Yes, I know it took me a little longer to update this one. Sorry, but during this vacations there were many things which made it hard to write (including some major, author blocks). But luckily I managed to get through them (at least for now) and thus I'm submitting the newest chapter of "Those Who Inherit the Will of Fire" (seriously, I do need a shorter name :D).
Well, most questions from last time regarded Gaki, but I'm keeping that to myself for the time being, sorry. But thanks to everyone who reviewed.
And now, without further to do:
Chapter #6: Paws and Claws
Title page: Garou is laying on a bed in his room, which is full with dogs of all races
Garou walked into the classroom with a wide smile on his face, earning questioning glares from his friends. "Since when are you so happy at the start of school?" asked Naraku completely confused.
"C'mon man, this is our last year!" replied the dog ninja cheerfully. "Just few, more months and we're out of this joint! I can't wait for the moment I'll become a shinobi! I'm positive that everyone around here is just as enthusiastic as me about it!"
Toramaru was about to reply to that, but at that moment they all heard a soft snore and as they turned around, they was Buryaku sleeping in her seat, as usual. "Yeah…" responded the white-eyed boy with a tiny smirk. "We all can barely hide our excitement…" and as he said so Shunrai giggled.
"Alright everyone, please take your seats!" Iruka's voice was suddenly heard in the entire classroom and a second later the chuunin appeared in the front of the young students in the cloud of white smoke. "As some of you notice, this is your final year in the Academy, so from the very beginning every class will be a preparation for possible, graduation exam… I won't tell you what it's going to be this year, so I advice you practice at least a little… now, tomorrow I've planned a special survival training that will be meant to prepare you for team-related missions. I've divided the entire class into three-man groups… your task tomorrow will be to reach a certain spot, but in order to do so every team will have to make its way though wild parts of the area surrounding the village. I'll read the groups right now so that you'll have a whole day to know each other a little better if you still didn't managed to during those three years…"
"Heh, this should be fun…" Garou whispered to Naraku "Survival is the thing for us, right Hanomaru?" he asked his dog, which only barked quietly in agreement. "And as long as I'm not gonna be stuck with Gaki, I'm cool with it all…"
"Next team: Uzumaki Toramaru, Shunrai and Rock Gai…" and as Iruka announced it, the fuzzy-browed boy threw his hands into the sky, stating that now he'll show everyone the power of his spirit of youth. The white-eyed boy only propped his head on his hand with a sigh 'it could be worse', thus making Shunrai giggle a little once more. The chuunin made nothing of it however and just kept going: "Next team: Uchiha Naraku, Akemi Nekata and Abunage Shimiru…"
"Huh, wha… whadda I do?" the young skateboarder suddenly asked, looking around nervously. Naraku only smacked his head against his desk after observing the whole scene as the green-hair girl began explaining to their blonde teammate why his name was called out.
Iruka's eye twitched as he gave Shimiru a death glare. He got used to Buryaku sleeping through entire classes, but for some reason when the skateboarder did the same, it annoyed him. After a second he regained his calm however and continued: "Another team: Inuzuka Garou, Hisakata Gitou and… Nekko Hinako!"
And the moment the chuunin finished that sentence, Garou's jaw practically hit the floor. In an instant he laid down onto his desk, totally depressed: "I'm so screwed…" he whined quietly, but Iruka did seem to care and just continued with the list:
"Next: Nayamasu Gaki, Uchiha Gouka and Inuwashi Ryuu…"
---Later that day---
"Why are you so depressed about it?" asked Toramaru confused when they were sitting on a rooftop near the Academy, during their lunch break. "So you got Gitou on your team, big deal! He may be a walking biology weapon, but it's not like he's Gaki…"
"You don't get it…" responded Garou still depressed. "Gitou isn't a problem here… I got teamed-up with Hinako… the two of us are the last ones you should place in one team…" and noticing Naraku's raised eyebrow, he began explaining: "Look, I'm an Inuzuka and she's a Nekko… can't you remember when I told you our two clans are rivals since the beginning of Konoha?"
