The incredulous stares of his peers was beginning to make Kakashi slightly nervous. Not that he would ever admit to such an emotion.
"What?" he asked nonchalantly, pulling out the book he had come here to retrieve to cover up his unease.
Asuma peered at his watch, then made a show of rubbing his eyes and checking again. Frankly, the silver-haired jonin thought it a little over done. Next to him an amused Hiroto was shaking slightly with barely contained mirth. He regretted ever recommending the generalists promotion... it had gone to his head.
"You're only ten minutes late," Asuma mock whispered, disbelief evident in his tone. Many of the other jonin present gasped in horror, as if an immutable law of the universe had just been bent, if not broken.
"How did you manage this?" Asuma had turned to the now sniggering Hiroto.
The bland man smiled proudly, "I just st-OOMPH," he was cut off mid-sentence by a casual elbow to the gut. Never mind Kakashi had added enough chakra to rupture the cat-summoner's spleen. It was a testament to Hiroto's reaction time that it didn't. Pity.
"He just reminded me of the meeting is all," Kakashi told them, his one visible eye scrunching in an otherwise unseen smile as his elbow dug even deeper into Hiroto's midsection.
An amused snort was heard coming from somewhere amongst the gathered jonin. There were fifteen of them in all, including Kurenai, who had achieved the rank not even a month prior.
Not long after the unusually early arrival of a certain cyclops, the aged leader of Konoha entered from a side door with a stack of folders. He paused upon seeing Kakashi, then looked out of the large windows of his office.
"No pigs flying," he said to himself. He nodded his head at the one-eyed man, "Someone seize that man. He is obviously an imposter."
"Haha," Kakashi said sarcastically, his one eye rolling, "I'm not two hours late. The universe is on its head. Can we get on with the meeting?"
"Never mind," the Hokage retracted his earlier order with a smirk, "That's him."
The old man had to wait for the laughter to die down before launching into the reason for the meeting.
"As you know, the next class of academy students will be graduating soon..." a series of pained groans sounded from the gathered shinobi, much to the Hokage's wry amusement, "Please. You act like the lot of you weren't insufferable at that age."
"I have the projected teams here," he continued, beginning to hand out the folders, "I've worked with the academy instructors to make teams with specific purposes in mind."
"I thought teams were constructed for balance," Kurenai stated as she took her folder, "Top of the class with the bottom..."
"We are stepping away from that practice," the leader explained, pulling out his pipe and prepping it for a good smoke, "It has been suggested since the Third War that we build specialized teams. Scouting, combat, support, and so on. This batch of genin will be a test run for that."
"You should field any complaints or concerns now," he added after explaining the new system.
The red-eyed beauty frowned as she went through her team file, "Not the Sakibou boy?"
Lighting his pipe and taking a few quick puffs, the Sandaime nodded to her, "You have done exceptionally well teaching the child, but I felt his skills were better aligned for infiltration. I built you the best scouting team I could from the candidates. I believe Hinata-chan will flourish under you, in particular."
Kurenai nodded her understanding and made her way out of the office to research her future students further. Many of the other jonin were also filtering out, looking over their own files.
Hiroto groaned as he opened his folder to see a picture of the target of the previous discussion.
"I understand why she didn't get him, but why did I?" he almost whined. For years he had been avoiding the boy's older sister. Just seeing her brought bile to his throat from the memories of that night. Yet he still looked in on them from time to time.
"You were the best candidate for the infiltration team," his leader explained reasonably, "While a number of my jonin beat you in various areas of expertise that would suit such a group, none of them have the breadth of knowledge you do, and knowledge is the greatest asset on an infiltration mission."
Hiroto looked with ill-disguised desperation at the other two jonin in the office, "Both Asuma-san and Kakashi-san have more experience than me... surely one of them could lead this team."
The Hokage shook his head, "They most likely could. Kakashi especially, but Asuma is better suited to a tactical support team. Kakashi is taking on the heavy combat squad due to his vast repertoire of combat jutsu."
"You certainly loaded me for bear," the lazy jonin drawled, thumbing through his thicker than normal folder, "Uchiha Sasuke. Top of the class. Particular aptitude in ninjutsu and precision strikes. Sakura Haruno. Sharp mind. Best chakra control in the class. She should make a good support ninja... maybe a medic or genjutsu artist. Well, well, well. The jinchuuriki, Hokage-sama?"
"His name is Naruto," Hiroto said vehemently, "He's not some damn weapon."
"Whoa there, Hiroto-san," Kakashi put his free hand up in a placating gesture, "No offense meant. I got nothing against the brat. He'll actually be a great asset if my team is meant for heavy combat."
Hiroto seemed to calm down after those words. Kakashi let out a quiet sigh of relief. Despite his seniority to the bland looking man, Kakashi knew a fight between the two would be uncomfortably close.
"At least you don't have a Nara," Asuma piped in after the situation seemed to be diffused, "This Shikimaru kid'll probably have my test figured out in under an hour."
"Test?" Hiroto asked curiously, "We test them?"
He thought back to his own genin days in Kumogakure. It disturbed him slightly that he couldn't seem to recall his own graduation from the academy there. He shook off the feeling to listen to his peer's answer.
"Sure," Asuma said, stowing his folder underneath an arm to light up a cigarette, "This is your first team right?"
