As promised with the new update of NNG, I'm placing a new chappie for "Those..." as well, since there were requests for me to continue on with it as well (ironically, "Legacy of the Leaf" doesn't seem to be missed :D). Frankly, the purpose of this chapter sorta got lost along the way and it ended up more of a comedy installment, but oh well... you still get to meet some of the gennin that will take part in the Chuunin Exam as part of my promise to help you get acquainted with the participants more before the event actually begins.
The number of characters you'll need to remember is not that high (well, at least compared to NNG) and I do hope that introducing them gradually helps in keeping track. Though, naturally, I don't intend to drop the idea of the character list at the end of each chapter.
With that said, I invite you to the chapter itself and don't forget to review, if you want me to continue the tale:
Chapter #17: Meetings at the Shrine
Title Page: a farm – Buryaku is sleeping at the top of a haystack, Naraku is chasing rabbits away from the garden with a broom, while Toramaru lifts up a shocked chicken, snapping the eggs from beneath it
Four figures reached the gates of the Hidden Leaf, pushing off the hoods that hid their faces in shadows. Calmly, the eldest of the group walked forward, showing the guard a special pass, to which the latter nodded at, after a quick examination. The guards moved aside, letting the quartet in, to which the leader bowed before leading his younger companions into the village.
The man, already greatly aged, had long, gray hair, clipped in a ponytail and a beard that wrapped itself around his mouth. His left eye was entirely white with a scar going across it, indicating an old, war wound, while his right, blue eye gave an impression of being tired. Clad in a brown cloak, one could only glimpse that he wore some sort of a gray, body armor beneath, while a headband with a symbol of Hidden Grass dangled around his neck.
His three companions were much younger, no more then fifteen years of age, yet each followed their master obidiently, adjusting to his ridiculously slow paste. The one in the center was a boy with medium-length, black hair, mostly covered by a brown bandana and hazel eyes, that closely scanned the surroundings. His attire consisted of a black shirt with ripped sleeves and a brown vest on top, while pants, in the same color, hid his legs, albeit their trouser legs had countless, tiny rips all around and carried a small sack tied to the belt. A fingerless glove on his right hand and a hitae-ate on the left arm completed the look.
On his right walked the only female in the group; the girl had long, blonde hair, that fell freely down her back, decorated with a lotus flower tied around her left ear. Her green eyes sparkled as her generally warm exterior seemed to gather the midday sun. Her dress was a yellow kimono, decorated with black branches and a large, purple ribbon tied on her back, which also had a few bottles attached to it, each containing a liquid of a different color. Much like her instructor, her headband was tied around her neck.
The last member of the squad was a boy, slightly younger then the other two; this one had long, messy, black hair and blue eyes, visibly tired. His skin was ghastly pale, albeit his hands seemed to be covered with black spots, resembling scales in appearance. He wore a baggy, green blouse and black pants, while the Kusa hitae-ate decorated his forehead.
The teen suddenly coughed violently, stopping his march, yet most of his team didn't seem to make anything of it. Only the kunoichi froze at the scene, giving her companion a worried look: "Seriously Nekkei, I cannot understand why you decided to tag along" she announced, putting her fists on her hips. "You know traveling such a long distance can be disastrous for your condition..."
"Can't be helped" the boy replied, wiping a tiny speck of blood from his lips. "To enter the exams, you need a three-man team and you know there was no replacement for me" he added weakly, resuming his walk.
"Yeah, but we could've sit this year out" the girl snapped, throwing her hands to the sky as she followed her sick comrade. "You know Kusa is supposed to organize these exams next time!"
"True" Nekkei nodded at her observation. "But then we wouldn't be able to come to Konoha and I imagine this trip means a lot to Kouba" he responded, shifting his eyes towards their team's final member, who was still carefully looking around the streets, paying little attention to anything else.
"So this is Hidden Leaf" he concluded, admiring the structures. "Quite impressive and so much bigger then Kusa" he admitted just before his eyes caught a glimpse of the Hokage Monument. His gaze settled of the gargantuan faces, forcing him to stop on the spot. "Is that...?" he began, yet never got to finish the thought as the elder hurried the trio:
"Move it, brats! I wish to check in for the night!"
The three shifted their heads towards their master and followed, heading down the street, straight to the center of the village...
-That time, local shrine-
"Toramaru-kun, you finally made it!" a cheerful voice greeted the blond as he reached the top of the stairs, followed by his cell and the team of cloud-nins. "And Naraku-san is here too!" the blue-haired girl added, jumping onto the white-eyed boy's neck and then wrapped her arm around the young Uchiha as well. "It's been ages!"
