublesome… Nara Shikaku, head of the Nara clan."
"I am Hyūga Hiashi, head of the Hyūga clan."
"Aburame Shibi, head of the Aburame clan."
"And I am Sarutobi Hiruzen, head of the Sarutobi clan," Hiruzen finished with a smile. "Now that we're all introduced, I wish to also add that Kuro is not yet a clan head, and therefore is not part of an official clan. However, I am considering letting her join the Chūnin Exams to be eligible for the position. As of yet, she is not a kunoichi of Konoha, but her skill level has been determined and I wish for her to be put on a probationary trial run to see how she fares.
"On another note, the children she brought with her and subsequently adopted have also joined the Ninja Academy, and two of them are also from clans and have kekkei genkai – Kaguya Kimimaro of the Kaguya clan, and another, Jūgo, has declined the offer to join the Academy, but also has a kekkei genkai. Once Kimimaro-kun becomes a chūnin, he will be eligible for the position of clan head, and once Jūgo turns eighteen years old, he will as well."
Once Hiruzen had finished speaking, Hiashi spoke. "I know we are all wondering the same thing," he said. "In order to start a clan in Konoha, one must either have a kekkei genkai or a unique style of fighting, such as clan jutsu – and if one does not have a kekkei genkai, he or she cannot start a clan without at least ten members. This evidence points to the fact that Yin-san has a kekkei genkai. What is it?"
Kuro blinked owlishly at him. "Yin-san?" she asked bewilderedly. "That's weird… Well, I've got…uh, what do I – okay, I have super-regenerative abilities, over-excessive chakra levels, and a second chakra source. I'm also pretty damn good with seals, if I do say so myself, and my clan style of fighting is based off of animals, like the Inuzuka clan, except we use the one that's best for us individually, not just the canine ones – sometimes that means we use more than one style. I myself am learning two so far, though I'm pretty crap at it. We've also got some clan ninjutsu, but that's about as much as I remember right now…" She trailed off.
Uchiha Fugaku seemed interested in this. "Regenerative abilities?" he asked, hoping to get more detail. Kuro looked at him oddly. "Yeah. That's what I said." He simply looked at her. Either she was too stupid to understand what he wanted, or she was just really good at hiding what she didn't want known. Considering her earlier actions, he was leaning towards the former.
It was at that moment that a large insect fluttered in and landed on Kuro's shoulder, making her sigh as it 'spoke' to her. Aburame Shibi seemed interested in this. "That is a male jungle nymph, is it not?" he asked. Kuro nodded. "Yeah. He's my daughter's, and she got in trouble…again." Turning her attention to the insect, she spoke. "Tell her to untie that poor woman immediately and that no, she is not allowed to put her in the Crocodile Tube, nor the Iron Maiden, nor the Brank, nor any other torture devices of any kind, or I'm going to summon the Shinigami and have him sit on her." The bug flew off and Kuro sighed. "This is what I get for letting a five-year-old get her hands on a book on Torture and Interrogation," she muttered. "I should never have left that thing out…"
Noticing that everyone was staring at her, Kuro chuckled awkwardly. Shibi, ignoring the whole torture thing, spoke once more. "Your daughter… She is able to communicate with her jungle nymph?" Kuro grinned in pride. "Yeah," she said happily. "She's actually involved with a lot of insect-based jutsu and has a plethora of insects she keeps with her at all times. She's definitely able to protect herself."
Shibi nodded and went silent, and Hiruzen stood. "Kuro, perhaps you should go see what little Fū-chan is up to – we wouldn't want an incident like last week's, would we?" Ignoring the hidden danger in his voice, Kuro nodded. "Yes sir!" she said, bolting from the room.
Sara chuckled. Yep. Romi was entertaining, as usual.
Naruto was grinning – actually grinning, for one of the first times in his short life. Ever since he'd met Kuro 'nē-chan, he'd actually smiled instead of just wearing a self-confident smirk or a pout. But it was weird, he mused as he ate his sandwich (Kuro 'nē-chan had made it for him). Next to him, Fū was poutily eating her own sandwich after being reprimanded by Kuro 'nē-chan for trying to hurt someone who'd been outright mean to him instead of just glaring at him or outright ignoring him.
"Ne, ne, Fū-chan, you're goin' ta the Academy, right?" Fū nodded. "I'm graduatin' this year," she responded. "And I'm gonna be on a team with Kimi 'nī-chan and Haku 'nī-chan." She grinned, showing off some pieces of food stuck in her teeth. Then she frowned. "I gotta go, though. Lunch is over." She quickly packed up and ran off. "Ja ne, Naru-chan!" Naruto waved goodbye to his friend, his grin lasting until she was out of sight. Then it faded.
