Whirlpool's Very Own
Chapter 1: Here We Go
««•»»
The youngest shinobi of and spy for a clandestine group of blood descendants whose families and clan heritage dated back to the ruined nation of what was once Uzushiogakure no Sato, leaned quietly against a dirt-streaked back wall of he and his older brother's home which doubled as a shinobi outfitter. The area wasn't all that spacious, especially once the storage and stock were accounted for; an obvious reminder that the backroom was indeed a stockroom with just enough space to serve the function of a very modest and limited practice area.
The young shinobi appeared entrenched in deep reflection and thought. By way of this preoccupation, he was seemingly a disservice to the company he was currently keeping as he half-watched the blonde academy girl whose hair was pulled back into two thin pig-tails that ended at her hips.
She was meticulously practicing ejecting kunai and shuriken at a makeshift human target with the vitals marked from several scrolls he'd provided to her for her personal use. But only while in the worn stockroom/training area at the rear of the supply shop and when under close supervision.
Truthfully, Kayo knew he wasn't supposed to be teaching her anything as she was still an academy student. Konoha had protocols in place that made it difficult to get consent to teach an academy student outside of claiming said student as an apprentice; which Kayo definitely couldn't do and was also the reason why they weren't outside training.
Even then, a fuss would be made about someone teaching the village's Jinchuriki anything, just out of spite. However, that protocol truly existed to prevent ranked shinobi from teaching academy students in the case they taught them advanced techniques above their skill level amongst other reasons. It was an issue of liability, at least that was the official reasoning.
However, that rule didn't apply to the village's clans and their young prospects...or Uchiha Sasuke. Technically, one person wasn't enough to be considered a clan in Konoha with the threshold being twenty. But it seemed there were many Jonin in Konoha interested in teaching the Uchiha survivor and future shinobi...for bragging rights. Many felt sorry for him, like most of Konoha or they had an ulterior motive, or even because they felt he was truly the future of Konoha. Their future Hokage even. That and apparently the village council forced Sarutobi's hand in allowing it. A risky double standard.
Kayo smiled slightly to himself, shaking his head at the last passing thought. The people of Konoha sure knew how to get ahead of themselves. Truth be told, he really didn't give a damn, but big brother Kei had not so gently explained the consequences for breaking village rules.
Man...his back still gave him problems from that lesson every now and again.
Due to the village's rules concerning academy students, Konoha made sure to have plenty of after-school tutoring and lessons to help those students who were behind or lacked resources at home. However, there were several reasons that Naruko wouldn't have benefited from that, the least of which being her Jinchuriki status. The bigotry extended well into the academy instructors and administrators, and Naruko learned early on that they just couldn't be trusted.
Kayo stood silently, arms folded, and relaxed over his lean muscled torso. The young man's usually bright silver eyes gazed seemingly at nothing, dull and partially glazed over in a preoccupied daze. Despite that, his eyes remained keenly set on the diminutive blonde before him. However, his mind was anywhere but in that space at that very moment. His thoughts went from what the future held for the young kunoichi in training to just how he'd found himself here at this moment, and the events that set him on this path with his big brother that altered his belief of what a family truly was.
Up and until then, he'd always felt that something was off in his relationship to his big brother and his home village. He didn't feel as anxious and out of place as he had after having his eyes and mind opened.
What a village as a home were truly supposed to be, what a village was meant to do for its people, and their betterment and well-being. What it all was supposed to mean. The day he'd discovered just how disillusioned he'd been by the existence of the Kage and the system of the ninja villages, and how it all worked or was supposed to work; often contradicting itself and falling into place like odd pieces forced into a nonsensical and haphazard puzzle. The control, the propaganda, the reckonings, and the economics behind a ninja village...their hypocrisy. Who they served best and those that were overlooked, those that benefitted and those that were forgotten or simply pushed aside...
"Stop!" Kayo suddenly found himself calling out, his voice unintentionally laced with frustration, sounding irritable, and overly demanding.
Naruko immediately jumped at Kayo's suddenly harsh tone, his voice meeting her ears in a loud bark rattling her sensitive sense of sound just when she was ready to make another attempt at launching more weapons from another scroll. Still, the objects flew out from the scroll at high speed without accuracy until they pelted the human-shaped cut out in the head, shoulders, upper torso, and a few of the marked vital spots.
The blonde blinked hard at the target, surprised by the results as she gathered her wits about her. She felt her heart pounding quickly from the scare Kayo had given her.
Short-tempered as always she began fuming and turned to send a hard glare at Kayo that immediately wilted away; instead, she suddenly found herself squirming and shuffling her feet where she stood when she saw the near murderous glare he was sending her. Not to mention he exuded a bit of killing intent that suddenly weighed her down.
'I was barely getting the weapons out of the scrolls before, and not even hitting the target after, so what's he mad about now?' She asked herself thoughtfully. "Wh-what?" Naruko stuttered out, if only just barely, her voice came out sounding tiny as she found herself lost in silver depths beyond the younger Kuria brother's intense gaze.
Kayo's expression turned neutral again and the killing intent surrounding Naruko faded into nothing as he sighed outwardly while shaking his head. 'Damn, I got too into my thoughts and accidentally took it out on the girl,' thought Kayo as he cleared his throat and tried to come up with an excuse for it.
"...Just preparing you, gotta work on not being distracted by sudden interruptions." He lied and stepped over to the girl, noticing that she flinched when he did.
Big brother Kei was the one who made a connection with Naruko. The blonde was still getting to know Kayo and the blonde didn't quite trust him the way she did Kei. Plus Kayo tended to be a bit unpredictable and erratic say times, which only confused the jinchuriki girl more as to whether she could trust him or not. Needless to say it was a work in progress.
However, he didn't let that stop him from trying.
"Take up that last scroll." He instructed while motioning to the rolled-up parchment resting on top of a box marked 'supplies' next to Naruko.
"O-okay…" Naruko trailed and turned to take up the scroll, feeling hesitant after the young ninja's actions, and what she felt was less than a satisfactory explanation for it.
"Alright, now I've been watching closely and-..."
