Osamu made his way to the door, somewhat confused by his old sensei's visit. She had her own team now, and would most likely be conducting her own test for them today. He opened the door to greet Kurenai, and grinned at what he saw after his sensitive eyes had adjusted to the bright sunlight.
"Kurenai-sensei, that is an excellent copy of Iruka-sensei," he told the genjutsu disguised woman.
The image of his academy instructor faded, giving way to a pensive, red-eyed beauty, "One of these days, I'm going to figure out how you do that."
Osamu laughed and motioned for her to come in, "Good to see you, sensei. I was gonna have some tea out back to settle my nerves. Want to join me?"
"That sounds good," she replied as she removed her footwear, "Jitters about your test?"
He nodded as they made their way through the house, "Masaru is with Hiroto-sensei now," he stopped in the kitchen to retrieve the now whistling kettle and a pair of cups, "Go on out back, sensei. Don't mind the cats. Their harmless."
He joined her shortly balancing a tray, to find her standing stock still with two cougars and a tiger sniffing her legs. He could tell from their vertical tails that they were just curious, but her hand was inching slowly towards her equipment pouch.
"Get out of here!" Osamu barked at the large felines, who bolted away in surprise, "Sorry. They get nosy when they meet someone new."
"How many of those things do you take care of?" she asked in exasperation.
"There's about ten on our land right now," he answered, "Any more and we would probably go broke feeding them."
"Like the Inuzuka all over again, but with cats," She shook her head in disbelief, "Do they all shrink, or is it just Yancha and Zuki?"
"Ah ah, sensei," he chided good-naturedly, "You know better than to ask someone about their hijutsu."
She laughed, "Not nearly as open as the Inuzuka."
He set the tray down on a nearby table shaded by a large umbrella set out in the grass. He served their tea and settled in, "So what brings you by, sensei? Aren't you testing your own team today?"
She sipped her tea and smiled at the taste, "I am, but not till noon. I wanted to do one last review of what we've learned. I refuse to hand you off to another without ensuring I've taught you all I can."
He smirked at her, "Okay, sensei. Go ahead."
"Where is Ren-san?" she asked looking around. Kurenai was amazingly secretive about her art. She went as far as to elicit an oath from Osamu that he wouldn't teach it to anyone but a worthy student.
"She rushed out after a messenger brought her a note," he said, frowning in thought, "Must have been important. She didn't even finish her breakfast."
XxXxXxX
Ren walked through the streets at a brisk pace with Zuki trotting beside her. The mid-morning crowd parted easily for her despite her small stature, and she grimaced at their silly superstitions. The fox district had been avoided for over twelve years now for fear of evil spirits haunting it. She and the few other residents of the place were seen as breakers of some unspoken taboo.
Every now and then, though, some silly fool would work up the courage to come to her door asking her to exorcise a demon or other foul spirit. More often than not, there was nothing going on but a string of bad luck, but people paid her good money to walk around with some incense and chant nonsense. From time to time she did actually root out a nest of imps or chase off a fouler form of demon. On one occasion she had encountered an agitated kami, and had a hell of a time figuring out how to calm it.
Today a shaky messenger had knocked on her door to bring her a cordial summons. He had bolted away as soon as the missive was in her hands. She had found it to be a message from one of her fellow Watchers; one she expected was quite high up the unspoken chain of command. It had nothing to do with their shared occupation, of course.
Sakibou Ren
I find myself in need of your specific talents at my family's flower shop. I believe you have patronized us before, and know the location. Please come at once.
Thank you,
Yamanaka Inoichi
She suspected the Yamanaka patron knew of her extensive training in espionage, and his message didn't assuage that. It held no indication that they would discuss anything other than spirits, her very well-known expertise, but she got the distinct impression something else was going on.
She arrived at the shop to find the mentalist outside tending to some display flowers. Watching a hardened shinobi walking around in a flowery apron fussing over plants was amusing, but they had business to discuss.
"Inoichi-sama," she called out as she approached, "You sent for me?"
He turned and smiled warmly, "Thank you for coming on such short notice, Ren-san. Please don't bother with that 'sama' nonsense."