Cleaning up his lunch with his angry pout now in place, he decided to go find Kuro 'nē-chan. She was always there for him.
It was nearing the end of the day, and Naruto had to go back to the orphanage. Kuro had asked to adopt him, but the old man had said that she needed to be a Konoha citizen for quite a while longer before being able to adopt. She'd pouted, but it was okay. Once she went through the Chūnin Exams, she'd be able to finally give Naruto the family he'd always wanted.
But until then, he had to stay at that damned orphanage.
For the moment, Kuro was eating dinner with her family – it consisted of smoked venison from the area, and she'd used the pelt to make Naruto some clothing, since the other children already had animal-skin clothing. She never used human skin, however – for aesthetic reasons.
School was going well for Fū and Kimimaro – the two plus Haku had to stick together to protect themselves from twelve-year-old bullies (A.K.A: the previous top student), but they had a lot of fun and all three were on their way to becoming ninja.
The next morning, Fū and Kimimaro headed towards the Academy after meeting up with Haku – things had been going very, very well for him. His calm, sweet demeanor made him very popular with some, and although he still had people who didn't like him, he was well-off, having a family that actually had a house, of all things. They'd have to talk about having a sleepover sometime.
School was quite boring for Fū, who didn't like sitting still for long periods of time, but they'd made a solution for that – she'd use a lot of her chakra training every morning, which, by the time she got to school, lowered her levels enough for her to actually be calmer.
Kimimaro, being the unofficial, yet recognized, leader of their little group, kept his eyes peeled for any sort of danger that might befall them. Luckily, there was none and by the time the bell rang, they were all safely in their seats in Iruka-sensei's class.
The day began with homeroom, everyone getting ready and stuff, before the first class of the day started – in truth, they were divided up into classes that taught them techniques which enhanced their inherent qualities. Kimimaro went to Tactical Battle Strategies class and Fū went to the Advanced Taijutsu Techniques class, while Haku went to the Anatomy and Physiology class. Kimimaro's first period went well – some of the students attempted to throw things at him, but soon they got bored with his incessant dodging. Haku was pretty well-loved in this class, as most of the girls absolutely adored him – those who didn't kept quiet, lest they incur the Wrath of the Rabid Fangirls. Fū quite possibly had it the hardest. At five years old, she was the youngest since Uchiha Itachi to even think of graduating that early – and this scared the weaker-willed ones, while infuriating the others.
And Fū was almost invariably paired with the infuriated ones.
Of course, she had to pull her punches – no one was allowed to be sent to the hospital anymore – but she still hit a hell of a lot harder than anyone else in the class, even though she was pretty slow on the uptake when learning new techniques. She was, however, advanced enough to be the first in her class, despite her form being sub-par. Her teacher made a note that she'd probably thrive under the tutelage of Maito Gai, of all people – he was a taijutsu freak.
The teacher sent her to work on her own a lot to perfect the techniques, but it was clear that while she possessed unnatural strength, she had to work hard to attain the forms that worked so unnaturally with her own body movements.
Kimimaro's second period, Advanced Ninjutsu Techniques, coincided with Haku and Fū's class – they were together. They sat together, Kimimaro on Fū's right side, closer to the aisle, Haku on her right, closer to the wall. Their teacher was Iruka for this class, and while he cared for all his students, it was clear that he had a special place in his heart for the trio that had bonded closely. He led the class outside and asked them to review the technique they'd been working on – Doton: Double Suicide Decapitation Technique. It was a D-Rank ninjutsu that had the user burrow through the ground before grabbing the opponent's ankles and dragging them under, leaving only the head exposed.
Fū was able to use the technique well, though she had a little trouble finding the dummy's ankles. Haku had the most trouble with it, finding it immensely difficult to converge with the earth at all. He hated it – finding it cold, cruel, and unforgiving. Then again, people said the same things about ice. Even though he was barely able to perform the technique, he still did it.
Kimimaro's attempt was the most spectacular, his affinity being earth in the first place. He'd actually stood there, completely calm, when it was his turn, simply facing the dummy and not moving at all. This made Iruka curious. "Kimimaro, what's wrong? Are you having trouble with the technique?" The white-haired boy turned to him with a blank look on his face before melting into –
'A mud clone?' It was then that Iruka felt cold hands on his ankles, gripping him like a vice before pulling him down. Kimimaro stepped out of the ground in front of him, allowing a rare smile to blossom on his face. "No, sensei. I'm having no trouble at all."