"You have?" Kayo found himself being questioned by Naruko's sudden and surprising sounding inquiry, raising an eyebrow in slight confusion when she did. "It...just seemed like you were staring off into space and not really watching at all." She explained.
"Hmm," Kayo hummed softly. 'Seems she was watching me. That's just fucking great, she probably thinks me an outright weirdo now'. Attempting to play it off, he continued over her. "It might've seemed that way...now, pay attention." He said while hitting her over the head with a knife hand chop.
"Ow! That hurt." She whined miserably while flinching from the strike.
"As I was about to say...your hold on the scroll is firm but relaxed, which is correct. You're managing your chakra well enough, but it could be better. What's hurting you most right now, however, is your stance and that when you aim you tend to hesitate or tense up. Try not to think so much, it's fine if you make mistakes; that's why we call it training." Kayo explained with an instructor's voice and patience. "Now, this time face the target and take up the scroll again."
Doing as she was told Naruko turned to face the target while taking up her stance, but before she could raise the scroll up to attempt to shoot the objects at it Kayo had her stop again.
Naruko jumped a bit, squeaking softly when she suddenly felt Kayo's strong hands grip her small hips. "You're doing this out of a static, right-facing body position. The academy will test you from a standing position as well, but in the field, this will change as most likely you'll be moving so your aim will be most important. So, loosen up a bit, and stand more like this…" While explaining he lightly tapped her on the hip to shift her stance and used one foot to nudge her feet into the appropriate position. Holding her hips he helped turn her torso to face the target more. "Now, your stance is still too narrow so spread your legs about shoulder-width apart and align your spine...now bend your knees slightly. Yes, that's good." He stepped back while explaining the rest.
"Don't think too much about what you want to do, you've got that part down. Rather, focus on where you want to strike. As you hold up the scroll, aiming and ejecting the weapons needs to be done in one motion. That means the technique should be done within a two-second window without any pause or hesitation between motions. Practice bringing up the scroll and aiming while standing just like I showed you and when you're ready give it another try."
Kayo folded his arms over his chest and watched while Naruko practiced the throwing motion a couple times just as he'd shown her.
She continued working on getting down the proper stance she was shown a few times and when Kayo didn't say anything to correct her she figured she was doing it right.
"Take this!" The girl yelled, flowing her chakra into the scroll as she threw it open while remembering not to overthink the act, but to focus her aim. The throwing weapons flew from the scroll, unsealed and propelled outwards by her chakra, whistling through the air in a well-aimed and tightly controlled spread. They sailed through the air until they met their target with resounding thunks as they struck home with more force than she'd been getting out of the technique than her previous attempts.
Naruko and Kayo both blinked as they studied the results of the girl's latest attempt. The upper torso was struck the most, including one to the heart. She managed to put one in the throat area and two more in the head along with one in the thigh close to the femoral artery.
"Yes, now that's what I wanted to see." Kayo clapped his hands while smiling his approval. "Good work."
Naruko's excitement suddenly peaked and she cheered, jumping into the air. "Hell yeah!" She screamed out, pumping her fist skyward in celebration.
"Alright, that's an improvement, but let's keep it together. Gather the weapons and reseal them into the appropriate scrolls according to their colors. This also counts as part of your training as sealing objects into scrolls is a chakra control exercise...something you also need to work on." Kayo explained.
To better keep track of each separate attempt without stopping, the kunai and shuriken along with the scrolls containing them were color-coordinated. It was rare for a novice to accurately strike the same target area, progress was simple enough to track, and if one place was struck more than once it was simply counted as a double hit. Rounds went in alphabetical order as well. Blue meant attempt number one, green attempt number two, indigo for attempt three, orange for attempt four; which Naruko seemed to perform best with for some reason, purple for five, red was six, and yellow was seven.
"Aw…" Naruko pouted slightly, but then smiled and nodded her understanding as she took up the scrolls into her lithe arms to go about resealing the weapons again. After the final round was over, she would've done this fifteen times. Throwing, sealing, unsealing and throwing again, yet she was far from tired or exhausted; she barely even felt a difference in the amount of chakra she began with compared to now. "Say, Kayo-san…" The pig-tailed blonde began slowly, "how long did it take you brothers to get really good at this technique?" She inquired while quickly pulling the kunai and shuriken out of the target one at a time.
"To the point where we became consistent at it?" Kayo thought openly. "For me, a couple of months. But Kei had it down in a few weeks. He's always been able to pick up new things quickly. Why you ask that, you're worried about it?" Kayo inquired as he stepped over to help her pull the thrown weapons from the dummy, but letting her continue to reseal them on her own.
"Hai, a little," Naruko admitted while nodding soberly, sounding slightly diminished compared to the excitement she exhibited just moments ago. "I don't wanna fall behind and have to take more courses during the break period."
Kayo just shook his head. "No matter the skill, learning new techniques always takes some time, patience, and practice. Certain people just learn certain things quicker than others." He explained. "Just remember what I showed you and you'll be good for tomorrow. Anyway, they ain't looking for perfection but ability and competency."
"I guess," Naruko responded as she sealed away the last of the weapons and nodded with her usual expressive smile.
"Just make sure you practice during the break no matter what happens." Kayo said. "You can always improve even if it's just the basics." Still not sure the girl was taking his words seriously.
"Great ninjas became great because they worked to better their craft with dedication, even when it wasn't fun or they didn't feel like it. So when they find themselves facing do or die situations, they're ready and able to perform. That's how you should want to be, ready to respond in clutch situations to help your teammates, friends, and anyone else you care about. And not just for them, but for yourself most of all. Dedication to one's craft will always pay off if you're prepared."
Naruko took a moment to think about Kayo's words. She'd always wanted for people to be able to rely on her and to protect those she cared about; it never felt good being doubted and she'd gotten enough of it in the academy. She never thought much about it despite knowing that's what she wanted and she knew Kayo made a good point.
Now that she thought about it, ever since he and his older brother intruded into her life she'd quit yelling about becoming Hokage or the greatest kunoichi the world has ever seen, and she'd become more focused, taking her training and lessons more seriously because of it. "I guess you're right, I never thought about it like that." She mumbled.
