V 3 Ch 2
The Hot springs Vacation Part I
Onari tilted her head as she watched Takeru put his clothes into a backpack. Why was Takeru doing that? She inched closer looking into the bag. He turned around to go through some more clothes. Onari reached into the bag taking Takeru's clothes back out. Yes, the clothes fit. Was it a game to see how many things he could put in there? She wanted to try. Onari started to stuff all sorts of objects into the bag. She added pencils, books, some other clothes, and even Takeru's pillow. It wouldn't fit. Onari eyed it. She started to squish it in the bag. Satisfied with her results, she put on Takeru's shirt. Onari also found a pair of his shorts and put those on. "Onari Takeru," she said as she put the straps of the backpack over her shoulders.
Takeru turned around. "Onari, what are you doing?" Onari had the backpack on the front of her body. She was even wearing his clothes. "You took my clothes out? 'Ri, I'm trying to pack." Takeru reached forward tugging his shirt off of her. He opened his backpack. "'Ri, stop putting other things into the bag. What is in here?" He took out all of the objects she had crammed into it. "Wait- Onari, are you wearing my shorts?" Takeru blushed as Onari lay onto her back and lifted her legs for him to pull them off of her. "'Ri, just take them off."
"Takeru, you have a visitor," Izumi said from the front of the house. She greeted Ryu as he took his shoes off. "He's in his bedroom. It's the first door on the right down the hall."
Ryu sat his backpack by the door. He was kind of uneasy about being in Sasuke sensei's house. Takeru had told him he wanted Ryu to leave with him and Sasuke. What had gotten into Ryu? He normally stayed to himself.
Ryu walked down the hall slowly as he looked around. It was a traditional Japanese house for the most part. Ryu tilted his head as he listened to Takeru complaining about something. He could hear him struggling with something, too. "Hmm?" A girl with long black hair shot out of the room to his right, her feet sliding on the floor as she 's going on?
"Ri! Get back here with my shorts," Takeru yelled as he chased after her. He slid on the floor and went straight down the hall. She was darting into her room trying to avoid him the best she could. "Don't assume I can't get into a girl's room!"
Ryu tilted his head again. "So are you two playing dress up?" He looked at Takeru as the younger boy turned his head to notice him, his hands already on the doorknob trying to turn it. "Morning, Uchiha."
"When did you get here," Takeru asked. He walked towards Ryu. The older boy had his gaze focused down the hall.
"Oh, about the time your little friend came running out of the room," Ryu said. "You told me to come here remember? You said you wanted me to leave with you and Sasuke sensei. I don't know why though."
"Yeah, I know. For someone older, you sure aren't bright," Takeru said. He laughed. He ran at Ryu and jumped onto him. Ryu fell back, his head hitting the floor. "You really don't know how to play, huh? How are you supposed to get to know anybody if you keep to yourself all of the time?"
Ryu propped himself up with his elbows. "I'm too old to play, Takeru. Genin are supposed to be mature and set examples." He looked away. "Hi," he said to the girl who was watching him from the other room.
"If that was true, you wouldn't act the way you do, you big goofball." Takeru looked at Onari. She was watching Ryu with shaky eyes. "It's okay. He's a friend like Saori, Ri." Takeru turned his gaze back to Ryu. "Point to yourself, Ryu, and say your name. Don't tell her your surname. Onari won't understand."
Ryu lifted his arm and pointed to his head so the girl could see. "Ryu," he said lowly. The girl titled her head a few times, her yellow eyes watching him all the while. "She's not very friendly, is she?"
"Onari is just cautious. She was like that with Saori when she came over. However, you're not a girl, so it might take her longer to get used to you," Takeru said. He glanced at Onari before smiling mischievously at Ryu. "So since you're so much more mature than me, I guess this won't have any effect on you." Takeru smacked Ryu hard on the top of his head. He got up quickly and took off running. "Ri, Ryu's it," he yelled as he grabbed her wrist, tugging her. The girl got this horrified look on her face as they both took off running down the hall.
Ryu sat up fully. He crossed his legs. "I guess I need to go teach the baby a lesson." Ryu sighed as he got up. He cocked his head to the left and right, cracking his neck. "You better run, Uchiha! Payback is coming," he yelled as he ran down the hall after Takeru.
"Quick, Ri, in here," Takeru said as he grabbed her arm. He pulled her into the bathroom. "Ryu doesn't know his way around the house so we have the advantage." He smiled at her.
Onari didn't understand. "Takeru game?" She watched him nod. "Boy chase Onari Takeru?" He nodded again. "Who boy?"
"Ryu's a friend of mine. He's on dad's team. Dad trains him. Don't be scared of him, Ri. Ryu's an idiot," Takeru said petting her head.
"Onari no understand. What idiot," she asked.
