Kakashi slowly blinked his eye open, squinting up at the blurry ceiling above him that was slowly resolving into a coherent image. As he returned to consciousness he took quick stock of his surroundings. He was lying on a well worn, comfortable futon, and his headband had been tugged back down over his left eye. Absently he noted that his students had shown fair judgment in getting him somewhere indoors, and replacing his headband. A wave of weakness suddenly washed over Kakashi, and he frowned up at the unfamiliar, cracked surface above him, silently cursing. "Kuso! I used the sharingan too much."
Suddenly a woman came into view above him, peering down suspiciously at his prone form. Her blue-black hair was a lighter shade than Sasuke's, and was worn long and loose. Her hands were propped contemplatively on her hips, and her manner of speaking held a rough kindness. "Are you alright, Sensei?" Kakashi blinked slowly up at her, wondering where his gennin were as he answered her question. "No...I'll barely be able to move for a week."
As he spoke, the jounin slowly pushed himself into a sitting position, doubling over with a pained grunt as a dull pain shot through his left side. The woman eyed him with a no-nonsense look. "You shouldn't move around for a while, then." She glared down at him, and Kakashi met her gaze evenly. She had a point there. After a minute he inclined his head. "Aa." Slowly, he lowered himself back onto the futon, taking a deep breath as he relaxed back onto the comfortable pad.
As he did, he heard footsteps hurrying towards him. One heavy, thumping gait that could only belong to a civilian, along with three sets of light, quick steps that had to be his team. He was proven right as the three gennin and their client rounded the corner of the doorway in front of him. Saburo was the first to come around the corner, and his jade green eyes lit up as he caught sight of Kakashi. The boy called out over his shoulder to the others as he moved further into the room to stand at the foot of the futon. "Sensei's awake!" Sasuke and Narumi were quick to follow after their rosy haired companion, closely followed by the old bridge builder.
Saburo dodged around the futon, and came to kneel at Kakashi's left side, unconsciously covering his sensei's blind side. "The sharingan sure is amazing, Sensei, but it seems to put a lot of strain on the body. I'm not sure if it's a really worth it." Kakashi caught a glimpse of Sasuke's indignant glare, but Saburo didn't seem to notice the Uchiha's displeasure. However, Sasuke quickly turned his attention back to Kakashi, and the jounin realized that his team was worried for him. His voice softened as his lone visible eye flicked over the stressed, concerned looking youngsters, noticing that Saburo was not the only one to have instinctively taken up a subtle defensive stance around him. "I'm sorry for worrying you kids."
Before his students could reply, Tazuna piped up, his voice cheerful. "But the past is the past! You've defeated such a powerful ninja, we'll surely be okay for a while!" Saburo made a non-comital noise in his throat, his hand rising contemplatively to his chin as his eyes grew thoughtful. "Speaking of Zabuza, I wonder who that boy was. The one in the mask who took his body." Kakashi glanced over at the boy, impressed that he'd though to ask the question. Kakashi had been thinking about the boy ever since they first encountered him. Something had seemed off about him, and Kakashi hadn't survived as long as he had by ignoring his instincts. His voice, when he answered Saburo, was quiet. "He wore the mask of an oinin, a hunter nin, from Kirigakure. Oinin have...special duties." All three students homed in on him, but it was Saburo who voiced the question. "Special duties? What do you mean Sensei." Kakashi glared at the ceiling. "They are the squad assigned to deal with nuke-nin, along with the disposal of bodies. Basically, it's their duty to erase any and every trace of a shinobi's very existence."
Kakashi sighed, his eye sliding closed. He knew that this was important for his students to know, but he was not enjoying breaking this particular news to them. It was hard enough for full grown shinobi to accept, much less fresh gennin. "A shinobi's body contains many secrets. Jutsu and chakra unique to his village. Specific medicines that were used on him, and many other village secrets. For example, if I were to die, and my body were taken by an enemy shinobi, his village could gain the secrets of the sharingan. In the worst case scenario, ones techniques and strengths can be stolen. These secrets are carefully guarded by the hidden villages. So oinin hunt down nuke-nin, who have been exiled by, or have abandoned their village. They kill them, and dispose of the bodies, in order to protect the secrets of the village."
Suddenly Kakashi sat up, lifting one hand to his temple as a thought struggled to life in his mind. Narumi leaned forward and peered anxiously at him, blue eyes squinting uneasily. "What's wrong, Sensei?" Kakashi dropped his hand and looked up in surprise, his eye refocusing on his students. "Hm? Ah, what I was talking about before. It's bothering me." As he spoke, his thought resolved, and he didn't like the direction they were taking. "Oinin are supposed to dispose of the body on the spot." Saburo shifted back so that he was sitting a bit closer to Narumi, his eyebrows furrowed. "So?" Kakashi patiently continued with his train of thought. "What did the boy in the mask do with Zabuza?" Saburo scowled, obviously irritated. "How should I know? He took the body away."
Kakashi nodded once. "That's right. All he needed to bring back as proof to his village was the head. Also, the weapon he used to kill Zabuza was questionable." Sasuke frowned. "But it was just senbon..." Suddenly the boys dark eyes widened. "Wait...could it be that..." Kakashi's voice was grave when he spoke. "Aa. It's just what you're thinking." Saburo glanced over at his much admired hero in confusion, and Narumi dropped to the floor, crossing her legs and shooting Kakashi a questioning look. Before anything else could be said, Tazuna barged in, his expression irritated and confused. "What are you guys talking about?" Kakashi straightened a bit before speaking. "Zabuza is still alive."
Tazuna, Saburo, and Narumi all reared back, jaws dropping as they screeched indignantly. "EEEHHH?" Narumi waved her arms up and down frantically as she spoke. "What does that mean?" Saburo leaned forward, bracing one hand on his knee, and the other fisted on the floor in front of him. "But Kakashi-sensei, you checked that he was dead yourself!" Kakashi's voice was calm when he spoke, and his expression revealed nothing. "It's true that I confirmed his death. However, he was likely merely in a near-death state. Senbon, the weapon that the oinin used, have a low fatality rate unless they strike a critical point squarely. It's mostly used in acupuncture healing, and other medical endeavors. Oinin know the structure of the human body very well. As such, it would be easy for one of them to put a shinobi into a near death state with the use of senbon." Kakashi leaned back slightly, and began carefully listing off the reasons that had led him to this conclusion. "First, he took the corpse of Zabuza with him, even though it was obviously much heavier than him. Secondly, he used a weapon with a low fatality rate. From these two points, we can deduce that the boy was trying to help Zabuza, not kill him."