Kayo smirked as he shot her a wink. "Naturally, just remember that and you'll be a fine kunoichi. Now we can begin on wrapping up your Bunshin problems. Before he left, Kei gave me a few things from his notes and observations that'll help. It shouldn't be difficult for you to do." Naruko looked surprised when Kayo mentioned his brother. She never would've thought he cared enough to have thought about helping her while he had other business to tend to.
However she still found herself groaning as the younger brother suddenly revealed a small booklet of notes from his pant pocket, rather than a jutsu scroll. The last time he used that notebook was to help her with her taijutsu and she'd ended up exhausted and sore all over.
"Ah, relax girl. I did say it wasn't that serious." Kayo chuckled while shaking his head at her. He supposed he'd given her a needlessly tough experience when he helped her tighten up her taijutsu form and execution with the help of this booklet, but Kei had a tendency for knowing what was best and he knew his little brother's taijutsu was better than his.
So, like his older brother told him, He'd been purposely hard on her, harder than Kei had advised even. Enough so that his older brother cursed him for hours when he found out.
At the time he just got so frustrated with Naruko constantly yelling how skilled and great she was back then, rather than putting in the work to actually make it true. She was overly cocky and had nothing to back it up and truthfully he wanted to break her for it.
At the end of it Kei apologized to her and was just glad that she was as stubborn as she was and didn't quit because she wanted to prove Kayo wrong and shut him up.
That might take awhile, but she did stop with all that nonsense like the younger brother wanted.
Kayo enjoyed trash talking as much as she appeared to and he definitely wasn't one to talk as Kei had to put him in his place multiple times for the same reason. But that was him not her. Kayo could get away with it under the circumstances, she couldn't.
Naruko watched silently as Kayo flipped through the little blue backed book and stopped on a page near the back.
"So, this Bunshin technique I'm going to help you learn is...are you listening? Big bro said I could teach this to you, but if something goes wrong because you didn't pay attention, it'll blow back on all of us. You better remember what I'm about to tell you!" Kayo warned.
"Hai, I'll be sure to remember!" Naruko nodded enthusiastically as Kayo narrowed his eyes at her to express his seriousness about the matter. He wasn't convinced, Naruko was highly forgetful at times, despite that she had become somewhat serious about her training.
Still, one could never tell with her.
Kayo had her full attention after stating it was a Jonin level skill. "You're really gonna teach that skill to me?" She inquired, just to be sure he wasn't just messing with her.
"Yes and it should only take a few hours to understand the mechanics behind it; the day's almost over with, so no messing around." Kayo seemed to think about something, rubbing his chin until coming to a conclusion. "And you know what? Don't worry about forgetting, I'm going to write down everything about the technique especially for you to read, and worry not, I will test you in them in the morning." Kayo added before thinking, 'yeah, that's definitely something big bro would do.'
Naruko didn't quite agree with those thoughts as she pouted at him and soon became aggravated. "You really don't trust me do you?!" She yelled at him.
"Nevermind whether I trust you or not… Just practice the damn hand signs. Once I think you got it we'll go over it in detail." Kayo spoke over her accusation.
"Asshole...Fine…" Naruko muttered, sticking her tongue out at Kei's little brother when he raised his hand as if he were going to strike her for her commentary.
"You're such a bully...wish Kei was here with me instead." The blonde girl grumbled with a pout as she practiced going through the hand signs without molding her chakra.
"Tough titty, I'm the one that's here and he's not; deal with it. Now, let's go." Kayo clapped his hands together ignoring the blonde girl glaring death at him.
'Freaking brat.' He thought with a huff as he tucked away the small book he'd brought out. 'This must be how big bro feels sometimes…' He thought about it for a moment. 'Nah, never that. I'm nothing like that girl.' He nodded to himself in assurance.
Meanwhile, Naruko watched him from the corners of her eyes as she practiced. He was nodding and smirking to himself. 'He is so weird…'
««•»»
The alarm clock began blaring a ridiculously loud and absurd wake-up call early the next morning. Kayo was startled awake by the alarm clock's racket and turned over to click the alarm button before yawning and slowly sitting up in bed.
Bleary eyes glanced at the displayed time on the clock and sleepily nodded in approval while yawning again.
'Right on point. So long as my timing remains good, I'll make it to the academy to watch Naruko's testing.' Kayo thought to himself as he took a few minutes sitting on the edge of his bed to let his sleepiness recede.
Of course there were no spectators allowed at the academy. That wasn't going to stop Kayo though. He was made well aware that Naruko needed support, friendship, someone to show they truly cared; i.e. a friend, if they were going to win her over and get her to trust them.
So, Kayo decided he would go to the academy in secret and let the girl know he was there to cheer her on! Kei had said they needed to do everything possible to earn her trust and support her. But even he hadn't suggested this idea, so the youngest Kuria brother was feeling fairly smart and proud of himself for thinking of it.
Standing up from the bed he went over to the balcony window in his room and turned the shades to let the glow of morning light into the room. He looked out the window of the sliding door to see the sun ascending into the sky. He closed his eyes, smiling as the warmth from the rising sun washed over him, energizing him.
Kayo suddenly felt a pair of sharp nails lightly raking across his abdomen, making a chill slide down his spine.
"A new day, full of potential and opportunity. Isn't that how you say it?" A cocky though feminine voice said, making her presence known.
Kayo's eyes opened and he turned to face the woman with surprise written all over his face. "Hana..? Good...morning." He slowly managed to say.
The look he gave the cute, feral looking brunette kunoichi made her laugh. "Please don't make that ridiculous expression, it reminds me of Kiba when I walked in on him flexing in the mirror while talking to himself!" She exclaimed, giggling as she held out a mug of fresh coffee to him.
Kayo frowned and scoffed as he accepted the mug of coffee. "I wouldn't do something so ridiculous." He assured the girl.
Inuzuka Hana just smiled and shook her head in agreement. "Of course not, I wouldn't be caught dead with you if you were so lame after all." Meanwhile she stepped into Kayo and stood up on her toes to kiss him quickly on the lips.