"I don't think now is the best time to explain that," Takeru said whispering as he put his hand over her mouth.
Ryu walked the hallway slowly. He wondered how big this place was. No one ever came to the Uchiha compound. He had heard about something awful happening here a long time ago. Most of the houses in the area were deserted.
Ryu tilted his head trying to think. Maybe it wasn't going to be as easy as he though to find Takeru and Onari. They could easily run to another building and he'd never know. "Come out baby Uchiha," he said teasing. Ryu snickered as he heard movement.
Takeru held onto Onari's wrist as he moved away from the main door. If Ryu saw their shadows through the paper Mache they would lose. Onari had no idea what was really going on. Takeru moved her out of the front entrance where the clothes were stored into the other section where the actual bathing area was. Big mistake.
Onari turned her head around to look behind herself as Takeru remained focused on the doors. Her heart started to race. "Takeru Onari no like water," she said rather loudly as if the water was fixing to grab onto her.
Takeru turned around. "Onari, he'll hear you!" She was pointing at the tub frantically and trying to push Takeru at it to make it go away.
"Takeru Onari no like water," Onari started to say over and over getting louder by the second.
Of course, Ryu was drawn to the noise. He walked into the bathroom looking around. "Something tells me the game is over. I wonder if I win regardless of the commotion." He opened the other door and found Takeru trying to calm Onari down. "Takeru, she's afraid. Let her out." He grabbed the boy by the collar and yanked him backwards. Onari came flying out of the bathing area. Ryu watched as she threw herself up against the wall eying the bathtub. She was breathing hard as if she had battled something and lost. "Are you okay?"
"I thought this was a good place to hide. I forgot about her fear of water. If mom catches me in here, she'll kill me," Takeru said.
"Your mom is scarier than Sasuke sensei? Wow, that's interesting," Ryu said smiling. He turned his gaze to Onari. His eyes fell on the slash marks that were on her face. "Do you want me to go beat it up for you? I'll punch it and make it beg for mercy," he said smiling.
Onari turned her gaze to Ryu. She had forgotten about the older boy she didn't know. "Ah! Onari no remember boy Ryu!" she moved back some watching him.
"I'm not going to hurt you, you silly girl," Ryu said. Onari kept her distance from him. "But you don't know that do you? You're very cautious for a girl your age. However, if you're too cautious, you will miss out on a lot of things, right?" Onari tilted her head.
"You're wasting your breath," Takeru said softly. "She doesn't understand everything you've said, Ryu. Her vocabulary is messed up."
"Takeru and Ryu, it's time to go," Sasuke said loudly. He had no idea where they were. "Let's move. We have others who are waiting on us."
"Well, time to go," Ryu said. "See you later, Onari." He waved at the girl as he walked casually out of the bathroom.
"Behave while we're gone, Ri. If you're really good, when we get back, I'll take you out," Takeru said as he glanced at her. The girl walked after him.
"Takeru where go," Onari asked.
"We're going to the hot springs with all of the students who passed the Academy finals," Takeru told her. "I'll be back in a few days. You and mom get the entire house to yourselves." He left the bathroom to grab his backpack.
Onari ran down the hallway. She went straight for Sasuke as she passed Ryu. "Sasuke Onari take Takeru test to go with Takeru!" She pointed at Takeru as he came out of his room.
"Sorry, firebird, you have to stay home," Sasuke said looking down at her. "This trip is only for the teams that were formed as of a few days ago." He watched her trying to understand.
"Onari go Takeru," she said softly. "Onari take Takeru test to go." She hadn't been separated from any of them before for a long period of time. Why were they leaving? Why couldn't she go? She trained hard with Neji. He even said she was improving. "Sasuke Onari go Takeru."
"Aw, that's cute. She's attached to you," Ryu said to Takeru as he walked up behind him.
"Ryu," Sasuke said sternly. The boy kept his mouth shut. He looked back at Onari. "Onari, you can't go. I'm not punishing you. This trip is so the students can get to know each other. They have to learn to work together and trust each other. If I were to bring you along, you might react badly to the other kids. You don't know them. They don't know you. If you do well with Neji, then I will consider letting you go on a trip in the future. Is that okay?"
Onari nodded slowly. She didn't like being left alone. Izumi was going to have to walk her to the Hyuga compound for training while Sasuke was gone. And she normally stayed glued to Takeru when he got home.
"Don't worry, we'll have a girls night out while the boys are gone," Izumi said putting her arm around Onari. "I'll even let you jump on the bed and stay in your pajamas all day if you want." Onari glanced at her.
"You're not going to be alone. Izumi will still be here," Sasuke said. "But it's probably because Takeru is going somewhere you're not."
"Why would she want to go with us when we're going to be surrounded by water," Takeru asked.
Onari looked at him. "Onari no like water Takeru," she said loudly. She pushed him away from her. "Go water Takeru! Onari stay with Izumi!"
