Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Naruto: Zero Chronicles ❯ Chapter 4: The Iron Wolf ( Chapter 4 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: ZeroGn28 
The group meats UMEKO! The super hyper ninja!
Anime/Manga: Naruto Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Martial Arts / Drama / Comedy / Adventure / Action | Type: Self Insertion | Uploaded On: 05.19.2006 | Pages: 2 | Words: 4.0K | Visits: 321 | Status: Completed
The group meats UMEKO! The super hyper ninja!
Anime/Manga: Naruto Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Martial Arts / Drama / Comedy / Adventure / Action | Type: Self Insertion | Uploaded On: 05.19.2006 | Pages: 2 | Words: 4.0K | Visits: 321 | Status: Completed
Chapter 4: The Iron Wolf
Zero began to open his eyes, as he noticed that someone was standing next to him. He looked up to see Sakura, staring down at Sasuke and Naruto, who had been standing in the front of the class. Zero looked around to see that they were the only ones in the classroom, besides Ryuu and Den. Sakura looked over at Zero and smiled.
"So, you’re awake now?" She asked, still smiling. Zero just looked at her for a moment with a blank stare.
"What’s going on?" He asked her. Sakura looked down at Sasuke and Naruto again before answering.
"Our Jounin are late, it appears." She said, still staring at Naruto and Sasuke. "I can’t believe I’m stuck on a team with such a loser, like him." She added. Zero had began to stand up and looked over at Sakura.
"Who? Sasuke?" He asked, turning away and walking down towards Den and Ryuu.
"I didn’t-" She started, before stopping herself, noticing Zero had already walked off and was not waiting for a reply.
"You fell asleep again." Den said, not looking in the direction of Zero.
"So…" Zero replied looking at the almost empty classroom. "What’s going on?" He asked.
"Everyone else went off with their Sensei’s." Ryuu replied suddenly. "Ours seems to be late." He took off his headphones and placed his CD player into a large pocket on his pants.
"Same thing Sakura-chan said." Zero added. Zero looked around at Sasuke and Naruto, Naruto seemed to be yelling at Sasuke for something, but Zero couldn’t care less. He then turned his attention to Den who was staring at him in a strange way.
"Still trying to do it?" Zero asked him causing Den to look away.
"I don’t know what you’re talking about." Den replied looking out a window. Zero just smirked slightly.
"Interesting, you try to read my mind. Yet you know it’s impossible, and you won’t read Sakura’s mind so you could find something to talk to her about." Zero said laughing as he walked into the direction of Naruto and Sasuke.
"You know, he’s right Den-san." Ryuu said leaning up against the wall.
"Oh shut up." Den said sitting down and staring angrily at the wall.
"What is with all the yelling?" Zero asked. Naruto quickly turned around to see Zero standing behind him.
"Naruto is just being an idiot." Sakura’s voice rang out from a seat near them.
"Sakura-chan…” Naruto said with a sad hint to his voice looking at the ground.
"Sounds like him." Zero said laughing.
"HEY!" Naruto yelled jumping up into the air. Zero just smiled and looked around.
“The hell!?" Zero said looking toward a window, as everyone turned to see a woman wearing short-sleeved red jacket with black circles on the sides; she had a black sleeveless shirt underneath that cut off at her stomach that was wrapped in gaws. She also was wearing a black slit skirt that reached past her knees. She had dark blue eyes, and pitch black hair resembling that of Den’s. Her hair was put up into a ponytail with red and black beads hanging off selected strains of hair that wasn’t part of the ponytail. Den and Ryuu both looked over to see the woman as well.
"Who is that?" Den asked slowly, bewitched by the woman who was in the window.
"I…" Ryuu began but paused for several moments. "I don’t know." Zero noticed that the woman was staring directly at him, and for the first time he felt uncomfortable being looked at.
"You’re Zenhi, Zero?" She asked in an excited tone jumping through the window and landing in front of him. Zero stared at her for several moments before answering her question.
"Y-yes." Zero said backing away slowly, unsure of why he felt so afraid of her.
"Who are you?!" Sakura yelled suddenly fed up with the looks everyone in the room was giving this mysterious girl.
"Oh yea! I’m supposed to tell you that, aren’t I…?" She said smiling. "I’m Sato Umeko, ‘The Iron Wolf’!" She exclaimed pushing a thumb against her chest.
"Iron Wolf?" Den asked in a low tone, as Umeko suddenly jumped over Zero’s head and landed in front of Den.
"Yes, that’s what they call me!" She exclaimed in an upbeat attitude, smiling. Ryuu continued to stare at this hyperactive Jounin.
"That means th-." Zero began slowly turning around. Umeko was standing right behind him with her eyes closed smiling. Zero backed up a bit surprised by how she got behind him with out knowing.