He kissed her back, but sighed. He and Hana came out of the academy together. A lot of the boys and girls were intimidated or thrown off by the Inuzuka's cockyness, arrogance, attractiveness, and Tom boyish tendencies.
Not Kayo. They became close friends and often trained together, even having meals at each other's clan housing. Although for the Kuria's it was just Kayo, Kei, and their uncle and aunt.
At some point Inuzuka Tsume began telling Kayo he'd better do right by her and he had her blessing, he was barely thirteen at the time and didn't know what she meant. Kei just told him he'd better not pressure Hana.
Yeah. As if that girl could be pressured.
They just started dating, sparingly at that, four months ago. Neither one of them wanted to ruin the great friendship they had, but once they both hit puberty and started noticing each other physically, it was inevitable.
Both Tsume and Kei kept the leash on them fairly loose. Tsume knew her daughter wouldn't be pressured into doing something unnecessary and Kei simply threatened to kill Kayo if he tried taking advantage.
Every now and again they slept over at each other's places. They both were spoken to thoroughly about sex despite Hana knowing the technique to use for mornings after intimacy.
They may as well have saved their breath though. Neither one, despite occasional urges, were ready for sex.
Kei had told Tsume that despite their light dating the two likely hadn't fully moved past the friends stage when the Inuzuka matriarch asked his opinion about their odd dating habits one day. That explained the rare tendency both had for sometimes taking dates with different people.
Back to the present...
Kayo was surprised Hana was still here because she usually left before sunrise. She did so in an effort to be respectful to her clan since she and Kayo were still figuring out their relationship. She didn't want to give an improper impression.
All things considered Hana was very mature and enlightened when it came to dating, especially for a seventeen years old.
Still…
"I know what that surprised look was all about earlier…" Hana started as she looked up from her plate to Kayo with a slight frown. "I can make my own decisions and I don't have to go home first thing when I stay here ifI don't want to...unless, you don't want me sticking around in the morning?" Hana said while looking at him warily.
After a quick shower and getting dressed in his shinobi attire, the two were in his kitchen having a light breakfast of toast, eggs, sausage, and orange juice.
Kayo blinked and looked up at Hana past damp hair. He could tell Hana had showered earlier as well as she had her hair free and yet to tie back into a ponytail. He thought she definitely looked good with her hair down.
"Don't be like that, Hana. Of course I don't have a problem with you staying." Kayo insisted when he saw her frown edging towards disappointment. "It's just that you never have before. And when I asked before you always refused because you didn't want to send the wrong message to your clan. That's why I was surprised." Kayo insisted.
Hana looked disappointed anyway as she stared at the half empty plate of food she'd cooked for them. No longer eating.
"That's why I stayed. I always have a good time when I'm with you, I figured if it was only once, I could stay with you a little longer. I'm trusted enough, my clan won't jump to conclusions just from this. I just wanted to do something for you that would make you happy."
Kayo sighed, shaking his head. "I forget how silly and girlish you can be sometimes." He chuckled while he finished eating his eggs. "But you're right. I trust you and shouldn't have even questioned you about it. I'm glad you stayed, it's the first time you've had breakfast here with me." He grinned, counting backwards in his head from five.
Now Hana smiled at Kayo's reassurance and started to respond before she caught on. "Hey, just who the hell are you calling silly? I'll kick your ass!" She said standing from her chair with her fists made, looking a cross between angry and pouting.
Kayo just narrowed his eyes at her in question. "Are you...is that a pout I see on your face?" He started laughing in question.
Growling ferally Hana leapt over the kitchen table and tackled Kayo out of his chair onto the floor.
They started out rolling across the floor, wrestling into the living room until they both ended up nearly breathless with Hana straddling Kayo's waist. Both of them catching their breath and staring into each other's eyes led to them making out for the next five minutes...until both of them remembered they had somewhere to be.
««W•V•O»»
Kayo realized he'd made it to the academy just in time as he snuck his way onto the academy practice fields. From his point of view he could see the students finishing up their paper exams. Meanwhile, he climbed into the nearest tree on the academy field while dampening his chakra.
As he continued peering through the glass window he sighted a semi-focused Naruko trying her best to answer the test questions. As he watched, he could tell she was struggling with some of the questions.
He chuckled quietly to himself as he watched the blonde's mannerisms. She was definitely getting frustrated.
'Ah well, let me get her attention.' He thought, pointing his index finger towards the classroom window from his perch in the tree. A blue thread of chakra formed from the tip of his finger, steadily becoming longer as he guided it towards the window.
It was a good thing, really, that Naruko sat by herself at the back of the classroom, but then he noticed something. 'Oh, she's not by herself this time?' Kayo thought rhetorically, able to make out the Hyuuga heiress sitting next to the blonde girl.
'Interesting. I'll have to tell 'you know who' about this.' He thought again as he witnessed the girl sneaking long peeks at Naruko before blushing and focusing on her test again. 'Very interesting.' He grinned.
Slowly but steadily the chakra thread reached the window.
'Dammit, I thought I'd be able to answer more than twelve questions after the help I got from those two brothers. Argh!' Naruko mentally screamed in frustration as she glanced over at Hinata.
'Hinata's almost done and I didn't see her skip one question.' The blonde jinchuriki thought glumly as she went back to her test. It was multiple choice so she figured she'd just guess the rest. She was getting frustrated with it all anyway.
That was when she heard something tapping against the window. She looked and at first she didn't see anything despite the sound.
"Someone's screwing with me," Naruko growled softly to herself as she looked around the classroom for the culprit but seemed like she was wasting her time.
Everyone, even Hinata, were finishing up their tests. The time limit would expire soon.
The blonde jinchuriki spared a glance at Mizuki, but the man was just sitting at the head of the classroom with his arms crossed...glaring hatefully at her just like any other day.
She heard light tapping on the window once more, looking outside again she saw a message scribed on the window in bright blue chakra from chakra strings.
It read:
It's Kayo idiot...
Over here!
In the tree!
Before the message slowly faded away.