Ryu started laughing as he followed Takeru out the door. "I think I like her. She's funny."
Sasuke shook his head. He waved at his wife. "We'll be back in a few days. Don't destroy the house."
Izumi smiled. "What does he think we're going to do while they're gone," she asked as she looked at Onari. "I've got dibs on the bed!" Izumi shot past Onari. Onari started to run after her.
"Onari on bed, too, Izumi!"
"I like your family," Ryu said as they walked towards the gate entrance to Konoha. The other teams were already waiting on them. Ryu singled out Daiya easily enough. He was standing by himself, refusing to be near anyone.
"Why do you like my family? They're nuts," Takeru said. "Ever since Onari has come into the picture, our house has become rather lively." His dad was walking ahead of them.
"The reason I say that is because it's only me and my mom. I don't have anyone to do things with. My mom stays pretty busy and I try not to bother her," Ryu said as he kept his eyes focused straight ahead.
Takeru looked up at him. "You've been alone a long time, huh?" Ryu nodded slowly. "Well, once Onari gets used to you, you'll have both of us."
Ryu glanced at him. "Takeru, why are you the way you are?" The boy had a confused look on his face. "I would like to know."
"I don't understand what you're trying to say," Takeru said.
"I am puzzled by the type of person you are. You're sincere and understanding. That's not what I expected Sasuke sensei's son to be like," Ryu said.
Takeru looked at Ryu sadly as he tried to figure out the older boy's emotions. He thought Ryu was a loner by choice. There was more to it than that. Takeru supposed Ryu stayed by himself all of the time so he wouldn't interfere in anyone else's lives. He thought that was sad. Ryu was lonely. Takeru could tell. "What did you expect me to be like?"
"On the contrary, I thought you'd be more like your father," Ryu said. "He doesn't speak about his family. I had no idea what any of you were like so I only had my imagination to go on."
"It's just running rampant isn't it," Takeru said as Ryu smiled.
"Pretty much," Ryu said as his mind started to wander in several directions all at once. Him and Takeru stopped behind the group of kids. Ryu stared at the ground. He felt like he was opening himself too much to the younger boy. It was his problem. He had to deal with it the best he could.
Kiba whistled to get everyone's attention. "Listen up kids. We're going to leave shortly for the hot springs, but first we need to lay down some ground rules." Akamaru looked at all of the students checking them out. He made his own gruff comments as Kiba looked down at him.
"You guys will be assigned a buddy to be responsible for. This is for your own protection and theirs. There are only four of us and twelve of you. It helps take some of the pressure off of your trainers. We expect everyone to behave and follow directions. No one is to leave the hot springs unless they want to answer to the Hokage. That is the most important rule. Is that clear," Shikamaru stated.
"Maybe someone should explain to them why they have to be partnered with someone," Sasuke said.
"The reason you will have a partner is to get to know someone that is not on your team. All ninja must work together. If you cannot respect one another or work well with another person, then missions fail and we end up failing the ones we love and protect," Lee said.
"The buddy system will change each time we take trips. The trips are going to be a privilege for students who train hard and do well," Sasuke said. "If any of you have issues with someone out here, I suggest you leave those at the gate. It won't be tolerated. Your buddies have already been assigned."
"What? Who are we getting stuck with? I thought we were just going to enjoy ourselves," Masaru said complaining.
"Stow it," Sasuke said harshly. He took one look at Masaru and the boy shrunk back. He wasn't going to let anyone get by with anything starting right now.
Lee took out the scroll where he had written down the pairings for the students. He unraveled it. "I suggest all of you take it easy and get to know each other. It's a full day to the hot springs. Let's see… Kandai, you are paired with Saori. Hire is paired with Gin. Areku is paired with Ryu. Takeru, you're with Daiya. Eiyu is with Masaru. And Idai is with Yanagi. You all might as well get used to each other."
"Time to head out," Kiba said. He started to lead the front of the group with Akamaru by his side. Shikamaru and Lee took the side positions while Sasuke brought up the rear.
"Well, this ought to be interesting," Saori said. "I wonder what the sleeping arrangements will be." She started to yawn, covering her mouth.
Kandai smiled. "Don't they normally put boys and girls in separate rooms?" He caught Saori's yawn. "Are you still tired?"
"No, I shouldn't be. Long speeches always bore me to death," she said laughing.
"So you are Idai, right? You're awfully quiet. Is there something on your mind," Yanagi asked.
"I don't talk much," Idai said. He didn't look at her. He knew he was supposed to get to know her. Gai had had another talk with him while he was packing that morning. It was what the trainers wanted. It was what the Hokage expected of the students.
"You could try, couldn't you? Even though we are technically on the same team we have to be friendly with everyone. Working together makes sense, doesn't it," Yanagi asked.
