Author's Note: I was kind of hoping to be able to get a little farther than just day two (or technically day one, considering Kakashi was apparently feeling 'nice' enough to give his kids a deserved break for the first day or so). Unfortunately, I couldn't really cut it any later without it being either extremely awkward, or past the word-count limit I prefer to keep per chapter. (I have since learned from attempting to post 10k+ chapters, okay, those things are a pain to get through for edits/updates/etc.) Which, of course, means the whole Training Camp thing will probably end up being extended...especially because I only got through so much in one chapter. (Whether that's a good or bad thing is up to you all, I guess.)
But then again, I really didn't want to have to cut out a lot. (I've had to scrap quite a bit and rewrite quite a bit as well to make things work as it is.) There's a lot that I'd like to do with this, and I don't want to just squish everything in just to get it all over with. I do have the entirety of it planned, by the way, but any suggestions and/or requests are allowed if there's anything anyone would particularly like to see. Unfortunately, it's likely I'll end up having to cut certain segments out just to make it all work, so any particular things that you all might like to see will be taken into account (though I do have the entirety of the trip already planned, as said). Any ideas that I end up borrowing or using will be mentioned as we get to them (though hopefully that won't end up spoiling everything, aha). Incidentally, I do have two possibly Interludes/Omake's that might happen after/during the training camp, so there's that to look forward to as well!
Anyways, before I end up going on another tangent or rambling spree (and thus spoil absolutely everything about this little arc, as it's looking to be), I'd once again like to take the time to say thank you to everyone who's added this story to their follows, favorites, or reviewed! Unfortunately, I can't respond to any guests here since they don't have accounts to receive PMs or responses with since I'd rather not only respond to some and not all due to potential spoilers and whatnot, but thank you so much for reviewing, anyway! They always make me happy (and motivate me to write more)!
As always, I do not own NARUTO, and this story is unbeta'd. Title suggestions are welcome as always, and so are corrections and questions.
edit:: Updated 04/24/18
And now, I present...
Chapter 6 (Training Camp in the Forest of Hell —Or Death, Death works too. Part I)
Daylight spread across the village, painting it in various hues as those creatures native to it stirred. A familiar cacophony of birdsong, chatter, and what little noise the up and moving shinobi of the village began to fill the air. It was a peaceful day, looking to feel just as fine as the light cover of wisping clouds that filtered the light and heat from the denizens of Konoha as the day progressed. The cold, nipping chills of the night disappearing, and —aside from the usual antics of a certain 'Green Beast of Konoha' amidst the other usual things that had long since dropped to the background to those familiar with it all— looked to be the beginnings of a perfect day for many of the inhabitants of the sprawling landscape of Konohagakure.
Or, well, it would have, if not for the terror-filled scream that rent through the otherwise peaceful air. The sound a combination of surprised and/or shocked screeches and yelling that seemed to echo through the village, giving pause to both civilian and ninja alike.
The source? Well, there was a reason that a certain forest of a certain 'training' area had been closed off and forbidden to so many of the ninja —let alone the civilians— of the Country of Fire.
Then again, Hatake Kakashi, last known Hatake and living member of the Yondaime's own genin students —as well as an ex-AnBu Captain under the designation of Dog (or Hound, if you were peculiar about that sort of thing), elite Jounin of Konoha, and son of the White Fang—...was not known for having a full set of marbles.
No matter how skilled the man was.
Of course, considering the fact that most of the 'elite' or 'top-tier' ninja nowadays seemed to have the tendency to have a few screws missing, let alone being as loose as they were...
Well, it would likely explain why all four members of Team 7 could be found in the exceedingly dangerous confines of Training Ground 44 —also known as the Forest of Death— if anyone had actually cared to look. Two of four members screaming at the top of their lungs first thing in the morning of their second day of their Training Camp —or more accurately, Survival Training.
(It honestly, really, probably, didn't help that Sharingan Kakashi had a tendency to get away with pretty much everything and anything he did nowadays either.)
"Holy crap. Holy crap, holy crap—! What the fuck even is that—?!" came the screeches of a blue-eyed, whiskered blonde as perspiration dripped rapidly from his adrenaline-wired body.
Despite his earlier scream of shocked terror —and make no mistake, the blonde was still terrified out of his fucking wits— the twelve years old genin continued to stare, with horrified, wide-eyed fascination, at the scene before him. Only barely, just managing to un-paralyze himself long enough to avoid the ("What the hell!? THAT THING IS FUCKING HUGE!") gigantic centipede that had somehow managed to find its way into the camp they'd set up the previous day.