Hiroto nodded his affirmation.
"Well... you don't really have to," the bearded man allowed, blowing a smoke ring in the air, "It's your right to test 'em, though. I use the 'impossible task' scenario. I give them a seemingly possible, but extremely difficult looking task. In truth, it isn't possible to accomplish. Those that give up without figuring it out fail. So do the ones that take too long to figure it out."
"They have to realize their limitations," Hiroto reasoned.
"Exactly," Asuma confirmed. He then looked at their masked counterpart and grinned, "Tell him about the bell test."
Hiroto caught the evil gleam in his counterpart's eye, and he suddenly felt sorry for his little brother.
"Simple really," Kakashi explained, "Two bells. I tell them they have to get a bell to pass the test."
The cat summoner shook his head, "Kids that age won't get that they need to work together to even hope to get a bell. You want to see if they can work for the greater good."
Kakashi nodded in agreement, "You got it. So that give you an idea of what to do?"
Hiroto thought for a moment and nodded, "Actually I do have an idea, but I need to speak with the Hokage about it. I'll see you guys later."
Asuma and Kakashi left to see their assigned teams in action while Hiroto stood his ground and waited for the Hokage to acknowledge him. The aged leader had been going over some paperwork while two of his most senior jonin imparted their advice on the junior member of the corps. He looked up to meet Hiroto's hazel eyes.
"What is it you need, Hiroto-san?" he asked. Something in those eyes worried him slightly. Years under the hat had given him an instinct for when he would greatly dislike a conversation.
"I know how I want to test my genin," Hiroto said in a grim tone. He detailed the plan, and the Hokage mused on how right he had been about not liking this conversation. His jonin made some very good points for why he should authorize it, though.
The Hokage turned his swiveling chair so he could look over his village. The view reminded him that he sometimes had to make terrible decisions for the good of his home. He could suddenly feel every one of his seventy years.
"Request granted," he finally said with a heavy heart, "I will make sure you have everything you need."
He felt Hiroto turn and leave, and was glad he had not made any attempts at thanks. He didn't want to be thanked for allowing the destruction of the innocence of three children.
XxXxXxX
Watching the soon to graduate class of academy students compete for the final ranking in taijutsu, Hiroto realized why the sensei never used a dojo. This was an exhibition of new talent; an open forum where Konoha could show off its upcoming shinobi. It wasn't an accident that the Hokage's office was positioned close enough that foreign dignitaries would see the battling trainees as they entered the tower.
Hiroto looked around, noting the various other jonin watching the proceedings. They were all concealed from the children, but had made themselves obvious enough for the chunin sensei of the academy to notice them. It was a professional courtesy; a sign of respect for the lower level shinobi that were integral in the maintenance of Konoha's fighting force.
Personally Hiroto was only there to observe four individuals. The amber-eyed Osamu had amazing speed and agility. He made clever use of his smaller size in his first fight to put his foe down. Hiroto could see numerous flaws in his style, however. It was obvious to him that the boy focused in other areas of skill. Perhaps if his feline could participate in the match. Hiroto knew from experience that the creatures could become very dangerous. Osamu's second match against the pink haired girl didn't go so well. She caught on to his tricks quickly and sent him to the dirt where he yielded.
Masaru proved to be a different story. The boy made use of the simplest maneuvers of Goken, but he stood nearly a head taller than the next tallest teen in the group. His greater reach and strength allowed him to make good use of the style, and Hiroto was already considering other styles to teach him to further take advantage of his natural power. His opponents seemed especially wary of his kicks, shod as he was in those heavy black combat boots. It wasn't until he came against the wild attacks of the Inuzuka that he was knocked out in the quarter finals.
His little brother was doing well for himself using the same patchwork fighting style that Hiroto himself practiced. Naruto didn't have as many individual styles to call on or the experience of real combat to hone him into a true warrior, but he learned by doing very quickly and had an instinct for the flow of battle. He took to blending taijutsu styles easily. He managed to work a decent way up the ladder before being knocked off by one of Hiroto's own future students.
To say that Hotaka's style of fighting was like a dance was like saying a house cat was like a tiger. He twisted and contorted in ways that Hiroto thought impossible, and he saw that the strikes, while not very powerful, were precisely aimed for very sensitive areas. He winced upon seeing Hotaka take down Naruto with a well placed punch to the kidney. The kid was like a leaf dancing in the wind, and in the five fights leading up to the finals, he hadn't been touched once.
The final fight came down to Hotaka and the top of the class overall, the so-called number one rookie, Uchiha Sasuke. Hiroto had to admit that the dark haired boy was good. He came into each fight with an analytical mindset. It didn't seem to matter that he had gone up against all of his opponents multiple times over the years. He was hotblooded, though. A few of his braver foes had taunted him into a reckless offense. None of them had a win to show for it.
Hotaka was a different kind of fighter, though. The gi clad teen was so focused on taijutsu that his other skills were somewhat atrophied. Hiroto could think of a few chunin that weren't as good as the trainee, and Sasuke just wasn't on his level when it came to taijutsu. As the boys faced off, Hiroto could see the signs of respect on both sides; grudging for Sasuke, willing for Hotaka.
