"NE! What was that for!" Ken whined as he cradled the sizeable bump on his head while also glaring with as much venom as he could at the sole cause of his pain. "Nobu! I'm going to rip your head off someday!" His voice was low and quiet but the boy heard nonetheless.
"And what makes you think you could beat me" Nobu replied hotly, his voice resonating with his smirk. Ken frowned before springing up to his feet, his hand outstretched and pointing at Nobu with a determined glare "I swear I will beat you one of these days or I'm going to die trying!"
A sigh broke the two out of their bickerings,, both boys turned their heads around to look at Setsuna looking down on the ground while twiddling her fingers, but she wasn't really the main focus, instead it was the form of their Tsukikage standing there with his white robes billowing in the wind and an irritated tick mark on his forehead.
Both boys blanched before exchanging glances with each other. "This is your fault" They said together, almost immediately after getting whacks on their heads.
Setsuna watched as her sensei and kage began to lecture and berate his two students, and her teammates, before sighing "I'm glad I wasn't dragged into-"
"uh-uh setsuna don't think you're walking away from this!" Her face became ghostly white and her mouth became slacked. She turned her head only to feel the air knocked out of her lungs when she saw Lady Hikari there with her hips bent and her eyebrow cocked. The next few minutes all could be heard were the pitiful wailing of team 7.
Ken slowly roused himself off his slumber before coughing and grabbing his aching leg. "Damn we've been running non-stop since yesterday and we still have a ways to go." The brown haired boy pulled out a scroll from his backpack and leaned against the bark of a tree for support. He noticed how Nobu's traps had been set all around their camp before the said teen dropped down in front of him.
They both snorted at each other, Nobu because Ken was being lazy and Ken because Nobu still had his hair in a mess. The two shared a glance before Nobu went off to go sleep. When the teen began snoring Ken returned his eyes to the scroll in his hands and as he did he couldn't help but frown. "I'm among the last of the kaware-me clan, most of our techniques were lost during the bloodline purge, only these scrolls are left" Ken pulled the scroll shut gently like a rare artifact (Which it is) before clipping it back to his pouch.
'Tsukikage saved us, he protected us especially on that day' Ken, whether he wanted to or not, was driven back to a time he'd rather forget but could never bring himself to.
Flashback
Fire, that was all he could see, a big red hot flame burning through wood and flesh without , that was all he smelled, thick and heavy in the air. Screams, that was all he could hear, all long and painful.
The boy crouch down low, his twelve year old mind trying to think of a way through the mess of blood and pain. His little sister was by his side, clinging to his hand like her life depended on it (and really it did).
"Nii-san what's going on?" She asked quietly, tears brimming in her eyes as she noticed several dead bodies, bodies of family members, bloodied and battered on the ground with slash marks and kunai jutting out here and there. The girl whimpered as one of them suddenly shot up, screaming before he plopped back down, the lights in his eyes completely gone.
"Nii-san.." She was shushed by a finger when her brother moved forward and plucked one stray kunai from the wall. She watched as her brother held it defensively to his chest while his other hand was out defensively in front of her, her brother's only instinct had always been to protect her and after their parents died...she couldn't really bring herself to remember it.
Ken looked from one side to the other, making sure there were no mist ninja anywhere near them. There was sweat dripping down his forehead and his feet were barely kept steady.
His gritted teeth scratched against each other as he took calm steps forward. As he did he kept one arm in front of his sister. HIs father last dying words kept repeating his ears like a broken record, he knew each and every detail would be ensnared in his head forever.
From his father large hole in his chest to his mother's neck being pierced by a kunai. HIs father's bloodied and trembling lip letting a wheezed breath shift through before he looked at Ken with the eyes of a dying man, a dying man with one last wish. "Protect your...sister" His mouth stopped working and his eye rolled back into his head before he died.
The boy growled under his breath, he wanted to kill, he wanted to fight, he wanted to avenge his father, his mother, his friends. He wanted to kill as vengeance on the mist turning a once lively and happy village into a desolate wasteland. The ground that was once fertile was salted and burned, the houses that once sheltered families were shattered like broken pieces of a mirror.
The faces of people he once knew were twisted and lifeless, forced to forever be left with an expression of fear and shock.
