Hello guys! Hope you guys like this chapter. Thanks to Bakagirl101, lovingo0Kawaii0oGirl, kairiuchiha2, Valinor's Twilight, 2lazy2comeupwith1, Lighting Wings, Tateno Atsukino, deidara.queen, zakuro93, unknown player, Eterna1, Avonda, and The Memories of Old for reading and reviewing. Please review if you have the chance. Now on to the story!
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the lovely Rei and her new sensei Jin.
Chapter Sixty
Sasuke walked down the dark halls of Orochimaru's lair and entered his room. He laid on a bed in the back of the room, looking up at the ceiling although nothing was visible in the darkness. He had just returned from training with Orochimaru. The snake had to leave to take care of some business, or so he said. Sasuke was more than a bit annoyed as he wanted to keep training.
Ever since he had arrived he had trained as often as he could, not wanting to waste his time. He had gotten somewhat stronger, but he still wasn't satisfied. He knew that in his current condition he wouldn't be able to defeat Itachi. Apart from his desire to kill his brother, he also wanted to get rid of Orochimaru and leave so he trained as much as he could. Sasuke was aware of Orochimaru's plans and he knew that the snake wanted his power.
Still, he knew not to worry as he was confident that he would be able to defeat him, especially since he seemed to be getting weaker. Sasuke really wasn't too worried about Orochimaru, but there was one thing that worried him ever since he left. He was still thinking of Rei and of what had happened after he left. She had been badly injured and he had just left her there.
It was true that he felt bad after he left, but he knew that he had to leave. Rei had known that he would leave someday, he was sure of that, but he always knew it would be hard. It had been hard for him to leave and he was sure that it had been hard for Rei. It would be a while until he saw her again, but he just hoped that she would forgive him even though a part of him told him that he was hoping for too much.
He sighed as he turned on his side and closed his eyes in an attempt to get some rest, determined to forget about Rei at least for a while.
"Are we there yet?"
"For the last time before I throw you off this God forsaken cliff no!" Jin screamed as he walked ahead of Rei on a narrow path at the side of a mountain.
Rei smirked fully enjoying herself as she annoyed her new master. Of course she wasn't just doing it out of fun she was also doing it as a bit of revenge. Jin had insisted that they take a shortcut to the next town, but they had just gotten lost since Jin couldn't remember the way. That was why they were now walking down a precarious path that crumbled with every step on what seemed like the longest day of their lives. The sun didn't seem to move, but it felt like they had been walking for hours. Rei sighed and looked up at the man walking ahead of her.
"Jin-sensei."
"Don't call me that kid." Jin emphasized the work kid knowing the girl hated it.
He could sense her glaring at him and smirked.
"Do you have any idea of where we are?"
"Of course I do, we should be about to arrive at the next town."
"You said that hours ago."
"That was just to get you to shut up, not that it worked."
Jin stopped and looked up at the sky. Rei could hear him sigh before he looked at her with a smirk.
"You know, now that I think about it this is a perfect time to train."
Rei gave him a questioning look. She didn't really like the way he was smirking.
"What do you have in mind?" She asked suspiciously.
"It's going to rain soon and we need to get out of here before that happens so I propose a little race."
Rei's eye twitched as she looked at Jin.
"Did I annoy you so much that you actually went insane?" She asked.
"What are you talking about?"
"How the hell are we going to race if we don't know where we are? Besides, the ground is unstable."
"Oh come on, what's the worst that can happen?"
"We can fall and die!"
Jin rolled his eyes.
"You sound like an old woman. Really, how do you expect to learn without taking a few risks?"
"This isn't a risk, it's suicide and what can I possibly learn from this?" Rei said with a frown.
"If you want to beat me you'll have to concentrate your chakra on your feet, but if you're not careful you'll apply too much and the ground will give out under you. It'll start to rain soon so you'll have to adjust your chakra constantly as the composition of the ground changes due to the water. That should teach you something about chakra control. Besides, you're a shinobi, you should thrive on risks." He said with his smirk still in place.
Rei continued to glare at him and Jin sighed.
"Come on, it'll be good training. Besides, if you beat me I'll show you a new jutsu."
Rei sighed and slumped forward.
"Fine." She said grudgingly.
"Great, the first one to reach the gates of the village wins."
Jin turned to leave, but Rei grabbed his sleeve.
"Hold on, which way is the village?"
"Just follow the path, it'll take you to the village…eventually."
"Huh? Wait. What do you mean eventually!?"
Before Rei could stop him Jin was gone. She groaned and hurried off after him. She ran as fast as she could by focusing her chakra on her feet, but it was difficult to keep the ground from breaking under her. A drop of water hit her face and she frowned up at the sky.
