Chapter 2 : Motives.
"One of the first lessons we must all learn as shinobi—"
"—is to be punctual," Sakura interrupted, not bothering to keep her voice low. "Sensei, why are you always late?"
Kakashi chuckled. "Well, today was an exception. Today, I got lost on… the road of life."
Naruto snorted. Sakura sighed exasperatedly, her pink hair ruffling in the wind as she tucked a stray strand behind her headband.
"Anyways, today, you four are going to learn how to correctly maintain your chakra," Kakashi continued, "and you are to do that through tree climbing." He indicated with his gloved hand. "Perhaps a demonstration is in order."
Miyako's attention, which had been directed elsewhere, snapped back instantly. Her amber eyes narrowed with interest, and, though no one else perceived it, a small smile of excitement formed beneath her mask. Next to Hokage, the Jounin status was the highest rank a shinobi could possibly achieve; not only was a Jounin exceptionally talented, but she had realized overnight that though Hatake Kakashi seemed bored a good majority of the time, he was the son of Konoha's White Fang, and was thus undoubtedly gifted.
"Tree climbing?" Naruto asked, raising a curious, blonde eyebrow. "How's that supposed to help us maintain chakra?"
Kakashi simply smiled. He approached the nearest tree, paused for a few seconds before it, and then lifted his right leg and placed it sideways along the trunk. Adjusting his body so that it was perpendicular to the tree, Kakashi stuck his hands into his pockets and walked against the surface almost lazily. Before long, he was hanging upside down from the nearest branch, his feet glued to the wood beneath, or rather, above.
"By focusing and directing a bit of your chakra to solely your feet, you can do the same," Kakashi answered, staring into Naruto's blue eyes, which were sparkling in admiration.
He drew out a handful of kunai from his pocket and thrust them towards his apprehensive students.
"Pick a tree, and then use those to mark how high you get, and then go from there," Kakashi said, closing his eyes as he released the chakra from his feet, flipped over mid-air, and landed gracefully on his feet. "Good luck."
Naruto's mouth twitched as he caught Sasuke's eyes. The two frowned at each other, and in an instant, began racing towards the nearest trees. Sakura and Miyako caught each other's eyes and smiled, both chuckling from the boys' eagerness to compete.
Miyako twirled the kunai handle between her slender fingers and shut both eyes in an attempt to focus, but after merely seconds of concentrating on her chakra flow, she heard a light giggle.
Sakura was sitting on the highest branch of her tree, her slim legs dangling enthusiastically in the air. Kakashi raised an eyebrow, clearly impressed, and chuckled.
"Well, it looks like we know who's best at maintaining their chakra flow," he said lightly, turning to his other three students. "Naruto, it might be difficult for you to become Hokage if you can't perform a simple task like this… and it looks like the Uchiha heir isn't so tough either. And Miyako, your clan is practically—"
A single kunai whizzed through the air and pierced the ground beneath, stopping Kakashi from completing his sentence. Miyako was dangling upside down, using nothing but her two feet for support, in the exact position Kakashi had been minutes before. Her lips parted into a small smile as she positioned herself right side-up, sitting comfortably on top of the branch; the rest of the team had already learned how to read her emotions through those glittering auburn eyes.
"Like you said, Kakashi-sensei, the Tsubaki clan has always found the topic of chakra control important," she said quietly. Her smile widened. "But I do remember reading somewhere that females generally learn how to control their chakra a bit faster than males... so I guess I was lucky this time."
Kakashi nodded. "True—females have smaller structures, so directing chakra flow to specific locations is easier." He turned, now speaking to all of them at once. "After a bit more practice, if you apply a tad more chakra to your feet, walking on water won't be a problem. Once you completely master the chakra control concept, however, you can even communicate between allies… but that's a feat that even trained Jounin have difficulty doing. Mm, well, it looks like it's just you two now, Naruto, Sasuke."
But even as he spoke, the two Genin had already made more than one attempt to walk sideways up their tree trunks. Both were fiercely determined not to be the last Genin to accomplish the task set for them, and their willpower allowed both to walk much farther up the tree than their previous attempts.
"Naruto, you're doing much better than Uchiha is," Miyako called, her lips curving into a smirk.
Naruto grinned, while Sasuke glared menacingly at her. He bit down his lower lip, clearly frustrated, and attempted again. Meanwhile, Naruto had approached Sakura, asking for advice. The two began talking animatedly, and the smirk beneath Miyako's mask merely widened as she continued to watch Sasuke struggle stubbornly. Knowing him, asking for advice was the last thing on his mind.
Kakashi had welcomed the shade beneath a particularly large tree, and was sitting lazily beneath it, using his knees to prop open a book.
"Why don't you ask Miyako-chan?" Naruto suggested to Sasuke, as Miyako leaped down from her tree.
"I'm not asking that low-class bitch anything," he snarled loudly.
There was a long, tense silence after Sasuke's retort. Naruto and Sakura both froze, and even Kakashi had raised his eyes from his book.
"Rather than fume with jealousy, I suggest you put your brilliant Uchiha mind to work," said Miyako coldly, pursing her lips into a thin line.
She sat next to Sakura, who had an alarmed look on her face as she glanced from Sasuke to Miyako. Kakashi sighed deeply before returning to his book, and Naruto was merely puzzled, but seeing how high up Sasuke's kunai marks were reaching, he refocused his attention instantly.
"Um, Miyako-chan," Sakura began hesitantly. "I'm just curious—"
Miyako grimaced. She had assumed that everyone in Konoha was aware of the bitterness that had formed between the Uchiha and the Tsubaki clan. Despite the fact that Sakura, and perhaps Naruto, was unaware, it was a story she disliked discussing.