Sasuke was sticking with Goken, the style that had won him a spot in the final fight. It was a good idea; Hotaka barely had two inches of height on his counterpart and very little extra reach. There was a burning determination in the last Uchiha's dark eyes. The jonin wondered if it had anything to do with the traitorous Itachi.
Hotaka surprised him by taking a different stance from the rest of his fights. He had used a form quite similar to Goken, feet about shoulder width apart. The difference was in his hands. Goken kept one hand forward while the other was held tight to one's side, prepared to launch the powerful strikes indicative of the style. Hotaka's style called for both hands to be raised and slightly offset with palms open. It allowed him to grab ill placed arms or legs and pull his unlucky foe into his palm or knee strikes.
His current stance was wholly different, and yet seemed thematically the same. He kept his upper body centered over his trailing leg, which was bent to lower his center of gravity. His leading leg was placed straight out, his sandaled foot flat on the ground far forward of him. His leading hand was paralleled his leading leg, the hand open with palm down. The other hand was raised and placed near his ear, and the palm was open and facing towards Sasuke.
Taking a moment to decipher the stance, Hiroto realized it was defensive in nature. Hotaka had wariness for his final challenger. He could see a serenity in the steel colored eyes of the teen. He was prepared to wait for Sasuke to make the first move. It seemed he would have his way, too. The Uchiha was growing impatient.
Hotaka saw this and acted on it, "We gonna dance or what, Sasuke? I'm ready for my top spot," he taunted.
Hiroto shook his head when the words had their intended effect. Sasuke came charging in with a strong right jab. He saw the feint for what it was, but Hotaka apparently didn't. His leading hand shot up to parry the maneuver. Simultaneously, Sasuke had lifted his leading foot to stomp down on the seemingly vulnerable knee of Hotaka's leg.
Hotaka smiled as his parry connected with Sasuke's wrist. His fingers closed around the limb before Sasuke could retract the arm. His smile never faltered as the Uchiha's foot descended to crush his knee. He turned his upper body, the torsion caused his threatened leg to turn over. As Sasuke made contact the limb collapsed under him, mitigating the damage done.
Hotaka lifted the limb back up, causing his foe to lose his balance somewhat. He used his grip on Sasuke's hand to pull the boy further off kilter, then lifted from his kneeling position. His rear foot found its way into the poor Uchiha's crotch. Hotaka continued to straighten his supporting leg until it was fully extended. This caused his opponent to be lifted into the air by his arm and groin.
Hotaka allowed his body to rock forward, using his supporting leg as a fulcrum. As his head brushed his ankle, he pulled on Sasuke's wrist to send him flying. Hotaka maintained a grip on the appendage, however, and his foe was left groaning on his back with his arm painfully twisted. The entire exchanged had happened within the span of a few seconds. The other kid's hadn't even gotten a chance to cheer.
"Yield?" Hotaka asked amicably.
Sasuke glared at him, but tapped the ground with his free hand anyway. Hotaka released the arm immediately and offered to help the boy up. Sasuke brushed the proffered hand away ungraciously, and found his own feet.
"That was good, Sasuke-san," Hotaka told him with honest respect, "I almost didn't see what you were going for."
Sasuke limped away with a grunt of annoyance. It wasn't long before he was surrounded by concerned girls who were alternately asking if he was okay and shooting the Shoudou dirty looks.
"You'd think he had damaged a national treasure," Hiroto mumbled to himself.
He walked away from the academy. He had much to consider about his future students. Two of them, at least, were highly specialized, and he would need to end that if they were to survive in the shinobi world. They had to pass his test first, though.
XxXxXxX
"Hiroto-san!"
The jonin in question stopped his meandering. He had been wandering about the village musing about his upcoming responsibility. He looked up to find the sun near it's zenith, clouds scooting by it lazily in the late summer sky. He had managed to waste nearly three hours.
He caught sight of the person who had called his name. Spiky brown hair bobbing as he ran, Kotetsu pulled even with him. Hiroto idly wondered why the man wore that cloth across the bridge of his nose.
"Got something from the Hokage for you," the chunin said, offering him a sealed scroll.
Hiroto took the scroll warily and broke the seal, "Why wouldn't he just send a bird for me... ah fuck," he got his answer as he read, and he was not happy about it.
"Go back and tell Hokage-sama I'll be there shortly," he ordered the chunin, "I need to go get a few things."
The chunin nodded his understanding and leapt away.
Hiroto made his way to his home as quickly as he could. He was surprised to find Naruto there. The boy should have been off practicing his ninjutsu for his final tests. The cans of paint clued Hiroto in on what he might be up to.
"What's all that for?" he asked with a deadly calm. He gave Naruto his scary older brother look. One he reserved for interrogating the troublemaker.
"I don't suppose you would believe I'm helping to repaint some old buildings, would you?" The blonde asked as he scratched the back of his head nervously.
"You better hope that stuff washed off easily," the jonin warned him seriously, "They'll know you did it as soon as they see it."
"I'm not the only prankster in my class," the teen shot back defensively.
"Yea, but the Hibaku kid's generally involve a boom or a seal."
"I don't think anyone would appreciate me blowing up the Hokage Monu..." he petered off as he realized he had just given up his plans, "Crap."