Iruka pretended to grumble a bit as he easily stepped out of the ground himself, but he had to laugh along with the rest of the class. "An ingenious double use of the Mud Clone Technique and the Double Suicide Decapitation Technique," Iruka declared, pride fully evident in his voice. "Full marks, plus extra credit for the extra technique. Where did you learn it, if you don't mind my asking?"
"Jutsu scrolls," Kimimaro explained passively. "Sara onē-san has an inter-dimensionally-traversing bag full of them. My chakra reserves aren't quite where they should be yet, so I'm a bit tired out by the dual-jutsu; but I should be fine soon." Iruka nodded. The Mud Clone jutsu in particular was very taxing – not as much as the Kage Bunshin no jutsu, but with the way he was using it, it was no surprise he got tired. "I only have one last question. When did you switch with your clone?"
Kimimaro let another smile, this time more of a smirk, pass through, closing his eyes as he leaned back to rest. "Who said I ever switched?"
The rest of the day went by pretty well – after their Stealth and Deception Tactics class together, there was a break for lunch when they escaped the Academy to go hang out with Naruto and Jūgo before they had to go back. Apparently Jūgo had been teaching Naruto the finer points of gardening, and surprisingly, the boy was into it. He also liked birds – the two bonded quickly.
The classes after lunch were mostly physically-oriented for Kimimaro, Fū, and Haku. Kimimaro and Haku had private training for their kekkei genkai (much like any other kekkei genkai user did), but when Fū waited for her teacher to show up, he actually had someone else in tow – a man wearing a strange tan cloak with a collar that hid the lower half of his face. He had round, dark sunglasses with a small ornament hanging off the left side, short, spiky black hair that flared back, sideburns, and one hell of an awesome 'stache.
Fū stared at the strange man. There was something…different about him.
Her teacher had to pry her attention from the man and explained that he wanted to train her to see what she could do for the day. This made Fū frown. "Okay, he's a teacher now? He doesn't look like much. I wanna see this guy's credentials before I do anything. Besides, why'd he be interested in me? Are you sure he's not from some other place, trying to capture me 'cause I'm so awesome? Did my mommy agree to this? Did you notify her? What if he's a pedophile that just wants me alone? Do you have written permission from 'Kā-chan? Where was she when this decision was made?"
Shibi was mildly amused at this little girl. She was overly cautious, and although a bit talkative (which wasn't unusual – his son Shino was also quite talkative, and he was about her age), she was logical. Although, he did wonder what had caused a child her age to be so overly cautious.
Her sensei attempted to convince her that it was okay, to which Fū responded with cries of "So you expect me to take your word that 'Kā-chan approved this? Is it written down? Does it have a signature? I know my mommy's signature" until he spoke up, finally deeming it necessary to do so.
"It is all right," he said to the teacher before turning to Fū. "My name is Aburame Shibi, and I am of the Aburame clan." He was pleased to see a flicker of recognition in her orange eyes – an exotic color, he thought – before he continued. "Your mother did, in fact, give me permission to train you. If you are still wary of my identity, please allow me to prove myself to you."
And with that he sent out a small insect that flew lazily over to the five-year-old and landed on her shoulder. Her eyes widened. "That's a…"
"A female kikaichū, yes," he finished in mild amusement. "Are you satisfied?" Fū looked at the man a bit warily, but nodded before following him outside.
Shibi turned to the girl as soon as they were in one of the more secluded training grounds. "What kind of insects do you possess?" he asked, immediately getting down to business. Fū, eager to show off, quickly listed them off. "I've got a male jungle nymph and I'm lookin' for a female, mites, ticks, mosquitoes, fleas, red ants, flies… It's actually really a big mix of a lot of 'em, but I've mainly got different types of beetles, and I'm cultivating a colony of Nano-Sized Venomous Insects."
Shibi immediately became alert at this. "Nanosaizu no Dokumushi?" he repeated. Fū nodded happily. "You wanna see 'em?" she asked. "I've got 'em with me right now." He thought for a minute before nodding. Fū grinned before closing her eyes. A small part of her left cheek began to bubble slightly before bursting, allowing about a centimeter squared of the insects, tiny and highly compacted enough to form a sickly purple blob in on the surface of her cheek.