"Would you like me to explain?" Kakashi interrupted, almost as if reading her exact thoughts.
The dark-haired kunoichi shrugged. The coldness in her eyes had been replaced by a glint of indifference.
"The Tsubaki clan is mostly composed of women, as you probably already know, Sakura," Kakashi began, keeping his voice and eyes low in case he attracted Sasuke's attention. "They have one primary rule, which is to keep their face hidden no matter what the case."
"Tsubaki kunoichi are trained from a young age," Kakashi continued, his one good eye gliding across the pages of his book even as he spoke. "Thus, the kunoichi are normally exceptionally skilled and are difficult to defeat. However, the other half of the clan law is that any Tsubaki kunoichi must wed the first man that glimpses her face, no matter what the circumstance. Normally, it is determined through a challenge, but there are other ways…"
"But what does that have to do with Sasuke-kun?" inquired Sakura, clearly perplexed.
"The Uchiha clan, being an extremely powerful and at the same time, a proud clan, attempted to 'own' the Tsubaki clan," Kakashi answered coolly. "Defeating a Tsubaki kunoichi was tough, and the Uchiha clan hoped to overcome the entire Tsubaki clan so that their fame and power would rise. Obviously, the members of the Tsubaki clan revolted, which caused, the Uchihas, clearly the stronger clan, to annihilate the Tsubakis. And that brings us to… today."
"But," Kakashi continued, shutting his book and placing it aside. "I do hope the five of us, as big of a group as we are, get along despite erm… past experiences. Though it seems like Naruto and Sasuke have reconciled a bit…"
Sure enough, the two remaining Genin approached Kakashi with dust, scars and bruises against their faces, their arms around each other's shoulders as they supported one another.
"Well, well, it looks like the two of you managed to accomplish the task at the same time," Kakashi said, smiling faintly. "That's all for today then; we'll continue tomorrow morning—same location."
***
Miyako yawned lazily, running her fingers through her hair as she pulled it out of a ponytail, allowing the dark, polished waves to ripple several inches past her shoulders. It was raining heavily outside, and the wind had intensified during the previous hours, causing the tree branches to gleam beneath the soft moonlight, creating shadows that danced occasionally across the cold floor of the dimly-lit apartment.
In tomorrow's lesson, of course, she would not be so lucky as to have already acquired the concept. Kakashi would be hoping for his students to progress quickly in time for the Chunin exams, and there were several skills other than chakra control to be learned. Her stomach gave a nervous twitch as the thought of Sasuke crossed her mind—there was no doubt that he was the stronger one, even if today's lesson had shown otherwise.
Miyako stifled another yawn and flipped the light switch, letting the darkness engulf her surroundings completely. She reached behind her neck, underneath the layers of dark hair, proceeding to untie the knot beneath. Wearing the mask all day had always been uncomfortable, but after fifteen years of the same routine, she had grown used to it. Still, it seemed much more comfortable sleeping without tightly binding half her face.
Miyako's amber eyes snapped wide open as she suddenly sensed another presence in the room. Her hands flew to the weapons that hung in the pouch at her waist, but the culprit was already behind her. A hand shuffled beneath her hair, reaching for the loose knot. Her eyes widened in terror and she thrust an arm at the villain's face, only to have him seize her wrist almost idly. In an instant, the tall figure had pinned her trembling body against a wall, her wrists held tightly in his grip.
He leaned closer, and the moonlight shimmered briefly against his prominent smirk and dark, malicious eyes. Miyako froze, recognizing the figure instantly. She stood, breathless, as he leaned closer to her face, so close that she felt his hot breath against her cheek as he chuckled.
"Pathetic," Sasuke sneered in her ear, tightening the grasp against her wrists so that she flinched. "A little closer and I would've already removed that mask."
"What do you want?" she snapped, her heart pounding wildly as she tried to stand still. The mask was already so close to being unfastened—one sudden, unpredicted move, and it would surely fall.
Sasuke's smirk widened. "I thought you were somewhat impressive after today's lesson… but you completely let your guard down… look at you—you're shaking so hard… scared?"
She snarled angrily and thrust her knee upwards, hoping to collide it against some vulnerable point of his, but it was of no use. Sasuke blocked her knee with his own leg the instant it had risen, further immobilizing her.
"It's only a matter of time before I take off that mask," he breathed, his black eyes gleaming with amusement as he watched her struggle uselessly. "It was too easy… you really are beneath us Uchihas, the way your defense is so poorly constructed."
"I thought you loathed me," Miyako retorted, her legs shaking with rage as she stood, pinned upright against the stone cold wall, "so why on earth—"
"Don't you know how nice it'd be for everyone to hear that the Uchiha heir managed to defeat the last known member of the Tsubaki clan?" Sasuke replied, chuckling softly. "You know how easy it'd be to reconstruct my clan? Even though defeating you didn't require much…"
Miyako laughed bitterly. "How embarrassing would it be for everyone to hear how you merely waited until my guard was down before attacking me? If it's power you want, then make it fair… unless, of course, you want to be known as a coward, Uchiha."
The firm grip around her wrists loosened. Miyako's stiff hands immediately flew behind her neck, tightening the knot as she glared at the shinobi before her through cold, bitter eyes.
"All right, then," he sneered, scoffing underneath his breath. "We'll see how good you fare a second time. Do try and put up a bit of a fight next time though, Tsubaki."
She blinked, and he was gone. It took her several seconds to recuperate and digest all of what had just happened. Her wrists ached, and she massaged them slowly as she stared into the blank darkness, into the wispy shadows along the walls of her room. His smirk stood out notably in her mind, causing a sort of bizarre hatred to simmer throughout her body, and then she shuddered unconsciously at the thought of what would've happened if he hadn't listened to her request and instead proceeded to remove her mask.