Tazuna scoffed, and when he spoke, his voice was incredulous. "Maybe you're just thinking too much, Shinobi-san." Kakashi shifted his gaze to the grizzled civilian who'd gotten them all into this mess in the first place, and when he spoke his voice was cool. "No. Once a shinobi feels that something is off, he must prepare for the worst scenario, before it's too late. This is one of the iron clad rules by which shinobi live and die." Narumi's wide blue eyes were fixed on Kakashi, her teeth bared in a feral grin, and her entire body trembling with excitement...and something else. Kakashi looked at her for a minute before it dawned on him what it was. Battle-lust. The jounin eyed her for a moment with surprise. Kunoichi were dangerous of course, as were their male counterparts. They were just as combat ready as any of the men among their comrades. However, they tended to lack the battle-lust Narumi was exhibiting, and usually specialized in ijutsu or genjutsu, filling indirect or supporting roles in a battle. Of course, there were exceptions to every rule. And Narumi was nothing if not an exception.
Saburo shifted to catch Kakashi's attention, his eyes earnest and nervous. "Sensei, how are you going to prepare for this? You're not going to be able to move for a while." Kakashi chuckled. "I'm going to train the three of you, of course." Saburo jumped, eyes widening. "Hang on a second! Even if we train, the three of us aren't going to be of much use in a fight! After all, this is the enemy that you had a hard time with, Kakashi-sensei!" Kakashi met the boys agitated glare calmly. "Saburo. Who was it who saved me when I had a difficult time? The three of you are growing at a rapid rate. Especially you Narumi." The blonde girl looked up in surprise when he mentioned her, her nose scrunching up perplexedly, creating a powerful resemblance to a fox kit.
Kakashi smiled at her, eye curving upwards in amusement. "You've grown the most." Narumi blinked at him once, then the corner of her mouth curved up into a pleased smile. Saburo glanced over at his teammate, eyes running over her calculatingly as she grinned at Kakashi. "Alright, now things are getting interesting!" A new voice suddenly came from behind the girl. "No, it's not." Kakashi looked beyond his students as they turned to face the newcomer. There stood a young boy, wearing coveralls and a hat that covered most of his head. The boy glared up at them all from under the brim of his hat. There was a moment, and then Narumi glared suspiciously back at the boy, thrusting a finger at him accusingly. "Who are you?" Tazuna brightened instantly, opening his arms to the boy. "Oh, Inari! Where were you?" The boy ran across the floor past the gennin, and wrapped his small arms around Tazuna in a hug. "I'm home, grandpa."
The woman who Kakashi had seen when he first woke stalked over from the other side of the room, braced her hands on her hips, and leaned over the boy with narrowed eyes, her voice scolding. "Inari, say hello to them. These are the ninja that escorted your grandfather home." Tazuna stroked the boys hat dotingly, a fond smile on his face. "It's okay. Right, Inari?" The boy turned his rebellious glare back on the three gennin, all of whom stared back at him, unimpressed and confused by the boys behavior. Inari stepped away from his grandfather, and turned to his mother, voice flat. "Mom, they're going to die. There's no way anyone can win against Gatoh." Narumi shot to her feet indignantly, raising a fist in front of her irately. "What did you say, you brat?" The girls blue eyes burned fiercely as a confident grin spread across her face. "Listen up. I'm going to become a hero, a great ninja known as Hokage. I don't know who this Gatoh guy is, but he doesn't scare me!" Inari snorted. "A hero? How stupid. There's no such thing as heroes."
Narumi yelped indignantly, and lunged for the boy. "What did you say?" Before she could reach him, Saburo sprang up and grabbed her, hooking his arms beneath her armpits, and planting his feet as he held the thrashing girl back. "Stop it, fool! He's a kid! Aren't girls supposed to have some sort of motherly instinct about these things?" Inari had already turned away, and glanced carelessly over his shoulder. "If you don't want to die soon, you should go home." Kakashi glanced over at his students. Saburo was still restraining an incensed Narumi, and Sasuke was watching the boy go with a slight frown. Tazuna watched the boy go, calling after him. "Where are you going, Inari?" The boy glanced over at his grandfather. "I'll go watch the ocean." Then he was gone.
Tazuna looked over at the gennin, his tone light and calm. "Sorry about that." Narumi gritted her teeth in frustration. Then she slid out of Saburo's grasp and dashed after the boy. "Damn brat! I'm gonna give him a piece of my mind!" Saburo yelped and made another grab for her, but she was already whipping around the door. Kakashi called out sternly. "Saburo!" The rosette turned to look at him in confusion, and Kakashi shook his head once. "Let her go. They'll be fine." Saburo glanced between Kakashi and the door, and nodded once, taking a seat beside Sasuke. Kakashi then looked over at Tazuna. "Alright. Now that that's taken care of. I was wondering if you might be able to get ahold of some crutches for me..."
The next day found Kakashi and his team in a clearing located in the forest a little distance from Tazuna's house. Kakashi was on crutches, but he was upright, and outside. He had to admit that he was relieved to be back on his feet, even if he did need help to stay there. Also, he was quite pleased by the eagerness being exhibited by his students. Narumi stood, body practically vibrating with eagerness, in front of him, eyes sparkling with anticipation for the training he'd promised them. The boys stood on either side of her, eyes focused on him. Sasuke was typically aloof and composed, but his dark eyes were every bit as intent as Narumi's eager blue ones. Saburo looked more nervous and on edge than his teammates, but his jaw was set, and his jade gaze didn't waver any more than theirs. Kakashi looked over the three of them, and was pleased by what he saw. Yes, his students ought to do fine with this. When he spoke, his voice was cheerful and even. "We will now begin the training." Narumi nodded once. "Roger!" Kakashi held up one finger. "But before that, let me once again talk about chakra, the base for our abilities as shinobi."
Sasuke's eyes slid closed as he tilted his head down, and his voice was bored when he spoke. "At a time like this?" Narumi brightened, ignoring the dark haired boy, and focusing on Kakashi. "I already know about that! It's the warm glowy stuff!" Kakashi rolled his eyes a bit in amusement. Warm glowy stuff. Narumi was certainly not turning out to be a classroom learner. Luckily, he had a certified 'brain' in his team, who was already familiar with this aspect of the blonde. "Hai, hai. If you would, Saburo-kun..." Saburo turned to look at Narumi, bracing a fist on his hip as he lectured. "Listen, Narumi. I'm going to explain it in a simple manner to save time. Chakra is energy that a ninja needs to use to utilize jutsu. That energy comes from the physical energy collected in every cell in the body, and the spirit energy that comes from training, experience, and will. In other words, jutsu are powered by these two energies when they are pulled out of the body, and molded together. This creates chakra. Once one has chakra, one is able to execute jutsu by forming a hand-sign."