"Idiot! Yelling'll only attract its attention, you stupid Dead Last—!" came the —somehow— low hiss of a yell, as an equally panicked Uchiha Sasuke dove out of the way of its lashing… end? That was the tail end, right?
Fuck, it was too hard to tell when the stupid thing was lashing about so violently.
A cheerful hum interrupted the panic-filled tones of two out three of the genin. "Careful now, my cute little students~ Those things are venomous, y'know~" called the cheerful voice of their gods-damned Sensei from one of the low-hanging tree branches above. "Even a baby like this can kill if the poison's not removed quickly enough~!" He added after a beat.
As the two genin continued to play a twisted life-or-death version of tag with the wildly flailing arthropod, Naruto screeched (again), diving out of the way just as the thing lunged for him, cursing when he realized that Sasuke had been right, as it was mainly aiming for him. (Seriously?! ) But no, more importantly—
"WHAT?! WHAT DO YOU MEAN THAT THING'S JUST A BABY?!"
"Idiot—! Didn't I tell you to shut up?! That thing's following the sound of your voice!" snapped Sasuke, too busy dodging the stingers on the end of the ridiculously sized creature's body (he was pretty sure it could wrap around Kakashi a couple times. At minimum. Seeing how big it was). Even as he tried to get through its just as ridiculously hard exoskeleton. Not quite really being of much help as he did his best to keep the dead-last from becoming poisoned or bug-chow even as he tried to avoid the same thing happening to himself.
(Seriously, what the fuck?!)
Making sounds of protest as he spent his time —totally not on purpose, of course— distracting and dodging the thing (holy shit, that thing had to be, like, nine or ten full meters long or something!), Naruto couldn't help but to continue, too busy dodging for his life, though at they very least not as loudly as he had before.
"AND HOW THE HELL DO YOU EVEN KNOW IT'S JUST A BABY, ANYWAY?!" he all but screeched, demanding to know the seemingly trivial piece of information. Of course, if it really was just an infant version of its fellow arthropods, that also meant that there were even bigger versions of the thing scurrying around the forest they were in. Something that was, ya know, actually kind of important to know?!
Still standing rather leisurely on the lowest branch of the equally ridiculous-in-height trees that surrounded them, their pervert of a sensei hummed. "Well, you see, kids~ That Centipede only has fifteen pairs of legs," the man explained to the blonde and raven, tone —dare they even say it— educational as he continued. "Centipedes with fifteen pairs or less are still considered to be larvae of their species," he went on, expression and tone both cheerful and absolutely genial as he continued to flip through the pages of the book that had earned him the label of pervert-sensei. "Ah, but you might want to look out, though, seeing as the creatures of this forest do tend to, ah, mutate...a little. So do try not to let that thing touch you, hmm~?" the man continued, a giggle accompanying the totally unhelpful words he spoke.
(That absolute bastard.)
"What the hell do you even think we're doing?!" snapped Sasuke, clearly at the end of his rope as sweat beaded on his face. The fact that it was mutated was pretty obvious by this point, but the Uchiha was still trying to find a way to get through the hard shell of the venomous —and possibly even poisonous on top of that— arthropod as it screeched. The strange stingers on the end something that a normal centipede would never have had. (Gods-damn-it, that useless Sensei! He should have known something was up when the man actually offered to train them.)
"And why the hell aren't you helping us?!" he all but yelped (something he'd deny to his dying day —especially the first that had matched the blonde's for pitch and resonance), ducking to avoid getting stabbed through the head by those fucking stingers.
More importantly, though…
How the hell can Tsukino still be sleeping through this shit?!
And why the hell was she sleeping in a tree instead of the tents they'd brought anyway?! What the fuck, Tsukino?!
And here the Uchiha had thought the brunette would have been the normal member of their team (apparently not, though he probably should have figured this out a long time ago, anyway. Especially considering they'd had over a month to at least get a feel for each other).
Unaware of the ruckus (either too tired, or just completely deaf to it all), the aforementioned genin continued to sleep, curled up in a surprisingly comfortable niche between tree and branch. The only reason any of them even knew that the girl (presumed boy) was even there at all being the single limb that dangled over the edge of a leafy, vine-looped branch that Sasuke had somehow managed to catch sight of (Kakashi having already been aware that the strange child had been asleep in the loft of branches overhead from the beginning).