"Nice to see you too, Shunrai" the son of Hokage replied with a smile at the sight of his old friend. "It really has been a while, haven't it? I see you decided to grow your hair even longer?" he noted, looking at the blue cape going down the female's back. "It suits you" he proclaimed, making a blush cover the kunoichi's face.
"So they're the ones Hitomi mentioned?" Buryaku conclued, shifting her gaze to the right, where two more, rookie gennin stood, observing the whole scene. The first was a chubby boy, who stuffed himself with potato chips, while his partner, the same age as the former, seemed to be heavily sick, coughing every now and then.
"We've cough been waiting cough for you guys" Gitou informed, covering his mouth with a fist. "For a cough while we even cough began thinking you weren't gonna show..."
"Just some, unexpected delay on the way up" Naraku responded, throwing the Kumo team a glare, only now making their friends notice the trio. With a tired expression, the sick teen scanned the three, immediately realizing who they were: "Cloud-nins, huh?"
"Yup" the blond replied cheerfully, extending his hand: "My name's Makaze Fukaru and these are my companions – Kakeme Juryoku and Mekakushi Aitou" he introduced his cell as Gitou suspiciously took his arm.
"Hisakata Gitou" the swordsman responded calmly. "The girl is Shunrai cough and the one devouring his eight bag of potato chips today cough is Akimichi Choumaru" he added, glancing at his chubby teammate.
At the mention of Shunrai's name, Juryoku narrowed her eyes scanning the girl closely. She shifted her attention to Aitou, who stood right behind her, making the boy nod at the speculation: "This is unexpected" she thought to herself, yet decided to say nothing. At least for the time being.
"So, why are you guys here?" Toramaru asked, glancing at his former schoolmates. "I can understand Hitomi and her team showing up, but what business could you possibly have to climb all the way up here?" he questioned with a warm laugh.
"Well, Shunrai cough really wanted to cough stop by" Gitou announced simply with a tone and expression that seemed to beg for a bed and some extreme medicine.
"You did?" the blond asked surprised, turning towards the kunoichi, which in turn made her look away. "Why the heck? It's not like this place is anything special to those outside of my clan..."
"Well, I..." Shunrai began, nervously flipping her fingers. "I... I really wanted to see you, Tora-kun" she managed to speak up and as she gazed into the boy's white eyes, her face turned red, making her look away again, quickly adding an unintended line: "You and Naraku-kun!"
"Yeah, we missed you too" the son of Hokage nodded with a smile, while Buryaku rolled her eyes at the scene: "How clueless can you be?" she thought to herself, already deeming the whole thing as too troublesome.
"Either way cough we got recommended to cough take the Chuunin Exam" Gitou announced, diverting everyone's attention from his teammate, whose face was turning redder by the second. "Seeing you here cough I assume we'll be cough seeing you at it as well?"
"Yeah, Teigo-sensei informed us last evening" Naraku nodded at the question. "Apparently it's Hyuuga tradition to come here in these circumstances... but you already knew that" he added, scratching the back of his head at the realization.
"Seems that we are all rivals then" Fukaru stated, surprisingly cheerfully, much to Toramaru's annoyance. "I must say that I didn't expect to meet any teams with a Hyuuga that'll enter the tournament today. This is certainly a good day" he proclaimed satisfied, oblivious to weird glances most of the Leaf gennin gave him.
Choumaru paid little attention to it all, merely throwing the chips to the sky, just to make them rain into his mouth. However, as another piece flew up, a sudden blur snatched it before the tasty treat could reach its destination, making the chubby gennin instantly gaze to the right, following the culprit.
The thief turned out to be a hawk, which landed on the shoulder of a boy only slightly older then the heir of the Akimichi; his mouth was hidden behind the bandages, while his long, black hair, was incredibly messy. His golden eyes gave the impression of being beast-like, despite the boy's exterior, which was less then treating as he tickled the bird bellow its beak. His outfit consisted of a gray t-shirt and black pants, both of which seemed very warned out, while both arms were wrapped in bandaged, much like his mouth. A strange collar, tied around his neck, completed the look.
Just behind him stood two more youngsters, roughly the same age as the boy; the first was a blond with spiky hair and red eyes, with a tattooed, black line going down from his eyes, decorating the cheeks. He wore a white bandana on his forehead and yellow shirt, which sleeves were tucked under metal protectors on his arms. Black pants, in a similar fashion to his companion, and a huge scroll on the back drew attention, but not as much as a hitae-ate with an arrow pointed downwards; a headband which was used as a belt.
The last of the trio was a girl with medium-length, blonde hair, tied in a high ponytail and blue eyes. She also wore a bandana around her forehead, only hers was black, while a yellow, sleeveless top hid a fishnet on her upper body. Short, black pants clad tightly to her legs, while a praying stick in her hand and a hitae-ate around the left arm indicated she was from Hidden Waterfall.