'Bastard, calling me an idiot. I'll kick his ass.' Naruko pouted as her heightened sense of sight keenly activated in her mis-colored eyes as she focused on the tree in the distance. The pig-tailed blonde easily spotted Kayo. He was clearly perched, in a crouch, on a tree branch waving at her while holding another sign.
This one read:
You got this. Let's go!
'What a freakin' weirdo!' Naruko rolled her eyes, no longer feeling frustrated. She was then able to answer more of the remaining questions. While she did that she was unknowingly smiling, feeling warm and appreciative of Kayo's appearance...even if… 'Weirdo. A top shelf weirdo.' She said to herself, still smiling.
This event didn't go unnoticed by Hinata, who also saw Kayo in that tree by looking over Naruko's shoulder with her Byakugan activated while the girl's back was turned.
The Hyuuga heiress was instantly curious about Kayo as she'd never seen anyone supporting -her- hero before. They also seemed kind of close in her trained Hyuuga eyes. Also, she'd never seen anyone make Naruko smile like that. Hell, she'd never seen Naruko smile like that, period.
Hinata arrived at an easy decision. She would study Kayo and find out about who he was, his intentions, and his relationship with -her- Naruko.
Iruka checked the time on the wall clock before standing from his seat at his desk. "Pencils down! The first test is now over!" The Chunin announced, receiving a few groans and curses. He nodded to Mizuki to collect everyone's papers.
With the written test done, testing the academy three jutsu was next. Today, Iruka would simply look for ability and competency. A student could screw up, but still receive a passing outlook.
These pre-tests would point out which students needed extra help, if any would repeat, or should consider a different career before graduation.
This helped cut down class sizes. Students that weren't cut out to be shinobi would realize that fact on their own and drop out.
Smaller class sizes earlier helped provide smoother lessons and graduate more successful students.
Classes needed to remain a manageable size. That way the Hokage didn't have to conscript Jonin to teach because there were too many ninja hopefuls.
A lot of those extra graduates weren't ninja material, passing only by refusing to drop-out when they knew better. They proved that by constantly failing the Jonin sensei's teamwork test, then getting confused when the point of the test was explained to them.
Continuing on…
Everyone's money was on Naruko Uzumaki failing and having to repeat again; more so than even the other civilians and orphans in that class.
She didn't seem especially attentive in class. Didn't answer questions when called on, hurting her participation grade, was just below average on written tests, and couldn't perform the Bunshin jutsu.
Given that, there was little reason for them to believe she'd have a passing outlook on the tree climbing test afterwards.
All students were called forth in alphabetical order, placing Naruko at the end of the test. Everyone before her varied from low to middle from Naruko's point of view.
Nothing special, some were passable and some weren't.
When Sasuke Uchiha was called forward there were a few cheers from some of the students, they were quickly quieted by Iruka.
"Sasuke, please execute the basic three in any order you choose." Iruka instructed.
Feeling cocky, Sasuke decided to show off a bit. Using the Transformation jutsu, he shifted into the perfect image of his father, Fugaku Uchiha.
He didn't stop there. He next transformed into Iruka and then again into the third Hokage, complete with smoking pipe.
"Okay, Sasuke. Let's move it along." Iruka coughed, trying not to be surprised at Sasuke's antics.
Smirking arrogantly, Sasuke made his hand-sign to perform the Replacement jutsu, but instead of using the chair like everyone else he switched places with the unsuspecting Umino Iruka before switching back again.
Most of the students in the classroom gasped in awe that Sasuke was able to replace himself with another person. Naruko just scoffed and shook her head, Hinata covered her mouth while giggling at her reaction.
Naruko pouted playfully at Hinata. "Mou...Not funny, Hinata-chan."
"But you two are so alike." Hinata replied between giggles.
"Wha? Are not!" Naruko crossed her arms and slouched into her seat bitterly.
While this exchange was taking place, Sasuke made six Bunshin instead of the required three. Again, the classroom of students and two teachers were easily impressed.
Naruko turned to look out the window again.
This time the girl saw Kayo laying across the tree branch as if preparing to take a nap, yawning in exaggeration.
This time the sign read:
Boring.
Up to you, girly.
Naruko nodded in understanding. He was telling her she could show Sasuke up or choose to do enough to pass. After all the test wouldn't be over here, the other half would be conducted outside.
She chose not to try showing off and did exactly what was asked of her when performing the basic three, the only difference was that she didn't call out the name of her jutsu and she only used a hand-sign for the Bunshin technique.
Before leaving on his assignment it was Kei's suggestion that his younger brother teach Naruko the Kage Bunshin jutsu well enough to perform it without having to announce the name to help concentrate on performing the technique.
Kayo thought it impossible, but that was before he saw her learn the jutsu in under three hours.
That was as far as she went. Still, some of the smarter students caught on to that fact. As did Iruka, and Mizuki, who was angered that the blonde had the audacity to pass.
"Love it when a plan comes together," Kayo said to himself as the class congregated outside to begin the second portion of the test.
Tree climbing, demonstration of a basic non-elemental jutsu chosen from a couple academy options. Naruko had chosen the hardest, scroll throwing. Kunai/shuriken competency, and hand to hand spars would wrap things up.
The long and short of it went like this:
Naruko, Sakura, and Hinata were able to demonstrate the tree walking exercise perfectly, walking up and back down the tree while sticking to its bark. Sakura because she had fine control over her small chakra reserves, Hinata due to the fact that the Hyuuga clan taught their children chakra control from the age of three years old and that included tree climbing and water walking. Naruko's performance was due to practice and assistance from the Kuria brothers, Kei and Kayo.
Naruko had to dutifully ignore everyone's surprise and skepticism, and especially the foolish claims of circumventing the test. Usually she'd yell back and throw insults, but Kei previously helped her with meditation, slowing down instead of rushing, and how to ignore the ignorant outcries from the peanut gallery.
There were no shortcuts to using chakra or ninja techniques and surprisingly, it was Iruka that told them as much.
Most of the students hailing from clans were able to perform the tree walking exercise to a satisfactory level, just not as well as Hinata, Sakura, and Naruko had been able to.