Kakashi eyed the pink haired boy, then nodded once in approval. A very thorough explanation, if somewhat rigid and textbook. "Correct. Ikuye-sensei was blessed with an attentive student, I see." Saburo smirked in pride at the compliment. Narumi frowned impatiently at her crush, her cheeks heating slightly in embarrassment. " What's with that? You can just learn that stuff with your body even if you don't understand the hard stuff." Sasuke inclined his head, and Narumi seemed surprised when her rival agreed with her. "Exactly what Narumi said. We're able to use jutsu anyway." Kakashi kept his expression unchanged, but he was pleased to note that the Uchiha and the Uzumaki didn't seem to disagree merely for the sake of argument. "No. You guys aren't able to use your chakra completely yet."
Narumi's eyes shot wide open. "What?" Kakashi shifted his weight a bit on the crutches. "Listen up. Like Saburo said, molding the chakra means to extract energies from both body and spirit, and then combine them in your body. Also, the amount of each energy will differ from the type of jutsu to wish to execute. Eventually, shinobi are able to combine, mold, and apply chakra instinctively. However, right now, you are not able to use your chakra effectively. Even if you are able to mold a large amount of chakra, like Narumi," Here he glanced over at the blonde "if you cannot control the balance, your jutsu will only be half as effective, or fail altogether. Wasting energy in this fashion will create an inability to fight for long periods of time, and thus weaken your combat abilities.
Narumi blinked uncertainly at Kakashi. "So...what should I do?" Kakashi eyed her for a minute. Narumi was proving to be both combat oriented, and the type to learn through experience rather than explanation, an unusual combination indeed for a kunoichi. If she proved to have the raw potential for brute strength and stamina needed to back up her natural inclinations, this ought to be right up her alley. When he spoke, his voice was serious. "You're going to learn how to control it with your body, by undergoing rigorous training." Saburo shifted nervously, and then asked the question on all their minds. "So what are we gonna be doing?" Kakashi waited a moment, and then lifted a finger, eye grave. "Climbing a tree." Narumi straightened, face blank. "Climbing a tree?"
Kakashi kept his voice was firm. "That's right. But it's not ordinary tree climbing. You're going to climb without using your hands." Saburo seemed less than impressed. "How are we s'posed to do that?" Kakashi put his hands together in a sign. "Just watch." Then he dropped his hands to grab the crutches, turned, and slowly limped over to the nearest tree. Narumi gaped in shock as Kakashi reached the tree...and continued walking straight up the side of it, apparently unaffected by gravity.
Narumi gaped, and then mumbled. "He's climbing..." Saburo took up the sentence as her voice trailed off. "...vertically with just his legs." Kakashi walked out on the underside of a branch, and turned to look back at them. "Gather your chakra at the bottom of your feet, and make it attach to the tree. Something like this is only possible with the use of chakra." Saburo glared up at him, fists clenching. "Hold on a second, how are we supposed to get strong by doing that?" Kakashi nodded once. "Now we get to the main topic. The main purpose of this training is to gain a firmer control over and familiarity with your chakra. This will especially help you get control over accumulating the proper amount of chakra in the desired part of your body. This is difficult even for a well-trained shinobi. The amount of chakra used for this exercise is quite subtle, and the most difficult place to concentrate chakra is the bottom of your feet. In other words, if you are able to master this, you will be able to learn any kind of jutsu. In theory that is."
Kakashi held up three kunai, and threw them down so that one buried itself in the ground in front of each of the three gennin. Saburo started back half a step as the kunai flew towards him. Sasuke eyed the weapon cooly. Narumi stared down at the kunai in front of her, eyes traveling along the razor sharp edge. "Use the kunai to mark where you are able to climb up with your current abilities. Then try to make a new mark above that mark. You guys aren't good enough to climb the tree just walking, so run to give yourself a boost. Got it?" Narumi swallowed nervously, and then reached out and pulled her kunai from the ground. "Too easy!" The boys both grabbed their own kunai, and joined Narumi in striking a meditative position, eyes closed, hands folded into a simple hand-sign as they focused on their chakra.
Kakashi watched as the three of them gathered their chakra, their chakra signatures spiking subtly as they worked on gathering it into the bottoms of their feet. Narumi's eyes shot open, and she grinned determinedly at the tree as she set herself to run at it. "All right! Let's go!" She charged the tree in front of her at the same time as the two boys charged theirs, and started up it. She managed to go a few steps up the tree, before too little chakra caused her foot to slip, and she crashed down onto her back with a pained yelp. Above her, Sasuke was running steadily up his tree, his upper body leaning forward as he went as if he were fighting gravity with every part of his body. Suddenly the bark beneath his foot shattered under the pressure of his chakra, leaving a deep footprint as he began to slip backwards. As he started to fall, he jerked forward and slashed at the bark, leaving a deep slash across the tree trunk a few feet off the ground. Then he somersaulted backwards through the air to land lightly on one knee.
The Uchiha glared up at the tree as if it was his personal enemy, and Narumi scowled over at him. Kakashi could practically feel the increase in competitive energy. Suddenly Saburo's voice rang out from somewhere off to the side of Kakashi. "Hey, this is easier than I thought!" Kakashi turned his head to glance over into the tree next to him as Narumi jumped to her feet, craning her neck to look up into Saburo's tree in shock. "Saburo-kun!" The rosy haired boy was perched comfortably on a branch high above his teammates, leaning forward to grin down at them with his arms resting across his knees, and his legs swinging playfully. The kunai was buried casually in the trunk next to him, and he'd squinted one eye closed in a mischievous expression of delight.
Kakashi blinked, and his voice was wry. "Oh? It looks like the one who is the best at chakra control is Saburo." Inwardly he was quite surprised. It seemed the dynamic of this team was going to be more than a little unusual. If what he was seeing now was an accurate indication, they were going to have the kunoichi as the heavy hitter, and one of the boys in the supporting role. He supposed that if Sasuke were to follow the pattern, he would end up a ninjutsu or weapons specialist. Narumi beamed excitedly up at Saburo, flushing slightly and clapping her hands. "Awesome, Saburo-kun! That's amazing! To get it right your first try is so cool. " She faltered a bit, and glanced down. Kakashi eyed her. Most kunoichi her age were more concerned with the boys around her than any training. But while Narumi most definitely had it bad for Saburo, she also seemed annoyed by the ease with which he'd beaten her. Sasuke glanced away and muttered under his breath. "Kuso."