"It's really a pity they can't fly," she said, ignoring the suppressed look of surprise on Shibi's face. "They'd be more useful for assassination missions that way. I kinda wanna experiment with them genetically; maybe transpose a genetic sequence giving them wings." She grinned. "Wouldn't that be so cool?"
The Aburame nodded slowly. The girl was powerful indeed, as well as highly intelligent. Had he not known any better, he'd have thought someone was possibly feeding her lines. Still, a child of five being able to use and understand…well, Aburame-sized words was exceedingly impressive, as well as was her ability to use the highly toxic insects. He had to wonder where exactly she got them…but that was a question for another time.
He nodded. "Thank you for your time," he said with a slight bow. Fū looked shocked. "What?" she cried out. "Don't you wanna see my super-awesome moves? They're so cool! Didn't you wanna? Isn't that why you came?"
Shibi looked back at her and cocked a brow. "I will be back tomorrow," he said in his grave, deep voice. "It wouldn't do to show all your techniques at once. One surprise a day is more than enough." Fū looked suitably chastised at this, and he couldn't help but be amused. This child got more and more entertaining every minute. "It was very nice meeting you, Fū," he said truthfully. "Tomorrow I'd like to bring someone else to meet you. Is this acceptable?"
Fū looked at him oddly for a moment before smiling. "That would be acceptable," she said with a smile she failed to suppress. "I look forward to it."
Shibi let a small smile show, his insects humming warmly inside him. "As do I, Fū-san. As do I."
The next day, Fū met the person of whom Shibi had spoken. He wore sunglasses, like Shibi, and wore a coat like Shibi's, only his had cool buttons and he also wore an overcoat with a hood. Fū grinned, always happy to make new friends. "This your kid, sensei?" she asked cheerfully before skipping up to him and bowing slightly. "I'm Yin Fū of the Yin clan. What's your name?"
The boy looked at her for a moment before answering with a bow of his own. "I am Aburame Shino of the Aburame clan. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." Fū grinned. "You, too," she chirped. She then seemed to remember something and looked up at Shibi. "Ne, ne, sensei, what're we gonna do today, huh? Is it something super-cool?" Shibi was, as always, mildly amused at the little girl's antics. "I would like you to show me a few of your moves, if it is at all possible," he said.
Fū nodded with a grin and struck what she thought was a 'cool' pose – basically, she stood with her feet spaced apart as if in a taijutsu stance, but her upper body faced forward and her arms were held parallel to the ground. After a little bit of concentration, a storm of insects of all shapes and sizes ratcheted out of her sleeves and began to swirl in jerky, yet still somewhat controlled movements before again shooting off – this time over to a tree.
It was a magnificent, tall sycamore. The leaves had been a pure, deep green – a mesmerizing shade, really, especially when the sunlight gleamed through the thick branches to the ground.
Notice the author's creative usage of past tense.
Fū's insects demolished the tree. Her crop-eating insects – powered with her bijū's demonic chakra – had devoured it, roots and all.
And as they returned to their host, Shibi strode over to the edge of the hole where that magnificent giant once stood, its gaping maw threatening to eat him, insects and all. Stepping back, he looked at Fū, who grinned and blushed with a shrug. She'd never really been able to show off to anyone before, so she was a bit nervous as to what he had to say – he wasn't her mommy, that was for sure.
Shibi looked down at the hole again and then back at her. There was a pause before he spoke. "Your insects devoured that tree," he stated.
"Yep!"
"Their mass didn't change."
"Yep!"
"They were not sluggish at all after their meal."
"Yep!"
"You were able to accept them back into your body with no negative side-effects."
"Yep!" Shibi continued to stare at her, and even Shino, as talkative as he was, remained silent. Then he spoke. "Interesting," he said. "Can you do more?" Fū grinned, looking up at the adult with gleaming eyes. "I thought you'd never ask."
Shibi walked home that day with his son in tow. This little girl…this five-year-old child had a powerful insect-wielding ability, one even greater than the one they themselves had. Their bodies were simply not meant to handle what that child's did.
He, as the patriarch of his clan, was feeling…threatened.
Had anyone caught wind of this, he would most certainly not have been believed. He, Aburame Shibi, emotionless, calm, collected Aburame Shibi, was feeling threatened by an adorable five-year-old girl.
Of course, had they seen her power that day, they most certainly would have understood his fear. Would the Aburame clan become useless in light of this new power? Would the Yin clan overrun his? No… This child had been adopted; Hokage-sama had confirmed it. If that was the case, then what was her hailing clan? Did she even come from a clan at all, or was this a freak mutation?