"Yup, I’m your new trainer!" She exclaimed, again grabbing Zero’s wrist, as Zero’s eyes widened unsure of what was happening. Umeko still holding onto Zero’s wrist pulled him towards the window. "Time to go!" She yelled jumping out of the window, pulling Zero with her. Den stared in silence for a few moments before speaking.
"This is going to be very, very odd." He said walking towards the window.
"Did you see the look on Zero’s face? I think we got someone who actually stalls him up." Ryuu said laughing.
"She was scary." Naruto said looking at the ground.
"Oh shut up." Sasuke said. Naruto looked around and grabbed an eraser.
"Bye Den-san! Bye Ryuu-kun!" Sakura called out as the two gennin jumped from the window in hopes to catch up with their new teacher.
“This is annoying.” Den proclaimed, as he and Ryuu jumped from rooftop to rooftop, still finding no sight of Zero nor Umeko. To this Ryuu turned his head slightly, continuing his scouting.
“If this is going to be a habit of hers, then I agree.” Ryuu answered, as the two stopped on top of the Hokage’s dwelling, looking down over the village. Both stared down, watching the village intently for a few moments, before something caught Ryuu’s eye.
“I think I see them!” He called, quickly jumping away and running down toward the far-off sight.
“What?” Den asked after a moment, turning to where Ryuu was a moment ago, only to notice that he had already taken off. “He left without me!?” Den blurted out, looking down toward the village again, noticing Ryuu’s figure a few hundred paces away, still on the move.
“This ‘Iron Wolf’… First she appears out of nowhere, and late. Then she runs off with Zero-kun. How troubling.” Ryuu said under his breath, still running toward the spot that he had sighted earlier, hoping that Zero and Umeko would still be there. Stopping at an intersection, Ryuu quickly darted his eyes in all directions, before fixating them on his two targets.
“Finally! Took you a whole five minutes, to get here though...” Umeko announced, before Ryuu could say what was on his mind. Stepping forward from Umeko’s side, Zero looked toward Ryuu for a moment, and then spoke.
“So you finally caught up.” He started, looking around slowly, before finishing. “But it looks like you lost Den-kun.” Zero said with a sarcastic laugh, as Umeko watched the two, apparently fascinated by their interactions.
“I didn’t lose him, he just isn’t here at the moment, I’m sure he will be here soon thou-” Before Ryuu could finish however; there was a loud crash from above, as Den slipped on a jump, and hurdled straight toward Ryuu.
“L-look out!” He yelled in midair, as Ryuu casually stepped to the side, causing Den to launch past him, hitting the ground, and rolling a few feet before crashing into a wall. Umeko and Zero both stared wide-eyed for a moment, as Ryuu turned back to see Den leaning against the wall in a daze. Shaking off the shock and regaining his composure, Den quickly jumped up and ran to Ryuu.
“W-we’ve… been going the wrong way… I think I saw them…back there…”
He stated, trying to regain his lost breath, as everyone stared at him, puzzled as to what he was talking about.
“Den-kun, we’re right here.” Zero said in a matter-of-fact fashion. Den looked over and hung his head in shame. Umeko stared confusedly toward the trio, before stepping forward.
“Ok, Ok, we’re all here now! We’ve had a few minutes of fun, so I guess we should get started…” Umeko said with a sigh, as her eyes darted among the three that stood before her. Slowly raising her arm, she extended her finger, pointing it toward Ryuu.
“You! You’re Hebi, Ryuu, right?” She called, as Ryuu took a step forward, looking away from Zero and Den.
“That’s me, yea.” He answered in a somewhat annoyed tone, unsure as to what she was expecting of him. Placing her hands on her hips, she stared toward Ryuu a moment before continuing.
“Well I’m supposed to be the leader of this squad; it might help if I knew something about my team, so start talking!” She said with loud enthusiasm, and a slight laugh. Turning his CD player down, Ryuu let out a sigh mumbling something under his breath, before finally answering.
“What is there to say? Be more specific.” Growing somewhat bothered by his failure to answer the question, Umeko rephrased her question yet again, in a slightly annoyed tone.
“Just tell me why you’re a ninja then! You have to have some reason!” Ryuu looked toward the sky, lacing his hands behind his head, as he thought the question over.
“I’m a ninja because… I guess it sounded like a good idea at the time… So here I am.” Cocking her head to the side at Ryuu’s response, she placed her finger under her chin and thought it for a moment before coming up with a response.
“I… understand.” She replied, turning toward Zero and Den as Ryuu retreated to a wall where he sat back and turned his CD player up again. Raising her arm in much the same fashion she had earlier, she fingered toward Den.
“That means you must be Setsu, Den. Why are YOU a ninja?” Hearing this, Den jumbled forward looking toward Umeko, but quickly averting his eyes to the ground.