Kakashi smiled over at Saburo, who had flushed a bit when Narumi complimented him, but dropped his head with a discouraged sigh when his hero had cursed. "Your knowledge of chakra was splendid, and you also have good stamina and control. Maybe it's Saburo, and not a certain someone else, who is closest to becoming Hokage right now." Narumi closed one eye, half scowling as she peered up at her sensei with resignation. Kakashi suppressed the urge to grin. Then the jounin's gaze slid over to Sasuke, and he continued. "The Uchiha clan isn't as great as I thought either." Sasuke furrowed his brow, the corner of his mouth curling up in a silent growl at the prod to his clan pride. Saburo growled, shaking a fist at Kakashi. "Oi! Shut up, Sensei!"
Kakashi ignored the rosette, watching the other two to see how they would react to his comments. Narumi glanced over, and locked gazes with the dark boy at her left. The two glared ferociously at each other. Narumi broke the deadlock first, looking back at her tree with a feral grin. "Alright, I'm going to master this before Sasuke-teme! I'm going to do this!" Sasuke snorted, and shifted back to face his own tree. Narumi's feral grin spread a bit, as if she were privy to an inside joke, and Kakashi puzzled over that before dismissing it. As his students were preparing for their next run, he became aware that Inari's presence had moved away from the clearing and was heading back to the house. And that was for the best. This way, there was no chance he would pipe up and distract his students during their training. With a content sigh, Kakashi moved back towards the ground, where he need not expend chakra to watch the coming spectacle.
Hours later, Kakashi stood in a relaxed posture, still watching his team. Narumi was rushing up her tree. She was covered in scrapes and bruises, strands of her hair had begun to work themselves free of her loosening braid, and her clothes were smudged with dirt and grime. She had at least gained a better feel for her chakra, because when it began to waver she lunged forward, scoring the bark of the tree with her kunai before falling backwards. She twisted her body, managing to land heavily in a crouch.
Sasuke's tree was now scored with the marks of a kunai knife in a closely set crisscrossing pattern that extended a good three feet up from the the original mark and the footprint embedded in the bark from Sasuke's first effort. Sasuke himself was crouched not far from Narumi, similarly disheveled and covered in scrapes and bruises. The Uchiha was also panting heavily, his stamina apparently wearing thin more quickly than the kunoichi he was competing with. His dark eyes were fixed on the stretch of bark that he'd etched with a series of gashes.
Saburo was stretched out behind both of them on the ground, sprawled out with his head resting against the base of his tree. His chest was heaving up and down, and the bangs that flopped wildly over his hitae-ate were plastered to his skin with sweat. Unlike Sasuke and Narumi, who were still attempting to get to the halfway point of their trees without falling, Saburo had spent the entire time walking up and down his tree. Therefore, he lacked the extensive scrapes, bruises, and dusting of dirt that the others had gained through crashing repeatedly to the ground. While Saburo's control was far beyond either Sasuke or Narumi's he had eventually complained of exhaustion, claiming that he was burnt out, before collapsing onto the safety of the ground.
Narumi craned her neck back to stare up at the crosshatched pattern she'd carved into her tree. Kakashi watched as Saburo's eyes slid open and moved to watch the girl. He wasn't sure he liked the scornfully expectant look the boy fixed on his teammates back. While he was aware that Saburo was not personally fond of Narumi, that didn't mean he had to like seeing the other boy exhibit disdain for his teammate. Kakashi wondered if he should say something to the boy, but hesitated to bring it to Narumi's attention. Considering the girls life up to this point, she hardly needed to feel that she faced similar prejudice from her teammates.
Suddenly, Kakashi's attention was drawn to Narumi when she cursed loudly. "Kuso!" When Kakashi looked over to her, he found her on her feet, glaring at the tree indignantly. Suddenly, she brightened, whirled around, trotted over to Saburo, and crouched to look at him. Surprised, the rosette sat up, the scornful expression vanishing off his face as she leaned forward and brought her hand up to cup around her mouth as she spoke softly to him. "Hey, can you give me some tips?" Kakashi blinked, and increased chakra flow to his ears to hear her better as she spoke to the boy. "Just...don't tell Sasuke-teme, ne?"
Kakashi was surprised, and watched as Sasuke looked over to stare at Narumi's back in bemusement, obviously curious about the whispering. Then his eye slid back to the oblivious blonde girl. 'Huh, she's catching on. From now on she'll get stronger and stronger. After all, Narumi possess even greater raw reserves of chakra than Sasuke. In fact, her reserves even surpass my own.' As Kakashi watched Narumi and Saburo whispering back and forth, he felt a sense of pride, and expectancy flowering within him. 'You're going to be something, Narumi. I can't wait to see how you turn out.'
"Kuso!" Narumi sat on the ground, leaning back and supporting the weight of her battered and exhausted body on her arms, legs splayed out in front of her as she panted, squinting up at the tree in front of her in frustration. It was outlined against a beautiful sunset sky, washed in warm pinks, oranges, and purples. She had yet to conquer it. Growling in frustration, she shook her fist at it and shouted angrily. "What's with this thing!"
Off to her left, Sasuke was half kneeling, an arm slung heavily across the leg that supported his weight, while his other hand was braced on the knee that touched the ground. He too was looking worse for wear, and he too was heaving for breath in the twilight, glaring up at his tree. Kakashi-sensei and Saburo had long since left, Kakashi to return to the house, and Saburo to guard Tazuna at the bridge, as he had already mastered the exercise.
Narumi heaved in another breath, gritted her teeth, and turned to glare at her dark haired rival. Sasuke glared right back at her with equal determination. Their eyes still locked on each other, they both stood at the same moment. Narumi's brows lowered and her glare intensified. 'I'm not going to lose to you!' Sasuke's face darkened as well. Then they both turned away, launching themselves across the clearing with a ferocious cry, and shooting up the trunks of the trees.
Narumi's body ached, and exhaustion was nagging relentlessly at her. Her stomach was rumbling for food, and she wanted nothing more than to collapse on the ground below the tree. Her braid was sagging, loose hair escaping it only to be matted to her neck with sweat. But she didn't think about any of that. She focused only on the constant burning flow of chakra in the soles of her feet. As she surged up the tree, her pace steady even as her body fought for breath, all that she was conscious of was the tree beneath her feet, the feel of her chakra, and the rival beside her. One thought dominated her mind, and it was towards this goal that she bent her will. 'I will not lose to Sasuke!'
As twilight faded into evening and the hours dragged on, Narumi continued. Over and over, forcing her body up the tree. Always Sasuke's presence was beside her, his scent filled with determination and competitive pride. Always she refused to fall behind, matching him step for step. Then came a time when she lost her grip, falling from the tree to land upright on the ground. Her body struggled for breath, even as her blue eyes searched out the figure of her rival, as he continued further up the tree, feet striking the trunk with a rhythmic thump.