"Are you being friendly to me because they told you to, or because you follow your own head," Idai said kind of lowly.
Yanagi reached up and pushed his head forward. "You need to stop being a stick in the mud. I am always friendly. It's not my fault that you have a wall up."
Ryu glanced at Areku as they walked with the group of students. The last time he had seen Kiba sensei's son was when he and Takeru had ran into Saori that day. Ryu and Areku didn't get along then. He doubted they would now. It's bad enough I get held back. It's even worse I got put on a team with Hire's snobby butt. That Daiya kid doesn't help matters either with his attitude. Ryu sighed. He had to walk on eggshells around Daiya until they could get the boy to drop his guard some. Ryu thought it was impossible at this point.
"You could at least apologize for the way you acted," Areku said matter-of-factly. "Amazing how someone of your age and experience regards others." Ryu twitched his eye. Two points for me. Zero for Ryu. He smiled satisfied.
"Um, so you are Ms. Hire," Gin said softly. The older girl gave her the type of cold look that made her move away. Gin wondered what was wrong. Hire was unhappy about going to the hot springs with a bunch of kids she figured.
Hire stuck her nose into the air as she adjusted her backpack. "Yeah, I am. I'm more advanced than you so I don't tolerate children. Stay out of my way little girl. Just concentrate on your friends."
"That girl must have done something to be held back. If she's so great then wouldn't she already be on missions with the adults instead of requiring more training," Masaru said. He narrowed his eyes at Hire's back.
"I don't like that girl," Eiyu said sternly. "Her attitude is not workable. I refuse to let someone like that think they are better than me. I would like for her to prove it. Actions say everything."
Daiya kept his distance from the other students. He was paired with Takeru, his sensei's son. Daiya glanced at the other boy. He couldn't tell if Takeru was watching him or not because the boy was walking on his right. Daiya could only make out blurry colors with his right eye. It was partially blind thanks to his birth mother. He scowled.
Takeru wondered why Daiya was so resentful towards others. Was he afraid of everyone? Takeru had to be cautious. Saori had mentioned that Daiya was sensitive about familiarity; about the way he was approached. But if Takeru could get Ryu to open up some, wasn't Daiya just another challenge for him? "Watch out for that hole," Takeru said.
Daiya started to search the ground. He didn't see a hole. There wasn't anything on his left. If it was on his right, he couldn't tell. He felt his body run into something. Daiya looked down to see Takeru's arm in front of his abdomen.
"It's in front of your right foot," Takeru said. "Move a foot over to avoid it," he said softly. He took his arm down. Takeru figured Daiya had vision problems, but he didn't know how extensive it was. The scar over the other boy's right eye told him something awful must have happened.
Daiya moved around the hole in the ground. Takeru had stopped him from twisting his ankle. He caught up to Sasuke sensei's son. "Why did you warn me?"
Takeru raised a brow. "Which is more embarrassing? Falling in front of everybody or having to be carried?" He smiled at Daiya a little.
Ryu glanced behind him to see Takeru trying to adjust to Daiya. Oh, good luck. Areku wasn't paying anyone any mind. His eyes were in the trees. Why did I get stuck with nature boy? Ryu tripped over a fallen branch. He tried to regain his balance, but ended up losing it as he hopped on one foot. Ryu fell backwards onto his butt. He gritted his teeth. A tear came out of his eye. Ryu moved his hand underneath his rear to pull out a sharp rock. He looked at it hatefully and threw it.
"Alright, who's going to kiss Ryu's butt," Saori said loudly. "The poor baby fell down and hurt himself." That statement got a few laughs.
"Ryu, watch where you're going," Sasuke said as he lifted the boy up under the arm.
"I think falling is more embarrassing," Daiya said. The look on Takeru's face told him he hadn't expected Daiya to actually answer him. He looked away. Daiya felt out-of-place. He closed his eyes regretting voicing his thoughts.
"Hey, let's all sing a song while we walk all the way to the hot springs," Yanagi said.
"How about we play a game? It's called 'let's see who can stay the quietest the longest'," Eiyu said.
Yanagi narrowed her eyes. "Eiyu Hyuga, you're a pain in the neck. You don't know how to have fun. Would it kill you to be nice?"
"I'm not an unpleasant person. You just don't understand me. I'm also not childish like you are," Eiyu countered.
"Isn't saying something like that a form of childishness in itself," Masaru asked Gin. The girl smiled at him embarrassingly as Eiyu gave him a dirty look. Masaru twitched his eye at Eiyu.
"You three knock it off," Shikamaru said. "We don't need any arguing. If I have to separate you guys, you'll spend your vacation inside the entire time we're there."
"What exactly is our sleeping arrangement? Aren't boys supposed to be apart from the girls," Hire asked annoyed with the whole situation. "Obviously we don't have a female trainer here to watch us while we're at the hot springs." These males and their incoherent way of thinking.