"I don't have time to deal with this," Hiroto said in exasperation as he rubbed the bridge of his nose, "Don't do it. There... guardian responsibilities taken care of."
"You don't have a mission do you?" Naruto whined, "I'm supposed to graduate in two days."
"Just a quick escort to the capital," the jonin placated as he gathered his gear, "I should be back in time, but I can't promise anything."
"Okay," the boy sighed dejectedly.
Hiroto mussed Naruto's blonde hair before making his way to the Hokage's tower. Ever since making jonin, he had been out of the village more often than not. It was lucky Naruto already knew how to take care of himself, but the absence of his one friend and relative took its toll. The boy's grades were abysmal. Iruka had helped to bring them up, but the teacher remained cool towards Naruto, causing mistrust in the orphan.
Naruto acted out to get the attention Hiroto couldn't provide while he was away, too. His pranks were considered legendary in some circles. The jonin had returned from a mission once to find locksmiths all over the academy and Hokage tower. Apparently a certain blonde had introduced super glue to all of the locks.
Of course the other major prankster, one of Hiroto's future students, couldn't let that stand. Three days later, a large storage seal had been delivered to the headmaster of the academy. Upon activating the thing, his office had been filled with water. There were still wild theories being tossed around as to how the kid had managed to store liquid directly in the seal without damaging the scroll.
That initial exchange had been the spark that ignited a prank war, or, as the academy instructors called it, 'Four Years of Hell.'
Thinking on his little brother's antics had Hiroto in a slightly better mood when he arrived at the tower. The sight, or rather the person, that greeted him soured it all over again.
"Hiroto-san!" he forced himself to stand still and not dodge the incoming glomp.
"Miki-hime," he greeted with forced politeness, "It's rather unbecoming of the daimyo's daughter to embrace an older man like this."
Banshou Miki was the eldest child of the Land of Fire's daimyo, and a royal pain in Hiroto's ass.
There were many who would be envious of his current position. Miki was beautiful by any measure. On the verge of full adulthood, she was tall and shapely. Pressed as she was against him, he could feel a hardness under the curvaceous exterior that indicated she exercised frequently. Her long fiery hair was pulled back into a braid long enough to brush the ground had she not wrapped it about her shoulders multiple times. She looked at him with undisguised adoration in her shining violet eyes; he idly wondered why they held a predatory gleam reminiscent of Mouko, one of his tiger summons.
Her clothing was casual and functional; a set of navy blue pants and a sleeveless top in a slightly lighter shade. On her feet were the sandals of a worker or outdoors-man, rugged and ready for a great deal of walking. She was dusty and sweaty from the four day trek those tied to the ground were cursed to make should they desire to go to Konoha from the capital. That didn't seem to bother the young woman. Hiroto had learned she had a natural wanderlust.
Miki had a disturbing habit of wandering off on her bodyguards. Few recognized her dressed as she was since most never saw her out of court finery and make-up. Her samurai could not follow her when she was out like this for fear of blowing her cover and stealing what little freedom the sheltered princess had. That left a pair of shinobi from the Twelve Guardian Ninja Squad to look after her. She had apparently picked up some of their tricks if she could slip away so easily. Hiroto would make a point of asking Asuma if he had taught the girl anything during his stint with the bodyguards.
"I told you not to be so formal with me," Miki pouted, making a show of quivering her lower lip. Her eyes began to form tears at the edges. She was almost as good as a fully trained kunoichi.
"That wouldn't be right, Miki-hime," he couldn't help a wry smile. The young woman had a natural magnetism to her. It was a shame she would be passed over for one of her younger brothers as the next daimyo.
"But you are my handsome savior!" she cried, hugging him tighter. If not for his flak jacket, he might have felt her breasts pressed against his chest. He was very glad for the protection as his cheeks grew rosy from the thought.
It was true enough that Hiroto had saved her life. On one of her little escapades away from her guards, she had been accosted by a group of thugs looking for a good time. As luck would have it, Hiroto was acting as a courier for the Hokage, carrying correspondence to the daimyo too important to trust to even a tokujo. He had passed by just as they surrounded the frightened girl. Without a thought, he had leapt to her defense. He had thrashed the thugs in ways that made them wish for death before escorting the girl home. To his great surprise, home happened to be the daimyo's palace.
The princess had made him a target of hero worship and a rather childish crush from then on. For the past year, at least once a month, she would abscond from the capital to make the four day trek to Konoha, just so he would have to escort her back. He was beginning to wonder how she always knew when he was home, and just why he wasn't getting any long-term missions recently.
She seemed to have this wild idea that he would court her. While it wasn't unheard of for powerful shinobi to marry nobility, it was generally done below the royal level. It didn't help that all of her suitors were either five years her junior or older than Hiroto.
He shot his leader a pleading look when the girl tightened her grip on him.
There was gleam of amusement in the aged leader's eyes, but he cleared his throat to catch her attention, "Miki-hime. Could you wait in my sitting room so I can have a private word with my subordinate?"
She straightened in surprise. Apparently she had forgotten she was in the presence of the most power shinobi in the Land of Fire, "Of course, Hokage-dono."
Hiroto's face met his hands as soon as she had closed the door, "Why? Why is she so obsessed with me?"
"You saved her life, you treat her like a person, not a political game piece, and you are a shinobi," the old man ticked off, "A lot of civilians have these silly romantic notions about us."