"Maybe that's the reason Iruka-sensei placed you on the same team?" purposed Shunrai shyly and looking down the moment her friends stared at her a little surprise. "You know…" she finally continued, much quieter then before: "Since your two clans are such great rivals, maybe Iruka-sensei thought it'd be good if you'll learn to work even with each other… after all, you can be never sure who you'll have on your team during real missions…"
"Well, you do have a point, Shunrai…" nodded Naraku as he took a bite on his sandwich. "And besides, it's not like you can do anything to change it…" he then turned towards Garou again. "Best just accept it and go along with it…"
"I guess you guys are right…" sighed the dog boy, not even noticing that Hanomaru took his sandwich and began eating it behind his master's back. "Maybe it won't be that bad…"
---The next day---
"Alright, each of the teams received a map with the finish line of today's training…" announced Iruka to the class as all the shinobi wanabies stood outside the village. "The teachers will now guide every group to their starting location and you'll have the entire day to get to the marked spot. When I'll read your name, step forward and follow the chuunin that'll stay next to me at that time to your starting point… first: Nekata Akemi, Abunage Shimiru and Uchiha Naraku!"
In a flash the blonde reached the two chuunin on his skateboard and stopped right in front of the older man. The green-haired girl soon joined him and as the trio began walking their way, Naraku followed them with his head lowered.
"Nara Buryaku, Akimichi Choumaru and Hatake Jun!" the chuunin called out another team. Jun appeared before him relatively quick, but it took the chubby boy a minute to reach the spot as he was carrying the sleeping Buryaku on his back, who slowly began drooling on his shirt. The scar-faced ninja only shook his head slightly as he observed the trio disappearing between the trees and continued with the list: "Tashi Asuka, Aburame Kumo and Imano Dakachi!"
And the moment he said so Kumo walked forward, with hands in his pockets, along with a girl with long, red hair and blue eyes and a muscular boy with short, brown hair. The trio followed 'their' chuunin to their starting point as Iruka continued: "Hyuuga Hitomi, Kagami Akai and Megane Akumo!"
The trio walked forward, each without saying a thing and even looking at one another, Before they disappeared between the trees however, the redhead boy turned around and showed everyone a victory sign, making the rest of his classmates sweat drop.
"Uchiha Gouka, Inuwashi Ryuu and Nayamasu Gaki!" with that the two bullies walked forward with a boy with gelled up, brown hair. The chuunin felt sorry for him, but couldn't do a thing and so, without a word the four disappeared in the forest. "Shunrai, Rock Gai and Uzumaki Toramaru!"
"Yes, my spirit of youth will finally bloom!" cheered Gai as he moved in front, with a lot of yahoos and yuppies. The blonde boy walked right after him, with sweat dropping from the back of his head and the blue-haired girl giggling behind him, saying "See you later to the dog boy.
"Nekko Hinako, Hisakata Gitou and Inuzuka Garou!" and with that the redhead girl stepped forward with Garou joining her soon after. The dog ninja smiled towards the kunoichi, only to see her turn away with her arms crossed. The next moment Gitou also walked out from the crowd with a lot of coughing and thus the three followed their chuunin to the place where they suppose to begin their journey.
After a while they reached their starting point, which turned out to be a small meadow just near the mountain tops. "This is the map with the marked finish line…" announced the chuunin as he held out a scroll. Garou reached out for it, but Hinako was faster and after grabbing it, she stuck out her tongue at the dog ninja, making Gitou threw glares from one to the other of his temporary teammates. "You'll have until the end of the day to reach it… I guess that's all… good luck…" and with that he was gone in the cloud of white smoke.
"Okay…" began the redhead as she unwrapped the scroll she held in her hands. "Looking at it, it'd seem that going through the mountains is the shortest way to the finish, so it'd be logical to choose that route…"
Gitou only looked over her shoulder and after a quick analyze, he stated: "When you cough choose that route… did you take cough the fact that we'll have to cough climb… into the account?" and with that he sneezed.
"But if we won't go through the mountains, we'll have to go around them and we may not manage to get to the finish on time…" she replied worriedly. Meanwhile Garou leaned over and also took a look at the scroll and once he did so, she announced:
"I too think that the mountains are the best choice in this case…" and the moment he said so, Hinako looked at him a little surprised. The sick boy only shrugged and stated that since more people wish to take that route, he'll fit in, he began walking towards the tops.