"Everyone is sleeping in a large room. Trainers and students will be together the entire time. One thing that will blow your mind, Hire, is that the hot springs is a co-habitat environment. Everyone gets in together," Kiba said as he grinned at her rather evilly.
Takeru's eyes widened. He blushed badly. He was going to see Gin, Saori, Hire, and Yanagi wearing nothing more than a towel. His mouth twitched.
Daiya glanced at him. "What is wrong with you?" Takeru's face was really red.
"Takeru, we brought bathing suits you pervert," Saori said. "Do you honestly think I would be caught dead in nothing more than a towel around my dad and a bunch of boys?"
Ryu smirked. "You'd probably turn us all to stone." He started laughing. A rock hit his head. He rubbed his forehead. "Man, you're mean for a girl."
"And you're clumsy for someone of your age," Saori shot back.
"Oh, that's entirely gullible of you, Takeru. You really thought you were going to see someone naked," Eiyu said. "Disgusting."
"I'm not a pervert," Takeru said defensively. "You guys shut up!" He moved away from the ones teasing him. Takeru looked away as he walked. How was he supposed to know what the arrangements were? He'd never been to the hot springs before. He rarely left Konoha. His dad was overprotective of him.
Daiya was watching Takeru. He's sensitive to what others say to him. He walked up behind his partner and put his hand on his head. Daiya turned Takeru's head forward. "If you walk into a tree, they'll only have another reason to taunt you."
"There's water ahead," Idai said cocking his head. He could hear the sounds of rushing water faintly in the distance. It sounded like it was coming from below where they were positioned.
"Your hearing is as good as my sense of smell," Kiba said to Idai. "We're going to have to figure out if there is a way to cross it when we get there." The boy looked away when Kiba spoke to him. Oh, come on, kid. It's not a bad thing.
The group came upon the edge of a cliff with a muddy slope. Down below the cliff was a river rushing over the rocks. The kids looked below then at the slope. "We can't go across. The gap is too big. Looks like we're going down the slope," Sasuke said.
"There has to be a safe way to do this. One wrong move and someone could break their leg," Shikamaru said as he looked at the loose rocks embedded in the muddy slope. "Maybe we should escort them down one at a time?"
"They have partners, don't they? Maybe now is a good time for them to start learning to trust one another. They can begin by helping each other down the cliff," Kiba said.
"I agree," Rock Lee said. "Now would be a very good time for them to learn." He walked up to the cliff and looked down below. "The drop isn't the problem. It's the footing." He turned around. "I'll go first. One pair will come after me. So if anyone does lose their footing, I'll catch you." Rock Lee shifted his body as he stepped onto the edge of the cliff and let himself slide down. He put his arm out, tilting so his body was leaned against the slope. He slide all of the way down without a problem. Lee's feet hit the ground. "Alright, a pair of you guys can come down," Lee called up to the group.
"Come on," Eiyu said to Masaru. Both of the boys took one look at the drop then at each other. Masaru was the first to carefully put his feet over the edge. He held onto Eiyu as he got his footing. Eiyu inched as Masaru moved before he placed his feet onto the muddy slope. Carefully they started to make their way down. Eiyu didn't dare attempt to slide like Lee sensei had. He kept his feet implanted into the earth as Masaru moved below him. The boy was holding tightly to his hand. Good thing, too. Masaru took a wrong step and his feet went out from underneath him. Eiyu leaned back and held onto him with all of his strength. Masaru kicked his legs as he tried to grab hold of the earth. He finally got it and Eiyu decided to move again. The two boys finally made their way down to Lee without falling. They moved aside so someone else could come down.
Ryu and Areku were next. Ryu decided to go first to act like a guard to keep Areku from sliding down the slope. He placed his feet onto the shaky soil carefully. It was hard to glue his chakra to it because it was uneven dirt. He turned his head to look at Areku and held out his hand. "Come on," he said lowly. Areku grabbed onto his wrist and they started to make their way down. The footing was the most difficult part of going down, Ryu had to agree on that. Areku was pressed up against him as they cautiously moved to the ground below. Both of them hopped off and stood behind Eiyu and Masaru.
"I guess we can go next," Takeru said. He tugged Daiya on the wrist. The boy followed him cautiously to the edge. "I'll go first okay?" Takeru placed his foot onto the loose soil. Daiya was right behind him edging onto the spot where Takeru had moved from. He looked down. The drop didn't look that bad, but then he looked at how small Lee sensei and the others appeared. Daiya swallowed.
Takeru edged more down the slope, his feet feeling around. Daiya bumped into him. He glanced at Daiya. The boy was constantly looking below. "If you keep focusing on it, it'll meet you face first," he told him. Just as he said it, the ground gave way. Daiya and Takeru started to fall as the loose soil started to crumble. The others below them started to run out of the way as a chunk of the cliff came down.