Sasuke Uchiha was the next best behind those three, but he'd only been able to trek to the top of the tree before having to mark his place and flip back to the ground...his fans still cheered.
The kunai/shuriken test followed and revealed the difference in strength between the tests for certain students.
Sakura's performance lacked in that she couldn't throw the weapons hard enough. As a result, she was only able to get half of her overall total to count towards her score. The same couldn't be said for Ino, she had the power, but her accuracy was average. Still, she scored higher than her rival Sakura.
The top five performers were Sasuke, Naruko, Shino, Shikamaru, and Hinata.
No one was surprised, despite their cheering, that Sasuke managed a perfect score. Naruko finished within three points of the Uchiha and Shino tied her score. Hinata missed five and Kiba tied scores with Hinata. For a reason that no one understood but him, Kiba celebrated loudly at tying scores with the diminutive Hyuuga.
Kayo blinked at the scene, a single eyebrow raised in oddity at the Inuzuka's celebratory antics. 'What a foolish boy,' Kayo thought, able to see it for what it was; just another one of those silly, incomprehensible signs of an adolescent boy having a crush on a cute girl. The girl being the young, shy Hyuuga maiden.
From there, the rest of the class finished one point or more behind the top five scores. Not much to write home about, except for Shikamaru...the way the test scores fell, even with his finishing last, his score was still a pass.
And Iruka had good reason to believe that the lazy Nara knew that ahead of time. The boy always did just enough to get by.
The jutsu demonstration turned out to be a mixed bag. Every student demonstrated use of the basic Shuriken-Bunshin, sister to the oft preferred Shuriken-Kage Bunshin. It was the simplest on the list and if one could perform the Bunshin, it was a near guarantee they could perform the Shuriken-Bunshin jutsu.
Clan heirs had more important things to use their time learning, that's why their families had them learn it, so they could quickly move on.
And for the civilian students, it was again the easiest and most simple technique to learn.
There were, however, two exceptions…
Sasuke, who chose to forgo the recommended academy techniques, and performed two Grand Fireball jutsus.
Then Naruko, who thanks to Kayo, had managed to gain a fairly good understanding of properly performing Scroll Throwing on the academy training field's target. She managed to get all except four to hit the target display.
The class could've sworn there was a random outburst of, "Yes, very nice!" That came from one of the trees, but it was eventually written off due to Naruko jumping around and celebrating her ass off for a good five minutes.
All sparring matches were seeded best against worse. Naruko had managed to raise her Graduation Probability Percentage that was positioned at the upper middle of the class rankings. Therefore, both she and Sasuke fought civilian students, meaning no special matchups.
The class, plus Mizuki, had been looking forward to seeing Sasuke thrash Naruko. That wouldn't be happening, but they hoped that would change come graduation testing after their short break.
It was the result Kayo hoped for. Naruko was able to pass her sparring test without any true effort, using academy standard, which was a style not suited to her.
No one would be seeing what Naruko was capable of now and after the break, she'd be that much better. Konoha wouldn't have a clue!
Kayo couldn't help laughing, disappearing in a Shunshin to the front of the academy to await the blonde Jinchuriki wild card as Iruka took the students back inside to announce class scores, those who would need help during the break, and to finally end class.
««W•V•O»»
Kayo arrived at the front of the academy to see others gathered there as well. Looking around he spotted some of the clan heads present to receive their kids. They busily congregated amongst themselves without worry for if their children did well on the academy's Preliminary Tests or not.
Kayo shrugged as some of the parents present looked at him. He chose to keep his distance, and sat on the tree swing where he first met Naruko.
That was almost a year ago now. He found her sitting on the swing in a deep depression that day and it hadn't been good timing. Naruko snapped at him and ran away.
He struck out twice more trying to get her to open up to him, and then he let Kei take the lead. He was naturally smooth and understanding with people, even complete strangers opened up to him.
Kei stated that one day Kayo would understand how he did it, but he couldn't see how. Sure enough, Naruko started coming by their shop a few days after Kei suggested she do so.
'I can hardly believe it, I actually did it. Improved to number three in the class on top of that!' Naruko thought happily, feeling as if she were floating. 'They tried to accuse me of somehow cheating, but Iruka shut them up and told me I did a good job!' The blonde happily reminisced. 'Not that I need Iruka to back me up, but it sure felt good. Hehe! I'll never forget the look on that bastard Sasuke's face when I outdid him on the tree climbing test! Classic!'
Naruko ran out the doors of the academy and burst outside, running past the adults that loved to give her grief with their scornful stares and curse bad about her.
As if she'd ever done them any wrong… Because besides the occasional prank, she really hadn't.
Lost in excitement, Naruko planned to celebrate, mainly by gorging herself on ramen as much as her budget would allow. That meant it wasn't nearly enough.
That was until she heard a familiar voice with a slight twang to it calling out to her.
"Whats up! You forgot 'bout me, where ya goin?!" Naruko's large smile faded a bit when she stopped to see who had been calling out to her. She hadn't gotten far, so when she turned she immediately found Kayo sitting on that old tree swing she'd come to loathe.
Naruko blinked, stuck in place for a moment. 'He's waiting for me?' She inquired of herself, but she realized the answer. Despite the time she spent with him and his older brother Kei, she never thought he would wait for her after class. She honestly forgot he'd been there during the test; just to cheer her on.
...And deep down… She'd greatly appreciated it and wouldn't soon be forgetting about it either.
No matter what she'd thought, there was Kayo waving her over with a self-assured grin on his face. "What're ya doin, girl? Get over here already!" He called out to her again, chuckling lightly at the 'deer in the headlights' look she was giving him.
Snapping out of her thoughts, Naruko approached the tree swing where Kayo was lazily sitting. He stood up when she got close enough and the two silently stood in place staring at one another.
"Hah, good work! You showed them!" Kayo laughed and held his fist out to her, but she didn't return the gesture.
No, instead, Naruko leapt into him and hugged him tightly. "Thank you for helping me, Kayo!" She explained, beginning to shed a few short tears as she felt the older boy hug her back.