She glared upwards, even as her eyelids grew heavier yet, and her chest heaved for breath. 'Kuso, kuso! Sasuke is still climbing!' When Sasuke lost his grip on the tree, he lashed out and scored the tree with a cry, before springing back and forth between her tree and his to control his descent. When he reached the ground, he skidded a bit across it, throwing up a few rocks as he ground to a stop.
Narumi watched him from the crouch she'd dropped into, then gritted her teeth and shook her head. 'Damn it...no, no! My mind will be disturbed if I focus on Sasuke!' Shoving thoughts of her rival away, she focused on the reply Saburo-kun had given her when she'd asked for advice. "First, chakra uses your spirit energy, so don't get tense or too eager. Relax and focus on collecting a constant amount of chakra at the bottom of your feet." Narumi closed her eyes and focused on the warmth of her chakra, collecting it into a steady flow in the bottom of her feet. 'All right, this is going well.' Carefully keeping her focus on the control of her chakra, she opened her eyes. 'Okay, I can do this!' As she started forward, Sasuke's voice suddenly startled her. "Oi! Narumi." Surprised, she stumbled, missed a step, lost her hold on the chakra, and went heavily to her hands and knees.
Anger flared in her, and she twisted to glare irately at the boy over her shoulder. "Damn it, Sasuke-teme! Don't bother me when I'm concentrating!" Turning, she sat, leaning forward on her hands to glare at him. Sasuke blinked and looked uncomfortable. "Um, well..." Narumi eyed him suspiciously, sitting back to cross her arms. "What?" She squinted at him, uncertain of where this was going. 'It's rare for this guy to come talk to me.' Sasuke looked away from her, a light blush of embarrassment tinging his cheeks.
With a great effort, he twisted his face back to face her, and Narumi was confused to see that now he was not only blushing, but one of his eyebrows was twitching madly, and it seemed like it was difficult for him to speak. "You asked Saburo for tips before, right?" Looking away, and focusing on anything but the kunoichi in front of him, he muttered the rest of his question. "What did he tell you?"
Narumi's eyes shot wide open, and she stared at him blankly. For a moment she wonder wildly if someone might have stolen her teammate and replaced him with some sort of Sasuke look-alike. Then a wide, foxy grin spread across her face. After a minute, she wiped the look away, replacing it with a carefully smooth expression as she answered in a lazy drawl. "I won't tell."
Sasuke's head shot around, eyes wide, brows snapping together as he glared incredulously at her, eyebrow still twitching madly. He glared down at her, and she stared placidly back up at him. As their gazes locked, the competition kicked up to a whole new level.
Narumi shoveled down her rice as fast as she could. Sasuke sat opposite her, doing his best to equal her speed. Tazuna was speaking but the two of them were too busy glaring at one another to really register anything he said. Saburo, who was sitting between the two of them at the end of the table was staring back and forth between them with wide eyed disgust, obviously unable to comprehend what was going on.
Narumi shot up out of her seat suddenly, holding out a bowl and declaring in a hurried voice "Seconds, please!" She found she was speaking in chorus with Sasuke, and glared across the table to find that he'd taken the same action at the same moment. For a moment they locked gazes, growling at each other, and Narumi could have sworn lightning arced between them with a dangerous zap. Then her stomach suddenly rebelled, and she had to return to her seat, bending over in an effort not to retch. Her only comfort was that Sasuke was in an identical situation.
Saburo shot to his feet, glaring back and forth between them indignantly. "Oi! If you're gonna make yourself sick, don't eat!" Sasuke glared over the table at Narumi, though his words were directed at Saburo. "No, I'll eat." Narumi grinned as best she could, though her stare was still locked with the Uchiha's. "Me too. I've gotta eat up while I can and get stronger!" On Narumi's other side, Kakashi-sensei crossed his arms and nodded sagely in agreement. "Mm. But making yourself sick isn't good."
Tsunami, Tazuna's daughter, came around to take the plates, and replaced them with cups of tea for everyone, including Inari, while she went to wash the dishes. While she was busy at the sink, Saburo finished his tea, and wandered over to a picture hanging on the wall. Narumi glanced over at it, curious as to what had caught her teammates attention. It depicted Tazuna and Tsunami crouching happily on either side of a laughing Inari. Someones hand was in the boys hair, ruffling it affectionately, and their legs could be seen from where they were standing behind Tsunami. But the top left quarter of the picture where that person should be was torn off.
Saburo cocked his head, examining it for a moment, before speaking tentatively. "Ano...why are you hanging a torn photograph?" Turning, he glanced over his shoulder towards the table where everyone but Tsunami was still sitting. "Inari-kun was watching it all through dinner. It looks like someone intentionally tore out the fourth person in the picture."
Narumi tensed as the scents in the kitchen suddenly thickened. Inari's filled with pain and anger. Tsunami's and Tazuna's also held pain, but were mixed with concern and alarm. Narumi glanced over at Kakashi-sensei, who had turned to focus on Tsunami. When the woman spoke, Narumi was surprised at how calm her voice was, especially given the fact that the whole family's scent was screaming agitation. "It's my husband." Tazuna leaned forward, eyes distant, and voice sad. "He was the man known as the hero of this town."
Inari silently climbed down from his seat, and started walking towards the door. Tsunami turned around, and while her voice stayed mostly even, her expression was distressed. "Inari, where are you going?" The boy left without answering, closing the door firmly behind him. Tsunami followed after him, pausing at the door to glare over her shoulder at Tazuna, her tone scolding. "Father, I told you not to talk about him in front of Inari!" With that she swept from the room, and was gone.
Narumi stared after the two of them, confused by their sudden exit. Saburo was a kind person by nature, so she wasn't surprised when he sounded repentant and concerned. "What's wrong with Inari-kun?" Kakashi-sensei spoke up, addressing Tazuna, and by default making him the center of attention for Narumi and her team. "It seems there's a reason behind this." Tazuna looked down, and when he spoke, his voice was tired.
"Inari and his father were not blood related, but they were still as close as any true father and son. Inari used to laugh a lot back then. But...things changed. All because of that incident." Kakashi's voice was questioning when he spoke. "Incident?" Tazuna wiped tears from his eyes and nodded. "Yes. You see, Kaiza, Inari's father, was the hero of this island. He was a fisherman who came to this island seeking his dream. Inari became very attached to Kaiza. He followed him around everywhere, and Kaiza quickly became part of our family."
"Kaiza was also a guy that we needed in this town. He was our courage. Once, when the village was about to be flooded, Kaiza took a rope and dived into the current. He swam out to the gate of the dam, fastened the rope to it, and came back to help us pull it closed and keep the village from being destroyed. After that, the people here started calling Kaiza a hero, and Inari was incredibly proud of him."Narumi smiled, resting her head on her arms. She liked this story, and Kaiza sounded like he'd be a great hero. Maybe not on par with the Hokages, but the kages were special.