"I'm a defector from Kumo!" Hiroto protested in exasperation, "I don't even have a clan backing me."
"You have my trust," the Hokage countered seriously, "And Hiashi-san seems to have your back in council meetings when the subject of your loyalty invariably comes up."
Hiroto narrowed his eyes suspiciously at his leader, "You're not encouraging this are you?"
"Of course not," the Hokage barked out with a laugh, "You are a defector from Kumo! I have avoided sending you away too much, though. She refuses any other escort... even her own bodyguards."
Hiroto rubbed the bridge of his nose in consternation, "How do I let her down without offending her?"
"Hiroto-san... is that concern for her feelings I hear?" the Hokage teased.
"Just help me out, old man," he grumbled at his leader. The flippant way the Hokage was treating this was beginning to annoy him.
"You will have to find your own way in this matter, I'm afraid," the Sandaime told him seriously.
"Thank you, Oh wise leader," Hiroto shot back sarcastically with an overdone bow, "I'll be on my way. Hopefully I can make it back before Naruto graduates."
"Good luck and safe travels," the Hokage called after him through his chuckling as he entered the sitting room.
XxXxXxX
"SUCCESS! AHAHAHA!" a cry and then wild laugh resounded through the small house. It was slightly crazed, as if the speaker's sanity had hinged upon what he was celebrating.
Natsumi set down her tools, took up her cane, and went in search of her child before he could blow up the house. She was mumbling about regretting teaching him chemistry as she hobbled down the stairs into a basement with more floorspace than the entire house above it. It had the musty scent of old leather and parchment, and she had to go through a maze of shelves where great tomes and scrolls of lore sat. This library had belonged to her deceased husband, and held a treasure trove of information on sealing.
She passed his, thankfully inert, chemistry lab where he had set it up in a clear space. The same place his father had once made his unique inks. Instead of brewing some volatile concoction, he was hunched over a desk examining something very carefully.
"Hey, brat," she called to him gruffly, "The hell is with the mad scientist laugh?"
He turned to her with excitement in his eyes. The look, coupled with his long coppery hair down around his face gave him the air of some crazed researcher, "I got it to work, Kaa-san! Tou-san couldn't get it, but I did!"
"Couldn't get what?" she came closer, interested by the possibility of her son solving a sealing riddle his father couldn't.
He pointed to a seal with an ink-stained finger, "That seal changes chakra to kinetic energy."
She raised a gray eyebrow, examining the intricate and flowing lines. She could see a storage component as a base, but there were a lot of extra arrays she had no idea about, "This thing can impart momentum to an object? That's not new..."
Her son, ignoring her unimpressed tone, nodded excitedly, "Watch."
He placed a single kunai on the seal and activated the storage component. The kunai disappeared, locked into the storage array as a mass of chakra. He then applied a small amount of chakra to the seal as if to unseal the kunai. Instead of simply rematerializing as it had been stored, the blade flew from the seal at high speed to embed itself deeply into the wooden beams above their heads.
"Not bad," she was trying very hard not to sound too impressed, lest her boy get a big head. Despite her best efforts her son was beaming as if he'd been complimented by Kami itself, "How'd you manage the trick of orienting it right?"
The boy lost some of his joy and shivered, "I never, ever, want to translate vectors into a seal array again."
She shook her head, smiling ruefully. This brat was going to surpass his father. He might even solve the riddle of the Hiraishin. Scary thought, that.
"One kunai from a seal could be a good holdout," she allowed, considering the applications of a launching seal, "but this thing ain't too practical."
He just grinned at her knowingly and pulled another seal into view from under his most recent work. He unsealed a single kunai from it.
"Big deal?"
He then unsealed a shuriken, then another kunai. He then proceeded to unseal the rest of the twenty some odd throwing stars and knives, one at a time.
"Alright," she caved, unable to hold up her unimpressed facade in the face of such an accomplishment, "You got me. That's impressive."
A sealing master she was not, but she did know how to make basic storage seals. Well... to be fair, all seals stored something. It was how the seal released what it stored and what triggered the unsealing that made them unique. A clever master of fuuinjutsu could theoretically mimic any jutsu in existence by modulating the output of stored chakra. In practice, such seals would become ridiculously complex, which usually meant ridiculously large.
Her son had taken two ideas of fuuinjutsu and put them on their head. The first was that, while chakra could be changed to momentum, it was impossible to properly direct the object the momentum was imparted to. Apparently it was possible to program a release vector into the seal; it was just exceedingly difficult.
The second was that any given materials put into a seal must be retrieved in the same way. A pile of kunai could go in, but a pile of kunai would come out. There were workarounds, like chained seals, where the connected arrays would allow the retrieval of a specific seal's contents from anywhere on the chain, but those were often large and cumbersome affairs.
"All I have to do now is figure out how to combine them," he claimed, rubbing his hands together and spreading the stains on his fingers to his palms, "Can you imagine a seal like that on each palm?"
She had to admit that would certainly surprise a few people. There was an issue there, though, "Careful doin' that, Masaru. You know what happens to seals that get unstable."
He nodded with a blanch. His early forays into experimental sealing had been... disastrous.