"Takeru! Daiya," Sasuke yelled as the two boys started to fall. They were in mid-air. Lee was standing below them, his arms open to try and catch them. There was no way to get back up the cliff now.
Saori's eyes widened. She ran towards the cliff, aimed her chakra strings at a branch from a tree and shot her strings over it and towards the two boys. The strings went straight for their legs, wrapping around them. She snagged em. Takeru and Daiya were upside-down looking around bewildered. Saori slid as she tried to keep her balance with their weight. She gritted her teeth. "Thanks for jinxing that, Takeru," she said tensing her arms.
Saori gasped as Sasuke came up behind her. He put his arms around her waist to help with the weight of the two boys. "Alright, how am I supposed to get them down? My chakra strings don't reach that far."
Takeru didn't seem to mind hanging upside-down as much as Daiya. He pushed on Daiya a little so he could sway some. Takeru started laughing. "This isn't half bad," he said smiling as Daiya looked at him like he was crazy.
"Takeru," Saori and Sasuke both said at the same time. "Stop playing around."
Saori looked behind at Sasuke sensei. "Oh, that's just frightening. We said it at the same time."
"Tell me about it," Sasuke said. He looked from Saori's chakra wires to the two boys dangling. How were they doing to get them down?
"Um, I can possibly make them a ladder," Gin said shyly. She blushed as Sasuke sensei looked at her. "I like to use plants a lot," she said trying to explain. Gin walked towards Saori and Sasuke sensei. She looked over the side of the cliff. "I don't know if I can make the ladder this high, Sasuke sensei."
Shikamaru walked over. "I have an idea. Saori's not going to be able to hold them much longer. I can tell by the expression on her face that her chakra is being drained by their weight. We're going to have to let Saori drop em."
"Dad, we can't drop them! They'll get hurt," Saori said. She looked at him like he was nuts.
"Hold on, Saori. Instead of Gin making a ladder, lets see if you can make a basket out of vines to help catch them. Think you can do that instead," Shikamaru asked Gin.
Gin pondered. "I don't know Shikamaru sensei. I've never tried it before."
"Could we get down some time today? The blood is rushing to my head," Daiya said with his arms crossed. They all turned to look at him as Takeru started to push on him a little to make him sway. Daiya flipped his head around, stuck his arm out, and shot Takeru an electrical current through his finger. The younger boy yelped. "Do it again," he warned.
"Takeru, stop messing with him," Sasuke warned. His son was in the process of trying to hit Daiya. The boy stopped.
Gin formed hand seals as she closed her eyes, concentrating. She didn't know what vegetation was below her. A ladder might be impossible if she couldn't find the necessary plant life. Her mind searched the foliage under the earth. She found a few doable pieces of an old tree to help form the plant basket.
Lee and the others watched as plants started to grow out of the earth. The plants were growing rapidly around each other to give the basket support. The basket kept forming into a large oddly shaped bowl. "That will do, Gin," Lee yelled up to the girl.
"Saori, you can drop them now," Shikamaru said. His daughter was straining to keep a hold on the boys. Takeru and Daiya both looked at him in horror as Saori flicked her wrists upwards, the chakra strings detaching. Both of the boys yelped as they fell through the air and landed into Gin's basket.
"Ow," Daiya said. Takeru sat up shaking it off. Daiya looked at him with a stern gaze.
"Lighten up, Daiya," Takeru said. He had gone past the line of familirty in the time it had taken them to get where they are. Takeru crawled over the side of the basket and tumbled onto his side.
Sasuke let go of Saori. The girl was exhausted. It was a good thing she had been quick to react, or the two boys might have gotten more than a broken leg. He reached up petting her head. "Good job."
"The question is, how do we get down now," Kiba said as he looked at all of them. There was no earth for them to slide on. It had fallen at the worst time. "This is turning out to be more of a predicament."
"Yeah," Shikamaru said. He was thinking. His eyes fell on Hire. "Aren't you the one on Sasuke's team that can shift mud?" Hire looked at him nodding slowly. He could tell this girl had an attitude problem worse than anything he had ever seen. "Do you think you can form something to help everyone down?" It was like pulling teeth.
Hire snuffed looking away as she crossed her arms. "I suppose I could, but I was having fun watching you guys figure things out for yourselves." Hire started to form hand seals, closing her eyes quickly as if she couldn't stand to look at them. The mud that had fallen below them shot into the air. It started to form into a shoot. "You better go now before I change my mind."
Sasuke shook his head. "I just had to get her on my team," he said lowly. He wasn't any happier about Hire being held back, either. Ryu was one case that needed extra direction. Hire, on the other hand, was a difficult to begin with. She chose not to listen to her trainer and she was a handful. Her previous trainer, Saijito, had had a time with her. Now she was Sasuke's burden. "Alright you guys, quickly now." He pushed Saori first.