Tazuna's voice roughened a bit as he continued. "But then Gatou came. And one night, Kaiza was taken away by his goons. The next morning, we were called to a large area near the center of town that Gatou had fenced off. The whole town came. And we found Kaiza. He was bound to a post, with Gatou and his goons around him. He had been badly beaten, and both his arms were broken. Gatou accused him of disrupting the order of the country, and had him...executed. Inari was there. Kaiza...Kaiza was smiling at him 'till the end." Tazuna sighed. "Inari changed ever since that time. Tsunami and the people of the village as well."
Narumi glared at nothing, remembering Inari's disparaging comments about heroes. The way he'd said they were all going to die. The way she'd heard him crying in his room when she'd followed him up there after he'd predicted their deaths. Inari didn't believe in heroes. But that was wrong. Konohagakure was full of heroes. Not just the Hokages, but all the shinobi whose names were carved on the memorial stone, and many more besides. Narumi had grown up in a village of heroes, and something deep within her bridled at the thought of someone destroying a hero to such a degree that he wasn't even remembered respectfully.
In one motion, she stood up, and shoved away from the table, snagging her jacket from where she'd draped it across the back of the chair. She'd been sitting still for so long that her legs didn't obey her right away, and got tangled. A sudden wave of tiredness hit her at the same time as she stumbled, and sent her pitching to the floor on her side. The grunt she let out as she struck the floor turned the attention of the others towards her.
Saburo frowned a little, and leaned towards her. "What are you doing, Narumi?" She heard Kakashi-sensei's voice as she moved to get to her feet. "If you're going to train, don't. You've already used too much chakra today. If you go much further, you could die." Narumi growled, and shover herself to her feet, slinging her jacket back on over her black t-shirt. "I'm going to prove it to him."
Tazuna frowned at her, making a questioning voice deep in his throat. Saburo eyed her in concern, voice slightly disbelieving. "Prove what?" Narumi turned towards the door, eyes determined. "That there are heroes in this world!" Her trademark fierce grin spread across her face as she headed outside. "I'm definitely going to prove it to him!" Shoving open the door, she stepped out into the cool of the night, and let the door fall closed behind her, cutting off the warm yellow light, and savory smells of the kitchen. Taking a deep breath, she strode back out towards the forest. She had training to do.
Narumi frowned and shifted with a slight mewl of protest. Her entire body ached, and she wanted nothing more than to sleep a bit longer. She had pushed herself well beyond her limits last night, until she'd finally collapsed onto the ground, and fallen asleep. At least, she assumed she'd fallen asleep. Because the last thing she remembered was looking up into a vast darkness, filled with countless glittering stars, and now the soft, clear light of morning was beating against her eyelids, and a hand was softly shaking her shoulder.
A gentle, slightly husky voice suddenly murmured above her. "You'll catch cold if you sleep here. Come on, wake up." With a slight groan, Narumi blinked her eyes open, squinting up at the figure leaning over her. Long dark hair draped smoothly over shoulders, and around a pale, slightly rounded face. Large, dark eyes were set in the face beneath fine straight brows, and gazed softly down at her. The person wore a tasteful pink sleeveless kimono, slightly too short for them, secured with a wide brown obi. There was also a dark choker wrapped around their throat.
Narumi blinked admiringly up at them, somewhat dazed. 'What a beautiful person.' As the person above her moved back, she sat up, and scrubbed blearily at one eye with a fist. Then she dropped her hand, and squinted sleepily at the person kneeling next to her. "Who're you s'possed to be?" Narumi had been puzzling over wether the person was a boy or a flat-chested girl for a moment, but she decided that it must be a girl. The older girl closed her eyes and tilted her head, an affectionate, amused smile curling her lips.
Narumi stared dumbstruck for a moment, and then blushed. She suddenly felt grubby, foolish, and childish. She looked down for a minute, then quickly yanked the tie from what was left of her braid and shook her hair out, doing her best to comb through it with her fingers. Looking back up, she continued, her words slightly rushed. "Oh! I mean...uh...hello, onee-chan. Where did you come from? What are you doing out here in the woods?"
The dark eyes slid open again, and fixed on Narumi. The older girl reached out one hand, and tucked a stray lock of hair back behind Narumi's ear. "I'm gathering herbs." Narumi blinked at her. "Herbs?" The girl smiled again and nodded. "Yes, that's right little sister. They're for treating illnesses and healing wounds." Narumi cocked her head, impressed. This girl must be a civilian healer of some kind. When she spoke, her voice was admiring. "Wow, that's incredible. Can I help?" Then her face fell and she looked back at the ground in front of her. "I don't know much about herbs though..." Kunoichi were supposed to know all about herbs and flowers and such, but Narumi had done her best to ditch as many of those lessons as possible when she was in the academy, having no patience for such pursuits.
The older girl seemed surprised, but she shook her head easily. "That's no problem, I'd be very grateful to have your help." Turning, she reached into the basket at her side, and pulled out a sprig of greenery. "They look like this, and grow abundantly in this area. I would be glad to have your help in harvesting them." Narumi beamed up at her, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly. "Great! I can do that." Jumping to her feet, she followed the older girl through the trees to a patch of the stuff.
Her companion knelt down, placing the basket at her side, and leaned down. "Pick them like this." She grasped the base of the stem gently in two fingers, and broke it off cleanly before placing it in the basket. Narumi watched her intently for a minute, and then studied the tiny plants at her feet. Shrugging out of her jacket, she tied the sleeves around her waist, and hunkered down across from her companion, and nodded her head vigorously. She wasn't as graceful as the other girl, but she managed alright.
After they'd filled the basket, Narumi sat down cross-legged in front of the other girl, and squinted across at her. "You sure do start work early, huh, onee-chan?" The other girl looked thoughtful for a moment. "I like it early. It's calm. But I didn't expect to find anyone sleeping out here in the woods." Narumi grinned widely, giggled, and leaned forward a bit, bracing her hands on her ankles as a lock of hair slid forward over her shoulder. "I'm training!" The other girl blinked at her in bemusement. When she spoke again, her husky voice was tentative. "So are you a ninja? I noticed that you're wearing a hitae-ate." As she spoke, the dark haired girl reached out and brushed her fingers softly over the grooves of the Konohagakure symbol, brushing through the wild golden bangs that fell across it as she did so.