He motioned for her to follow him inside, and when she did, she had to reconsider her earlier suspicions. She could feel the distinct taint of a demon. It wasn't here currently, but had been recently.
She followed the clan leader through the shop, nodding in greeting to the employee behind the counter. She gave Zuki the distinct impression he should stay down here and keep an eye out. Lying down under a table to clean himself, he complied without complaint.
They made their way upstairs and entered what looked like an office. Inoichi shut the door behind them and began to run through hand signs.
"I'm not normally one to be superstitious," he said as his hand flew through dozens of signs, "but... odd things have been occurring about my establishment."
He finally finished the string of signs, and Ren could literally feel the various privacy measures hum to life.
"There," Inoichi said, dropping the previous line of conversation, "Now we can discuss why you're really here."
"Actually, Inoichi-san," she stopped him, "There was a demon here recently."
He blinked his pupiless eyes at her in surprise, "Really?"
"Yes," she answered seriously, "Was there anyone here that seemed depressed, angry, or was expressing any other negative emotions in abundance?"
"My daughter," he said immediately, "She was rather put out that the boy she fancies was placed on another team."
"Jealousy..." Ren stated easily, "It can definitely attract some of the larger demons if it is powerful enough."
A worried look passed over the man's face, "You mean a beast like that one you found after the Uchiha incident is following my daughter?"
"Do not fret," she quickly began to assure him, "The creature can't harm her. It is only leaching her jealousy for food. After this I can track it down and deal with it if you like."
The worry eased a bit from his face, but didn't disappear entirely, "Very well. The reason I called you here is to discuss a matter the Hokage wishes us to deal with."
She quirked a dark eyebrow in interest; so far she hadn't been called to do anything overt in her duties.
"What do you know about an organization ROOT?" Inoichi asked.
"Not much," she answered honestly, "I have noticed a few locations with an odd symbol... like the lower half of a tree. Also some missives with a similar mark."
"That's them," he confirmed, "They are an officially disbanded branch of the ANBU. Shimura Danzo maintains them in secret."
"Not very well, apparently," Ren offered dryly.
"One of our Watchers witnessed an unsanctioned mission in Ame that tipped us off," Inoichi explained, "Hokage-sama allows Danzo to continue his operations since he has a habit of finding and eliminating spies and traitors."
"Cagey old bastard," Ren laughed, "I chose the right village it seems."
Inoichi nodded in agreement, "ROOT has targeted someone they shouldn't have, though. One Ryoukou Hiroto."
"That's my otouto's jonin-sensei," she told him worriedly, "Is his loyalty suspect?"
"It always has been by a few... he is a defector from Kumogakure," he replied.
Ren felt her chest tighten in sudden fear. Her brother's sensei was from the village that had tried to kill them. She had yet to hear the name of the defector, but for him to be the very man that was supposed to lead Osamu... it was a bit too much. She began to berate herself for not digging for information on him. She had figured the Hokage wouldn't give him her brother of all people.
"Are you okay, Ren-san?" Inoichi asked worriedly.
"Kumo killed everyone in my clan!" she nearly screamed in hysteria, "Now one of their shinobi is Osamu's sensei... of course I'm not 'okay'!"
Strong hands gripped her shoulders, "Calm down."
She began to hyperventilate as she was assaulted with memories from that awful night. Leaving her mother to die alone. Getting caught just shy of freedom. The smell of her captor's hot breath as he attempted to molest her...
"Calm down, Ren-san!" Inoichi said more forcefully, "Hiroto-san's service record shows absolutely no reason to suspect him. He has the backing of both the Inuzuka and Hyuga leaders, and he has the trust of the Sandaime himself."
She managed to get her breathing under control and put a clamp on the flow of terrible memories. She took one last shuddering breath and squared her shoulders.
"You should not have seen that," she said quietly, closing her eyes against the suddenly bright light. Her pupils had dilated to their maximum in her anxiety. Inoichi removed his support once he saw she had steadied herself.