“Y-yes Umeko-sensei…” He said with a slur, as she continued staring toward him, awaiting his reply.
“W-well, Ninja are strong and respectable… And I w-want to be just like th-that…” He said nearly whispering, as Umeko walked toward him.
“Good for you!” She yelled with exaggerated enthusiasm, patting him on the head as she walked past. Quickly turning away to hide his embarrassment, Den walked to the wall that Ryuu sat against, silently joining him against it, as Umeko took stood directly in front of Zero.
“And finally, your turn, Zero-kun!” She said, pumping out her chest and crossing her arms over it, as Zero stared in awe. Suddenly realizing everyone was watching him, Zero pulled his composure together.
“Me? I don’t have a reason…” He said with a meekness not normally found within his tone, as Umeko began to smile.
“Oh that doesn’t do! You have a reason, or you wouldn’t have made it this far! Come on, you can tell me.” She said with a wink, as Zero began to feel a bit uncomfortable.
“What can I say…? I just felt like being a ninja.” He responded, preparing to turn away, as Umeko grabbed his shoulder.
“Ryuu-kun already used that excuse! At least come up with a NEW one!” She said staring Zero into the eyes, and winking once again. Turning toward Den, Ryuu spoke just loud enough for Zero to hear too.
“Wow! Zero-kun, looking foolish? How unexpected.” Shooting a dirty look toward Ryuu and Den, Zero decided to speak again.
“Fine, then! If you really want to know, the only reason I’m a ninja is to make all of you ‘other’ ninja look bad by comparison!” He said with an haughty laugh, as Ryuu and Den watched. Umeko began to smile, stepping in front of Zero.
“THAT is a better answer!” She exclaimed, before the expression on her face suddenly became serious, as she continued and turned her head toward Den and Ryuu.
“Tomorrow, we will see if you can do just that…” She then stared at the ground in a slight reverence for a moment, before suddenly reverting back to her bubbly mood.
“Well that wraps up this meeting! We’re all acquainted and stuff, so anybody got any questions or anything?” Hearing this, Den stood up slowly, and began talking in a near whisper.
“W-well actually I w-wanted to kn-” Before he could finish however, Umeko placed her hands on her hips.
“No questions, then? OK! Tomorrow, the REAL fun begins! Good-bye, Ryuu-kun,
Den-kun and you too, Zero-kun! ” She said with another wink, before quickly jumping up, and disappearing amongst the roofs of the village buildings, at a near blinding speed. Still standing with his jaw open, Den dropped his arm to his side and shook his head at the fact of not being noticed, as Ryuu stood up and walked toward Zero.
“Hmph, This may become annoying…” Ryuu said with a sigh, looking in the direction that she had run off in, as Zero turned his head to face Ryuu.
“Annoying?” Zero asked in disagreeable sounding tone, tilting his head slight to the side, as Ryuu sat for a second thinking, before continuing.
“She seems too energetic, and I also feel she is immature for a Jounin.” Ryuu finished, as he adjusted his headset. Squinting his eyes, Zero turned toward Den who still stood silently a few paces away, then looked back at Ryuu.
“She didn’t seem that bad. I mean, would you rather we have some decrepit old man, with no spirit or vigor left in him?” Zero protested. Uninterested in arguing his point, Ryuu turned the volume on his CD player up, and turned down the road.
“I’m going home, chasing after you and our, ‘spirited, vigorous sensei’, has drained me… I need a nap.” Zero watched Ryuu recede away for a moment, before turning toward Den who had taken a fascination in the leaves that were blowing about the area.
“Den-kun! Did Umeko-sensei really seem ‘too energetic and immature’?” He asked quickly, snapping Den out of his daze.
“W-well… she was, alright… I guess…” Den answered in a humble tone, as Zero’s raised an eyebrow, tilting his head back to normal, and shrugging slightly.
“I don’t see what you guys have against her.” Zero said with a sigh, turning his back in the direction opposite of where Ryuu had gone off in.
“I didn’t say that! I, mean I don’t, not like her…” Den stated defensively, as Zero stopped, looking over his shoulder back toward Den.
“It doesn’t take some ‘Setsu Psychic’ to understand what you meant, Den-kun. You may as well just say what’s on your mind, and not only on that matter, either.” At this a silence overtook the two, as Den stood silently, and Zero turned forward again.
“Either way, good-bye, I have some business to take care of, I’ll see you tomorrow.” Having spoken his mind, Zero continued toward down the road, as Den turned toward his home also.
The next day came slow for Zero; he had stayed up longer then usual wondering what was in store for him tomorrow. He also had awoken two hours earlier then he intended. Umeko had informed Hiashi, about what time we should be with her, but Zero had still managed to get there two hours earlier then he was suppose to have. He was standing in the same spot Umeko had dragged him to the day before, he stared aimlessly into the sky.