"Oh, no. This is going to be the worst ride I've ever had in my life," she said as she looked over the drop. Sasuke got behind her and put his arms around her they started to slide. Saori closed her eyes. She leaned back and grabbed onto his legs. They soon hit bottom. Her heart was racing. "Please, let's not do that again."
Sasuke brushed off his clothes. "It wasn't that bad." Saori gave him this sick expression.
Kandai and Gin chose to go next. Kandai sat down first as Gin put her legs around his hips. She hid her face into his back as they started to slide. Kandai smiled at her and petted her head to assure it was going to be alright. The mud slide was really slippery so they went down faster than he thought. At the last moment, Kandai got worried and he ended up coming off the slide onto his stomach. Gin landed onto his back. "Are you okay, Kandai," she asked. He nodded. "Sorry," he apologized. "I didn't get scared until the last minute."
Shikamaru signaled for Yanagi. "Let's go, Yanagi. You're next. We'll even bring along Akamaru." The dog came up behind Shikamaru and Yanagi.
"This is going to be fun," Yanagi said as she looked up at Shikamaru sensei.
"I doubt it," Shikamaru said as Akamaru sniffed his ear. "Knock it off, Akamaru." It was bad enough the dog had to go with them. They started to slide. Yanagi raised her hands above her head. Shikamaru gritted his teeth. This was insane. Akamaru's claws were sunk into the slide as he slid behind them. They came off of the slide fast, toppling over one another. "Could someone get the dog off of me," Shikamaru said as Yanagi crawled out from underneath him.
"Idai, we're next," Kiba said. The white haired boy looked up at him, afraid. "Hire has to go last. She's the one controlling it." Kiba walked towards the boy. "Or is it something else?"
Idai looked up at Kiba fearfully. Gai had told him to be good, to listen to his new trainer. Idai didn't trust anyone. He was afraid of everyone around him, regardless of how old they were, or their gender. Every one of them were capable of hurting him. "I-I'm… sc-scared," he said looking down, not believing he was admitting that to Kiba. The man had first met him and wanted to be friends. It was an offer he had never had before.
Kiba kneeled in front of him. "Are you afraid of me?" He watched Idai slowly shake his head.
"No,… I'm afraid of that… girl," he said nodding his head towards Hire. "Sh-She has cruel intentions. She could drop us." He watched as Kiba stood up. Kiba looked behind them at Hire. There was something about Hire that hit home with Idai. He knew the kind of attitude she displayed and what her real intentions were. He had seen it when he was smaller, when he was still living in the sound village.
"She won't mess with you. I know about her, too," Kiba said as he watched Hire gesture for them to go. He put his arm around Idai protectively. Kiba led him to the mud slide. He sat down first, gesturing for Idai to wraps his arms and legs around him. "If Hire even thinks of dropping us, Sasuke will put her in her grave," he said seriously. "One thing I've learned in my days as a Jounin is you don't piss off a Uchiha." He started to slide with Idai grabbing hold of him. The boy had his face buried into his back. Kiba couldn't blame him. Soon they touched ground neatly. It appeared the others had had a rather messy landing. All of their clothes were filthier.
"That took longer than I would have liked," Hire said disgustedly. She brushed off her hands then sat onto the mud slide. "Someone is going to be washing my clothes for this!" As she slid down the slide, she let her chakra go. The slide started to crumble behind her with each way that she went towards the ground. In a few seconds she was already at the bottom. She landed neatly. "You guys owe me for that," she said walking off as they stared at her.
"I feel sorry for the man that gets stuck with that woman," Daiya said rather loudly. Everyone around him started laughing. He turned around alarmed. Even Sasuke sensei was laughing at him. "What did I say?"
"Something so truthful and daring that no one else had the guts to say," Ryu said. He ruffled Daiya's messy hair. "You don't seem to be too afraid of us now. Are you sure you weren't aware that your guard dropped just a little?"
Daiya tilted his head. He hadn't been aware of it, no. When did that happen? Was it when Takeru had warned him about tripping? Or when they were dangling upside-down together? He didn't know. It was lowered alright. Daiya didn't feel like raising it again, just yet. "How much farther is it to the hot springs, anyway?"
Ryu pondered. "I think we're half way there. I haven't been in two years. The trainers have been trying to get us out of Konoha more so that we can rest in between exams and training. It's a nice break. You'll like the hot springs. Lots of water. And since you're a lightening user, you'll probably have the time of your life electrocuting people. Takeru is a good one to target."
"I heard that, Ryu!" Takeru punched his arm. "He already shocked me once! Why doesn't he shock you instead?"
Daiya didn't understand. "You want me to shock him?" Takeru seemed to be taken off-guard with that question.