Ken stepped forward slightly, his back was drenched with sweat, and kept closed to whatever wall that was nearby. He positioned his body slightly to the left before moving his sister, Aiko , behind him. "Stay here" He whispered before rounding a corner and taking a step back, his guard instantly up.
There weren't as many bodies on this street as the one he and his sister had just exited but the blood was still fresh and the bodies had yet to lose their color. "These are definitely still new, probably a couple of minutes ago" He ducked low to the ground, he hadn't trained to be a ninja originally, his family were carpenters leaving the shinobi work too the higher families.
However he went through basic combat drills in the case of a possible need of a large amount of ninjas, then the militia (People like him) who receive basic training would be enlisted among the regular forces.
Ken quietly moved forward, making as small of target as he could while not making himself look utterly ridiculous. When he was sure that there was no one there he rapped against the wall twice before his sister walked out and quickly ran to him.
However nothing really works out now does it.
Ken's eye's widened before he sprang forward "Aiko get down now!" His sister, thankfully, complied and ducked down to the ground as quickly as she could right before she would have been peppered by kunai. A mist ninja shimmered into view in front of her, a tanto in his hand and ready to strike down on her. "No you bastard get away from her" Ken immediately latched onto his back, his kunai trying to slit his throat but also missing by an inch.
The ninja grabbed Ken's arms before he slammed the boy down onto the ground as hard as he could. The mist ninja palmed his kunai before throwing it at Ken. He hissed out in pain before doing the same with his kunai, the ninja dodged but as he did Ken was already up and running, the kunai in his shoulder gone and was held above the mist ninja.
The ninja smirked before he twirled to the side and slammed Ken into the wall. When he saw the kid on the ground was close to death he turned to the sister. "Well, kid sorry about this but demons like you don't deserve to live" The ninja walked forward quietly, his steps were heavy but the smile on his face was demonic.
The girl trembled as she stared at the man, her eyes drifting to her brother who laid dormant on his side. "Nii-san..." Tears were brimming down her cheeks as she lifted her arms to shield her face. She waited, for an eternity, for a long and silent moment she waited. She heard the sounds of metal hitting flesh, the squelch of of blood splattering on the ground before silence, again.
She opened her eyes slowly and her eyes grew wide and shocked. Her brother was in front of her, his left shoulder pierced by a kunai and his hands outstretched to protect his sister. "Don't worry Aiko, your Nii-san will keep you safe, he won't let you get hurt" Ken dropped down onto his back before delivering a kick to the ninjas face and forcing the kunai out of his shoulder.
"You little runt I'm gonna kill you" The man launched forward, his blade now going to Ken's neck and the Kaware-me boy was cornered, he couldn't run, he couldn't dodge, so he had to take it, for his sister. He smiled, resolution in his eyes before he whispered to his sister "Run, ok Aiko"
The blade inched closer and closer before, 'CLANK' the ninjas eyes shot wide open before he was kicked in the gut far more painfully than when the civilian hit him, and was sent spiralling back into the ground.
Ken's mouth was agape and he stared at the imposing figure in front of him, he was dressed in a long white haori with the kanji for sage on his back and orange flames licking the helm and sleeves. His face was obscured with a hood, and the man slowly turned to them, his eyes piercing into ken's soul.
"Go, I've rounded as many villagers as I could on the southeast exit, I suggest you go there besides company is coming soon" His voice was calm and flowed out of his mouth. With a nod, Ken didn't even look back as more mist ninja dropped into the clearing. He had a feeling that the guy wouldn't die as easily and since he saved him and his sister, he could trust him if only for a while.
Flashback end
Now here he was, a genin for the Hidden Light, his little sister and him, out in Konohagakure no sato in participation of the chuunin exams and sitting out in the middle of the forest of death with his team. Despite himself, he couldn't help but chuckled. "Tsukikage he sure is a great man" He stared up into the sky before looking back down. 'For the Tsukikage' he thought softly before going back to guard duty.
XXXXXXXX
"How is everything going?" A shadowed man asked as he sat on his throne. In front of him were three of his best agents. "The Uchiha had fought with one of our dummy teams and he emerged victorious if only barely, if our team had been given the all clear to kill, he would surely be dead."