Whatever the reason, this child had enormous potential. For the sake of his clan's future, he had to get the Yin clan, and by extension Fū, on his good side. He hated politics, he hated the feuds between the clans, but now, for the first moment in his adult life, he understood its necessity. Now, when the cold abyss loomed before him, like the hole where that magnificent sycamore tree once stood, he understood what primal fear, the fear of not losing your life, but instead your entire legacy, truly was.
"Shino," he spoke, and cursed inwardly as he heard his voice shake a bit. He clenched his sweating palms in his pockets. "Yes, Father?" Shino hadn't caught on to his father's worry. That was good.
Shibi stood on the edge of that wide, vast abyss…
"What do you think of Yin Fū?"
…And he took a leap of faith.
Kimimaro, on the other hand, was working extremely hard on his own bloodline limit. For his teachers, he had a chūnin named Gekkō Hayate to teach him the finer points of using swords – only Kimimaro's swords were made of his bones, which sickened him slightly, but hey, it was a damn useful ability, so who was he to judge.
Kimimaro calmly pulled a fig out of his bag and began to eat it, making his teacher sigh. The only reason he'd take a break from his training was when he needed calcium – and damn he needed a lot of it. Sometimes he wondered if he wasn't just doing it to get free breaks out of them, and judging by his smirk, he was. Finishing his fruit and idly licking the juice off his fingers, he stood and expelled a single, long rib from his chest, sharpening it from tip to where he crafted a handle from the bone, creating a makeshift rib-katana. Well, it wasn't exactly sharp, he mused as he ducked Hayate-sensei's bokken, or training katana. He wouldn't be able to use anything but a blunt rib-bokken on fellow Konoha villagers. He had to prove to them that the Kaguya clan was not the band of bloodthirsty barbarians everyone thought it was.
At least, he would show them that it wasn't any more.
As he ducked a horizontal sweep of Hayate-sensei's bokken (the man had been instructed to fight at just above his level so he'd continue to improve, but not die) and retaliated with his own sweep to the legs with his rib-bokken, which had been jumped over, he smirked to himself.
Okā-san was always telling him to find his own dream, his own purpose in life – and he guessed he'd found one.
He'd wipe the shame and dishonor from the Kaguya clan's bright crest, and replace it with a glorious shine. He would use his kekkei genkai to protect, never to kill without cause ever again, and he'd rewrite his clan's future.
He would become strong.
He would fight for those not strong enough to help themselves.
He would protect.
And he would fight to regain his lost honor.
Haku, on the other other hand, was having a very different time of it. He had a water-natured Academy sensei take him on, and he was glad of it. She'd taught him the finer points of medical ninjutsu while also helping him in his quest to learn more about his kekkei genkai and use the ice – in fact, it had been her idea to freeze, say, a limb in ice until the victim got to a safer place to remove it. In fact, Haku thought with a smile, perhaps he could even freeze people in solid blocks of ice until they could get medical attention. The entire notion sounded ridiculous, but he was going to try.
Kuro grinned. The kids were asleep with a Kage Bunshin watching over them, Naruto was safe at the orphanage, and Haku was home with his parents. She and Sara were gonna hit the motherfuckin' town.
They entered a seedier part of town – Kuro wore her normal clothes, which consisted of a loose t-shirt with her clan symbol on the front (the Yin half of the YinYang symbol) and a pair of loose nin-pants.
Sara, on the other hand, wore a loose, horizontally-striped t-shirt that hung off one shoulder with her frizzy afro in two buns on top of her head. She also wore green leggings and heeled ninja sandals, while her companion went barefoot. "Damn, it's been forever since I've been here!" Sara squealed happily. "Ro, since you're now officially a ninja, you must do a 'right of passage' of sorts."
Kuro cocked a brow at her friend. "I'm on probation," she pointed out blandly, "so I'm not an official ninja. And I don't want to get in trouble while I'm on probation." Sara waved her worries off. "Nah, it's fine, Ro. Hiruzen loves me too much, and this doesn't break any laws, although we're probably breaking, like, a crap-load of moral codes or some shit for this."
"You know full well I don't have morals, Sara," Kuro said in amusement. "Thing is, you still haven't told me what we're doing." Sara grinned and grabbed her friend's hand, dragging her over to what looked like a small, rinky dinky building with a small, dimly illuminated sign on it that had the kanji for 'ninja' on it. They opened the door, and the bar oh-so-slowly went silent as they looked at the two girls. It wasn't that they were there that was odd, it was the fact that one of them was maybe fourteen years old.
