Well, this update was supposed include all three of my next generation fics, however I had little time to write NNG and so I decided to skip the wait, finished this piece and uploaded it along with LoL. Personally, this was a bit of anxiety for me as I finally get to introduce one of my favorite teams for this fic. They're super weird and kinda tough to write in order to keep their personalities in tact, but I dare say they're one of the most colorful teams of the exam.
Those of you, who read LoL and/or NNG already know my father is struggling with cancer once more and as such, the whole situation limits my time to write (skipping the fact that at times I don't feel like writing at all), so it might take me a while to update, even though the next, few chapters are mostly introduction to the new characters and as such shouldn't be hard to finish.
Anyways, with this said, hope you'll enjoy the newest installment of "Those Who Inherit the Will of Fire"!
Chapter #16: Trouble at the Shrine
Title Page: Toramaru, Naraku and Buryaku are playing street basketball; Toramaru is dribbling, while Naraku instructs the kunoichi to guard the basket
"Do you want something in particular?" Teigo asked stopping as he glanced over his shoulder. His eyes settled on the nearby rooftop, where Sasuke stood, observing the former sound-nin closely. "I dislike being followed, so unless you have some business with me, I'd appreciate it if you'd leave me alone…"
"Actually, I do have a matter I wish to discuss" the Sharingan user replied, jumping down, to land right before the masked jounin. "It's about the Chuunin Selection Exam. I've heard you nominated my son to take part in it…"
"And what if I did?" Teigo responded, not bothering to hide his annoyance. "What, you want me to change my mind? You're not in position to do that. He may be your child, but he was placed under my command and I decide whether he's ready to become chuunin or not. I feel no need explaining myself to you. If that is all, then scram, coz I have manners which require my attendance…"
"Are you trying to provoke me?" Sasuke questioned, narrowing his eyes. "Do not forget that you're speaking to the second strongest in the Leaf. You may have been one of Orochimaru's best, but you are still below me, you should know this much. Furthermore you're not from Konoha, so I don't find you very trustworthy. The least you should do is drop that attitude and try to act like a Leaf's ninja, if you truly are one…"
"For you of all people to say that is plain mockery of these words" the masked jounin replied in a challenging tone. "It's true that I was born in Oto, however one does not choose the place of his birth. I became a sound-nin out of necessity, not my own will and switched sides on my own accord. You, on the other hand, were a Leaf's shinobi from the beginning, but decided to betray your village for personal gain and then, years later, returned, claiming loyalty to Konoha again. Out of the two, I'd say you're the one less trustworthy. And do not forget that I was there when you joined Orochimaru, I remember what you have done. Do you really think your precious Hokage would still be so happy about your return, if he'd learn what happened all those years back?" he asked, making Sasuke look away, avoiding eye-contact. Teigo kept on staring at the Sharingan user for another moment, before breaking the silence again: "But your relationship with the Rokudaime is none of my business and as for your son, I can assure you that he's ready. I'm confident that he'll show you what he's made of. Whether he'll become chuunin or not… that I do not know, but at the very least he'll experience what true hardship means and if he'll manage to survive these tests… well, he can gain a valuable lesson. They all can" and with that he went one his way, oblivious to the ANBU's glare that settled on his back.
-This morning, outskirts of Konoha-
"I'm sorry, Toramaru, but I feel this is just stupid" announced Naraku with hands behind the back of his head as he walked besides his teammates towards the mountain tops near the village. "We were recommended by Teigo-sensei to take the Chuunin Exams. We should be training in stead of going off to pray in some shrine. What good will that do?"
"It's a tradition of the Hyuuga" the white-eyed boy responded calmly as he lead his companions through the streets. "My personal feelings aside, I'd imagine my mom would be disappointed if I didn't go and it isn't even one day out of my life, so it's cool. No-one asked you to tag along" he added matter-of-factly, to which the young Uchiha twisted his mouth and began glancing all around to avoid eye contact.
"Okay, I'll stop" he finally replied in defeat. "We're friends so I can sacrifice my time for you every now and then. What I don't get is why are you here" at this he gazed at Buryaku, who in turns seemed to make nothing of it as she kept on walking without even turning towards her teammate: "I'm not a religious type, but it seemed like a nice way to spend the day. It's been a while since we didn't had any missions or training."
"Actually, I'd imagine you just wanted to skip any, training session Teigo-sensei prepared for us, didn't you?" Naraku asked with a cocky smirk, but the kunoichi's face remained indifferent. Silence filled the group for a moment, before the trio reached the base of a long stairway, leading right to the top of hill.
The young Uchiha glanced the path up and down, a single drop of sweat running down his face as he saw what was ahead. The stairs were decorated with rails of white stone on each side, the bottom of which held small statues of snake dragons. Every now and then the climbing route was halted by a wider, flat space, each equipped with a bench to rest during the trip... or at least that's what the Clone master imagined. The top of the walk laid beyond his sight however.