She mussed his already messy hair, "I suppose it's my fault you don't have a normal hobby."
"Least I don't go out and 'people watch' like Osamu," he pointed out defensively, "Hotaka doesn't even have a hobby... he just exercises more."
Laughing, she left him to his work, "Don't stay up too late. You got tests to take tomorrow."
XxXxXxX
Hiroto brooded quietly as he leapt from tree to tree. The girl riding piggy back seemed content to remain quiet and enjoy the ride. She was completely at ease now, away from civilization and the requirements it placed on her for her station. Perhaps that was her real interest in him. He represented freedom to her.
"Can we stop for the night?" Miki asked, "I'm tired."
Hiroto came to a stop on a large branch and looked to the west. The sun was riding low, painting the sky in a myriad of reds and purples not unlike the hair and eyes of his charge. He could have gone for the rest of the night, but figured some rest would do him good. Glancing about he caught sight of a sheltered hollow amongst the roots of the massive trees. He made for his chosen campsite and placed Miki down gently upon arriving.
"I'll set up a tent for you," he said as he rummaged in his small pack for the storage scroll he used for larger equipment. He had the small one-person tent set up in no time and turned to see Miki had already gathered a fair amount of kindling to start a fire. She caught his incredulous look and stuck her tongue out at him.
"Think I'm useless or something?" she asked indignantly, "How do you think I got to Konoha?"
"Not useless," he shot back with a laugh, "You're just a surprising girl is all."
"I am almost eighteen," she huffed with her hands on her hips, "I am not a 'girl.'"
"A surprising women, then," he placated with a grin as he wandered away from the campsite, "Put that kindling to use while I find some food."
He returned barely fifteen minutes later with a couple of hares. He had skinned and cleaned them away from camp to spare her the grisly sight and to prevent the smell of blood from drawing predators. He found her sitting proudly next to a merry little fire. He smirked as he spitted the hares and placed them over the flames to roast. Poking the coals to ensure an even heat, he decided it was time to let her down.
"What is your interest in me, Miki-san?" he asked quietly.
She sent him a look of mock astonishment, "No 'hime', Hiroto-san... I am appalled."
He snorted in amusement, "I am willing to address you as you wish... away from certain individuals. Now stop dodging the question."
She stared into the fire, the flames reflected in her violet orbs, "I am third in line for Otou-sama's seat. My two younger brothers have priority."
She stopped, presumably to gather her thoughts, then continued quietly, "As much as Otou-sama cares for me, I am still just a piece on the political board."
"I can't really relate to that," Hiroto told her truthfully. He always considered his low birth a blessing, "Has he not given you many choices?"
She snorted in derision, "You've met a few. All the older ones just want a pretty trophy and a piece of the royal pie. The younger ones aren't too bad, but I feel like a nanny around them."
"Where do I read into this?" the jonin asked her, honestly confused.
She smiled at him, "I know you aren't much younger than most of my suitors, but you don't see a political game piece. You see me. Not to mention I could live in Konoha."
"Okay, okay. I can understand all of that," he allowed seriously, "But 'handsome savior?'"
She laughed. A truly happy and musical sound, "Otou-sama said that to me as a joke after you brought me home a few months ago. I turned it on him much to his horror."
"So you don't think I'm handsome?" he asked her with mock hurt.
She threw a pebble at him from across the fire, "You are the plainest looking man I have ever seen, but for that you are more desirable."
"And how is that?" he asked, a little nonplussed by her reply.
"I won't have to fight other women for you," she teased with a smile.
He chuckled at her answer, but grew serious in a few moments, "You know it can't be, right?"
She sighed unhappily and pulled her knees to her chest, "I know. It's mostly to annoy my suitors. Otou-sama said he wouldn't mind strengthening ties with Konoha, but there aren't many good candidates."
"The one I would be willing to go with happens to be from Kumo," she added sourly in a full pout.
"So sorry I couldn't be born in the Land of Fire," he countered dryly, "I came south as soon as I could."
"How did that come about, anyway?" she asked him curiously, "Otou-sama wouldn't say."
"He couldn't say," Hiroto corrected her, "Those events are a class-B secret. Only chunin and up on a need to know basis."
"You won't even tell me?" she asked sweetly, batting her eyelashes at him.
By the way the blood drained from her face, he could tell his expression had become unusually grim. He might have even been leaking some killing intent, "That story is not one I care to remember, much less tell."
"I-I am s-sorry," she stuttered back, sounding slightly frightened.
He shook himself of the memories and smiled at her, "Don't worry about it, Miki-san. You didn't know any better."
They lapsed into silence as Hiroto continued to poke at the fire.
Soon enough he deemed the meat cooked and removed the hares from the fire. He handed her one, "I'm no world class chef like the ones in the palace, but I am told my open fire hare is the best."
They ate in silence as the last of the day gave way to night.
After some time, Miki spoke again, "Will you at least be my friend?" the undertone of desperate hope struck a chord with him. It reminded Hiroto of a certain orange obsessed child, and he couldn't help but laugh at the irony.
"What is so funny?" she asked indignantly.
"The daughter of this country's leader is asking to be my friend. Me... the traitor from Kumo," he said after calming somewhat, "How do I get into these absurd situations?"
"That was a serious question, "she sounded a little hurt by his amusement.