<Guess, I am early for once.> Zero said pulling out his Shinai he then began to concentrate on the air that flowed around him. Taking his normal stance he quickly began performing standard training exercises with his weapon. His mind was to preoccupied to notice that someone was walking up from behind him. Suddenly an arm wrapped around his neck and pulled him backwards.
"The hell?!" He yelled suddenly.
"Hello Zero-kun." Umeko’s voice called out from behind him. "Now why are you the only one who came early?" Zero relaxed for a moment before noticing he couldn’t breathe too well with her arm around his throat.
"I don’t know- but- its hard to-" Zero tried to say, Umeko stared off for a moment then quickly let go of him.
"Its ok, I have something for you anyways!" She yelled jumping up and down with a smile on her face.
"For me?" Zero asked slowly turning around to see Umeko had her hair down, and not only that but he noticed she had a katana attached to her back.
"Oh yes, something very special that only someone like you could use!" She said smiling at him.
"Someone like me?" Zero asked her missing what she was getting at.
"Yup!" She shouted as if she was very proud of something. "I made it my self, when I found out you would be my subordinate." Zero stared at her unknowing of what she could have possibly made him, in some sense he also feared what she was going to give him.
"Where is it?" Zero asked looking at her empty hands.
"Oh yea! Hold on then." She then ran off in an odd slow fashion as she reached a bush. After several moments she yelped in excitement. "HERE IT IS!!!" She pulled out something that looked like a long red rod. She turned towards Zero and winked, Zero stepped back a few feet with a stressed out look. Umeko then ran back over to Zero and presented to him the red rod, but now that Zero could see it up close it was a red clothe wrapped around something. Umeko bowed and began to speak in a voice that resembled a servant to his master. "Here Zero-kun, I made you this present. To help you make all of us ‘other’ ninja look bad." Zero reached out and grabbed the cloth to notice it felt very hard and cold what ever was under it.
"Should I-" Zero began to ask but Umeko interrupted.
"Well open it!" She said smiling at him and leaning down to examine his face. Zero quickly unwrapped it to see it had been a real sword. His eyes opened in disbelief at the craftsmanship, the handle resembled that of Umeko’s, only hers was red with black stripes and his was black with red stripes, they also both had a wolf head engraved into the bottom part. Zero stood speechless at this gift he was given admiring its shimmering beauty. Umeko began to smile even wider. "So you like it then!" She yelled in excitement. "That’s not the only present I have for you Zero-kun!" Zero looked up at her slowly.
"What else is there Sensei?" He asked her wondering what else she could give him. Umeko’s smile became a bit darker. "What?" He asked backing up a bit. Umeko leaned in and kissed Zero on the cheek. His eyes widened and face blushed to a shade of red, which could have beaten Hinata’s blushing any day. He stared at her as she began to laugh, but then he noticed she wasn’t the only one, apparently Den and Ryuu had showed up at just the right time. He looked over at them and quickly hid his face behind his hair.
"Thank you, Umeko-sensei, for this wonderful gift." He said with a bow, as Ryuu interjected.
"Was it the sword or the kiss that was wonderful?" After he asked that he fell to the ground laughing again. Zero shot him a look and turned away. Umeko handed him a black sheath from behind her back. Zero quickly grabbed it unhooked his shinai, hooking the sheath on his back instead. Holding the sword firmly in his hand he noticed a big difference between the real thing and a bamboo-training sword. Den then began to speak up.
"How come he gets a present and we don’t?" He asked a bit annoyed at Umeko’s actions.
"Because neither of you have the skill to use a sword." She said bluntly and in a more calm voice then her normal upbeat one. "Now that you are all here, its time to talk about your new test." Zero turned around with a puzzled look.
"New test?" Ryuu asked turning off his CD-player. "But we already became gennin." Umeko still using a serious voice stared off into the distance.
"Not everyone can become Gennin, you must pass one more test, to prove you even deserve THAT title. In every group there are teams of three, only one of you will pass." She continued.
"And the other two go back to the academy?" Den asked looking at the ground.
"No." Umeko looked at him, her face no longer had a carefree attitude on it. "They die." Everyone’s eyes widened at this. "It will be simple, stop me from killing you!" She shouted as she threw two shuriken at Ryuu. Ryuu quickly fell to the ground to doge them.
"Wait!" Den yelled as two shuriken went at him as well, he ducked but stood there with petrified fear, as they passed by his head barely. She then threw another set at Zero, but he made no effort to move, as they hit him in his chest. The shuriken suddenly fell to the ground. Zero bent over and picked one up and bent it.
"Rubber, Shuriken." He said in a dull voice. "How, unoriginal Sensei." Umeko began to laugh.