"Trust me, Ren-san. I understand your trepidation," he told her kindly, "Hiroto-san refuses to elaborate on his reasons for defection. The Hokage knows the whole story, but he has respected the man's wishes."
He left out the part where he had seen the man's memories of the Sakibou clan massacre. The Hokage had sworn him to secrecy on that. He felt Ren deserved to know, but he would never break the Hokage's trust in such a way.
"You don't trust him?" she asked. She reopened her eyes, and found the light back at more bearable levels.
The Yamanaka winced in discomfort. He would need to fib some to keep his oath, "I can't trust his intentions when I don't know them. Either way, Danzo targeted one of the best shinobi in the village. The assassin wasn't up to the task, though. Hiroto-san wasn't even injured."
"That doesn't sound right," Ren began to pace around the office to shake off the vestiges of her panic attack, "Why send someone you know can't perform the task?"
"A message, maybe..." Inoichi mused, leaning against the wall, "Or a distraction."
"Distraction from what?" Ren asked, "Is there someone else close to him that Danzo might target?"
"Hiroto-san is Uzumaki Naruto's legal guardian," Inoichi offered, "Danzo has been known to recruit orphaned youths..."
"You can drop that charade, Inoichi-san," Ren told him, "I know the boy is a jinchuuriki."
"How..." he stopped when she merely tapped a finger to her temple, indicating her eyes, "You can sense the demon even when it's sealed?"
"Biju aren't demons," she countered absently as she paced, "A jinchuuriki would be a powerful weapon if trained right. Has Hiroto-san exhibited any signs of carrying the boy off?"
He decided to let the odd comment pass in favor of their current task, "None that I know of. Danzo has always expressed an interest in taking the boy under his wing, though. He had expressed displeasure at Naruto's slow progress in ability at our last meeting."
"That might be it," Ren mused, "Danzo expected an accomplished shinobi like Hiroto-san to train him better. Perhaps he is trying to distract Hiroto-san from Naruto-kun so he can make a play for the boy."
"An interesting theory, but a distinct possibility," Inoichi allowed thoughtfully, "We will explore it further. Are you familiar with informal information dissemination?"
"You mean rumor-mongering?" she asked with a smirk, "I know how to do it."
Inoichi snorted in amusement, "I need you to spread a few rumors for me."
XxXxXxX
"You want me to WHAT!?" Masaru cried out in surprise. He wasn't sure if it was a passing cloud, but the morning sunshine seemed to dim suddenly.
"I don't want you to do anything," Hiroto replied seriously, "This is a test of your fortitude and desire to walk the path of a shinobi. Did you expect to go your entire career without bloodying your hands?"
"I... no," Masaru stumbled over his words, "It's just..."
"You don't have to do this," Tonbo offered helpfully. He leaned against the wall a few paces behind Hiroto.
"True enough," Hiroto agreed, "But I will send you back to the academy and recommend immediate expulsion from the corps based on lack of mental fortitude."
"I'll be decommissioned?" Masaru whispered, "But I haven't even done a mission yet."
"Not necessarily," Hiroto admitted evenly, "I can only recommend you be put out. That decision is up to the Hokage. He does take my thoughts very seriously, though."
"B-but why?" Masaru asked in desperation.
"What is the first rule in the Shinobi Code?" Hiroto countered with his own question.
"One must be prepared to kill and die for the village," Masaru answered in miserable defeat, "If they kick me out, I won't be able to study fuuinjutsu anymore, will I?"
"I highly doubt it," Tonbo answered, turning his sightless face towards them, "The fact you were able to study such a dangerous art as an academy student speaks volumes about Natsumi-san's sway in the village."
A tear trickled down Masaru's cheek, "It's all I have of him..."
"I know, Masaru-kun..." Hiroto looked down sadly at him. He seemed to ponder that particular issue before saying, "Whether or not you pass this test, I will ask the Hokage for any information he can give me."
Masaru looked up at him in bewilderment, "You would do that... even if I fail?"
"Of course," Hiroto smiled at him, "I lost both my parents at a fairly young age. I understand wanting to hold onto whatever you can of him. I also don't want you feeling coerced."