"Damn it." She muttered.
She knew it would be harder to run once the ground was wet. With a sigh she began to run again wondering why she ever asked Jin to be her teacher. She was snapped out of her thoughts as the ground gave away beneath her right foot and she slipped. She managed to grab onto the edge which miraculously didn't break off. After pulling herself up she realized that the rain had gotten worst.
Without wasting more time she stood up and continued on her way. She had to constantly dodge and jump as the ground broke beneath her. Even with all the annoyances she had to admit that this was definitely testing her reflexes. Rei couldn't help but be grateful when she finally made it out of that mountain. Jin would soon receive a few complaints about his brilliant idea to take a shortcut.
After a while she finally reached the village gates and couldn't help but glare at Jin as he sat beneath the cover of a tea shop. He smirked as she neared him. By that time she was soaked and dirty.
"Looks like you didn't have a nice trip." He said as he sipped his tea.
"How the hell did you make it here so fast?" She said in a dangerous tone.
"Same way you did I presume, but I suppose my chakra control is better than yours."
Rei's eye twitched as she watched him holding in his laughter.
"So how many times did you fall down that cliff?" He asked.
Rei glared at Jin as he laughed at the look of indignation that crossed her face.
"Oh, come on kid, it was a joke."
"I hate you." She mumbled as she sat next to him.
"Sure you do now come on, let's get you dried up. I got us a room at a nearby inn."
They walked to the inn and as they made their way to their room Rei remembered his previous offer.
"Hey, were you serious about teaching me a new jutsu if I won?" She asked.
"I was half serious."
"What do you mean?" She said with a curious look.
"There's a jutsu I want to show you, I was serious about that. However, telling you that I would only show it to you if you won the race was just to motivate you."
"So you're gonna teach me a new jutsu anyway?"
Jin nodded with a smile as Rei looked at him with a wide smile.
"When are you gonna teach me?"
"Maybe tomorrow, if the weather improves, we should rest for a while anyways. I'll get some food, so go get changed." He said before leaving.
Rei couldn't help but grin as she made her way to the bathroom with some dry clothes. She was definitely looking forward to the next day.
"Get up you lazy brat."
Rei groaned as she heard the familiar drawl that was Jin's voice and felt a sharp prodding on her back.
"Fine don't get up, I'll just go out into the town and you can train on your own."
Rei could actually hear him smirking. She sat up and saw her smirking teacher standing by her bed.
"Good, you're up. Now get ready or I'll leave you, we have a lot of work to do."
Rei sent him a slight glare and then got ready to head out. She stepped out of the inn fully dressed, but still half asleep. Jin shook his head a bit as he watched the pathetic display of his student tripping on a rock and stumbling.
"And you call yourself a ninja."
"Shut it you second rate sensei." Rei grumbled as she shielded her eyes from the bright light of the sun.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm a bad teacher and you're a lazy brat. Come on it's getting late."
Rei followed Jin trough town and after some quick breakfast they went to a grassy hill. He sat down and sighed as the wind blew through his hair. Rei sat down and then laid back on the cool grass.
"So what are we doing today?" She asked.
"Well, I told you I would train you so today will be your first lesson."
Rei opened an eye and looked over at Jin with some interest.
"Today I'll teach you something that will make you both stronger and faster. It'll help you manage your chakra and make better decisions as a shinobi."
Rei sat up and looked at him wondering what he would teach her.
"I'm going to teach you to stop being such a hot headed brat." He said with a smirk.
Rei stared at him in disbelief.
"What the hell?"
"I see I'll have to elaborate. If you learn to control your temper you will be able to focus more on the jutsu you use and the mission ahead."
Rei looked at him with an expression that told him she wasn't convinced.
"I thought you were going to teach me a new jutsu."
"I will, but first I have to make sure you can handle the basics a bit better."
Rei groaned and let herself fall back onto the grass.
"Come on, there's no time to waste, I want to get this over with." Jin said.
Rei looked at him and frowned.
"And what am I supposed to do?"
"Well, it would help if you stood up."
The girl sighed and stood up before Jin.
"Alright, I told you before that you tend to lose your temper while you fight. You need to stay calm no matter who your opponent is or what situation you're in. Letting your feelings be seen by the enemy is bad for the mission and for your own control. So we're going to have a little sparring session. Plus, this way I'll get to see what else we need to work on."
"A sparring session? Are you sure?"
"Yeah, I need to see how strong you are so don't hold back."
Rei sighed, but nodded as she stood in a fighting position.
"Okay, go ahead and attack me." Jin instructed.