"Are you actually telling me we'll have to get all the way up there?" he snapped, turning towards Toramaru, yet the blond merely glanced at him seriously, making the answer obvious. And so they began their walk with the sun shining high in the morning sky. The trip was an uneventful one, if not counting Naraku's constant whining over the 'hardship'. But that was to be expected. What wasn't, was a comment they heard as the top was getting closer...
"And another Hyuuga" a sudden voice reached their ears, making them glance over at the rail few steps up, where a group of three gennin their age stood. "Seems like you were right, Juryoku, that shrine really is Byakugan users magnet" stated a boy with a playful note, settling his eyes on Toramaru: "Forgive our interruption, my friends, but my teammate was wondering if you won't mind revealing your names to us. You especially" with that, he nodded towards the blond boy, giving him a warm smile.
Instinctually, Buryaku scanner the trio, noticing they were not from the Leaf. The boy that spoke up was their age, though slightly shorter then her teammates. He had medium-length, gelled-up, blond hair with two strands falling from both sides of his face, so that they'd stay out of the boy's hazel eyes way. He wore a violet shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his shoulders and a black kanji for 'thunder', placed in a yellow circle on the back. His pants were in the same color as his shirt and seemed a little baggy, but the kunoichi managed to spot a belt that held two daggers, each strapped to the boy's hips. A hitae-ate with clouds beamed from his forehead as the smile was not disappearing from his face.
The girl next to him was taller then the boy, but not by much. Her hair was long and dark-blue, made into a spiky bun on the back, while out front two strands were managed in a similar fashion her teammate had. She wore her headband around her left arm, having her neck being occupied by a necklace made of small, iron balls connected with a string. She had a dark-blue t-shirt ripped at the bottom and on the right sleeve and carried several, golden rings and bracelets on both her arms. Her pants were gray and a metal leg guard completed the figure.
The final of the three was certainly the most odd-looking, this being mostly the result of his hitae-ate that was strangely placed in a way it covered his eyes, making it impossible to see them, but in turn it made the boy blind-folded. This one had medium-length, black hair, falling freely around his head and with few, thin strands hanging over his face, while his outfit consisted of a black t-shirt and a red vest placed on that. His pants were also black and, following the theme of his teammates, baggy, with his arms wrapped in bandages.
"They're cloud-nins" Buryaku noted, narrowing her eyes suspiciously. Toramaru on the other hand couldn't care less about the origin of the trio, as he replied to the first boy's question, the quarrel with the Suna gennin the other day still alive in his memory: "When you ask someone his name, you should introduce yourself first… doesn't any foreigners follow that rule?"
"Right!" the blond Kumo shinobi smacked himself on the head, somewhat playfully, before continuing, his warm smile still decorating his face. "Do forgive me. I was just excited about meeting a possible opponent from, what is believed, the strongest clan in the Leaf. But that is no excuse. Anyways, allow me to right my wrong. My name is Makaze Fukaru" he announced, bowing slightly towards the three leaf-nin. "And these are my friends: Kakeme Juryoku…" at this he pointed the girl with his hand. "And Mekakushi Aitou" here his arm moved towards the blind-folded boy, but while the kunoichi at the very least nodded as a welcome, this one didn't even flinch, keeping his arms crossed and propping his back against the rail.
"Well, I'm Uzumaki Toramaru" the white-eyed gennin responded, still scanning the trio suspiciously. "And these are my teammates: Nara Buryaku and Uchiha Naraku" he added, making Fukaru's eyes widen a bit.
"Uchiha? Well, this is our lucky day then; we get to meet representatives of two, most powerful clans from Konoha" he announced, his smile widening, even though Naraku did not thought that was possible. "I can tell that if you are to partake in the upcoming exam, you might prove to be a troublesome bunch. But more importantly, it'd appear the Byakugan is no longer Hyuuga-exclusive thing" at this point Buryaku noticed the other boy's, Aitou, head twitched for a split second, but the reason behind that… she could not tell.
"So, you three are here for the exams too?" Naraku asked, lifting his eyebrow. "You wish to fight us like those sand-nins did? Coz if so, I must warn you I'm not in a mood for a friendly sparring, especially after yesterday. It's best that you leave us alone, otherwise this could get ugly…"
"Fight you?" Fukaru repeated in a tone that almost sounded like he was insulted. "Oh no, we have no intention of fighting outside the exams. We are guests in your village after all, so it'd be inappropriate for us to cause unnecessary trouble. We're merely looking for possible rivals that we might face during the exam itself and we're particularly interested in the Hyuuga."