Later on, the two currently frantic genin would end up staring at the third of their group with disbelieving expressions when all she'd say in response to the demand to know why she had been sleeping in the tree while the other two had been fighting off a giant centipede would be that 'it had been comfortable'...
Seriously, the heck, Tsukino?!
Despite the fact that he was known as a genius, Hatake Kakashi could be a little...dim...at times.
Taking a group of (relatively) newly minted genin into a forest that even the most seasoned of veteran-ninja would typically avoid? Oh, totally acceptable. Tossing said genin into the deep end of said forest? Yup, also completely acceptable. Not warning said genin that previously mentioned 'Training Camp/Trip' would be taking place in a life-threatening forest of mutated flora and fauna…?
Well, it wasn't like they'd always get such warnings while they were out and about on missions anyway. So really, wouldn't it be better to simply prepare them for the worst?
Especially considering the flora and fauna of any habitat could end up being used by any enemy to aid them in whatever quest they had. He was only doing what he thought was best for his cute little genin!
Granted, the man was completely and absolutely confident that he'd be able to take care of his 'three little brat-lings' (even going so far as to put extra care in finding where to toss them for the first night and...'removing' anything that came too close until morning had come on day two), but it was still a bit much. Then again, he had been so kind as to allow them a day to get used to their surroundings and set up before allowing just one of the mutated creatures that lived in the forest to find its way into their camp.
Their first opponent of the trip? Giant Centipedes, apparently.
Thankfully (for the boys, Kakashi was always prepared after all. And Kohaku having ended up deciding to set up in a tree for whatever reason), the boys had managed to corral it a bit further away from their camp to avoid the destruction of any important implements they might actually end up needing for camping and/or while stuck out in the wilds. Especially since their Sensei had already warned them that they wouldn't be allowed to leave the forest for anything for the next two weeks or so.
Needless to say, his cute little students hadn't been pleased, especially upon finding out that a certain blonde knucklehead of the group had basically only ended up packing weapons, cup ramen, more cup ramen, even more cup ramen... and a few others useless little knickknacks outside a single extra set of clothing and some underwear.
("You don't need any of these things, Dobe!" "But I need my hippo hat! And— and Gama-chan'll get lonely if I just leave him all alone! What if he gets stolen?!" "...Naruto, your wallet is not alive, gods-damn-it! It does not have feelings!" "You take that back! —Shh, Shhh, Gama-chan, he didn't really mean it, okay?! Sasuke's just a jerk!" "..." "...I am surrounded by complete weirdos...!" "Sensei would like to take an exception to that fact~~" "...Like I said. Complete. Weirdos.")
Either way, this would only be the first of many tests —er, trials— they would go through.
Thankfully the centipede was young enough that Kakashi was absolutely certain they'd be able to survive...long enough to get them to the shinobi hospital even if they did get poisoned, anyway…
Although, perhaps he should give them another hint? He was pretty sure they should've been able to beat the thing already with their skill-sets anyways… That aside, though, should he wake Kohaku up? Maybe send a bunshin over to wake her? He mused, opening his mouth to call out even as he thought about the strangely amusing situation.
(He didn't even bothering to look away from the book he was reading —or rather, re-reading— since it looked as if they had things well enough in hand.)
Separating the team at times —supervised by a bunshin at the very least, of course— would probably be a good idea to ensure they could survive if they ever ended up getting split up in a dangerous situation. (And no, that was totally not a reference to you-know-what about you-know-when. Because he didn't —wasn't, that is. He wasn't thinking about you-did-not-know-what about you-did-not-know-when. That was just...not a thing that was being thought about right now. Okay? ) That decided, he made no move to wake the kunoichi of the team up —not like that arthropod would be able to reach her up there anyhow.
(That and sleeping in trees was also actually a smart move when you had no idea what was creeping along the forest floor. Which was really the only reason he decided to let it go, seeing as she was the only one that seemed to have realized this fact, regardless of whether it was on purpose or not —a reward for using her head to think, if you will. Of course, it wouldn't be much help later on, when they changed location to around where the few not-so-little, tree-climbing beasties were... but that was okay. They were here to learn after all~)
Only vaguely keeping track as the boys continued to dodge, Kakashi finally decided that they probably really did need that hint after all. (Which was somewhat disappointing. Did neither of them realize that poison was —well, usually, anyways— a flammable substance?)