"It's no problem, shorty. You put in the work to do well. It was your effort that got you through, I just showed you how. So, what are you crying for, silly girl?" Kayo smiled slightly. 'Ah, brother was right. It does feel good to help others.' He thought silently.
"...Mmh, happy." Naruko mumbled shyly against Kayo's shirt until their hug ended and he held her back some.
"So long as it's good tears, I won't say anything. When our big brother gets back later today I'm sure he'll want to congratulate you too. For now, how about Ichiraku's...on me." Kayo suggested, sounding a little resigned. The girl, Naruko, might've just been a slip of a thing, but she could put away ramen.
Well, any food really, ramen was just the preference.
Stars instantly lit Naruto's eyes as he clasped her hands together hopefully. "Really?! You really mean it? However much I want?"
Kayo hesitantly nodded. "Err...yeah. Dammit Naruko, slow down!" He'd barely said yes when the girl grabbed his wrist and began pulling him to the Ichiraku ramen stand in a dead run.
'This is what I get for being soft with her. Kei warned me too.' The young Kuria further thought.
««•»»
"Another order, please!" Naruko called out while holding up her fifteenth empty bowl with a proud grin.
"...Maybe, slow down there a little. You'll give yourself a hernia or something with the way you're going." Kayo said, shaking his head while slowly working on a third bowl of pork ramen. "I mean, can you even taste the food? I never see you chew."
Ayame, Ichiraku's daughter and the waitress smiled as she delivered Naruko another bowl and took the empty to be cleaned. "Don't listen to him, Naruko-chan...there's nothing wrong with your eating habits." She whispered to the girl conspiratorially.
"Please, don't encourage her!" Kayo sighed as Ayame stuck her tongue out at him and proceeded to the back. He started fishing in his pocket to retrieve the money to pay for this little afternoon out.
"Funny...I used to say the same about you." The voice of another presence joined them. "Is my little brother in danger of growing up?" It asked with a hint of sarcasm in a flat, aloof tone of voice.
"Give me a break," Kayo mumbled, not even turning to acknowledge that voice or the person it belonged to.
Naruko knew that voice as well. "Kei! Welcome back. How was your mission, will you tell me about it? Oh! I passed the preliminary testing, so all I have to do now is finish and graduate!" She spoke quickly after leaping from her stool to speak to him as Kei patted her lightly on the head in greeting.
"Un, that's very good." Kei nodded slightly in response to the girl's enthusiasm.
Kei went into his cloak as he spoke to Naruko. "The mission went well, but I don't think I can tell you about it. However, I had no doubts you would pass… Therefore, you've earned this, congrats." A handsome half-smile graced his face as he presented a scroll from his worn cloak and handed it to her. "It'll give you something to do and focus on. Wait until you get home to peruse it, yes?"
"Ooh," Naruko's eyes widened, sparkling excitedly when she saw he had a scroll. It was wrapped in a silk red cloth, so it was hidden, but the shape gave it away. She looked up at Kei, having heard his words despite focusing on the gift he'd given her.
She secretly hoped for a cool jutsu or something along those lines as she nodded affirmatively. "Right, I won't open it until I'm alone."
"Take good care of that scroll, Naruko." Kayo suggested as he stood to join the two. "A gift from big bro, especially a scroll, is definitely bound to be something special." He grinned and ruffled the blonde's head playfully.
"I got it, I got it!" The blonde growled as she swiped Kayo's hand away.
"Alright then, Kayo...we've got some important business to discuss for the shop. Naruko, get home safely and we'll see you later." Kei said seriously before disappearing into a diffusing chakra cloud.
Naruko looked a little disappointed. Despite knowing it was now in the evening hours and the sun was beginning to set, she didn't feel like going home quite yet. "I thought we were going to celebrate a little more." She said hopefully, pouting a little.
Kayo just shook his head and smiled. He knew she hated being alone. "Ah, don't look so down. Big bro is always like this after a mission, just give it a day. Remember, tomorrow's your day off, so you can do whatever you want. Train, relax, sleep in, come by the shop...whatever. Plus, you've got that nice, fat scroll brother gave you to keep you company." He winked and Naruko smiled slightly. "Alright then, we'll be seeing you…"
After Kayo was gone, Naruko smiled some more as she looked at the scroll. It was a good size. 'Oh!' She thought, 'maybe there's multiple techniques in here!' she thought excitedly, now wanting to get home as soon as possible.
««W•V•O»»
"The Uzumaki Mask Shrine...this is your first time being here, isn't it little brother?" Kei asked as they stepped off a little known path through the thick woods of Konoha and into an opening where a dilapidated shack resided.
"Hell yeah, it is. You and those Uzumaki siblings taught me about this place, but seeing it like this...it's a bit underwhelming." Kayo sighed, until he suddenly felt a strong presence of chakra falling over him. "Yo, what the hell is that?!" He said nervously, his hand twitching towards one of his scrolls.
Kei smirked and stopped walking as he turned to address his brother's question. "That's coming off the collection of masks within the shrine. See, Uzumaki and other Whirlpool clan items are highly coveted...not only because of their extinction, but because most are otherworldly items, likely to never be matched." He snorted derisively. "If the world hadn't been so envious of the clans of Whirlpool, especially the Uzumaki, that knowledge might've been shared with them."
Kayo blinked and frowned. "You're telling me, those masks are that powerful, the residual chakra they give off is this strong?" Kei nodded in affirmation as he turned to enter the shrine.
"These masks are ridiculously strong. Eiji told me that with the proper preparations, one of the masks inside could even restore the dead to the living. So, please...don't touch anything." Kei warned as he lead his brother up the creaking, worn steps into the shrine's open entrance.
The doors had fallen off their hinges and collapsed to the dust covered floorboards.
"Does Naruko know about this place?" Kayo inquired with a raised eyebrow as he looked at the collection of masks decorating the walls. The shrine was empty and desolate otherwise. The tatami mats were mostly worn away by water and bugs eating the material, and the smell of mold permeated; still, the shrine showed no signs of being structurally weak.
