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Shikara hadn't slept well that night. She couldn't help remembering that scene in her head. Pieces of Bee's remains scattered everywhere, while Geki laid snapped in half. Teacher had said that this scene, this fear of her allies harmed, came from within her own subconscious. Then there was the question of her comrades' actions: both of them had wanted to protect their fellow Genin. "But for what reason? They both knew that it was a pointless sacrifice." These thoughts kept on making their way around Shikara's mind, even as the morning's sun edged its way over the hokage monument and into the belly of Konoha.
Looking over to the small travel clock by her bed,Shikara could see it just ticking by the hour mark, it was 5 AM. Shikara could feel the tingles of butterflies fluttering around in her stomach, in anticipation of the day to continued looking at the blank landscape of her ceiling, as her body refused it's protest for sleep.
The tendrils of the first morning lights were just starting to make their way through Bee's bedroom window, the glare off the glass dazzling onto the sprawled-out form of the young Sand Genin. Bee was reluctant to stir from his bed; the blow he had been dealt by Asura had greatly swollen his jaw. "I got off lucky with it being swollen. He could have taken my head off with a strike like that. Having him as our Jonin could be fruitful."
Looking to the clock ticking away at his bedside, Bee could see that he still had another hour before he had to go meet up with the rest of the team. "Ah, five more minutes". Bee's snores drowned out the chirping of the cicadas outside, as his dreams turned to grand battles with his mentor.
"Today I'll clock him good," mumbled Bee as he returned to his peaceful slumber.
Geki had risen early; yesterday's developments had him troubled. Not so much that he had been easily defeated by a superior opponent, because that had been set in stone the instant Asura agreed to fight them.
What was worrying Geki was his lack of ability with his tanto. Hidden Mist shinobi were said to have a knack for bladed weapons, yet here he was in his back garden, drenched with sweat, muscles crying out in disagreement, the grip on his tanto wavering as he assaulted the uprooted tree stump for the hundredth time this morning.
The surface of the stump had been completely butchered, all of the bark covering its outside had been stripped away haphazardly with multiple tanto strikes. Only a few had managed to cut any deeper than that into the innards of the stump. With each strike Geki gritted his teeth as the grip of the tanto rubbed against his already bloody palms. "No lesson without pain. I will ascend this feeling"
As he once again prepared to assault the felled tree, Geki felt his body give out. Drained of energy he reluctantly allowed himself to collapse onto the soft grass. Closing his eyes Geki honed in on the serene bird song that was starting to take place around Konoha. For the first time that morning, he felt at peace.
Asura puffed lazily on the cigarette perched in his mouth, letting it balance on his lower lip as he watched the Hidden Mist Genin give up his battle with the tree stump, only just managing to catch a loud expletive from his position up in the trees. Asura could see a flicker of rage overcome the Genin as he buried the tanto's point into the centre of the stump.
Gripping the cigarette, Asura took a few long deep puffs before flicking the butt off of the side of the trunk he was straddling. Asura had managed to quit for quite some time, but the addition of him having to train and supervise a Genin team sent his mind into overdrive, and just the one always seemed to steady his thoughts. Looking at the watch on his wrist Asura could see that it was 5:35 AM. He had asked his team to assemble at 6 AM sharp, yet after yesterday's events, Asura wasn't sure if his team would have the same eagerness to get started as they had yesterday.
From what he saw they had the foundation of starting to work together as a team, yet it was their individual talents that needed to be worked on first before any of them could be useful as a coherent unit. Reaching into the right breast pocket of his flak jacket, Asura pulled out the small weathered notepad and pencil that he kept with him at all times. Looking down at the yellowed pages, Asura went over the list of exercises he wanted to go through with them.
6 AM-6:30 AM, Gentle warming up and pulse raiser
6:30 AM-8 AM, Taijutsu practice
8 AM-8:30 AM, Breakfast (location undecided)
8:30 AM-10:00 AM, Chakra control drills
10:00 AM-12:00 AM, Ninjutsu and Genjutsu practice
12:00 PM-12:30 PM, Lunch
12:30 PM, D rank mission.
Putting the notepad back into his flak jacket, Asura could feel a familiar set of eyes on his back. Dropping his chakra to next to nothing in an instant, Asura was met with the same red ringed eyes as his, as he met face to face with his mother.
"I know mothers like to drop in on their sons from time to time, but most just knock on their door with a pot of stew. They don't go skulking after them and hide with Genjutsu," chuckled Asura, before his laughter was cut short by a slap across the face.
"Ten years. You up and leave without reason for ten years. I thought you were dead or worse. All I got from Shikamaru was a half-hearted excuse about the ANBU, and Kakashi wouldn't even look at me. Ten years I've spent wondering if I have to bury someone else..." Kurenai stopped herself, only just realising that she was pouring her heart out to thin air.
Shikara's nerves hadn't abated in the half an hour of sleep she'd managed to steal. Thoughts of the Genjutsu that had been cast on her had been replaced by the worry of the days coming training. It was common knowledge that her father had been Asura's teacher, yet when she pried for information at supper last night, all she got was the same thing from her father as always.