As amusing as it was watching his two cute little students freaking out (especially the typically oh-so-stoic and proud Uchiha), they really should be getting a move on soon.
Lots to do and lots to learn, after all.
"Y'know, I've been told that centipedes can be quite flammable under the right conditions~" He mused aloud, tone dry as dust as he finally lifted his single uncovered eye completely from the book in his hand.
By the time Kohaku actually wake up, the two boys had finally managed to defeat the first of the many, many giant creatures they'd be meeting in the forest of hell that their sensei had all but trapped them in. Either until the full week they'd decided on was up or they got injured critically enough to need hospice care. Waking up to the scent of charred arthropod —and catching sight of the smoking carcass that had been carefully moved as far from their temporary campsite as the boys could to avoid tempting any of the other creatures that lived in the forest to invade their camp— she almost paused as she jumped down from the nest she'd made.
("...Y'know...I've heard that giant centipede can be quite tasty, if you know how to cook it right…" "Awww, ewww, Sensei! Gross!" "That's disgusting.")
Instead, she simply moved on, making her way towards the cheerfully crackling fire that one of the other two genin were poking at, golden eyes scrunching a bit as her brows furrowed, wondering if she actually wanted to know.
Also, because the scent of charred centipede. The thing was kind of rank, and the strength of the smell really wasn't helping the preteen's more sensitive nose. (No doubt it would be even stronger to their Sensei's more canid-like nose. As it was, she was already kind of tempted to find the mask she'd packed into her bag as well, just in case.)
"Kohaku! You're awake, finally!" having caught sight of the brunette, Naruto perked up, greeting the girl far more energetically than he'd been acting prior to doing so. "You missed a fight," he told her, apparently not at all bothered that his friend had missed the entire skirmish, "Me'n Sasuke managed to beat it, though! But then Kakashi-sensei sent us to find some stuff to eat, since it's better not to 'deplete our stock if we don't have to' or something," he shrugged. "I dunno if we should actually eat any of it though, since apparently, this forest's all creepy and mutated and shit!" he exclaimed, purposefully aiming baby blues in a glare shot in the direction of the ever irritating casual figure of their Jounin-sensei.
"Maa, maa… I have full confidence that you'll be able to survive our little trip in the woods, Naruto-kun~~"
Only to get a disbelieving look in return for his encouragement. The man just sighed, a saddened and disappointed expression on what was visible of his face. "You're all so quick to judge," the eldest of the team complained, "I wouldn't have brought you out here if I didn't think you could handle it, y'know. Don't you trust your sensei?" he asked, adopting a wounded expression as he finally, finally looked away from his book.
"No." Came the surprising response (echoed by Naruto's own "Hell no!") as Sasuke walked past him, arms full of kindling, even as he shot the man a dark look —before shoving his blonde teammate out of the way so he could add more wood to the fire, poking at the fire with the very stick he confiscated from the protesting blonde.
"Hey!" Naruto exclaimed, only to sulk when the Uchiha ignored him as well. Settling on the other side next to the brunette that had seated herself not too far from his original seat, he shot an insulted glare at his fellow genin before answering the more important question. "And definitely not! Not after you tricked us again!" he scowled, crossing his arms and unfazed when the Jounin ended up pouting behind his mask (though, whether he could even tell was another question altogether).
"Hmph... " finally finding the state of their campfire acceptable, the raven turned his attention to the kunoichi of the team while the other two males bickered, one jokingly while the other bared his teeth in actual irritation. "And where were you when that thing attacked?" he scowled, jabbing the stick he was holding in the direction of the centipede corpse somewhere behind him.
When all he got was a shrug, however, the Uchiha's expression darkened. "Why the hell were you up there, anyways?" He muttered, poking more viciously at the fire for something to do. A pot of something (smelled kind of like stew, to be honest) was already bubbling away on the other side. Campfire cooking tins with servings of rice —that had likely been paired with something on the side— for all four members of the team broiled away on either side of the camping pot.
Shrugging again, the brunette spoke up before the other could do more than scowl in response to her repeated action. " 's comfy," ended up being all she said however, the argument on the other side of the fire dying out as all three males turned to stare at the kunoichi.
Blinking in response to the stares, she tilted her head as Sasuke repeated her words in disbelief. "It's… comfortable." Staring somewhat blankly and almost astounded by the response, he ran the reasoning through his head. Sleeping on tough bark raised high enough to break even a ninja's neck if they managed to fall off...was comfortable to the other genin.