"There we go again" Toramaru let out an annoyed frown at the other boy's comment. "My mom told me that Kumo was always interested in the Byakugan, even to an extend they would risk a war to obtain in. What, you want to kill me in the exam to get the secret of my bloodline limit?"
"Of course not!" Fukaru replied, keeping his calm, though Buryaku noticed he did so barely. "We are allies now, so we have no intention of attacking Konoha. I know history of our villages cannot be called a friendly one, but it's very rude to accuse us of something like that. We only came here for the exams. If we were really interested in your eyes, then I assure you that we'd have just take them right here, on the spot" and as his words echoed in the air, the two leaf-nins felt metal stopping less then an inch away from their throats, immobilizing both Naraku and Toramaru.
In a blink of an eyes, the blond Kumo gennin was behind them, his daggers ready to split their necks at any moment. A single drop of sweat run down Naraku's face, his body paralyzed: "I didn't even saw him move until he was behind me! How the hell did he do that? Body Flicker? But I couldn't see him perform any seals…"
"Fukaru-kun, you're the worst!" the Cloud kunoichi, Juryoku, called after her teammate, crossing her arms and giving the boy an angry look. "Stop showing off or our new friends might think badly of us!"
"Right, my bad" the Kumo gennin admitted, retreating his weapons and bowing towards the two. "I apologize… it must be the excitement getting to me. I assure you I had no intention of harming you… I just figured that giving you a scare might help us avoid… reckless actions, so to speak."
"It's fine" Buryaku replied calmly, making Toramaru sweat drop at her lack of concern.
"I see you three are causing trouble again" came a new voice, making everyone glance up the stairs, where it came from to note another trio of youngsters walking down. Naraku recognized them instantly.
"Do not forget you're guests in our village" the only girl in the group warned them, her voice cold. "And you've already managed to tick me off earlier... making me feel like some freak on display" the white-eyed kunoichi added, throwing Aitou a stern glare.
"For people claiming to be friendly, you sure make a lot of enemies" Toramaru noted simply, even though another thought crossed him mind: "Granted, Hitomi is not the friendliest of people to begin with..."
"I apologize for this nuisance, Toramaru-sama" the girl now turned towards the son of Hokage. "Do you wish me to handle them?"
"That won't be necessary" the blond assured her with a calming gesture. "No harm done. But I see you've already paid your respects, Hitomi-san?" the boy announced, receiving a weak nod from his cousin. He then glanced at her companions, a bit curiously: "Why are you guys here though?"
"One could ask your teammates the same thing" the masked boy, Jun, responded, tilting towards Naraku and Buryaku. "Do we really need to explain something so obvious?"
"Hey, I just wanted to do a rail-ride from the top" the last of the three, Shimiru, cut in with his usual, laid-back tone and for a brief moment the young Uchiha could swore he saw Hitomi's eye twitch at the comment. "But nooooooo, this is a place of worship" he went on, imitating a female's voice. "You can be a real fun-killer sometimes" he added, shifting to the girl beside him.
-That time, another part of the village-
"Hinata-sensei, if it's tradition for Hyuuga to pray in that shrine before the exam, why couldn't we wait for Toramaru to show up?" Garou asked as he and his cell walked the streets of Konoha with their teacher. "You said they were chosen to part-take as well..."
"Yes, they were" the white-eyed woman nodded, glancing at her student. "And that is preciously why we couldn't afford to waste your time waiting for them. Have you already forgotten what happened the other day with you and those sand-nins? The exams start in less then a week. You should use this time to polish your skills. With opponents like those Suna gennin, as well as Toramaru and Naraku, you should be prepared for a tough challenge."
"I don't know about Toramaru" Gouka cut in with a stone-face. "But I do believe you give my brother too much credit, sensei. And as for your son... okay, he was the best in the Academy, but we all grew since then. Frankly, running into him yesterday, he didn't leave much of an impression on me either..."
"Underestimating your enemy is one of the greatest mistakes a shinobi can make" the jounin reminded her gently with a warm smile, almost as if her child wasn't insulted just now. "Don't forget, out of everyone, I do have a good insight as to his capabilities."
"So you're saying he's stronger then us?" the younger kunoichi questioned, rising an eyebrow.
"I didn't say that" the head of the Hyuuga laughed whole-heartly. "I'm just saying you should be prepared. Keep in mind your old, Academy classmates ain't the only ones you should be on the lookout for. Those sand-nins gave Garou some trouble, so it's safe to assume they're not ordinary" he noted, her face instantly getting grim: "And those Cloud kids from the shrine just now... something tells me they're even worse..."
Kumo noticed her expression and scanned his instructor carefully. It was rare for her to show fear and yet that seemed to be the case preciously. The heir of the Aburame glanced over his shoulder to the mountain they visited earlier today, its top now engulfed in a soft mist: "Is it about those three?" he wondered, yet said nothing... as usual.