Though his face was veiled in darkness, you could tell he was frowning. "That is...unpleasant" He said, his voice remained stoic. "And what of the light genin?" The three ninjas looked at each other before the one who spoke before began " They don't seem to be anything special sir, they move like a normal genin team, as in they watch each other backs however their coordination needs work, they tend to show very little techniques when dealing with opponents unless they deem it necessary. When using their techniques however they seem to show quite an impressive reserve of chakra considering the techniques they use however they seem to lack some refine control over their techniques."
Again the old man frowned before he cupped his chin "What are you planning Uzumaki? To send a mundane genin group amidst us" The shadowed man stood, revealing his face to be Danzo and he spoke loud enough for all to hear him "Listen and listen well, I want you disguise yourselves as civilians and spread the word of the Light's attempt to 'assassinate' the hokage. Hiruzen felt it prudent to keep the Light's earlier incident out of the public, that would be his downfall. Create uneasiness and then I want some of the ROOT members in the ANBU to start putting people on edge" The operatives nodded before disappearing. The old man smiled briefly before moving away "Now its just a waiting game"
XXXXXXXX
"Lady Hikari, what brings you here?" Hikari stopped for awhile before looking at the source of the voice. It was Yang, her yellow hair was tied into a high ponytail with her left side having three strands of hair slightly covering her face. She was wearing her usual white blouse however her jacket was nowhere to be found. She replaced her skirt with black shorts and her dragon blade was strapped to her back.
Hikari frowned for a moment "You know you don't need to call me Lady Hikari right? We are friends afterall" Hikari had changed her look, in the village she usually dealt with domestic affairs, though she was young, she had experience dealing with politics that Naruto like to describe as "That civilian made bullshit meant to piss of people" and because of this she now wore an orange kimono with roses adorning the fabric. Her hair was in a ponytail with two long bangs framing her face. She was a true image of a princess.
Yang smiled briefly before shifting over "No can do, I'm part of the regular forces again so I have to address you properly and professionally" Yang was a chuunin going on Jounin in the next month if she passed. She joined up with Naruto and the rest to Konoha to simply complete a job and help out.
"Hey blonde-cow! You left me with shitty cashier guy" The two grils turned around to see Tayuya, she wore a grey vest over a white long-sleeved shirt with black shinobi pants that had white wrappings on her ankles.
"Red, you better stop calling me that" Yang muttered through gritted teeth. The redhead gave her a blank look before growing a shit eating grin "Nope" Yang growled and before she could attack her Hikari spoke up "What were you two doing?"
The two girls looked at each other before shrugging "The Jounin commander asked us to order extra kunai coming in the next shipment, the whole talk of war is putting alot of people on edge" Yang replied, she was nervous like everyone else, even Tayuya, because war wasn't a joking matter. If they were to get plunge into war with Konoha there was no doubt that the other villages would capitalise on the opportunity and start another world war. Something like that was a very serious matter.
"The shitheads up at testosterone central are clambering everybody to red alert, Homeland contingency is being prepped and nearly every single one of the fuckers down by south side are clamboring for the bunkers already" Tayuya said, her distaste for the rich 'South sides' were clear in her voice.
Hikari frowned at her before chiding her for her language. Tayuya rolled her eyes but kept a small smile as the younger redhead began to talk about how a woman should behave. "Yes, yes I know 'Whirlpool Princess'" Hikari's frowned became a pout as she mentioned what the civilians loved to call her.
She did have the princess look to her afterall. "You girls are meanies" Hikari muttered before walking away leaving behind two wildly laughing chunins.
But as they continued through the day they missed the shock of white and black pass through the roofs above them. 'Have you heard anything?' A voice crackled through a radio on his neck.
"I have found Priority Target should I engage?" He replied, his voice emotionless and his body hugging the shadows for cover.
"Danzo-sama has all his cards placed, Priority Target is a no zone till the final rounds, do you understand Sai?" The voice asked, just as emotionless as him. "Yes I understand"
Sai, gently came out of the wall he was hiding behind before he performed an ink technique that transformed his clothes into something more civilian-like. "I will keep visual observation"
Something opened up in my schedule so I was capable of updating now, which is a good thing I guess. Its been awhile since I wrote and I missed it, my writing hands have become stiff and I need to get back into it. Can't really do that with week long breaks in between writing so yes this is a good thing. However I'm not proud with this chapter I had originally wanted to go for 5000 words but felt like it needed to end here, oh well.