"T-thank you," Masaru stuttered out as he wiped his eyes roughly with his arm.
"Now about this test..." Hiroto went back to unforgiving soldier in an instant, "Widow is on death row for a reason, Masaru-kun. Her death is guaranteed. Your test is to give it to her."
Masaru backed himself against the cold stone wall for support as he contemplated an act that he knew would come up eventually. He just never expected it so soon. Would his mother be disappointed if he failed here? She had proudly told him that her kill count was surpassed by only one other shinobi, and that man had been the Yondaime Hokage. He shook off those thoughts. This was his decision, his test. His mother had always taught him to be his own person and damn what anyone else thought.
The real question was: did he want to end his career, here and now? He didn't doubt Hiroto would do just what he promised, or that the Hokage would seriously consider decommissioning him on the jonin's suggestion.
"What did she do?" he asked suddenly.
"I won't tell you," Hiroto denied him coldly, "This won't be the last time you are asked to kill. You will know even less than you do now about some targets."
He groaned in frustration. How could he just go down there and kill a woman he had never met.
"You are going about this the wrong way, Masaru-kun," Tonbo said, as if he had read his mind, "You are thinking of Widow as a person. She is only a target to you. Will you strike that target down, or leave it standing?"
He looked at Tonbo, dumbstruck by the callous way he reduced the woman to nothing more than an object to be destroyed. The more he thought about it, though, the more it made sense. Think of her as a target and not a person allowed him to stomach the idea of killing her easier.
"I..." he stopped for a moment to be sure he could do this, "I'll do it."
Hiroto nodded, "Be sure. It makes you no less of a person if you choose not to do this."
"No..." Masaru squared his shoulders, "I can do this. I have to do this."
Before his sensei could say anything else, he leapt the railing into the pit.
XxXxXxX
"Let's start with an easy one," Kurenai set down her tea, "What are the two primary types of genjutsu?"
"Easy is an understatement," Osamu stated with a hint of amusement, "External and internal. The first is experienced by everyone in range of their senses; the second is experienced only by the targets."
"Good," Kurenai smiled at his arrogance, "How many senses are there, and what are they?"
Osamu cursed under his breath. He always got this one wrong, and she would never tell him what he was missing, "There are nine," she nodded in agreement, "Sight, hearing, scent, taste, touch, time, balance, body orientation..."
"Proper terms, please," she interrupted.
He rolled his eyes. She was such a stickler for exact wording, "Proprioception."
He stalled there, trying to think of an answer for the last one.
"Come on, Osa-kun," she goaded, "You haven't figured it out yet?"
He wracked his brain for the right answer. He could name his own unique spiritual sense, but that didn't occur in everyone. It would also be going against his sister's orders about keeping their powers a secret.
"I'll give you a hint," she finally said, "It has something to do with why I find it odd you can always tell it's me."
He considered her most recent attempt to fool him. The illusion of Iruka had been really good. Practically perfect. He didn't doubt that he could have touched it. That meant the last sense wasn't internal. Could it be...
"Chakra," he ventured cautiously.
"Good!" Kurenai congratulated clapping her hands together, "It's about time you got it. Everyone can sense chakra from the tiny emanations that come off of living creatures. Some are more sensitive than others, though. I thought you were a natural sensor after our first meeting."
"I kinda am," he admitted truthfully.
"That's the thing," she went on, "You can't identify someone by their chakra. You can ballpark based on the strength of the signature or natural affinities, but there is no real way to be accurate. There are most likely exceptions out there, though."
That was good info to have. A decent sensor could probably easily pick him out of a crowd simply for his unusual chakra.
"Hmmm," she tapped her chin in thought, "How many genjutsu techniques are there?"
"That's a trick question," he fired back immediately, "There is really only one technique. Chakra is shaped solely based on your imagination when forming the illusion."
"Why are hand seals necessary, then?" she countered, "And why do they differ from illusion to illusion."