"I am truly sorry, Miki-san," he apologized as sincerely as he could, "Of course I'll be your friend."
She shot him a dazzling smile from across the fire, "Good. Since we're friends, can I ask a favor?"
"Okay..." he agreed warily. What had he just walked into?
"Find me someone better than these pompous asses and little kids Otou-sama keeps digging up," she requested seriously.
I'm a trained killer, woman," he told her, frowning, "Not a damn royal matchmaker."
"Pleeease..." she begged, pouting. Tears started to form in her eyes, and he even saw one fall down her cheek. He rethought his earlier estimate; she was as good as a fully trained kunoichi.
"Ugh," he groaned in exasperation, "Fine... I'll keep an eye out, but I'm not making any promises."
She tossed away her finished meal and came around the fire to hug him, "Thank you," she said sweetly.
Hiroto, blushing furiously due to his head's position between her breasts sighed, "Get some sleep. We'll get going early tomorrow."
XxXxXxX
Osamu exited the testing room lathered in sweat and very tired, but he held a hitai-ate in his hands. Hotaka thumped him on the back as they passed one another the Shoudou still needing to take the final ninjutsu test. Masaru was waiting outside in the shade of a tree, watching the clouds scoot lazily across the sky.
"Well?" he asked as Osamu approached him. His own leaf plate was tied around his left bicep.
"Managed all three jutsu," Osamu told him proudly as he tied his hitai-ate loosely about his neck, "Didn't even fudge the henge with genjutsu."
The tests had come over the course of three days. First taijutsu a couple of days ago, then the written tests the next day. Last of all came genjutsu and ninjutsu. The former only required the breaking of a minor illusion. The latter required the successful demonstration of the class-E ninjutsu taught at the academy. The scores for everything were taken together to determine graduation, but too low a score in more than one would ruin your chances.
Hotaka emerged not long after Osamu, his own plate tied about his waist like a belt, "Too fricken easy."
"Maybe for you," Osamu said indignantly, narrowing his amber eyes at his taller friend.
"I don't wanna hear it mister 'aced the written exams,'" Hotaka countered with a smile.
"Maybe if you studied," Osamu deadpanned, eliciting a laugh from Masaru.
The easy banter was cut short as they saw an orange clad figure exit.
"Hey, Naruto-san. How'd you..." Hotaka's friendly greeting was cut short by the sad look on the boy's face and his lack of a leaf plate.
"Ouch," the wiry boy said quietly as they watched him take up his position on the swing across the yard. The taijutsu expert moved to go cheer Naruto up, but Osamu stopped him.
Leave him be," the cat-eyed boy said seriously, "He just wants to be alone."
"Aren't you the one always pointing out how lonely he is and how we should try to be his friends?" Masaru asked a bit confused.
Osamu nodded in reply, frowning, "Our success will only make it worse. He doesn't take well to pity."
He led them away from the blonde, and they moved to head home, "What happened to Hinata-chan, Masaru." he asked after a few minutes.
"Worried about your girlfriend," the large boy teased with a grin, "OWW!"
Yancha had appeared on his shoulder and bitten his ear, "Get off me, you damn furball."
The speckled cat leapt from his shoulder into Osamu's waiting arms. He stroked her affectionately as she purred, "Good girl."
Hotaka stifled a laugh, and Masaru snorted in disgust before saying, "She passed. Didn't get a chance to find out how good she did. One of her clansmen picked her up just as she walked out."
They arrived at their destination after a long walk; the large house occupied by the only known living Sakibou. They entered and removed their footwear, sandals for the taller boys and wrappings for Osamu. Entering the kitchen, they found their respective guardians hard at work cooking a celebratory dinner.
Natsumi noticed them first, "Well it's about damn time, brats," she looked at each of them and smiled big, her brown eyes shining, Looky here, ladies. Our boys are big bad shinobi now."
Only Masaru's gruff mother could manage to make congratulations sound like such an insult.
Ren turned from where she was chopping vegetables to smile, hiding her teeth as was custom for her and her brother, at the three boys who all called her 'Nee-san', "I'm proud of all three of you."
Mayu didn't even turn from a boiling pot she was stirring, "As if we ever had any doubt of your success."
Dinner was completed in short order, but before they could sit down at the Sakibou's high table to eat a knock sounded at the door. Osamu focused in the direction of the out of sight ingress and smiled deviously. He motioned to his friends to follow him as stealthily as possible, much to the amusement of their guardians.
As Ren went to answer the door, they exited via a rear window. They easily leapt the tall fence that kept curious children away from the wild cats that roamed the Sakibou land and circled to the front door. Masaru and Hotaka finally saw who the visitor was, and both smiled. They would recognize that overcoat and purple hair anywhere.
They rushed forward all at once and made to tackle the woman. Before they got within a foot, she was in motion. A flurry of activity and a few moments later, Masaru was wrapped in the coils of a large green snake, Hotaka was pinned face down under her foot, and Osamu dangled from where she gripped his ankle.
"You brats gotta do better than that," she groused with a smile.
"Hi, Anko-nee-san," they chorused, slightly put out that their old babysitter could still put them in their place.
She looked the three of them over taking in their leaf plates, "It seems I got three genin assaulting a superior. That used to be twenty lashes."