The cat girl's face expression changed from surprise into annoyance as she stared at Garou, who now smiled weakly: "What, you want me to thank you, Inuzuka? Let's just get going or we won't making before night…" and so she followed Gitou, leaving the dog ninja behind.
Garou only let out a sigh and simply went after his two, temporary teammates. After a short run they arrived at the bottom of the mountains. The route seemed to be simple: a cliff that began at the bottom and led up the mountain. As Gitou followed it with his eyes, it soon disappeared behind the 'corner'.
"I guess this is the path we should take!" announced Hinako happily, while bending over and showing the cliff to her fellow students. "This is going to be a peace of cake, right Kuroki?" and with that she looked at the small, black cat that was now hanging on her elbow.
The cat only 'meowed' in agreement and without waiting for the two boys to give their opinion, she walked the path she choose. Garou only sighed as he looked at Gitou, who just shrugged again and followed the kunoichi.
The trio slowly walked down the trail, often forced to stick to the cold, mountain walls. From time to time strong wind started blowing, only to calm down in the next instant. Regardless, the trio kept moving forward.
After a longer while Hinako finally reached the end of the trial with Gitou not far behind. The cat girl looked around in hope to spot possible way down, but she couldn't see any. Annoy a little by that, he looked back and called after Garou: "Move it, Inuzuka! There's no way down, so we'll have to climb down from here! We can't afford waiting for you forever if we are to get to the finish spot before dark!"
"You know, being at least a little bit nicer wouldn't kill you…" replied the dog ninja now ticked. "In case you've forgotten, we're on the same team!" but as the argument was about to explode, Gitou stepped between the two, with his hands raised.
"If you'll argue… cough… we'll waste… cough… even more time…" and with that he snoozed. The animal clan prodigies looked at each other for a moment and then instantly looked away with Hinako heading towards the wall she saw fit for climbing down.
As the three shinobi wanabies began their journey back to the ground, the wind blew once more, making them tighten their grip on the mountain wall. Hanomaru whined from under Garou's jacket as cold air reached his fur.
The wind kept on blowing, its power increasing rapidly. Gitou shivered slightly as the temperature around him dropped due to the cold air. Just then Hinako's grip loosen a little and the young redhead began falling down.
In an instant, acting on instinct, Gitou let go of the mountain wall as well and flew right after the kunoichi. The moment the two found themselves coming down next to each other, Hayate's cousin reached for his sword and grabbing the cat ninja, he sunk his blade deep into the nearest stone wall.
Hinako was saved, unfortunately her cat, Kuroki, could not say the same as, even though he tried to hold on with his claws to his master, the material 'broke' once Gitou made the redhead girl stop falling suddenly and the small feline flew down right into the bushes.
"Kuroki!" was all the kunoichi managed to yell as she observed her friend disappearing behind the leaves of the tree tops. Her face turned grim immediately and as her hands laid back on the stone wall, she instantly began walking down, not waiting for the two boys.
Gitou just exchanged glances with Garou, who was slowly 'catching up' to the two and both of them speed up a bit… or at least as much as the situation allowed them to. Once the three kids found themselves at the bottom of the mountain, Hinako began calling Kuroki out, but there was no response.
"Look, I know you're sorry, but that was quite a height and I…" began Garou, but the redhead instantly made him shut up as she threw him a death glare. Her eyes narrowed for a second, before she turned away from him and said to no-one in particular:
"You know that saying that cats always fall on their feet? It's actually not just some stupid fairy tale, it's true. If they're falling from a fair height, then they can use their tail to maneuver in the air and thus turn themselves to really land on their feet… it's because of the height that Kuroki might still be okay… and if there is a chance for him to be, even though slim, I will take it…" and with that she returned to calling out her pet.
"Hey, is that cat crap really true?" Garou asked Gitou in a whisper, but the swordsman only shrugged to show that he has no idea and also started to look around for the redhead girl's feline companion.
The young Inuzuka stared at them for a moment and then turned to his dog: "Hanomaru, do you think you can catch Kuroki's scent?" the pup only let out a quiet bark before jumping out of his master's jacket and starting to sniff the area.
"Who needs your help?" the kunoichi shoot at the dog ninja with an evil glare, but this time Garou kept his calm and replied in his normal voice: "Look, you wanna find your cat or not?"