"Hand seals aren't truly necessary for any technique," he answered, drawing on the chakra training his sister had put him through, "They aid us in shaping chakra by calling up the proper thought patterns required. The same goes for naming the technique. It solidifies the process in our mind."
"My, my," she said mockingly, "Quite the academic. So why is there only one true genjutsu?"
"Because the initial shape is always the same; even with internal and external forms," he shot back smugly, "The differences in the constructs are subtle. That's why those who can see chakra directly can recognize genjutsu so easily. Seen one, seen 'em all."
She smiled at him, taking a small amount of pride in his progress, "There are ways to fool that, by the way, but I think I'll let you develop your own. I think I have taught you just about everything I can. You have all the necessary tools to become a genjutsu master in your own right."
He smiled happily at the praise. Genjutsu wasn't just something he excelled at. No one else in his peer group knew more than how to identify and break the illusions. He could already weave together genjutsu that could fool two senses at once in an area, and three if he targeted only one or two people.
He stood and bowed to her, "Thank you for teaching me, Kurenai-sensei."
She rose herself and stretched languidly, "You have been an excellent student. Thank you for the tea, but I need to go prepare my test site."
He saw her to the door and remained smiling until he found his cat outside with a rabbit in her bloody maw.
"Yancha," he said in exasperation, "How many times do I have to tell you. You do not need to hunt for me. I'm growing just fine."
XxXxXxX
"UAGH! Where is that one eyed bastard!?" Naruto cried out in disgust, throwing himself down onto the grass. He swore he could hear a grunt of agreement from the bastard nearby.
He heard the approach of footsteps from behind, and craned his neck to see the Uchiha himself approaching. The dark eyed boy stopped a few feet away and began to stare, as if unsure how to start a conversation.
"Yes..." Naruto asked in a leading manner. He didn't like Sasuke at all, but Hiroto had made it clear that he should at least make an effort to keep it cordial.
"That other jonin yesterday... you called him Nii-san," Sasuke stated flatly.
"Sure did," Naruto confirmed, biting back the smart-ass remark that had come to mind first, "What about him?"
"He seemed to know our sensei. Did he tell you anything?"
Naruto sat up and turned around to face Sasuke. Sakura had taken an interest in the conversation, as well, and wandered closer.
"Umm..." Naruto stalled to dredge up what he had learned from a night of pestering Hiroto, "He's supposed to be some sort of prodigy. Graduated the academy at six, was a chunin before ten, and a jonin at our age."
The other two genin stared in disbelief at the description. They couldn't reconcile their image of the lazy slouch with it.
"He's also never passed a team," Naruto went on grimly, "Nii-san wouldn't tell me anything about the test, though. Said it was a professional courtesy... why are you looking at me like that?"
Sakura started in surprise when he said that last part as she realized he was talking directly to her. She had been staring at him oddly. She had never expecting the class clown to go out of his way to find information on anything, "I just... didn't expect..."
"Didn't expect me to be a fountain of information?" Naruto chuckled mirthlessly, "Guess I brought that on myself."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Sasuke asked. He was a little surprised, too.
"Nii-san told me that you should always strive for people to underestimate you," the blonde explained, "Guess I went a little too far."
"You mean all those bad grades are just for show?" Sakura asked. A slight hope that she wouldn't have to deal with dead weight was starting to shine.
"Actually..." Naruto began to rub the back of his head nervously, "I suck with theory stuff, so most of my grades are pretty accurate."
Sakura's face fell, the brief moment of hope over.
"What about practical stuff?" Sasuke asked with a slight hint of interest.
"Nii-san's been training me since I was five," Naruto said proudly, "I can hold my own."
"We'll see," Sasuke shot back incredulously. He wasn't willing to take the clown's word for it, but he was willing to see what he could do. Sasuke needed strong people around him to help drive him to new heights.
Naruto just snorted at his tone, "You ever evade every chunin on patrol in the village after managing to paint the whole Hokage Monument."
He smiled to see that shut Sasuke up.
"You got caught by Iruka-sensei, though," Sakura piped in.
"Yea," he agreed with an embarrassed grin, "I broke Nii-san's first rule."
"What's that?" the Uchiha asked.