The 'bouncer' frowned and walked up to them. "Listen, lady," he said, talking to Sara. "You can stay, but the kid's got to go." Kuro, pissed off that she was being referred to as a 'kid', lifted her leg up and stomped on the guy's toes – hard. With a yelp, the guy wrenched himself away from her. "Don't call me a kid, you asshole," she growled out. "If I was able to get that reaction from stomping on your toes shoeless, then what'd your reaction be if I shoved a kunai through your balls, you pussy?"
The bouncer paled. "Just get in here," he growled, shoving her further into the bar. Kuro looked at him in confusion, so Sara decided to elaborate. "This is the rite of passage I was talking about, Ro," she said with a grin. "It's a well-known rule 'round these parts that as soon as you loose your cool with this guy, you're allowed to drink."
Kuro twitched slightly. "Ew," she said. "Is that why you brought me here? I don't want to drink." Sara grinned. "Too bad," she said, "because as soon as you finish your rite of passage, you're supposed to get one congratulatory drink, on the house." She laughed at the disgusted expression on Kuro's face before dragging her over to the bar, where a single cup of sake awaited her.
Kuro smelled the fermented rice drink, and the soft smell pervaded her nostrils, making her furrow her brows. It was chilled. With a shrug, she held the cup to her mouth and tipped it back, downing it – which made her jump, twitch, and choke, all in one. For one who'd never had alcohol of any sort before, suddenly having a strong, unfiltered, alcoholic drink was enough to weird her out.
Getting over it rather quickly, she was surprised to find that she'd been applauded. Sara, laughed, clapping her on the back. "Nice job, Ro," she crowed. "For your first time drinking, you sure know how to get it done!" Kuro grinned in slight embarrassment as she rubbed the back of her neck. "Eh, thanks?" The bar went back to its usual chatter and Sara ordered a bottle of Junmai-shu sake, the same that Kuro had just had. The bartender came back with the bottle and another cup for Sara. She poured herself and Kuro a drink, and downed hers.
Kuro took a sip of her sake, this time reflecting on the taste. It was earthy and full-bodied, she found, and was also acidic, kind of like soda in the way that it burned her throat. She was surprised that she actually liked it. She hadn't thought she'd ever like alcohol, but she was proving herself wrong. With a smile, she continued to drink her sake as she and Sara began to talk about nothing in particular. Of course, she had to watch herself. She knew that she didn't have that great of a body mass, and was probably more of a lightweight.
Therefore, she was surprised to find, as she and Sara finished off the bottle, that she wasn't more than a little woozy – and this was her normal wooziness in that her vision clouded over at times and she had to blink it away, which happened a lot anyway.
She shrugged and Sara paid for the sake before they left the tavern and went home. There was nothing else in the akasen, or legal red-light district, that interested them.
Kakashi was amused, to say the least. He'd been in the bar when Kuro had gone through her 'rite of passage' and was honestly surprised to see that she didn't get drunk – just a bit tipsy. He'd also been in the room as a guard (he was on a break from the harder missions) when she'd been introduced to the clan heads. He also watched as she trained in the Forest of Death where she'd made her home, and was intrigued to find that she was at chūnin level, and had the most interesting techniques he'd seen in a while. He was also amazed when he saw how many shadow clones she could make easily, while training.
Kakashi was simply interested in this girl, to say the least. She also…reminded him of Minato-sensei's late wife, Kushina. She looked and acted a lot like her. But she wasn't Kushina; that was obvious. Even so, she trained hard, had gone through the 'rite of passage' at the Bar, and was going to compete in the Chūnin Exams in a few months.
He watched as she began to train, working on her ninjutsu – she knew a heck of a lot of fūton jutsu, and by the end of her training session, the landscape was carved up and gouged out. She was strong, that was for sure, but she still had a hell of a long way to go before she was even on his radar. Anyone who was a chūnin or lower didn't make him work at all. But she had the potential, definitely. He wondered how well she'd work in a real fight…
He shook the thoughts from his head as Kuro's friend hopped next to him. "Hey," she greeted with a grin. "You know, what you're doing could be considered stalking, you know." Kakashi shrugged. He didn't care. Taking this as a sign of dismissal, the girl – Sara, he remembered – hopped back down and disappeared into the tree where she and the rest of the hodgepodge group lived.
Kuro was an enigma. And he was going to solve this conundrum.
A/N: Muahaha gonna get started on the next chapter, bitcheeeeeeesss!