"You're a Genin now, kid, you have to make your own decisions," Shikamaru would lazily reply.
Shikara wouldn't like to admit it to her father, but Asura ever so slightly terrified her. He wasn't a mean teacher nor did he seem to enjoy what he did to his students, yet if that was him holding back his power, then just what kind of tremendous might was he capable of? These questions continued to plague Shikara's mind, even as she mindlessly staggered into one of her team mates.
"Hey watch it... Oh sorry, Shikara, I didn't notice it was you," said Bee as he picked himself up off the floor.
Shikara gasped when she looked at the Genin's face, his jaw obviously swollen and an angry purple welt spread from his left cheek to his chin. "He managed that while holding back, what would have happened if he went all out?"
"S… sorry Bee, it's my fault, I was caught up in my own thoughts and lost the sense of my surroundings," said the young kunoichi, rubbing the back of her neck.
"It's okay, I was hoping to run into you or Geki actually. I didn't want to be waiting around all alone," mumbled Bee, struggling with his jaw.
The Genin pair made their way through the morning glow of Konoha, oblivious to the residents still asleep as they made light but loud conversation.
"So I'm coming back down to earth, and all I see is this sandal getting closer to my face. That's when the world went dark," regaled Bee. The young pair had managed to make their way to the training ground early, yet they still found their mentor and Geki standing there impatiently.
"Ah, it seems like we've all got here early today. Seems as we have five minutes, is there anything you want to talk to me about that happened yesterday?" asked Asura, as he sat down in the grass.
Shikara felt taken aback by the sudden question. "Jonin are the villages' veteran ninja. They've killed before and will again. Why is he so thoughtful of our feelings?"
"Why can't I make a mark with this tanto, I've re sharpened it and I'm still having less luck than yesterday," spoke up Geki. It had been a struggle to ask for help, but his morning's exercise had left the Genin frustrated and looking for answers.
"To put it simply, you're being limited by your own physical prowess. Add in that you are clearly unskilled with the weapon, and you should arrive with your answer," answered Asura blankly.
"Weak and inept. He's saying I'm weak and inept,"
"However, it's clear to see with all of you, that you have yet to tap into your latent power. All shinobi are born with chakra, aren't they? What you three are is an untapped well of might. Observe," said Asura walking over to the nearest tree.
Assuming a fighting stance the older Jonin clenched his right fist, ready to deliver a punch. All the Genins saw of it was a sudden crater emerge, running halfway into the tree. Dropping out of his ready stance, Asura moved to an adjacent tree and reassumed his stance.
"Now add chakra," said the Jonin as he clenched the same fist again, yet this time a faint blue glow was being given off, and this time, instead of a crater appearing, the entire oak exploded as Asura's fist connected.
"Even if your body isn't strong you still have your chakra, your spirit to rely on. But that will be learnt later on today. For now it is time to begin our day, and nothing works better than something to raise the pulse," said Asura looking at his team.
"This one is rather easy, just dodge the fireballs," said Asura, forming the seals with his hand.
"Katon: Grand Fireball," uttered Asura, as his words became great spheres of flame.
Shikara hadn't expected her teacher's methods to be so direct. After a half hour of dodging fireballs, she was nursing a burnt shoulder and her fine black hair had been lacquered to her forehead with sweat. Looking at her fellow Genin she was pleased that it wasn't just her who had a hard time dodging the flames. Bee's robe had small burn marks covering it, and he too had sustained a burn injury, the exposed red thigh evidence of the connection. Geki had managed to avoid being burnt, but was exhausted from the effort, his black jump suit clinging even tighter to the young ninja.
"Now that all of you are warmed up, some more than others," said Asura, casting an eye towards Bee and Shikara, "we shall continue our day with Taijutsu practice. Bee and Geki pair up. I will pair with Shikara," said Asura, gesturing towards where the ground was more level and not a scorched waste.
Shikara hadn't noticed the solid lump form in her throat from the mention of having to spar with Asura. "Oh god, he's going to mop the floor with me, and he'll see how terrible my Taijutsu is!" Shikara almost jumped out of her skin when Asura spoke again.
"Erm… Shikara, you're spacing out like yesterday. Come on, the boys have already started sparring," said Asura.
Looking over to the level clearing, Shikara could see that her counterparts had already started their attack on each other. Geki was being aggressive and pressing his attack, as Bee danced around his opponent's moves. With the grace of a water dancer, Bee bent his body ninety degrees and avoided Geki's straight punch,but was punished the next instant as the punch turned into a downward elbow and struck the youngster square in the gut, knocking the wind straight out of him. After steadying himself Bee bowed to his opponent and resumed his ready stance.
"Don't worry about them," said Asura, waving his hand in front of Shikara's face.
"I just want you to concentrate on striking me, now take up your stance!" barked Asura, as he dropped low into a defensive posture.