"Never stop to gloat," Naruto answered.
Sakura face-palmed, but Sasuke's lips actually quirked ever so slightly in amusement, "That's actually some good advice."
Anyone passing by might have thought the Uchiha had uttered a pronouncement to the end of the world by the way Naruto and Sakura were gawking at him. He ignored them and walked back to his tree to resume his wait. Naruto shook off the shock first. Seeing he had Sakura away from Sasuke, he took his chance.
"Hey, Sakura-chan," he said brightly, "Want to get some ramen after the test?"
Her back went rigid as her automatic Naruto-date-request-response-mode activated. She turned and walloped him across the head, "NO, YOU IDIOT! HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO SAY IT?"
Sakura immediately calmed when she saw she had grounded the would-be paramour. She looked back towards Sasuke, and, as if she hadn't just flogged one of her teammates, glided over to him as gracefully as she could.
"Sasuke-kun," she lilted, batting her eyelashes, "Want to get something to eat after our test."
She completely missed his eye twitching in annoyance.
XxXxXxX
"Bout damn time, ya little shit."
The woman known as 'Widow' was, Masaru decided, extremely rude.
She might have been quite attractive once. Time in prison had taken the luster out of her auburn hair and green eyes, and the baggy beige uniform forced onto the prisoners hid much of her petite frame. She was looking at him with the same sort of expression he'd seen on the faces of the cats around the Sakibou land as they stalked prey.
She was unchained and unguarded, and he could see the dull gleam of a kunai in her right hand. He surmised quickly that this trial wasn't just to see if he could do the deed; it was designed to measure his skills in real combat. He doubted seriously that his sensei would put his life in terrible danger for the sake of a test, but he could tell this woman was a killer and wouldn't think twice about slitting his throat.
He drew a single kunai from the pouch on his left hip and began to stalk forward cautiously. He maintained a ready stance as he moved, just as Iruka had taught the class. Widow just smiled eerily at him and rushed forward all at once. Her right hand shot out in a sloppy attempt to pierce his heart. He easily moved out of the way, but alarms went off in his head when he noticed the air was moving wrong. He immediately dove into a forward role, and the action saved his life. Instead of a sliced throat, he had a light graze across the shoulder.
"Damnit!" Widow cursed as she faded into sight a short distance away.
"Chakra savant," Masaru muttered, suddenly realizing his sensei had been giving him hints. He squared with her again, paying careful attention to all of his senses like Osamu had taught him.
"I don't suppose you could just die?" Widow asked with a pout.
"Not likely," Masaru said mildly as he reached into the pouch on his right hip. He pulled out a handful of small pellets and scattered them about his position.
Widow narrowed her eyes, trying to discern their purpose, "C'mon... If I win I get to leave this hell hole."
That explained how Hiroto had managed to talk a death row inmate into this little show. He highly doubted the jonin had any intention of following through on that promise, "You'll be leaving. Don't worry."
She snarled at him, and rushed in again. Instead of watching her approach, he kept his eyes on the pellets he had thrown around himself. He saw one of the pellets go off with a hot flash and loud bang and threw his kunai towards it. He was rewarded with a yelp of pain, and Widow faded back in favoring a leg and a limp bleeding arm.
"The hell was that?" she growled, limping backwards away from him. He could see a hint of fear in her eyes.
"Mini-mine," Masaru explained, "Pressure sets off an exothermic chemical reaction."
She just stared dumbly at him.
"You step on it, it explodes," he dumbed down in exasperation, "Hardly lethal, but worse than caltrops."
He considered his target carefully. She was fast, but untrained and a bit clumsy. Her genjutsu was impressive at first glance, but compared to the intricate illusions Osamu could construct, they were easy to see through. Now that he had injured her, it would be safer to close with her.
He did just that. He leapt free of the mini-mine field he had created and charged her. He realized his mistake when she smiled viciously at him. Widow's hurt foot shot up in a powerful kick when he came within range. So surprised by the act was Masaru, the foot found its way into his crotch. Stunned and sickened from having his groin assaulted, he was unable to dodge the hammer blow to his temple. He fell to the dirt, his vision wavering.