"He didn't mean for real," Ryu said. "You're kind of to-the-point and blunt, aren't you?" Daiya nodded. Ryu didn't think Daiya knew what other way to be. "It must be nice saying anything without fear. I don't dare do it. I get in enough trouble on my own without even speaking," he said smiling at the younger boy.
"Hey, dad, when we get there can we make a fire and roast fish, or something," Yanagi asked. She walked up beside her father. Yanagi bounced on her toes as she walked.
"I don't know. We'll see. It depends on how late it is when we get there. That cliff has us off schedule," Rock Lee said.
"Roast fish," Idai said repeating what he had heard. "You roast fish at a hot springs?" He didn't understand.
"Some do. Others roast potatoes, or marshmallows to enjoy themselves," Kiba said. "You've never been to a hot springs huh?" Idai shook his head. "I'll have to get onto Gai about taking you out more. You can't sit at home all of the time staring out the window."
Idai wondered how Kiba sensei knew that that was what he did every weekend and almost every night? Idai had no friends. No one wanted to have anything to do with him because he was a sound-nin, or was. He was a sound-nin. Now he was a leaf-nin.
"I just want to put my tired feet in that nice, hot water," Saori said to Gin. She kept walking with Gin by her side. "And if we feel like it, we can dunk that Hire girl under the water. I think everyone would appreciate it." Gin laughed softly.
Masaru and Kandai were playing rock, paper, scissors. So far, Masaru had won three times and Kandai had won five times. "How come you're so good at this game? I can't beat you very well."
"I don't know exactly," Kandai said. "I've never played it before. Eiyu is only interested in training and learning about weapons. We never played much together growing up. This is kind of fun."
"That's kind of odd since you two are twins," Areku said from behind them. "I thought twins were supposed to do things together. I thought they had the same interests."
"We're two different people," Kandai said with his happy-go-lucky attitude. "Me and Eiyu don't right. It's rare for us to, but our interests are not the same, no. He's more serious than I am. I'm more carefree, if you want to put it that way."
Eiyu was reading his weapons book. He would glance up at it every so often to avoid running into a push, or tree. His mind was completely focused on learning the tools a ninja used for martial arts training.
"This group is something else. I guess that's to be expected every time we train new students," Shikamaru said to Sasuke. "Every one of them are so different from the other, but this group seems to get along better; with the exception of Hire, of course."
"I don't know what I'm going to do about that girl. Her attitude is so bad she barely listens to a word I say. I can't tolerate her defiance. It will probably come to a point where I'll lose my temper with her," Sasuke said.
Shikamaru chewed on his toothpick. "It sounds like she needs a good swift kick in the rear. I couldn't imagine having to train a hardheaded girl like that. She acts like she's better than everybody else and she's wasting her time."
"It'smy time that she's wasting. I only agreed to take her on so that Onari could be put on Lee's team in the future," Sasuke said. "I was thinking about switching Hire with Saori. Saori is stronger and she needs the type of direction that Lee can't give her. She needs to focus more on her ninjutsu."
"You're thinking about Onari coming in to train with the others," Shikamaru asked.
"You should see her, Shikamaru. That girl is nothing like what we remember," Kiba said smiling. "Sprout is learning to punch and kick with force like Neji has been instructing her to do. She trains all day with Neji and Sasuke takes up time with her when he goes after Takeru."
"You're kidding," Shikamaru said. "Onari is a fast learner, isn't she? She amazed me those few days I was alone with her on top of that mountain. I can't imagine how strong she's going to get in the next year."
"She may even surpass most of the students here," Sasuke said seriously. "The only thing holding her back is her language skills, reading, and aggression. She's too forceful. When Onari goes for something, she goes for it, not thinking about the consequences. That girl sent Neji flying a few days go. I showed up to get her and he had bruises all over his arms where she had kicked him across the Hyuga compound into a small building they use for storage."
Kiba's eyes widened. "It sounds to me like the Uchiha aren't the only ones to watch out for." He petted Akamaru.
Izumi formed Onari's wet hair into a statue as they sat on the seats in the bathing area of the bathroom. "Ta-dah! It's a work of art! Want to do my hair?"
Onari stood up. She started to form Izumi's long white hair into a tower. She patted it with her hands and stuck her tongue out at she tried to get it just the way she wanted.
"Wow, you got it really tall," Izumi said impressed. "What do you want to do tomorrow? We can train, go shopping, go out to eat – do something to get out of this house."
"Onari go shopping with Izumi," she said softly. "Onari get Takeru present." She said as Izumi washed the soap out of her hair.
"That's a really good idea," Izumi said. "I haven't bought Sasuke anything in a long time. We mainly just worry about you guys. We can both pick out something they would like. It'll be a day of haggling and bargain shopping, for sure!"