Rei focused her chakra on her feet knowing she would need to be quick and dashed towards Jin. He watched as the girl moved with great speed, but he could still tell where she was. He ducked as she sent a high kick his way and grabbed her by her waist. He tossed her back onto the ground where she landed with a dull 'thud' on her back. Rei groaned as she sat up and glared at the man standing before her.
"How the hell did you do that?"
"You're fast, but you get too stressed about your attacks and about defeating the enemy. Your chakra tenses up and your movements become sloppy and loud. A shinobi should never be sloppy or loud."
"Then what do you suggest sensei?" She said with disdain.
"I suggest you cool down. I see that failing really gets to you doesn't it kid?"
Rei glared at him for a moment before looking away.
"That's because failing means someone has to get hurt because of me." She muttered.
Jin looked at her as she sat on the ground and his eyes reflected a hint of sadness that he only allowed to show when the girl's gaze was away.
"If I fail, if I'm too weak then that means that the people that I want to protect will get hurt. That's why I need to get stronger."
"Yeah, and that's why you need to control that temper of yours. One bad decision made by your heart instead of your head can hurt those you care about."
Rei sighed and stood up.
"Fine, let's keep training."
Jin nodded and she walked back and got ready to attack.
"Alright, this time I'll attack you. Try to block or dodge and if you can hit me then do so."
Rei nodded and he smirked as he disappeared from her line of view. She couldn't sense him and he couldn't hear him. She concentrated and then turned around as she caught a hint of his chakra in that direction, but she was thrown back as he punched her on her stomach.
"I see we also have to work on your chakra sensing skills."
He walked over to the girl and sat down next to her.
"Listen, when you have an enemy that is too fast to be seen then you have to try to listen for his movements or try to sense his chakra. It can be hard depending on your situation, but you have to focus and concentrate on your surroundings. You have to sharpen your reflexes as well and learn to think quickly to react to the situation in the best way possible."
"I know that, those are the basics for all shinobi. Sense chakra, concentrate on the surroundings and think quickly to react to the situation effectively."
"If they're so basic then how is it that you fail miserably."
She glared at him and he chuckled.
"Hey don't worry, it took me a while to get it too and I had to get my ass kicked a lot of times for me to understand it."
"But I don't have time."
"I know that, that's why I'll have to work hard and kick your ass as much as my master kicked mine in about half the time." He said with a grin.
Rei smiled a bit as they stood and got ready to continue. Jin got ready to attack her again and Rei prepared to defend herself.
"Ready?" He asked.
She nodded and he dashed towards her once again.
The sun was setting and Rei was laying on the ground. Panting while Jin sat by her looking out into the distance. The training had been exhausting as they had worked nonstop for the whole day. Jin had attacked her several times without holding back, or so he said. He managed to get her most of the times, but by the end of the day she had started to get the hang of things. She could sense his chakra better and dodging his attacks wasn't as hard anymore. She had also managed to scratch him up a bit and she had to admit that even though she was exhausted she felt like she had gotten stronger.
"Hey kid, you ready to get something to eat?"
Rei didn't look at him as he spoke she was too tired to do even that.
"Can we just rest here a bit more?"
"Sure." He said with a small smile.
They stayed there without speaking for a while and then Rei remembered that she wanted to ask him something. They had been traveling together for a few days and he had proven to be a nice guy, but she still didn't know anything about him.
"Hey, Jin."
"I'm not carrying you." He said in a bored tone.
"That's not it you old man! I want to ask you something."
"What is it?"
"You told me that you met a shinobi who taught you some tricks, but I want to know how you got so strong. Who was he and how did you two meet?"
Jin sighed and seemed to think about his response for a moment.
"I'll tell you, but then you gotta tell me about why you're so obsessed about getting stronger."
He watched as the girl frowned a bit. He knew she was thinking about it. He smirked knowing she probably wouldn't accept his offer.
"Fine." She said.
He blinked a few times in surprise. Rei turned to him with a smirk.
"What, you thought I would pass the chance of finding out why you're such a weirdo?"
Jin felt his eye twitch, but refrained from smacking the girl only because she was already pretty beaten up.
"Alright you brat, listen up. When I was a kid, even younger than you my parents died. I lived in a small village near the border of the Land of Fire and I managed to make a living doing odd jobs for the farmers nearby. I was pretty good at that sort of stuff, but I always wanted to be a shinobi. I used to watch the shinobi from Konoha pass through the town and I remember thinking that maybe if I worked hard enough I would be able to become as strong as them. Of course I was just a young brat back then and I was too stupid to know that I could never become a shinobi, but then again maybe I wasn't just stupid." He said trailing off.
He sighed a bit before continuing.