Narumi flushed with pride. "You noticed it? Yeah, only shinobi can wear these!" The other girl pulled her hand back, watching the blonde with a calm, serious expression. "Oh really? I see, that's very impressive." Narumi rubbed the back of her head again, grinning widely in embarrassed pleasure at the praise from such a beautiful and capable older girl. Suddenly the other looked away with a serious expression. "But...doesn't that mean you're training for something dangerous?"
Narumi was a bit surprised at her tone. She sounded almost...worried. As far as Narumi could remember, no one but Ikuye-sensei had ever worried about her before. A sudden rush of warmth spread through her, and she felt a little giddy. Desperately striving to keep her face from turning any redder, the kunoichi grinned sheepishly, her voice cheerful. "Nah, I'm just developing my skills so I can get stronger." The other girl cocked her head at her, furrowing her brows slightly. "But you seem very strong now, isn't that enough?" Narumi's eyes shot wide open in surprise. "Of course not! I need to get much, much stronger, so I've got to keep training!"
The dark haired girl narrowed her eyes thoughtfully. "How so? Why is it so important?" Narumi raised a fist, clenching it tightly as she grinned excitedly. "So I can become the greatest shinobi in the whole village! Then everyone will have to acknowledge me! Plus, there's this kid that I have to prove something to!" The other girls eyes lit up, and she leaned forward slightly, her hands resting together on her knees. "So are you doing it for a certain person? Or are you doing all this training for yourself?" Narumi squinted at her, face scrunching in confusion. "Huh?" The other girl lifted a hand to her face, and laughed quietly. Narumi yelped indignantly, waving her arms. "Hey, what are you laughing about, onee-chan? What's so funny?" The other girl dropped her hand, smiling back at her with gentle benevolence. "Is there...someone who's precious to you? A girl as cute as you must have someone special."
Narumi blinked and reared back, blushing a bright red and stuttering. "Someone who...wha...what d'ya mean precious...?" The other girl looked very grave for a moment. "You see, when a person has something precious that they wish to protect, that is when they become truly strong." Narumi blinked at her uncertainly, then looked down. The image that jumped into her head then was Kakashi-sensei swearing to protect her and her teammates when he was facing Zabuza. She remembered how she had relaxed, how she'd felt the steady strength of her teachers presence washing over her. In fact, now that she thought of it, old man hokage had always said that it was the Will of Fire, the strong will to protect the village, that made Konohagakure strong. She thought of the time Mizuki had hurt Ikuye-sensei, and she had suddenly found that she was more than capable of beating the stuffing out of the arrogant traitor. Looking back up, she smiled quietly. "Yeah, I hear ya onee-chan." The other girl smiled softly back, and then stood, picking up her basket. "You will get strong. Very strong." Narumi grinned up at the other girl as she turned to leave. "Goodbye. We'll meet again, one day."
Narumi watched the other girl walking away with an admiring gaze. She sure was smart about these things, considering she was a civilian and all. Just as she was at the other side of the clearing, the other girl stopped. "Oh. By the way, I'm a boy." Narumi jumped backwards, startled, and threw up an arm in front of her. Her mouth fell open, and her face flushed an almost painful red, her eyes wide and staring after the vanishing form of the...teenage guy. She stuttered for a minute, mouth working fruitlessly, face frozen. When her strangled voice finally returned she squeaked out the first thing that popped into her head. "He...he called me cute..."
Suddenly, a hand slapped the top of her head lightly. Startled, she yelped and lurched forward. Shaking her head, Narumi leaned back, and glared up into Sasuke's face. He had just walked up from behind her, and was staring after the older boys retreating figure. After a minute, he turned to face her, arms crossed and eyes cool. "Hey dobe, did you just forget about breakfast? And why are you half dressed? And who the heck was that?" She blinked, flushed lightly again, and then chuckled up at her teammate, who narrowed his eyes, and twisted away from her, growling. Springing up, she tossed her hair over her shoulder and bolted away from him to the training clearing, leaving her teammate and his questions in the dust. She had a tree to climb.
It was about an hour and a half later when Narumi sprawled herself exhaustedly across one of the higher limbs of her tree, laying bonelessly along it like a cat. She'd re-braided her hair, and replaced her jacket as usual. Below her, Kakashi-sensei and Saburo-kun had just walked into veiw, calling for her. Saburo-kun was looking around the clearing muttering under his breath. Narumi watched them for a minute, and was both surprised and pleased when she caught an undertone of concern beneath the irritation in Saburo's scent. Tightening her grip on the kunai dangling loosely in her hand, she sent the blade hurtling down to bury itself in the ground at Saburo's feet. Both Kakashi-sensei and Saburo turned their faces upwards, and she grinned breathlessly down at them. Saburo stared up at her in surprise, and Kakashi eyed her quietly.
"What do you think, high enough for you guys? I mean it's a long way down." Bracing a hand against the branch beneath her stomach, she levered herself up and climbed to her feet. As she straightened, one of her feet slipped, and for a minute she felt the sickening sensation of falling sideways. Beneath her Kakashi-sensei cursed, and Saburo cried out in horror. Ignoring them, she quickly re-focused her chakra into the soles of her feet. At the exact same moment she latched back onto the side of the branch, a hand wrapped around her wrist. She found herself parallel to the ground, staring down at it with her braid falling forward across her shoulder, one arm stretched back behind her with her wrist caught in a vice grip. Glancing back over her shoulder, she saw Sasuke standing on the branch, his hand wrapped tightly around her wrist. His eyes were wide, and he was staring at her as opposed to his usual glare. His scent was returning swiftly to its normal, pride-laced state, but she could smell the fading traces of anxiety. "Dobe." Saburo sighed and then glared up at her, his scent abnormally similar to Sasuke's, and began scolding furiously. "Be more careful, you idiot!" Kakashi smiled cheerfully up at them, and shook his head slightly. From him, Narumi could smell only amusement. She grinned slightly as Sasuke pulled her back up onto her branch, and wondered what her teammates would think if they knew just how much she could tell about them from their scents alone. Sasuke, at the very least, would probably have a fit. For now, she thought it would stay her little secret.
Late that night, after the moon had already risen high into the sky, Narumi found herself clinging tightly to the very top of her tree. She was breathing hard, and sweating. She'd long since stripped her jacket back off for the sake of coolness, and it swayed gently around her waist. She'd also let her hair out, and wrapped the tie around her wrist, and the loose hair alternately stuck to her sweaty neck and blew out around her in the cool breeze, confined only by her hitae-ate. Sasuke was perched on the top of the tree next to her, just as covered in sweat and scrapes. He was standing with his arms crossed, and a tiny smirk playing across his face. They'd finally mastered the tree climbing exercise. Narumi heaved for breath, grinning brightly in spite of her aching muscles and stinging scrapes. When Sasuke spoke, his words were friendly. "Let's go back." It was an acknowledgement that they were both done here. Narumi's grin widened, and she nodded once. "Right."