"Yes," the brunette nodded, mistakenly believing that the others now understood as she allowed her attention to wander. "It's very comfortable if you can find the right angle," she continued, getting up to poke at the food. It had probably helped that she'd stayed up for most of the night keeping watch, though. Even if Hatake-sensei had said he would. Not like she had really been able to sleep in such an unfamiliar place, considering that —until now— she'd only ever slept in her own home or around the training grounds she and her uncle frequented together (and occasionally at the Academy).
Of course, the Academy 'camping trip' had been an exception, but that had only been one night, and... she had ended up staying up anyway, so technically she hadn't then either.
Still, finding such a comfortable branch had been quite the pleasant surprise considering she'd only really climbed up to get a better view of their surroundings to begin with. It had been a while since she'd actually slept in a tree though, seeing as her Uncle had politely requested that she not.
At least, not after she'd nearly fallen out of one trying to roll over after forgetting where she was. Of course, that had been back when she was much younger than she'd been now (he'd caught her, of course, but it had still been a near thing. The man had almost had a heart attack due to the entire situation, to be honest). Come to think of it… that was probably around when her uncle had decided to start teaching her how to tree-walk —even if it could've been considered a bit early.
Unaware of their thoughts, Kohaku ended up quietly taking over cooking duty, since the majority of it was still only half cooked, even as the other three continued to watch her with various expression of incredulity. Humming when it was finally done, she looked up from her work —only to blink when she found their eyes (all of their, well, working eyes) still on her.
"...Food is done…?" She offered, somewhat confused by the stares. Had they really been so hungry to simply stare when they had nothing else to do….?
(If her team had been able to hear her thoughts, they might have faulted.)
"Now then!" As the trio of genin continued to eat their breakfast, not being quite as versed in the art of speedy consumption as their Sensei apparently was, they watched their suspiciously cheerful teacher as he started talking, clapping his hands together to catch their attention. "Once you all are done with breakfast, we'll be doing a little...training. After that, we're going to be moving along with our little itinerary so you all can get used to putting up and breaking camp quickly and efficiently.
"Of course, that's not including ensuring that all signs of our having been there are properly erased," he mused, studying the expressions of his little audience.
"Uhhh… What?" Putting his stomach on pause for a moment, the blonde of the team scrunched his face, placing the spoon back down. He… hadn't understood half of what his teacher had been saying.
Beside him, Sasuke almost rolled his eyes.
"That means we're either going to be practicing camp set up and take down or we're going to be changing locations a lot," he drawled, tacking an unspoken 'idiot' to the end of his sentence that the blonde beside him somehow (by some miracle, considering how dense he could be) understood.
"Teme—!" Naruto exclaimed, almost upending his bowl if not for the fact that their seating arrangement ensured he couldn't get up. Not without knocking into their sensei or tripping into the fire, anyway. (He wasn't even going to contemplate the idea of ending up on top of Sasuke...again... Once was already one too many, okay!) Before he could start anything, however, a large, finger-less gloved hand found itself on top of his head, unbalancing the blonde a bit and giving him pause.
"Now, now, let's not get to fighting just yet, hm~?" A tone of warning in the otherwise cheerful words, Kakashi smiled, "In any case, once you're done we'll be stocking up on some supplies while we're here.
"Oh, and just to let you know," he mused, since they apparently wanted some kind of warning ahead of time, "The longer it takes, the longer we'll end up staying. And past today, every extra day it takes to get our objectives done is another extra day tacked on to the designated week we'll be staying~!"
Silence met his proclamation.
Exchanging a look that the man ignored, the trio decided to just finish their food and get on with it all as quickly as possible. Time was wasting, after all. (And considering the size of the Centipede they'd come across, the boys really didn't want to have to deal with any beasts that just might have grown to be even larger than that...)
Hopefully they wouldn't run into too many of the creatures that lived here, though.
Unfortunately for the genin, it seemed that Giant centipedes wouldn't be the last of their worries at all.
After breakfast, Kakashi finally began to teach them a few things, sending them out to hunt, forage, and find water (though it apparently didn't trouble him that such a thing would be a bit more difficult to find considering their distance from the nearest waterway). There would be quite a few close calls and near misses as the genin were caught unawares or ambushed, forced to fight either one-on-one or two- and sometimes even three-on-more depending on the situation.
The last had been especially annoying, since they'd managed to, somehow, find themselves in a nest full of giant centipedes.