"I guess I was a bit like you, I also wanted to be stronger for revenge. My parents were killed by some bandits when they ravaged the town. They had gotten away and every now and then I would hear stories about their latest attack on a town from travelers passing by. I lived my life hating them every single day."
Rei had to admit that he did sound like her. It sounded like he knew what it was like to hate someone like she hated Orochimaru and to some extent Sasuke.
"One night, while I walked back home from a nearby farm I ran into a man."
Jin remembered that night clearly even though many years had passed since then.
A young boy with messy black hair and bright eyes the color of gold walked down an empty road. The only light came from the light of the full moon which hovered above him in the black sky. He stopped when he heard a soft rustling coming from some bushes ahead of him. Even as he stood there and faced the empty road with a determined face fear gripped him and he was suddenly very conscious of how weak and alone he was.
The rustling grew louder and slowly, the outline of a man formed in the light on the moon. He was tall and lean with dark green hair that fell to the sides of his face and was tied back in a long, thin ponytail. Jin couldn't see his face clearly due to the darkness that engulfed it, but he could see that he was dressed in what he knew was the clothing worn by Konoha's shinobi.
The man was panting and holding his right arm. He turned to look at the boy standing a few feet away from him. The boy stood there looking at him evenly, but he could sense his fear.
"Relax kid I'm not going to hurt you."He said in a strained voice.
Jin looked at the man for a moment before approaching him. He was hesitant at first, but the man was hurt and he didn't seem to be a bad guy. Once he was closer the man turned to look at him and Jin could see his ice blue eyes shining beneath his Konoha headband.
"D-do you need help?" He asked nervously.
The man looked at the boy carefully and then back at the forest from which he had emerged.
"Yeah, alright kid."
Jin helped him stand and led him to his house, which was thankfully not too far away. Jin closed the door of the small house and led the man to his bedroom. He helped the man heal his wounds and gave him some clean clothes to change into while he got some food for him. The boy watched as the man ate. He looked up from the food and into the boy's bright eyes.
"Thanks for the help kid, what's your name?"
"Jin."
"I'm Kazuo."
Jin was glad to at least know the man's name. Even though he was still apprehensive about letting the man stay in his home, he was a bit exited at having a shinobi in his home.
"Kazuo-san." He said timidly.
"Just call me Kazuo."
"Right, Kazuo, are you really a shinobi?" Jin asked.
Kazuo stopped eating and sighed.
"I was."
Jin didn't fully understand why he would say that and Kazuo could see the confusion on his face.
"I used to live in Konoha as a Jounin, but I got tired of being a shinobi so I left. That's why I had to run away this far and in this condition."
"But, why would you want to stop being a shinobi?" Jin said a bit surprised.
He couldn't understand why someone would want to stop being a ninja. Kazuo looked at him and then smirked.
"I take it you want to be a ninja?"
Jin didn't say anything, instead opting to look away. Kazuo watched as the boy avoided his gaze.
"Where are your parents?" He asked.
Jin didn't look at him as he spoke.
"They were killed by bandits."
"So you live on your own?"
Jin nodded.
"That's why I want to be strong. I want to be a shinobi that can protect others from people like the bandits that killed my parents."
He heard his guest sigh and then stand up.
"I'm going to bed, you should rest too. Tomorrow I'll teach you a few things you might be interested in."
Jin looked up as Kazuo walked off into the bedroom.
"After that he began to train me everyday. He said that he wanted to make sure I could protect myself and the village. He was like a father to me since my own had died when I was still a child."
Rei noticed the fondness with which he described Kazuo. She was reluctant to ask her next question.
"What happened to him?" She said after a moment.
Jin sighed and looked out at the sun which would soon disappear into the vast horizon.
"He died when I was sixteen. We had lived together for eight years and he had never told me that he was ill. He always looked strong and happy even as he lay in bed." He said quietly.
"Is that why you left?" Rei asked quietly.
"Yeah."
They stayed quiet for a moment and then Jin stood up and turned to the girl next to him with a smile.
"Well, I think that's enough about the past for now. I'm starved, let's get some food."
Rei smiled and nodded as she was helped up. She stumbled a bit before being picked up by Jin.
"I thought you weren't going to carry me?" She said mockingly.
"I'll drop you." He warned with a smirk.
Rei smiled as she rode on Jin's back. Even if he annoyed her sometimes she knew that she was growing closer to her new teacher. Hearing about his past had made her realize that they were both more similar than she had thought. He had also lost people that were important to him and now he was alone, much like she was. But even if they had no family, they had been lucky enough to find each other and she was glad for that.
End Chapter Sixty
Hope you guys liked this chapter and please review if you have the chance. Shippuuden chapters will begin really soon, probably sometime in November if I get enough time to write so just hold on for a bit longer.