"Well, Zero-kun, you seem to be the only one who could see through that trick. Odd, aren’t the Setsu known for there ESP abilities?" She asked looked at Den. "And aren’t Hebi clan members suppose to be adept at trickery?" She then turned to Ryuu who was breathing heavily, shooting her with a dirty look. Den finally began to gain some control over his body as the fear subsided. "Zero-kun." She said smiling at him and laughing. "Looks like you might just make all us ‘other’ ninja look bad!" Zero just laughed slightly with Umeko’s laughter.
Zero began to open his eyes, as he noticed that someone was standing next to him. He looked up to see Sakura, staring down at Sasuke and Naruto, who had been standing in the front of the class. Zero looked around to see that they were the only ones in the classroom, besides Ryuu and Den. Sakura looked over at Zero and smiled.
"So, you’re awake now?" She asked, still smiling. Zero just looked at her for a moment with a blank stare.
"What’s going on?" He asked her. Sakura looked down at Sasuke and Naruto again before answering.
"Our Jounin are late, it appears." She said, still staring at Naruto and Sasuke. "I can’t believe I’m stuck on a team with such a loser, like him." She added. Zero had began to stand up and looked over at Sakura.
"Who? Sasuke?" He asked, turning away and walking down towards Den and Ryuu.
"I didn’t-" She started, before stopping herself, noticing Zero had already walked off and was not waiting for a reply.
"You fell asleep again." Den said, not looking in the direction of Zero.
"So…" Zero replied looking at the almost empty classroom. "What’s going on?" He asked.
"Everyone else went off with their Sensei’s." Ryuu replied suddenly. "Ours seems to be late." He took off his headphones and placed his CD player into a large pocket on his pants.
"Same thing Sakura-chan said." Zero added. Zero looked around at Sasuke and Naruto, Naruto seemed to be yelling at Sasuke for something, but Zero couldn’t care less. He then turned his attention to Den who was staring at him in a strange way.
"Still trying to do it?" Zero asked him causing Den to look away.
"I don’t know what you’re talking about." Den replied looking out a window. Zero just smirked slightly.
"Interesting, you try to read my mind. Yet you know it’s impossible, and you won’t read Sakura’s mind so you could find something to talk to her about." Zero said laughing as he walked into the direction of Naruto and Sasuke.
"You know, he’s right Den-san." Ryuu said leaning up against the wall.
"Oh shut up." Den said sitting down and staring angrily at the wall.
"What is with all the yelling?" Zero asked. Naruto quickly turned around to see Zero standing behind him.
"Naruto is just being an idiot." Sakura’s voice rang out from a seat near them.
"Sakura-chan…” Naruto said with a sad hint to his voice looking at the ground.
"Sounds like him." Zero said laughing.
"HEY!" Naruto yelled jumping up into the air. Zero just smiled and looked around.
“The hell!?" Zero said looking toward a window, as everyone turned to see a woman wearing short-sleeved red jacket with black circles on the sides; she had a black sleeveless shirt underneath that cut off at her stomach that was wrapped in gaws. She also was wearing a black slit skirt that reached past her knees. She had dark blue eyes, and pitch black hair resembling that of Den’s. Her hair was put up into a ponytail with red and black beads hanging off selected strains of hair that wasn’t part of the ponytail. Den and Ryuu both looked over to see the woman as well.
"Who is that?" Den asked slowly, bewitched by the woman who was in the window.
"I…" Ryuu began but paused for several moments. "I don’t know." Zero noticed that the woman was staring directly at him, and for the first time he felt uncomfortable being looked at.
"You’re Zenhi, Zero?" She asked in an excited tone jumping through the window and landing in front of him. Zero stared at her for several moments before answering her question.
"Y-yes." Zero said backing away slowly, unsure of why he felt so afraid of her.
"Who are you?!" Sakura yelled suddenly fed up with the looks everyone in the room was giving this mysterious girl.
"Oh yea! I’m supposed to tell you that, aren’t I…?" She said smiling. "I’m Sato Umeko, ‘The Iron Wolf’!" She exclaimed pushing a thumb against her chest.
"Iron Wolf?" Den asked in a low tone, as Umeko suddenly jumped over Zero’s head and landed in front of Den.
"Yes, that’s what they call me!" She exclaimed in an upbeat attitude, smiling. Ryuu continued to stare at this hyperactive Jounin.
"That means th-." Zero began slowly turning around. Umeko was standing right behind him with her eyes closed smiling. Zero backed up a bit surprised by how she got behind him with out knowing.
"Yup, I’m your new trainer!" She exclaimed, again grabbing Zero’s wrist, as Zero’s eyes widened unsure of what was happening. Umeko still holding onto Zero’s wrist pulled him towards the window. "Time to go!" She yelled jumping out of the window, pulling Zero with her. Den stared in silence for a few moments before speaking.
"This is going to be very, very odd." He said walking towards the window.