The redhead kept staring at him for few moment and most likely that's how they'd stay for quit a while if it wasn't for Hanomaru, who suddenly barked loudly, gaining everyone's attention.
As the three shinobi wanabies turn towards the dog, it began sniffing the ground near him, heading towards the bushes at the same time. Garou was the first one to follow, with the other two close behind.
As they marched forward, Hinako kept observing the dog ninja, who walked right in front of her. None of the three teens said a thing and the only noises they heard were those of a forest and Hanomaru sniffing out front.
Finally the redhead girl decided to break the silence: "Inuzuka, why do you even do this? Our clans are enemies and it's not like I even like you…"
"I know…" replied Garou without even turning around to look at her. "But that doesn't change the fact that we're on the same team… and you know, even if our clans aren't too friendly with each other, it doesn't mean that we're not allowed to be friends…" and the moment he said so, Hanomaru's loud bark was heard.
As the trio looked in the direction the small dog pointed, they all saw a tiny, frightened black cat sitting on a tree branch. The feline meowed quietly as it noticed the three kids and in the next moment the kunoichi began climbing up the three to get her companion down, after yelling 'Kuroki' cheerfully.
Soon after both the cat and the cat girl were back on the ground. The redhead looked at the sky and saw the sun slowly setting behind the horizon. "I don't suppose we'll make it in time to the finish point after all…" she stated with a little sad face.
"But we still… cough… gotta get there…" announced Gitou calmly and walked forward, for the first time making the other two follow him. After a longer journey they reached the spot they were supposed get to and saw Iruka waiting from them, along with Toramaru, Shunrai and Naraku.
"Well, you guys are certainly late…" noticed the chuunin as he threw a quick glare at his watch. "Everyone else finished the test long ago… it seems…" but just then his speech was interrupted by Hinako, who moved forward the trio and lowered her head.
"It's my fault, Iruka-sensei…" she announced, making a surprised look appear on most of the people gathered faces. "I basically forced them to go my route and it turned out a bad trail… if it wasn't for me, we might've made it in time…"
The scar-faced chuunin stared at the girl shocked for a short moment and then a smile slowly appeared on his face as he placed his hand on the girl's head: "Well, most importantly you guys made it safely so at least this part of the test you passed…" and then he looked at the dog ninja: "By the way, Garou, these guys insisted to wait for you…" and with that he pointed at Toramaru and the other two. "It's pretty late, so I guess it's up to me to bring you back to the village, so follow me…" and with that he headed towards Konoha.
"Yo, dope…" the dog boy heard a whisper as he walked and once he looked over his shoulder, he noticed that it was Hinako who was calling him. Completely surprised, he slowed down, making the two fall behind others. Once she made sure they couldn't hear her, she looked at the young Inuzuka and said: "Back there, in the forest… I guess I didn't really thanked you for helping me find Kuroki…"
And before the boy could even say something, the redhead girl kissed him on the cheek, thus making him lose all the abilities of communication he possessed so far. "So thanks…" she added with a smile, before speeding up to catch up to others.
Iruka just smiled under his nose as he observed the whole scene over his shoulder. "They were late… but it seems that at least those two learned something today…" and with that he looked up to the sky, where the full moon glowed above them.
---chapter ends---
And so this one is over. Hope you enjoyed it. Please leave a comment once you're done.
And now, before I wrap this up, here's another character profile, this time concerning the last one of the 'foursome', Garou:
Name: Inuzuka Garou
Family: naturally his father is Kiba Inuzuka and when it comes to his mother, she's no-one important to the story anyway
Bloodline limit: none
Clan's Abilities: teaming up with dogs, being able to mimic them
Birth date: 22nd of January
Age: currently 11 years old
Blood type: B
Favorite food: practically any meat
Favorite quote: none
Favored fighting style: taijutsu
Village: Konoha (Hidden Leaf)
Rank: Academy student
Team: not assigned yet (in this chapter only: Nekko Hinako and Hisakata Gitou)
Techniques (used so far): Ninpou: Hikayaku no Jutsu (Ninja Art: Animal Imitation Skill), Tsuuga (Piercing Fang), Jujin Bushin (Man-Beast Clone), Gatsuuga (Double Piercing Fang)
First appearance: 1st chapter
And that's that. Thanks for stopping by to read it.
Best wishes and until next time, hopefully.