Choumaru cared little for that though, immediately pointing his finger at the brunette with a voice as loud as a foghorn: "You there, bird-brain, what the heck do you think you're doing? That was my chip, dammit! Cough it up!"
"I'm sorry" the boy replied from behind his bandages, only now turning his attention to the chubby gennin. "We meant no harm, but Takamu got hungry and I assume he took the chip as a rare treat. Surely it's not that big a deal, is it?" he question, surprisingly calm and gentle.
"Not a big deal my butt!" the heir of the Akimichi snapped, turning red. "That was my last chip! No one takes my last chip!" he announced, punching his opened palm with a fist, while his face twisted in anger.
"Wait, he's gonna start a fight over that?" Fukaru asked, somewhat nervously, as he turned to the other, Leaf ninja. "This can't be right. Is that guy really so simple-minded to cause trouble over food?"
"Uh-huh" the five gennin nodded in unison, all of them sweat dropping in the process.
"You're making people angry again, Sayoku" the female teammate of the bird master reprimanded her companion, visibly ignoring the chubby boy before them. "You really gotta keep Takamu on a shorter leash, otherwise we'll end up getting the whole village against us."
"He just wants to play" the bandaged teen responded, defending his pet, all the while scratching it beneath the beak. "And I've already apologized, it's not like I can make that chip magically reappear... I doubt there's a kuchiyose for that" he added jokingly, yet Choumaru was definitely not amused.
"Why you" he yelled, throwing a punch forward as his hand grew in size. The two, waterfall-nins reacted instantly and jumped to the side, making the attack hit the floor, cracking it slightly.
"Choumaru, dammit, this is supposed to be a sacred place!" Toramaru snapped at his former classmate's behavior. "Calm down, dunderhead!"
"Well, since he attacked, we can't really let this go, can we?" the female Taki ninja rather stated then asked as she grabbed her stick, quickly performing a seal with her free hand. With a quick thrust of her weapon, she pointed its tip at the chubby gennin and in a flash the latter's world began spinning, virtually turning upside down.
Choumaru stumbled on his feet, desperately trying to keep his balance, yet to no avail as he dropped to his butt, completely dazzled. At this Sayoku released his hawk, making the bird suddenly dive, its talons aimed preciously at the chubby teen's face.
Before the claws reached their target though, Gitou appeared in their way, blocking them with his sword. In a flash the hawk closed its talons, grabbing the blade and flew up, ripping the katana out of the leaf-nin's grasp, leaving the latter defenseless. The bandaged boy reacted immediately, charging forward with kunai ready in his hands.
The coughing boy ducked under the first swing of his opponent's hand and jumped back, avoiding the second, yet the waterfall-nin kept on coming, forcing his adversary back. As Gitou flipped back, hoping to extend the distance between himself and the bird master, Takamu reappeared on the scene, scourging his back with his talons, making the young Hisakata drop to his knee from pain.
Sayoku lunged forward, seeing an opening, but just as he beat the distance, he felt his body getting heavy and a moment later he literally dropped to the ground, unable to lift himself up. With tremendous effort he gazed to the left, spotting Juryoku, who held her hands on the floor, her face surprisingly stoic: "Making this much fuss over a chip... and I thought Fukaru was a loose cannon" she proclaimed with a calm voice.
"There is no need for this to escalate further" her blond teammate announced, his dagger already at the Taki girl's throat. "That... chubby fellow was way out of line, but we all should take a deep breath here, before some gets hurt" he stated and glancing at Gitou, he quickly added: "Well, seriously hurt anyway..."
Choumaru, who was having similar problems to Sayoku, let out a sigh and then spoke up humbly: "Right, I'm sorry. This is totally my bad. Guess I over-reacted a bit..."
"Ya think?"Toramaru snapped again at his friend's casual voice.
"Well, no harm done" announced the last of the waterfall-nins, who only now stepped forward, his face as emotionless as one can be. "Sayoku, Kitou, stand down. It's shameful that you allowed something as petty as this to set you off. It's embarrassing to have you unleash your techniques on someone with that level of skill anyway..."
"That level of skill?" Choumaru repeated, narrowing his eyes.
"I mean nothing by it" the blond assured him. "Just that you are weak."
"We're meeting all sorts of people-persons today, ain't we?" Naraku whispered sarcastically to Buryaku's ear, making the girl nod at the comment. Meanwhile Juryoku retreated her hands from the ground, allowing both Sayoku and the chubby teen to pick themselves off the floor. Simultaneously, Fukaru also released his hold on Kitou.
"I apologize for my teammates' behavior" the blond with a scroll continued, turning towards Gitou. "They can be quite obnoxious, especially towards insignificant people, such as yourselves..."