"Did you see the look on Zero’s face? I think we got someone who actually stalls him up." Ryuu said laughing.
"She was scary." Naruto said looking at the ground.
"Oh shut up." Sasuke said. Naruto looked around and grabbed an eraser.
"Bye Den-san! Bye Ryuu-kun!" Sakura called out as the two gennin jumped from the window in hopes to catch up with their new teacher.
“This is annoying.” Den proclaimed, as he and Ryuu jumped from rooftop to rooftop, still finding no sight of Zero nor Umeko. To this Ryuu turned his head slightly, continuing his scouting.
“If this is going to be a habit of hers, then I agree.” Ryuu answered, as the two stopped on top of the Hokage’s dwelling, looking down over the village. Both stared down, watching the village intently for a few moments, before something caught Ryuu’s eye.
“I think I see them!” He called, quickly jumping away and running down toward the far-off sight.
“What?” Den asked after a moment, turning to where Ryuu was a moment ago, only to notice that he had already taken off. “He left without me!?” Den blurted out, looking down toward the village again, noticing Ryuu’s figure a few hundred paces away, still on the move.
“This ‘Iron Wolf’… First she appears out of nowhere, and late. Then she runs off with Zero-kun. How troubling.” Ryuu said under his breath, still running toward the spot that he had sighted earlier, hoping that Zero and Umeko would still be there. Stopping at an intersection, Ryuu quickly darted his eyes in all directions, before fixating them on his two targets.
“Finally! Took you a whole five minutes, to get here though...” Umeko announced, before Ryuu could say what was on his mind. Stepping forward from Umeko’s side, Zero looked toward Ryuu for a moment, and then spoke.
“So you finally caught up.” He started, looking around slowly, before finishing. “But it looks like you lost Den-kun.” Zero said with a sarcastic laugh, as Umeko watched the two, apparently fascinated by their interactions.
“I didn’t lose him, he just isn’t here at the moment, I’m sure he will be here soon thou-” Before Ryuu could finish however; there was a loud crash from above, as Den slipped on a jump, and hurdled straight toward Ryuu.
“L-look out!” He yelled in midair, as Ryuu casually stepped to the side, causing Den to launch past him, hitting the ground, and rolling a few feet before crashing into a wall. Umeko and Zero both stared wide-eyed for a moment, as Ryuu turned back to see Den leaning against the wall in a daze. Shaking off the shock and regaining his composure, Den quickly jumped up and ran to Ryuu.
“W-we’ve… been going the wrong way… I think I saw them…back there…”
He stated, trying to regain his lost breath, as everyone stared at him, puzzled as to what he was talking about.
“Den-kun, we’re right here.” Zero said in a matter-of-fact fashion. Den looked over and hung his head in shame. Umeko stared confusedly toward the trio, before stepping forward.
“Ok, Ok, we’re all here now! We’ve had a few minutes of fun, so I guess we should get started…” Umeko said with a sigh, as her eyes darted among the three that stood before her. Slowly raising her arm, she extended her finger, pointing it toward Ryuu.
“You! You’re Hebi, Ryuu, right?” She called, as Ryuu took a step forward, looking away from Zero and Den.
“That’s me, yea.” He answered in a somewhat annoyed tone, unsure as to what she was expecting of him. Placing her hands on her hips, she stared toward Ryuu a moment before continuing.
“Well I’m supposed to be the leader of this squad; it might help if I knew something about my team, so start talking!” She said with loud enthusiasm, and a slight laugh. Turning his CD player down, Ryuu let out a sigh mumbling something under his breath, before finally answering.
“What is there to say? Be more specific.” Growing somewhat bothered by his failure to answer the question, Umeko rephrased her question yet again, in a slightly annoyed tone.
“Just tell me why you’re a ninja then! You have to have some reason!” Ryuu looked toward the sky, lacing his hands behind his head, as he thought the question over.
“I’m a ninja because… I guess it sounded like a good idea at the time… So here I am.” Cocking her head to the side at Ryuu’s response, she placed her finger under her chin and thought it for a moment before coming up with a response.
“I… understand.” She replied, turning toward Zero and Den as Ryuu retreated to a wall where he sat back and turned his CD player up again. Raising her arm in much the same fashion she had earlier, she fingered toward Den.
“That means you must be Setsu, Den. Why are YOU a ninja?” Hearing this, Den jumbled forward looking toward Umeko, but quickly averting his eyes to the ground.
“Y-yes Umeko-sensei…” He said with a slur, as she continued staring toward him, awaiting his reply.
“W-well, Ninja are strong and respectable… And I w-want to be just like th-that…” He said nearly whispering, as Umeko walked toward him.
“Good for you!” She yelled with exaggerated enthusiasm, patting him on the head as she walked past. Quickly turning away to hide his embarrassment, Den walked to the wall that Ryuu sat against, silently joining him against it, as Umeko took stood directly in front of Zero.