If you can call that an assault," Ren said with a laugh, "What brings you, Anko?"
Anko released the three boys, patting each on the head in a patronizing way, "Wanted to see if the maggots made it. Plus I ain't seen ya much since T&I picked me up."
Ren smiled at what had been the first friend her age in Konoha, "Come have dinner with us. Mayu-san and Natsumi-san would be happy to see you."
"Hope they give me a better welcome than these dolts," Anko said as she entered the abode.
Dinner became an even livelier affair with Anko present. The three small families regularly shared meals, and were happy to have her. Mayu had welcomed her easily after her sensei's betrayal, and Natsumi hadn't been far behind. Both the older women knew how much Anko had worshipped her mentor, and Ren was observant enough to pick up on the general attitude the villagers had for her. None of the ever brought it up, save for when Natsumi used her limited sealing experience to ensure her cursed seal was stable.
Their association with Anko and their location in the village's infamous fox district surrounded the three families in superstition. It wasn't the stigma Anko endured or the outright fear and hatred of the village jinchuuriki, but 'normal' people tended to avoid them. It was no wonder the boys were as close as brothers. They didn't have too many others to call friend.
Thinking of stigmas brought someone else to Anko's mind, "I hear the old man is givin' that Kumo defector a team this year," she mentioned idly to see how they would react. She was happy to see the fresh shinobi at the table quiet down to take in any information on a possible sensei.
"Let 'em, I say," Natsumi said between bites, "Over ten years of faithful service. Plus, good ol' stick-up-the-ass Hiashi seems to have his back on the shinobi council. He may be a prude, but that tightwad is loyal to a fault."
"How do you know that?" Mayu asked her curiously.
"Got most of the civilian council in my pocket," she said with a nasty grin, "Fools will do anything for money."
Anko let loose a snort of amusement, "Why am I not surprised?"
Ren had been following the conversation with quiet interest. She had her finger to the pulse of the village, and not much got past her. She was even privy to a few class-S secrets she shouldn't have been, but this was the first she had heard of a defector from Kumo. She found it a bit suspect that he had been serving for ten years. Not too much shorter than her residence in the village.
"Kumo defector?" she inquired of the other women, "I didn't know about this man."
"Huh... Thought you knew about that," Mayu said with a thoughtful look, "Word is he came down from Kumo after some disagreement with his leadership. Swore his allegiance to the Leaf."
"And they let him become a jonin?" Ren asked in disbelief.
"They had good reason," Anko told her seriously, "I've seen him do some wild shit. Was on a snatch and grab with him a few years back... when he was still a chunin. Everything went to hell, and I nearly ate a brace of kunai."
"What happened?" Masaru voiced the question on the enthralled teens' minds.
"The idiot hopped in the way," the look on her face said she still couldn't believe it, "Used this jutsu that called water up around us. Slowed the kunai down, but he still got a few stuck in him. He then proceeded to beat the living shit outa the three shinobi against us."
"Why didn't he just kill 'em?" Natsumi asked seriously, "Woulda been easier."
"Yea," Anko nodded her agreement with a laugh, "But one of 'em was the target, and he didn't know which. We finished the mission successfully."
"I'm not too surprised by that," Mayu piped in, "That guy has some good moves. He did an exhibition match for the incoming academy students to show them what taijutsu could do for you. I swear I saw him mix Tiger with Drunken Boxing. There were other styles, too, but those were the most dominant."
"But is he trustworthy?" Ren asked with worry. This man could end up teaching her boys, and she had some very bad memories of Kumo shinobi. All except one, but he was certainly dead, killed for his treacherous actions that night. She felt bad that she couldn't even remember his face.
"I suppose," Anko offered with a shrug, "I think he's got a death wish or something, though. Maybe that's why the old man gave him those fancy shields."
Anko peered out the window to see the sun long gone and the stars twinkling like distant gems. She suddenly remembered that she had a shift at the T&I building as an on-call interrogator.
She stood and stretched, her stomach full near to bursting with fine cooking, "Well I appreciate the meal, but I gotta get going before 'tall, dark, and gruesome' starts wondering where I am."
"They gave Morino Ibiki command of T&I?" Natsumi asked with a grim smile, "Oh, I feel sorry for any prisoners we pick up."
Farewells were had all around, and the Sakibou residence emptied in short order. It wasn't long afterward that a general alarm was raised.
A/N: This chapter was looong. Then I cut it down some. Then I got a review that prompted me to rewrite the whole damn thing. In short... I am a tad brain dead, and also behind on my chapters. Considering the end of my first semester in college is coming up, posts may slow the hell down. We'll see, though.
On another note, I got my first review from an individual I don't know personally. Orangeman727 gets a free shout out for his trouble. Pretty good writer from what I've seen too. That's it for me this week.
And before I forget. The weekly bio.
Ryouko Hiroto
Rank: Jonin
Gender: Male
Birth Date: April 23
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Hazel
Height: 5' 8" (172.7 cm)
Weight: 190 lbs (86.2 kg)
Ryouko Hiroto was a loyal shinobi of Kumogakure until he witnessed (and played a small role in) a terrible tragedy. He defected to Konoha shortly after. Despite mistrust amongst the civilian populace, he has earned the respect of many of his fellow Leaf shinobi.