As they both descended the trees, Narumi sucked in a deep breath. When she reached the ground, she had to take a minute to steady herself, her muscles trembling with exhaustion. As they made their way back to Tazuna's house, she stumbled a few different times, blinking her eyes hard. She was so tired, and so sleepy that she was nearly passing out on her feet. They were almost there when she stumbled again. This time, Sasuke caught her wrist, and pulled her arm over his shoulders, his other arm wrapping supportively around her waist. She blinked at him, and he rolled his eyes. "Dobe. You pushed yourself too hard. Let me help." She hesitated a minute, and then grinned, relaxing a bit and transferring some of her weight to him. "Thanks, teme."
When they finally reached the house, she pushed the door open with her free hand. As they slowly entered the house together, she felt the others attention turn to them. Kakashi-sensei, Saburo-kun, Inari, and Tazuna were seated around the table, and Tsunami was standing at the counter. The scents of food wafting through the room told Narumi that it was already time for dinner. Tazuna's rough voice rang out. "What have you been up to? The both of you look like you've been mauled." Narumi lifted her head, squinting one eye closed, and attempting to keep the other open as it threatened to slide closed. "We both made it. All the way to the top." Sasuke looked somewhat embarrassed, and she heard him mutter under his breath. "Training until she's too exhausted to move, what a dobe." She ignored him though. Kakashi-sensei looked them both over with satisfaction in his eye. "Alright, now we move on. Starting tomorrow, the two of you will help guard Tazuna at the bridge." Narumi brightened, excited at the prospect of helping with the mission again. "Right!"
Sasuke helped her over to her seat beside Kakashi, and set her down in it. Despite his muttered jab of "Dobe." as he released her, he was careful to be gentle as he settled her. She waved a hand tiredly at him, and then slumped forward over her plate of food, fighting to stay awake. Sasuke shook his head, and limped around the table to his own seat across from her, sitting down gingerly. Narumi blinked at her food, and only the insistent growl of her stomach kept her shoveling food slowly into her mouth. Frequently she had to reach up and shove her hair out of her face, but she had no energy to spare on re-braiding it.
After dinner had been eaten, Tsunami-san took away the dirty plates, and Narumi slumped forward, resting her head on her arms with a sigh of relief. Tazuna sat back off to her right with a content sigh. "Just a few more days and the bridge will be finished. I have you four to thank for that." Tsunami sighed, and shook her head at them. "Narumi-chan, Father, please don't overdo it, alright?" Tazuna waved her away, and Narumi turned her head a bit to see him staring at Kakashi-sensei. "I've been meaning to ask you this for a while. Why did you stay and protect me, even after I lied to you about the mission?"
Kakashi-sensei folded his hands in front of him, voice serious. "Those who stray from the path of justice have no courage, but under the wing of a strong leader, cowardice cannot survive." Tazuna blinked at him, obviously confused. "Huh?" Kakashi shifted to look at him. "That was a quote from the Shodai Hokage." Before either of the two adults could reply, Inari suddenly erupted, slamming his small hands down on the table, and yelling across the table at Narumi.
She was vaguely aware of Sasuke tensing, and Saburo moving as if to stand while the boy shouted. "Why do you even bother! No matter how hard you train, you're still no match for Gatou's men! You're still going to end up dead!" Narumi carefully grabbed hold of her turbulent emotions, and forced them down, not moving from her relaxed position to look at the boy. "Whatever kid. I'm not like you." The screamed reply was instant and hysterical. "I'd hate to be like you! You don't know anything! Just looking at you makes me sick! I'm different from you, who's always clowning around and acting so cheerful! You don't know what it's like to really suffer!"
Narumi snapped. Enough was enough. She was Jinchuriki! She might not have known it until recently, but for Jinchuriki, that didn't mean a thing. She had lived her whole life rejected, scorned, and isolated. The only emotion that had ever been freely given to her was hatred. It was only recently that that had begun to change. She still had to fight just to make people acknowledge her existence. This kid needed to get the hell over himself, and she intended to teach him a lesson.
"So it's okay for you to pose as the star of your own personal tragedy and cry all day?" Inari shrunk back with an indignant sounding sniffle. She lifted her head, baring her teeth in a feral snarl, eyes snapping with anger. "Just keep right on crying forever, you little sissy! You're nothin' but a coward!" The boy locked gazes with her, streams of tears running down his flushed face, his lower lip trembling furiously. Narumi looked away from him, and stood, heading upstairs to bed. Behind her Saburo stood up, shoving his chair back. "Narumi, you went too far!" She shrugged her shoulders, and snorted, not looking back at the others as she started to climb the steps. She was tired, and she wanted nothing more than a bath and bed.
A/N: Hey guys. Hope you liked this chapter! A thousand thanks to everyone who reviewed!
I tried doing a view-point switch halfway through, because I was originally thinking of breaking this up into two chapter. But it seemed so short when I looked back over them, that I reunited the parts. It wasn't too confusing, was it? And I've been meaning to ask, my natural inclination is to go for longer chapters, but would you guys prefer shorter ones? Just wondering.
Anyway, this chapter is where the big changes to the story and characters because of gender are going to start coming up. For example, Haku's place in the story. I wasn't originally sure just how I wanted to play that, just that he had to have a big influence. After all, Haku is hugely important to Naruto's growth in the actual anime and manga, so obviously he would have an equally big impact on Narumi. However, since the only person to have given me multiple reviews is a fan of naru/haku, I decided to alter the impact a bit more than I'd planned. Haku still helps Narumi realize that what she really wants is to protect her precious people. But the interaction is a bit more tender, and Haku is a bit attracted to her. Being a gentle and honest person, he can't help but express a bit of that. Narumi's too young to really reciprocate, but once she knows he's a boy, she becomes very aware of it. Haku is definitely the first boy to have treated Narumi in this fashion, so he'll most likely have a special place in her heart for the rest of her life.
I'm afraid I'm still not quite ready to write any romance into this. Narumi is only twelve, and I just can't see her developing serious romantic feelings so young. Also I'd prefer her to be a strong kunoichi in her own right before she really falls in love, for her own sake, and so the guy will know exactly what and who he's getting. So, to Mirajane Ryuu-Hitsugaya, who has so kindly given me lovely reviews, this is my nod to your first request. I'm terribly sorry I can't actually fulfill the request, but I promise to let you know as soon as I have a solid pairing in mind, and I will write a bit of romance into the story eventually. I hope that the relationship between Haku and Narumi will be at least somewhat satisfying.