"No, she does not and she will not until it is time. Understood?" A new voice spoke up before Kei could answer. Both brothers turned around to see the Uzumaki brother and sister, Kagura and Eiji.
It was Kagura who had spoken.
"I understand," Kei and Kayo answered nearly in unison to her inquiry. Whether the question was rhetorical or not, neither one was going to have their loyalty to their cause questioned. Especially Kei.
While Kayo did take their business seriously, he was still sixteen and young yet. Certain matters and facts of what they were doing wouldn't be as deeply understood by Kayo as the other members. In that way, Kei's younger brother was still proving himself.
"Quite the place, isn't it, eh Kayo?" Eiji asked as the two greeted each with a fist bump.
"That it is," Kayo said breathlessly. The chakra residing within and around the place was something to behold. It wasn't that it was overwhelming per se, but he'd never felt anything like it before.
Meanwhile, his older brother and the Uzumaki siblings didn't seem bothered by it.
"Eiji, please…" Kagura said to her twin brother with a sigh. She didn't mind the conversation or light tone between those two, it helped keep some levity about them despite the serious situation, but this visit was strictly business. In and out.
"Kei," Kagura spoke up again, regarding the young man with pure purple eyes. "How did things go during your visit to Wave?"
Kei sighed. "Sakaeru is struggling there on her own…-"
"That's not what I asked. We placed her there for a reason." Kagura interrupted Kei, sounding indifferent.
"You're right, my bad." Kei apologized. Eiji shook his head at how uptight his sister was acting at the moment and Kayo looked between the two curiously. He'd never heard her speak like that to Kei before.
"The trip to Wave was productive. Everything went as planned and that midget Gato is none the wiser. Seems he's taken to hiring a couple missing-nin to reinforce things, but I believe that by the time the bridge builder is ready…" Kei paused, grinning deviously. "They'll be well prepared to be felled."
Kagura allowed a small, satisfied grin to grace her lips. "Oh, Kei. That sounds very divine. Please, get a report to me in the coming days. I'd love to be told details of the tale."
Kei bowed his head lightly, eyes closed. "I can do that for you." He answered positively.
"What of the scroll, did you deliver it to the princess?" Kagura next asked, this time her expression held a hint of worry.
"Please, Kagura. Relax. I gave Naruko the scroll under the guise of being a present for doing well to get through the pre graduation test reviews." Kei stated with a nod.
"You only gave it to her today!" Kagura asked, her tone a mix of surprise and worry. "Why, Kei? Why did you wait this long?" She asked, believing their plans would be set back. She had given Kei that scroll three weeks ago!
"The timing was bad." It was Kayo that answered.
Kagura glanced at Kei who nodded silently in agreement when she did. "How so?" The redhead asked, sounding a little irritable.
"Well, when you gave bro that scroll, we were only just starting to speak with Naruko-chan. After that, we were helping her with her training because she was months behind her class peers, and by then…" Kayo shrugged.
He knew that if they had given Naruko that scroll before the pre graduation test review, she would have been better off, yes. However, she wouldn't have been able to focus on the academy work. Something could have snowballed and set back her training.
Both Kei and Kayo agreed that once academy break began, it would be best to present the scroll as a present. Then they could use the entire break working with her and they would still be on track, and with no distractions.
That's exactly how Kayo explained it to Kagura and Eiji.
"Hm...good thinking, you two. This is even better than I would've thought," She muttered to herself, her hand to her chin. "Alright, proceed how you wish, but keep me updated after her Awakening. How she goes after that will greatly impact our future."
"Of course," Kayo and Kei said in unison to Kagura.
"Alright, we're off to Water Country to join Tsutsuji. We'll be in touch." Eiji said as he and his sister started out the mask shrine. "...And Kayo, good work, kid. Keep it up."
"You got it," Kayo replied with a cocky grin as the two departed. "Well, big bro, I don't know about you, but I'm ready for some rest."
Kei shook his head negatively. "You can head home. I'm not taking any chances of some fool bothering Naruko while she's busy with that scroll." He then held his fist out to his younger brother. "Catch up in the morning, my treat?"
"Most definitely." Kayo bumped his fist with his brothers. The two separated, going their own ways.
««•»»
Naruko was at home, the lights in her home dimmed down. The scroll Kei gifted her was sitting on her coffee table, free of the red silk cloth it was originally wrapped in.
The girl was very anxious to open it, but she remembered a bit of advice that Kei had given her when it came to cooling down after a long day.
With that in mind, Naruko settled the scroll on her table in the living room and first decided to light some incense and scented candles. Kei had said it helped to provide a calming and relaxing 'atmosphere' whether you were planning to go to bed, relax and read a book, or even study.
Naruko found this also worked for her and so she'd taken to the ritual whenever able. Once the scents began filling her small apartment, she went to take a shower and get changed into some comfortable night clothes. Which was really just an overly large shirt and panties.
Afterwards, she'd made some tea and now here she sat. Hair damp, a comfortable large shirt covering most of her lightly tanned skin, smell of nature surrounding her and a fresh cup of tea to drink.
As she stood over the coffee table, Naruko picked up the scroll carefully and slowly began to unroll it. "Mmh...looks blank." She muttered. That couldn't have been right. She unfurled the scroll more.
Naruko froze suddenly, her shoulders drooping and arms lowering to her sides. Beside her, the scroll fell to the floor, and her eyes rolled over to the back of her eyelids.
"Yes," she said, before pausing.
"No…" She seemingly answered, pausing again.
"Yes, I would." Another answer.
This time the lights, incense, and candles in the apartment all went out at once and Naruko collapsed on the coffee table before her, breaking through it, and remaining unmoving.
Meanwhile, Kei was standing on the roof of another building, not too far away. He'd been watching through her window as best he could. Watching to make sure she opened that scroll and also to make sure none of the fools of this village would bother her during this important time.
Konoha residents had a bad habit of bothering Naruko at the worst of times. Well, not this go around.
Kei lowered his head, closing his eyes, and hoped with everything in his body that he was still doing the right thing. Right or wrong, they would all find out soon.
"Here we go," he muttered to himself with clasped hands.