Her form blurred slightly and he saw that she had used her illusions to seem far more hurt than she actually was. Widow knelt next him, the kunai she held hovering teasingly over his heart.
"Poor little boy," she mocked the tone of a worried mother, "Got hurt playing at being a shinobi."
Even with his head swimming he felt a jolt of anger surge through him, "I am a shinobi," he growled out.
Her only answer was to plunge the blade down with a cruel laugh. She didn't see his hand come up at the same time, palm pointed at her heart. In his fear, rage, and desperation, Masaru could barely control the chakra he directed into the seal.
Time seemed to slow to a crawl as the kunai she held drew closer to his chest. The seal on his hand wavered from the sheer amount of chakra he had given it, but it held and, more importantly, activated. A kunai burst forward so fast that Widow was thrown backwards as it entered, then passed completely through, her body with a fountain of red gore. A loud cracking sounded through the prison as the flying kunai buried itself in the stone of the pit wall.
She lived long enough for the surprise to show on her face. The kunai that had been about to plunge into his chest had fallen from suddenly weak fingers before the blade could even pierce his skin. Her eyes went glassy, and it was a small mercy the momentum of the kunai had carried her backwards so he couldn't see the death mask for more than a moment.
He stared dumbfounded at the corpse. He had entered the pit with every intention of doing what he had just done. Now that the deed was done, he felt sick to his stomach. He rolled to his hands and knees and painted the hard packed earth with his breakfast. He felt a strong hand on his shoulder when he was done.
"You going to be alright?" his sensei asked.
"I..." he shivered a bit, "I don't know."
He looked again over at his handiwork. Tonbo was crouched over the body. He had it turned on its side to examine the ragged exit wound from the launched kunai.
"How did you do this, Masaru-kun?" he asked in bewilderment, "I felt a chakra spike and thought you used some sort of jutsu, but I found the kunai..."
The teen turned away from the body and focused on the technical nature of the question, "I made a seal that can properly launch small objects. I put one on each of my palms."
Hiroto grabbed hold of one of his hands and inspected the seal there. He let the hand and the subject drop, however, "Come on. Let's get you back to Konoha."
"What about..." he waved in the general direction of his victim, unable to look again.
"I will dispose of the body and clear the yard," Tonbo answered.
They departed in haste, Masaru setting a break-neck pace as if to run from what had just happened.
"Seventeen," Hiroto finally said as they came up to the gate and slowed so the guards didn't think they were invaders.
"What?" Masaru asked, confused. He had been lost in his own dark thoughts. He had been wondering how the sun could still be shining, or how the gate guards could greet him with any hint of friendliness after what he had just done.
"That's how many people she killed before she was caught," Hiroto explained quietly, "She would murder women and take their place using her illusions as a disguise. After that she would kill their husbands or lovers."
The boy stared dumbly at his sensei, "Seventeen people..."
"We caught her as she was about to kill her ninth male victim," Hiroto went on, "As I understand it, she was very upset that she wasn't able to complete the pair."
It wasn't much, but knowing the woman he had killed was so despicable lifted a tiny bit of weight off his shoulders, "Thank you, sensei."
Hiroto checked the position of the sun, "I still have about an hour before it's Hotaka-kun's time. I'll take you home."
XxXxXxX
Natsumi looked up from her work when she heard the door to her workshop open. She took in the bloodied and miserable appearance of her son, then the grim expression on the man standing behind him.
"Did he fail?" she asked seriously. She wasn't sure what her son had just been through, but the look on his sensei's face didn't look good.
"He passed," Hiroto answered.
"Then what's with the gloomy looks?" she asked a bit confused.
"His test was to execute a death-row prisoner," the jonin explained, "The death was somewhat messy, but it was quick."
Natsumi's brows shot up at the proclamation. She looked closer at her only child. Sure enough she could see the haunted look almost everyone she had ever known had after their first kills.
"C'mere, boy," she ordered gruffly.