“And finally, your turn, Zero-kun!” She said, pumping out her chest and crossing her arms over it, as Zero stared in awe. Suddenly realizing everyone was watching him, Zero pulled his composure together.
“Me? I don’t have a reason…” He said with a meekness not normally found within his tone, as Umeko began to smile.
“Oh that doesn’t do! You have a reason, or you wouldn’t have made it this far! Come on, you can tell me.” She said with a wink, as Zero began to feel a bit uncomfortable.
“What can I say…? I just felt like being a ninja.” He responded, preparing to turn away, as Umeko grabbed his shoulder.
“Ryuu-kun already used that excuse! At least come up with a NEW one!” She said staring Zero into the eyes, and winking once again. Turning toward Den, Ryuu spoke just loud enough for Zero to hear too.
“Wow! Zero-kun, looking foolish? How unexpected.” Shooting a dirty look toward Ryuu and Den, Zero decided to speak again.
“Fine, then! If you really want to know, the only reason I’m a ninja is to make all of you ‘other’ ninja look bad by comparison!” He said with an haughty laugh, as Ryuu and Den watched. Umeko began to smile, stepping in front of Zero.
“THAT is a better answer!” She exclaimed, before the expression on her face suddenly became serious, as she continued and turned her head toward Den and Ryuu.
“Tomorrow, we will see if you can do just that…” She then stared at the ground in a slight reverence for a moment, before suddenly reverting back to her bubbly mood.
“Well that wraps up this meeting! We’re all acquainted and stuff, so anybody got any questions or anything?” Hearing this, Den stood up slowly, and began talking in a near whisper.
“W-well actually I w-wanted to kn-” Before he could finish however, Umeko placed her hands on her hips.
“No questions, then? OK! Tomorrow, the REAL fun begins! Good-bye, Ryuu-kun,
Den-kun and you too, Zero-kun! ” She said with another wink, before quickly jumping up, and disappearing amongst the roofs of the village buildings, at a near blinding speed. Still standing with his jaw open, Den dropped his arm to his side and shook his head at the fact of not being noticed, as Ryuu stood up and walked toward Zero.
“Hmph, This may become annoying…” Ryuu said with a sigh, looking in the direction that she had run off in, as Zero turned his head to face Ryuu.
“Annoying?” Zero asked in disagreeable sounding tone, tilting his head slight to the side, as Ryuu sat for a second thinking, before continuing.
“She seems too energetic, and I also feel she is immature for a Jounin.” Ryuu finished, as he adjusted his headset. Squinting his eyes, Zero turned toward Den who still stood silently a few paces away, then looked back at Ryuu.
“She didn’t seem that bad. I mean, would you rather we have some decrepit old man, with no spirit or vigor left in him?” Zero protested. Uninterested in arguing his point, Ryuu turned the volume on his CD player up, and turned down the road.
“I’m going home, chasing after you and our, ‘spirited, vigorous sensei’, has drained me… I need a nap.” Zero watched Ryuu recede away for a moment, before turning toward Den who had taken a fascination in the leaves that were blowing about the area.
“Den-kun! Did Umeko-sensei really seem ‘too energetic and immature’?” He asked quickly, snapping Den out of his daze.
“W-well… she was, alright… I guess…” Den answered in a humble tone, as Zero’s raised an eyebrow, tilting his head back to normal, and shrugging slightly.
“I don’t see what you guys have against her.” Zero said with a sigh, turning his back in the direction opposite of where Ryuu had gone off in.
“I didn’t say that! I, mean I don’t, not like her…” Den stated defensively, as Zero stopped, looking over his shoulder back toward Den.
“It doesn’t take some ‘Setsu Psychic’ to understand what you meant, Den-kun. You may as well just say what’s on your mind, and not only on that matter, either.” At this a silence overtook the two, as Den stood silently, and Zero turned forward again.
“Either way, good-bye, I have some business to take care of, I’ll see you tomorrow.” Having spoken his mind, Zero continued toward down the road, as Den turned toward his home also.
The next day came slow for Zero; he had stayed up longer then usual wondering what was in store for him tomorrow. He also had awoken two hours earlier then he intended. Umeko had informed Hiashi, about what time we should be with her, but Zero had still managed to get there two hours earlier then he was suppose to have. He was standing in the same spot Umeko had dragged him to the day before, he stared aimlessly into the sky.
<Guess, I am early for once.> Zero said pulling out his Shinai he then began to concentrate on the air that flowed around him. Taking his normal stance he quickly began performing standard training exercises with his weapon. His mind was to preoccupied to notice that someone was walking up from behind him. Suddenly an arm wrapped around his neck and pulled him backwards.
"The hell?!" He yelled suddenly.