On the upside, they were less likely to come in contact into any more of those until the things managed to re-populate themselves again.
Still, that had been troubling. More in the way that they'd had to try more than just 'set the damn things on fire'. They'd had to think about a way to do so without trapping themselves in what would amount to a pit of flames that would very likely have killed them as well. (Thankfully, someone had brought a nice and sturdy rope or they would've been stuck. Especially since the dirt that made up the sides of the thing had been too loose to be able to properly employ what they'd learned from tree walking to get out just yet.)
Needless to say, by the time they got back to the camp, none of the genin were pleased, and all of them were worse for wear. (Though, hey, on the bright side, at least they probably wouldn't have to worry about the Giant Centipedes anymore… well, while they were still stuck there, at any rate…or however long it took for the local giant bug population to rise up to its previous numbers. But again, hopefully that wouldn't be anytime soon.)
"Welcome back, you all~~ So, how was it?"
"I...really hate you right now, Sensei," was the first thing said in response to his question as Naruto tromped into view of the fire by which Kakashi sat, having done absolutely nothing (other than discreetly sending a bunshin or two after them to keep an eye on the three kids, of course) after announcing that he would be acting as a client. The fact that Kakashi was also a jounin (and thus could take care of himself) was probably the only reason the kids were allowed to leave him at the site of their camp without another guard. Of course, in an actual escort situation, one of them would always have to be with the client. For now, though, Kakashi would be taking full advantage of the fact that there wasn't actually a client around to train his kids. Even if it wasn't quite in the conventional way that they'd probably been hoping, or expecting.
"Really~?" He hummed, flipping through his copy of Icha Icha Paradise (which, for once, wasn't actually the book that its cover suggested) nonchalantly, "Even if I was going to teach you a new jutsu, today?"
Despite two of the three looking wary (or as wary as they could, considering that one was typically blank faced as opposed to the serious one the Uchiha of the team wore), even as per usual a certain idiot savant fell for it.
"What?! Really?! What kind? What kind?!" Judging by his fellow genin's expressions, however, it was clear that they hadn't been expecting the other to be so easily distracted (even if it was by the idea of 'shiny new jutsu, gimme-gimme!') if the looks of disbelief on their faces was any indication.
(Oh dear, Kakashi wasn't sure his inner troll could take it. At least, not without messing with them a bit, that was… Probably not a good idea, but then, Kakashi wasn't exactly a bastion of intellect no matter how much of a genius he was purported to be.)
"Well… I don't know if I should," he mused, "I mean, if you're all going to be so suspicious about every little thing~" He hummed, mentally marking his place as he half-hid his face (masked though it was) behind it.
"Aw, c'mon~! Please, please, pretty please…?" Pleading blue puppy-eyes greeted the man's single visible eye as he continued to hem and haw, a slow smile building even as the others voiced their skepticism.
"Don't be stupid, Dobe. It's obviously a trap. He's probably just going to trick us again," grunted the last Uchiha, arms crossed as he shot a glare at the silver-haired retired AnBu that was, quite unfortunately, their sensei. Beside him, a head of dark tawny hair nodded. He had tricked them into thinking this would be a purely educational training trip, after all. (Though, it was technically true...it was just… educational in the way that they'd be learning to survive…? Or rather, not in the way they'd been either hoping, expecting, or planning.)
"O-oh…yeah, I… I guess that's true," agreed the blonde, faltering when he realized he'd almost been played again.
"Hm, too bad... And here I was even going to throw in a couple of new and useful jutsu for wilderness survival as well," the man hummed, shrugging and pretending to turn his attention back to the book in hand.
This time, all three perked up, however reluctantly. Jutsu? As in, actual jutsu? He was really going to show them how to use new jutsu…? (And he'd even said it would be useful… which was probably the only reason Kohaku found herself zero-ing in on the man, gaze concentrated like a predator boring into prey. Still, it probably wasn't so surprising that her only response would be to increase the amount her gaze bore into him, quiet as she was.)
"Really?! Teach me! Please teach me, Sensei!" the team's blonde exclaimed. But even as Sasuke looked on with reluctant interest, the kunoichi of the team simply continued to stare. Though she did take a moment to pause and glance between her other teammates as they spoke, logic apparently returning as she cast a dubious look at her sensei.
Would it really be as useful as he said it would be? At this point, she wouldn't put it past him to twist his words, especially since he'd never specified for what the use would be (wilderness survival aside). Seeming to agree, the other stone-faced genin spoke up.