He approached warily, like a timid wild animal. When he was close enough, she enveloped him in a tight embrace, "You didn't do anything wrong, Masa-kun," she whispered to him gently. Such shows of maternal affection were rare for her, but she knew he needed it.
She could feel him shaking a little, but he didn't cry. She was proud of him for that.
"Tell me, Hiroto-san," she said to the man icily without letting go of her son, "Is this how they tested you in Kumo?"
"I can't quite remember my genin test," he admitted, "I take it you do not approve."
"As a mother... no," she agreed slowly. She really had to consider that her son was a full fledged ninja, though, "but as a shinobi, I have to say you did the best thing you could for him."
"How can I expect Mayu-san and Ren-san to feel about this?" he asked her.
"Mayu might try to kill you at first," she warned seriously, "But she will accept it after she calms down. I'm not sure about Ren... I don't know if she has ever killed before."
Hiroto nodded in thanks and left. She continued to hold her child until the light shaking stopped and he pulled away on his own, "Better?"
He nodded, though his eyes were still haunted. He would have nightmares tonight; she was sure.
"Kaa-san, why do you never talk about Tou-san?" he asked her seriously.
She almost shut him down as she always did, but the tone of his voice gave her pause. She sighed sadly, "Because I can't." she admitted.
The confused look on his face was all the question she needed, "His existence is a class-S secret," she explained.
His face fell, and in light of what he had been through she felt she owed him something, "He was a good man, Masa. Intelligent, driven, and a bit scatterbrained. One day I will tell you all about him, but for now I can't."
He sighed in defeat and slumped down on a nearby stool, staring off into space. She went back to her work, understanding that he needed time.
XxXxXxX
Hotaka landed lightly on his feet and stared daggers at the tree he'd been using. It was covered in the scars of his previous attempts to scale it without his hands, but none of those marks were above the first branch just under ten feet up. He was covered in sweat from the exertion, but he was used to such discomforts.
"Do you ever stop training?" he turned around to see his sensei walking up.
"Kaa-san makes me take breaks," he replied, annoyed by the thought, "And she won't let me exercise on Sundays."
Hiroto shook his head in mild amazement, "I'm surprised you are already attempting tree climbing."
"I can't master Koodorikaze without it," he explained, "First I must be able to stick to solids. Then I must be able to walk upon water. Once I can do that, I can learn to walk on the air itself."
Hiroto's eyebrows went up ever so slightly, "Your Tou-san's style called for walking on air... I would very much like to see that."
"Well, then," Hotaka smiled brightly, "Let's get this test over with, and we can get down to some real training."
Hiroto nodded, and the genin found his frown a bit foreboding, "Follow me, then."
A/N: This slower update rate is much better for me. I'll try to keep it as constant as I can. To tell the truth, I'm quite surprised I've stayed as focused on this as I have. Used to be I would start writing something and then my muse would just fly away with it... Fickle bitch.
As a quick aside: proprioception is an actual psycho-neurological term used for our ability to sense where the different parts of our body are in relation to each other. Looks like that Psychology 101 class wasn't so useless after all.
Sakibou Ren
Rank: Watcher
Gender: Female
Birth Date: October 27
Hair: Black
Eyes: Yellow-green
Height: 5' 2" (157.5 cm)
Weight: 100 lbs (45.4 kg)
Sakibou Ren is Osamu's elder sister and the only other known survivor of their clan. Trained from an early age in the arts of diplomacy and espionage, the Sandaime makes use of her as one of his Watchers. This loose organization acts as the Hokage's spies within his own village.
Reimokushi (Spirit Sight)
Type: Kekkei Genkai (Sensory)
Rank: A
Effect: This ability is unconfirmed as an actual bloodline. It allows the user to detect spiritual energy in their vicinity. There are four types: Akumamokushi (Demon Sight), Kamimokushi (God/Divine Sight), Youmamokushi (Ghost Sight), and Reikimokushi (Aura Sight). Those with one of these abilities are collectively known as 'Spirit Talkers' by the denizens of the spirit realm. Despite the name, the ability is actually a full sensory experience, not just a visual one.