"And how are you any better?" the young Uchiha sweat dropped at the statement.
"It's fine" Gitou replied, rubbing his aching shoulder. "I apologize as well. Chou cough tends to overreact for no reason" he informed, sending his teammate a disapproving glare. A moment later Shunrai reached him, quickly studying the wound. In a flash her hands began glowing green as she placed her palms above the cuts, making the cells regenerate at tremendous speed.
"She learned medical ninjutsu in barely a year?" Buryaku instantly thought, widening her eyes at the realization. Before long the process was done and the coughing boy appeared as new. Aitou visibly flinched at the scene, yet Naraku was the only one to notice the twitch.
"Guess everything is fine then" the cloud-nin concluded, slightly baffled by the situation as he sheathed his dagger. "I'm Makaze Fukaru and these are my teammates: Kakeme Juryoku and Mekakushi Aitou" he introduced, pointing at his companions.
"You don't need to be friendly with everyone you meet, ya know" the Kumo kunoichi announced, slightly annoyed as she eyed the boy with a scroll. "Especially with that sort of people. I'll take great pleasure in crushing you during the exams" she proclaimed, still pissed over the last comment of the waterfall-nin.
"Oh?" Sayoku responded with a smile, angering the girl even further. "You sure talk big for someone who merely caught me in her technique... it was quite impressive, I'll give you that, but I believe you're giving yourself too much credit" he added with an apologizing smirk.
"Okay, that's it!" Toramaru snapped, moving in so that his face was merely inches away from the Taki boy. "Listen, dumbass, I have it up to here with people claiming to be superior to us popping up every, five minutes! You wanna go? Bring it!"
"Weren't you the one who asked not to fight in a sacred place?" Buryaku sweat dropped at the sudden change of attitude, yet quickly regained her laid-back exterior as she examined the Waterfall trio: "But, whichever way you slice it, these Chuunin Exams sure gather a whole bunch of weird... first those cloud-nins, whose abilities I still can't figure out and now these guys... the girl seem to be using some sort of genjutsu, while this Sayoku fellow is clearly a physical fighter, but I doubt they uncovered all their cards... and there's no telling what the third one can do" she added, shifting her gaze towards the blond with a scroll.
"We've wasted enough time" the teen in question announced, gaining the attention of his teammates. The two instantly obliged, following their leader down the stairs. As the group disappeared from view, Choumaru turned to the others, heavily confused: "What the heck was that about?"
"Why the hell do you ask, you're the one who started throwing punches all of a sudden?" Naraku shoot back, losing his calm. Gitou merely narrowed his eyes at the new rivals that just emerged: "These upcoming exams... this isn't gonna be a walkover..."
"Well, that certainly wasn't a reunion I was hoping for" Toramaru smiled apologizingly to Shunrai as he scratched the back of his head. "It really is great to see you though... all of you. And, despite the fact we'll be enemies soon, nothing stops us to catch up before then. What do you guys say to a ramen party?"
"Your treat?" Buryaku asked surprised, while Shunrai smiled shyly. To this the white-eyed boy glanced at Choumaru, flooded with doubts over his answer: "I... I guess" he replied, slightly scared at the sight of the chubby gennin rubbing his hands sheeply.
To this the former cloud-nin giggled, while Fukaru neared the blond, flipping his eyebrows: "Can we come as well?" he questioned, making puppy eyes, yet the effect wasn't exactly what he was aiming for.
"Whatever" Toramaru responded with resignation, too tired to even argue. And so the group headed down the stairs as the sun slowly began to set. None of them even noticed when the day has gone by, bringing the upcoming challenge even closer.
And, as they journeyed towards Ichiraku, Buryaku decided to speak, her voice as calm as always: "Say, Toramaru, I'm curious" she announced, making the boy turn towards her. "Didn't we made this entire trip so that you could send a prayer? Coz I don't recall you doing so..."
At this the blond froze, he jaw hitting the ground at the realization. He glanced over the shoulder at the mountain of stairs they've already passed before his head dropped: "Crude..."
-enemies keep on emerging!-
And so this chapter ends... the introduction of the Taki team was supposed to be less chaotic as I remember early drafts, but oh well... it turned out goofy, I admit, but it was sorta fun to write :) Next installment will be much more heavy, so the two will balance each other out, I suppose :D
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 (the girl with a crush on Toramaru), Choumaru Akimichi (the chubby boy), Gitou Hisakata (the coughing boy)
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)
Kusa (?): ? (girl in a yellow kimono), Ibara Kouba (the boy in worn-out clothes), Utsuru Nekkei (the sick boy)
Taki (?): Kitou (the girl with a praying stick), ? (the boy with a large scroll), Sayoku (the boy with bandaged mouth)
Thanks for reading and do review. Tune in next time!