"...Hn. If you really are, then prove it," insisted the irritable Uchiha, arms crossed and finger tapping against his arm as he glared. Kohaku nodded in agreement as they gave further thought to his words.
"Well, I suppose I could show you a few tricks~" He mused, sticking his hands (including the book still in one of them) into his pockets. "What do you all know about Stealth, Tracking, and Survival jutsu…?" he started, eye crinkling again as all three perked up, watching, as he rocked back a bit. (Even if it brought back certain...memories...to the fore of his mind, despite having already decided how to go about training the kids. But no, Kakashi wouldn't let himself think about it, he was on duty right now. And he would do his duty before letting himself think about the shards of the mirror that reflected his broken self.)
(He could break down in front of the Memorial Stone or in the secure confines of his own mind at a later date. Right now, he had genin to teach…)
Grinning, the expression hidden behind the mask the trio had yet to learn to get a proper read from, he motioned for the genin to settle down around the fire they'd already begun to gravitate towards…
"Remember, Kakashi… The most important jutsu aren't just flashy or extensive chakra-using ones, they're the ones that will keep you alive," Minato told a much younger Hatake, stressing the fact that his father had once told him, even if it was in a different situation. "Today, I'm going to show you a few skills and tricks that'll make surviving easier. After all, a dead shinobi is one that can no longer do their duty to the village…
"And one that'll only cause their loved ones and those that care for them to suffer when they're left behind. Got it?"
"Hai, Sensei…" the boy answered monotonously, clearly not quite believing it, if at all, just yet.
Sighing almost sadly the blonde ruffled the silver-haired child's hair, ignoring the resulting protests.
"I promise you'll understand exactly what I mean one day, Kakashi," the man told him. Hopefully the time wouldn't come too soon, however. The death of the White Fang had all but shattered his son, he knew. But hopefully, hopefully, being on a team with others his age would make the child open up more… which was why he planned to pick up another two genin to round off their team once the newest batch of kids finally graduated. He was certain that being around other kids (enforced as it would be, seeing as they'd be teammates from then on) could only be good for the boy.
Grinning at the masked child, the future Yondaime stretched. "Well then, Kakashi. Why don't we get some of that training done? We've got quite a bit of time before we get stuck with two more genin on our team," months, really. "so what say you we get started?" He asked, sending a sly smile the boy's way.
Clearly perking up, a determined expression decorating his masked face, the genin followed after the man he admired.
"Hai, Sensei...!"
The trio of genin were tired. After learning and practicing the jutsu he'd taught them, the Jounin had sent them all back out into the wilderness to do more 'stockpiling'. It hadn't helped that they'd used up so much of their chakra working on the skills needed before being sent off. Lucky for them, none had hit the level of chakra exhaustion that could be life threatening —or even require a trip to the Hospital. But that didn't mean they weren't all cursing their Sensei (within the safety and confines of their own minds, of course) for sending them out again for more foodstuff and supplies to augment what they already had.
At least it was getting easier since they knew what to look for, now. Unfortunately, even if they managed to get enough to satisfy their teacher, they still wouldn't be allowed to get a full night's sleep. Oh, no. Despite setting traps and such as directed, there were still things that ended up getting a little too close to their campsite. Meaning they'd periodically have to wake each other up to take care of things before resetting what traps they could —or at least take turns depending on whether things went well or not (more than one of them had had to get up every now and then to deal with something too big or strong for just one genin to take care of).
Needless to say, it would be a while before they learned to actually sleep lightly. But until then, random nightly visits from the denizens of the place they'd come to dub 'the Forest of Hell' —not knowing of its other, official moniker— looked to be a very unfortunate, and rather frequent event.
Sasuke was not happy. Even if they were told that they'd gathered enough to satisfy the Jounin for the moment, it only meant just that. For the moment. The vengeance-happy Uchiha was not pleased, especially adding in the irritation at his surroundings and chakra exhaustion on top of his already tired countenance. And if he was a little more...vicious...in his attacks against the creatures that somehow ended up getting past their first line of defenses, well, that was just as well.
Better he take it out on an actual enemy than an ally, after all.
(That still didn't mean he was very happy about it, of course. A sleep deprived Uchiha could be a vindictive and cruel bitch of an Uchiha...not that that was any different from the norm, to be honest… Just the fact that he was a little more obviously so.)