"I just got to hit him, I got to make one connect," thought Shikara, as she clenched her fists and readied herself. Looking into her teacher's eyes, she could see him already beginning to analyse her. The dead look in those eyes scared her a little,"It's all in your head, it's all in your head," she thought, as she lunged forward for a low dive at Asura's unguarded feet. Reading this Asura reacted in kind, jumping gracefully over Shikara's outstretched feet, and tapping her gently on the forehead.
"That's one, reassume your stance," commanded Asura, dropping low once more.
"Ok, i just have to break his guard," Shikara thought, as she once again lunged. This time aiming for the slight gap in her teacher's guard. Noticing that she had took the bait, Asura locked his forearms around his student's leg, grasping her calf in a vice grip. Feeling that the grip on her leg was only getting stronger, Shikara flung her other foot at her teacher's head, hoping that he would break his guard to block her foot.
Asura anticipated this and flung Shikara like a rag doll, causing her to tumble around in mid air before landing heavily on her feet in front of her instructor. Once again, Asura tapped her on the forehead.
"Two, reassume the stance," said Asura, repeating the command.
This carried on for another hour before Shikara collapsed in a heap, exhausted, frustrated, and slowly acquiring a bruise on her forehead. The young kunoichi punched at the ground beneath her feet. "Damn it, he's just too good. How do I get better if I'm constantly screwing up?"
Dropping out of his stance, Asura took a seat on the grass beside her. Asura didn't say anything, he sat there and let her vent while he kept a close eye on his other sparring students.
"It's funny, fifteen years ago I was the one punching the ground while your father just sat there and let me. He tried to get me to cut it out, that my outburst was 'troublesome', and all I could think was, 'Why aren't I good enough? How could I ever beat this guy?'"smiled Asura.
Shikara had stopped punishing the grass, but Asura wasn't sure if she was paying attention.
"That's when he explained what the word shinobi meant. It meant to endure, it meant that I had to endure my feelings of helplessness, that I had to endure being put flat on my ass every time, because if I couldn't endure, then I couldn't survive. I had to overcome my shortcomings whilst embracing them, that's what being a ninja is."
"But I'm just a weak little kunoichi," squeaked out Shikara.
"As was Lady Tsunade and Mistress Sakura. They both thought they were once weak little kunoichi. But they overcame that, and they're part of a select group of people to nearly kill me. Keep working hard and one day you too might make that list," smiled Asura, heaving himself up off the ground.
Asura offered out his hand to the Kunoichi as she seemed to ponder on his words, he stood there for a moment waiting for her to take his hand. Instead she batted it away.
"If I'm going to endure, then I better start by getting back up on my own two feet," smiled Shikara, taking up a ready stance.
Asura couldn't help but chuckle. "So it seems your words work better on your own daughter then they ever did on me, Shikamaru."
"Alright then, let me see you grit those teeth," said Asura, dropping back into his defensive pose.
"Gonna get some ramen, gonna get some ramen. I kicked Geki's butt, I kicked Geki's butt," sang Bee, as he marched his way towards breakfast.
Geki skulked behind his teammate, sporting a welt on the back of his head that would rival Bee's. During their spar neither could overcome the other; they had been at a deadlock. That was until Geki slightly miscued his jump, allowing Bee to somersault over him and plant his foot straight into the back of his head, knocking the Mist Genin out cold.
To say he was sulking was an understatement. The young shinobi was radiating a foul mood, and a thunderstorm seemed to be forming over his head. Turning onto one of Konoha's main roads, the familiar waft of cooked meat and noodles permeated the air. With his nose twitching and his jaw salivating, Bee took off at breakneck speed ahead of his team, almost blowing out the tea lanterns spaced out around Icharuka's ramen hut as he dived onto an empty stool.
Entering shortly after Bee, Asura noticed a familiar yellow-haired shinobi plowing through his eighth bowl.
"So this is how the hero of the world starts his day, eh? Troughing down ramen as if it's going out of fashion. Aha it's stress eating, from having the latest Ino-Shika-Cho to train. Tough break," laughed Asura, as he took a seat.
Slurping down what was left in his bowl, Naruto turned in his seat, gazing at the younger Jonin. Asura could feel ice grip his stomach as the more experienced Jonin gazed at him. The waves of killing intent crashed against him as the fist connected with his face, knocking him out of his chair.
"Don't act friendly with me, dumbass, she only asked for an explanation and you ran away. It's been ten years, she just wanted to know why," spat out Naruto, as he belted Asura again.
Asura could see his vision fading in and out, but remained completely aware of what was going on. He could hear everything Naruto was saying, as the Jonin continued to hit Asura.
"Enough Naruto!" bellowed Kakashi.
The Hokage was flanked either side by ANBU shinobi, instead of the ceremonial robe, Kakashi was wearing his flak jacket and jumpsuit. A sign that something was seriously wrong.
"Your issues aside, I need all Jonin to assemble. Your Genin teams will be led to a shelter by the ANBU, and do it hurriedly," barked Kakashi.
"What's wrong Lord Hokage?" Asked Asura.
"We are under attack,"
Once again I'd like to thank Joanna boboletta for beta reading.
Any and all feedback is extremely welcome.