"Hello Zero-kun." Umeko’s voice called out from behind him. "Now why are you the only one who came early?" Zero relaxed for a moment before noticing he couldn’t breathe too well with her arm around his throat.
"I don’t know- but- its hard to-" Zero tried to say, Umeko stared off for a moment then quickly let go of him.
"Its ok, I have something for you anyways!" She yelled jumping up and down with a smile on her face.
"For me?" Zero asked slowly turning around to see Umeko had her hair down, and not only that but he noticed she had a katana attached to her back.
"Oh yes, something very special that only someone like you could use!" She said smiling at him.
"Someone like me?" Zero asked her missing what she was getting at.
"Yup!" She shouted as if she was very proud of something. "I made it my self, when I found out you would be my subordinate." Zero stared at her unknowing of what she could have possibly made him, in some sense he also feared what she was going to give him.
"Where is it?" Zero asked looking at her empty hands.
"Oh yea! Hold on then." She then ran off in an odd slow fashion as she reached a bush. After several moments she yelped in excitement. "HERE IT IS!!!" She pulled out something that looked like a long red rod. She turned towards Zero and winked, Zero stepped back a few feet with a stressed out look. Umeko then ran back over to Zero and presented to him the red rod, but now that Zero could see it up close it was a red clothe wrapped around something. Umeko bowed and began to speak in a voice that resembled a servant to his master. "Here Zero-kun, I made you this present. To help you make all of us ‘other’ ninja look bad." Zero reached out and grabbed the cloth to notice it felt very hard and cold what ever was under it.
"Should I-" Zero began to ask but Umeko interrupted.
"Well open it!" She said smiling at him and leaning down to examine his face. Zero quickly unwrapped it to see it had been a real sword. His eyes opened in disbelief at the craftsmanship, the handle resembled that of Umeko’s, only hers was red with black stripes and his was black with red stripes, they also both had a wolf head engraved into the bottom part. Zero stood speechless at this gift he was given admiring its shimmering beauty. Umeko began to smile even wider. "So you like it then!" She yelled in excitement. "That’s not the only present I have for you Zero-kun!" Zero looked up at her slowly.
"What else is there Sensei?" He asked her wondering what else she could give him. Umeko’s smile became a bit darker. "What?" He asked backing up a bit. Umeko leaned in and kissed Zero on the cheek. His eyes widened and face blushed to a shade of red, which could have beaten Hinata’s blushing any day. He stared at her as she began to laugh, but then he noticed she wasn’t the only one, apparently Den and Ryuu had showed up at just the right time. He looked over at them and quickly hid his face behind his hair.
"Thank you, Umeko-sensei, for this wonderful gift." He said with a bow, as Ryuu interjected.
"Was it the sword or the kiss that was wonderful?" After he asked that he fell to the ground laughing again. Zero shot him a look and turned away. Umeko handed him a black sheath from behind her back. Zero quickly grabbed it unhooked his shinai, hooking the sheath on his back instead. Holding the sword firmly in his hand he noticed a big difference between the real thing and a bamboo-training sword. Den then began to speak up.
"How come he gets a present and we don’t?" He asked a bit annoyed at Umeko’s actions.
"Because neither of you have the skill to use a sword." She said bluntly and in a more calm voice then her normal upbeat one. "Now that you are all here, its time to talk about your new test." Zero turned around with a puzzled look.
"New test?" Ryuu asked turning off his CD-player. "But we already became gennin." Umeko still using a serious voice stared off into the distance.
"Not everyone can become Gennin, you must pass one more test, to prove you even deserve THAT title. In every group there are teams of three, only one of you will pass." She continued.
"And the other two go back to the academy?" Den asked looking at the ground.
"No." Umeko looked at him, her face no longer had a carefree attitude on it. "They die." Everyone’s eyes widened at this. "It will be simple, stop me from killing you!" She shouted as she threw two shuriken at Ryuu. Ryuu quickly fell to the ground to doge them.
"Wait!" Den yelled as two shuriken went at him as well, he ducked but stood there with petrified fear, as they passed by his head barely. She then threw another set at Zero, but he made no effort to move, as they hit him in his chest. The shuriken suddenly fell to the ground. Zero bent over and picked one up and bent it.
"Rubber, Shuriken." He said in a dull voice. "How, unoriginal Sensei." Umeko began to laugh.
"Well, Zero-kun, you seem to be the only one who could see through that trick. Odd, aren’t the Setsu known for there ESP abilities?" She asked looked at Den. "And aren’t Hebi clan members suppose to be adept at trickery?" She then turned to Ryuu who was breathing heavily, shooting her with a dirty look. Den finally began to gain some control over his body as the fear subsided. "Zero-kun." She said smiling at him and laughing. "Looks like you might just make all us ‘other’ ninja look bad!" Zero just laughed slightly with Umeko’s laughter.