-Back on the stairway to the shrine-
"We're really getting out of line here" Fukaru announced, rising his hands in a calming gesture. "We really didn't mean any trouble. Aitou here was simply anxious to visit this shrine and got interested seeing this many Hyuuga, who are apparently connected with the upcoming exams. I mean, look at him" he added, pointing to his teammate, who was still propping against the rail, stationary and indifferent since the beginning. "He's ecstatic..."
"Well, if that is true, a question appears" Buryaku stated simply, gazing the the blind-fooled boy. "One you still failed to answer, despite being asked straight forward; why are you so interested in the Hyuuga?"
"It wouldn't be wise for us to spread such info around" Juryoku replied with a cocky smirk. "Despite being friendly, since we'll all be partaking in the exams, we are, essentially, rivals."
"You guys really should make up your mind as to what you are to the Leaf" Jun commented with a slightly bored tone. "Anyway, we should get going; Hasaki-sensei asked that we meet up with him on the bridge, remember?" he asked, turning to his companions.
"Right" Hitomi nodded at the reminder. "Lets go" she ordered, but just then froze, gazing at her cousin one, last time: "Oh, almost forgot... Toramaru-sama, I do suggest you hurry to the top. There's someone who I imagine would really like to see you there... well, skipping these three, naturally" she added, glaring at the cloud-nins. And just as she was about to leave, she grabbed Shimiru by the collar, pushing him off the rail: "Don't even think about it!"
"Oh please, just this once" the blond responded, making puppy eyes and a wide smile. These proven to have no effect however as the kunoichi dragged him behind, having the boy with piercings feel every, single step on his butt: "Okay... ouch... see you... ouch... dude... ouch... later...ouch!"
The ones left observed the scene, sweat dropping, until they remembered they shared the place with a cell from another village. They all shifted their attention to the other team, uncomfortable silence filling the air. Finally, the one to break it, was Fukaru: "Soooo... since we're all heading up anyway, why don't we go together? It'll give us a chance to get better-acquainted..."
"You keep talking about becoming friends and yet you don't really give us much reason to believe you" Toramaru replied, eying the other blond. "Especially since you refuse to tell us why my persona, as well as Hitomi's, interests you so much..."
"Well, that's..." the cloud-nin began, but before he could finish, another voice joined the conversation, a dark and cold one that belonged to Aitou, the final member of the Kumo team, who up til now have not spoke: "It's quite simple" he announced, walking over to the two and leaning towards the son of Hokage: "I hate the Hyuuga."
"Oh yeah, really friendly" Naraku thought to himself, feeling shivers running down his spine.
And so their trip to the shrine continued, in the company of three, new 'friends'. Toramaru couldn't shake the feeling this encounter was a premonition of something and it wasn't just the statement of the blind-fooled gennin that worried him. However, soon he was to forget of the treat, for what awaited him and his cell at the shrine... none of them could predict...
-friend of foe?-
And so this chapter ends. Hope you enjoyed it and that Kumo gennin intrigue you. I wondered for a long time who to write their intro, since I didn't want to blew it. Frankly, both Aitou and Fukaru were two of the first characters invented for this fic, exceeding some of the Konoha gennin even! With them, the rooster of the Three Great Villages for the exams is almost complete. And, just as a reminder, here's the rooster I'm talking about:
Konoha #1 (Teigo Kinuta): Buryaku Nara, Naraku Uchiha, Toramaru Uzumaki
Konoha #2 (Lee Rock): Hinako Nekko (?), Gaki Nayamasu (?), Gai Rock (?)
Konoha #3 (Shikamaru Nara): Shunrai (?), Choumaru Akimichi (?), Gitou Hisakata (?)
Konoha #4 (Hinata Uzumaki): Gouka Uchiha (Naraku's twin sister), Kumo Aburame (the boy in green overcoat), Garou Inuzuka (the boy with the dog, Hanomaru)
Konoha #5 (Hasaki Kinzoku): Hitomi Hyuuga (white-eyed girl), Jun Hatake (the masked teen), Shimiru Abunage (the blond with piercings and a skateboard)
Konoha #6 (Hiyoko Shinku): Akemi Nekata (green-haired girl), Akai Kagami (the redhead), Akumo Megane (the boy with glasses)
Suna #1 (?): ? (girl with metal protectors), Kobura (the boy in black), Sabaku no Shikyo (the boy with the gourd)
Suna #2 (Kankuro):? (the girl with the gourd), ? (the boy with a headgear and scrolls), Fuugo (the masked pipsqueak)
Kumo (?): Juryoku Kakeme (the blue-haired girl), Fukaru Makaze (the blond boy), Aitou Mekakushi (the blind-fooled boy)
That's it for today. Thanks for tuning in and see you next time or with the new updates on NNG and LoL.