After all, unlike the ever stone-faced Tsukino, the Uchiha wasn't quite able to keep as tight a control on his expressions or emotions as the stress built up. Nor was he as badly off as Naruto had been (and still was, if we're being honest, here), to the point that staying up a couple of days at a time due to certain extenuating situations wouldn't hurt him too badly. Not even counting the fact that all three genin were as close to chakra exhaustion as the only adult figure of their group could safely assess.
(Needless to say, Sasuke would be the first to crack in the 'sleep deprivation' part of the training regiment.)
Kakashi was almost impressed, almost. Aside from Sasuke, the other two seemed to be doing relatively well. Despite the chakra exhaustion, Kohaku seemed to be doing fine with the sleep deprivation portion of the training. Naruto, well, finding a way to get the blonde to expend all of his chakra reserves was nigh on impossible (for the moment, at least), so he wasn't really surprised that he was doing so well out of the three genin.
(He was still determined to get there before the end of their week in Training Ground 44, though. And they would get to that point...eventually.)
Still, there was more to the training than just surviving and functioning under a lack of sleep.
(There were layers upon layers to the training, after all. And if his cute —albeit currently exhausted— little genin couldn't see underneath that underneath? Well, they were still young, but that wouldn't mean Kakashi would be spoon-feeding them any of the answers… No, if they couldn't figure it out themselves, he certainly wouldn't tell them.)
As far as the man was concerned the training was going splendidly —slight loss of trust from his unit aside. But, well, one day they'd realize that it was all for their own good.
Perhaps…
One day.
(Hopefully sooner rather than later, though…)
Review on whatever the Academy Training Camp taught them, new jutsu, chakra core/limit expansion —through exhaustion of their reserves, of course— finding out where said chakra limits were at, sleep deprivation, and the ability to live off the land even in foreign and possibly dangerous surroundings…all of these things, of which were only just a fraction of what he was planning to have his kids learn by the end of this trip, were important for any shinobi to know, after all.
Still, that didn't mean it was going perfectly. As said, the lack of trust was actually getting a little hurtful (no matter how much the man probably deserved it, something that many could attest to. The troll). Oh, well. That was just life. It was never perfect, and it seemed to love throwing curve-balls, so why bother just waiting? Especially when one could train for the worst and hope for the best? At worst, that 'worst' they were training for would actually happen and they'd have to utilize all those skills. At best, it wouldn't —and hey! They'd still be better off. Why? Well, because they would be better equipped with the skills to take care of anything that might happen, obviously.
(Being in AnBu for so long may or may not have completely skewed certain aspects of the man who'd worn the mask of Dog, if we're going to be completely honest here. But again, that was probably to be expected, all considered.)
...Even if they had already known some of them —or, well, certain 'camping jutsu', anyway. That had been such a disappointment, to be honest. Although, the fact that, Academy Standard aside, Kohaku and Sasuke had both known different variants of their own was probably a good thing.
Oh, well, they knew more now! Which, clearly, could only be good!
(So maybe he wasn't actually that disappointed after all.)
He'd been hoping to be able to save one or two of those jutsu for later, though. Still, better than them not knowing, he supposed. And it wasn't like the others wouldn't have learned of them...even if Naruto was probably going to have to play a bit of catch up in regards to those jutsu (his reserves were too high and control too low, for the most part). Not surprising, though.
Unlike Naruto, Sasuke had had a family, or a clan, rather, among whom certain members had been AnBu, and others simply skilled ninja and jounin. He'd probably learned a few things before the massacre… not even including all those scrolls they probably still had even after the fact.
Kohaku, on the other hand…
Huh, wasn't her only living guardian in AnBu, still? If he remembered correctly, he'd had to temporarily step out for a couple of years to take care of his kid —er, niece. That...would probably explain a bit, now that he thought about it.
(He should really remember to test them all on what jutsu they all knew at some point...)
(Eventually…)
(If he remembered...
(That was always a point nowadays, too. Kakashi always seemed to be so easily distracted nowadays…)
(Well, okay, not really, but shhhh, no one else knew that yet, did they? And Kakashi was nothing if not practical in that regard. Anything that could give him a good upper hand...)
Oh well, he was confident (or at least pretty sure) they'd be able to survive the next day, too, at least. Especially since he knew just the perfect place to do some Chakra Control and Water Jutsu exercises...
(The kids were doomed.)
Posted: 04/24/18; unbeta'd, Word Count: 7,041; Paragraph Count: 145; 15.6 Pages.