Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Naruto: Zero Chronicles ❯ Chapter 7: Highly skilled Ninja? Or Hired Handymen?! ( Chapter 7 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Chapter 7: Highly skilled Ninja? Or Hired Handymen?!

Zero opened his eyes to the dim light of an orange colored sun set resting over the horizon.
“This is so boring.” Den said suddenly, using his finger to play with a small pile of dirt.
“Oh well.” Ryuu said turning up the volume of his CD player. Zero stared off at the sun watching it slowly disappearing over the horizon.
“She should be here any mom-” Zero started to say before being interrupted by a large explosion of smoke.
“What the hell is that!?” Den yelled rolling back words. Ryuu jumped up quickly, placed his CD player back into his pocket, and began watching the smoke slowly clear away. Zero placed his hand on his sword ready to draw it.
“Oh stop it, you people are to tense.” Umeko’s voice could be heard from the smoke. A shadow like figure walked closer to them from the smoke.
“Umeko-sensei?” Den asked standing up and brushing the dirt off of his pants.
“The one and only.” She replied slowly emerging from the smoke with a smile. She stared for a few moments at Zero, who felt very uncomfortable around her as it was.
“Well?” Ryuu asked growing impatient.
“Oh right.” Umeko said looking up at the sky and putting a finger by her mouth. “So, Zero-kun why did you all just decided to fail?” She asked leaning forward and staring closely at him.
“What dose it matter?” Ryuu asked looking away towards the sky when Umeko fixed her vision on him.
“Ryuu-san, you are not Zero-kun, so why do you talk?” She asked then shifting her eyes back at Zero. Den let out a slight snicker but quickly stopped him self out of fear that Umeko would point him out. Zero took a step back looking to Ryuu and Den then back at Umeko.
“We decided to fail, because it would go against all the work we put in at the academy and our constant training with each other. We would work better all together. So us being separate just wouldn’t be as good.” Zero said folding his arms. Umeko looked off as if she had no interest in anything he just said.
“So all you care about is your teams power?” She asked looking up at the sky with the look of a bored toddler.
“Not exactly.” Zero said looking at her in annoyance. “I just wouldn’t feel right being separate after all this time, and, well I just cant accept something like that.” Zero turned his head not wanting to look at her anymore.
“Hmm, I see.” She said. She slowly looked down at Zero noticing he was no longer looking at her. “Do you find me repulsive to look at?” Umeko asked him with a dull look. Zero’s eyes shot wide open.
“N-n-no Umeko-sensei.” He said falling back a few paces and looking around. “I just thought, that I saw something is all.” He said with an unconvinced voice, wile Ryuu and Den began to snicker at Zero’s sloppy reactions.
“Good.” She said her face being over taken by a very bright smile. “Because we would have a problem if you couldn’t look at me during our training together.” Zero, Den, and Ryuu looked at Umeko with puzzled looks as she pushed pass them and threw the entrance of Konoha as Munori disappeared into a cloud of thick gray smoke.
“Wait, training?” Den asked in a low voice.
“Well, I hate training, so how about we go on a mission? We shall get together here at the same time we started this little test today.” She said in a high spirited voice.
“Mission?” Ryuu started to ask, but Umeko ran off ignoring him.
“But we, failed?” Den asked still dumbfounded by Umeko.
“Well, I guess, we didn’t.” Zero said slowly looking at the ground.
“This is just a bit to confusing for my taste.” Ryuu said walking into Konoha. “Guess we will just have to wait till tomorrow, right Zero-kun?” Ryuu pulled out his CD-player and placed the headphones over his ears showing he had no need for an answer.
“Yea, guess we should just go home.” Zero said in a low voice, looking at the ground and walking off towards the Hyuuga manor. Den stood there looking around noticing he was the only left and began walking towards his home quickly.

“Ryuu-kun!” Naruto yelled, from down the road, waving his arms franticly.
“How could he possibly have any energy.” Ryuu said under his breath , noticing the smudges of dirt on his face, and his slightly tattered clothes. Letting out a sigh and turning down his CD player, he slowly raised his arm lazily waving back. Naruto in acknowledgement of Ryuu’s wave, ran towards him in his usual manner.
“Ryuu-kun, I’m a ninja now!” Naruto said triumphantly, adjusting his head band. Ryuu staring uninterested, in Naruto’s obvious gloat.
“So?” Ryuu said in a dull voice. “You’re not the only one.” He continued to push past Naruto, heading to his destination . Naruto paused momentarily, shocked by Ryuu’s response.
“Not the only one?” Naruto asked following Ryuu closely behind. “You passed too?” Ryuu getting annoyed by the sound of surprise in Naruto’s tone, turned up his CD player.
“Yes.” He replied continuing quicker down the road. Naruto, keeping up with Ryuu, continued his persistent gloating.
“I have a strong Sensei!” Naruto gloated yet, again. Ryuu suddenly halted causing Naruto to fall over, in a loud thud. “Ow!” Naruto yelled, rubbing the side of his head that he had landed on. Naruto looked up at Ryuu. “What the hell was that for?!” He yelled angrily.
“Well I thought, if you were a real ninja, you’d have sensed my intention to trip you.” Ryuu said holding back laughter.
“That’s not fair!” Naruto said standing up and clenching his fist, but as he looked back towards Ryuu he noticed he had disappeared. “Where did he go?” Naruto asked looking around, forgetting his anger.

“So, did you kiss her yet?” Zero asked Den, removing his headband from his arm, after running into each other again, on their way home through the village.
“What?!” Den asked jumping back in an overdramatic way.
“You heard me, did you kiss Sakura-chan yet?” Zero asked laughing slightly.
“Shut up.” Den said in a low voice, looking away in embarrassment.
“So, you haven’t. Hmm, how lame of you Den-san.” Zero said still laughing, and placing his headband around his neck in a collar like fashion, after switching its location many times in the past three minutes.
“That’s kind of irritating.” Den said placing his hand over the headband on his forehead. “Its called a forehead protector for a reason.”
“Yea, but I like it here better, or not.” Zero said unsure of it himself. Turning around a corner Zero noticed Sakura’s house nearby. “There you go Den-kun.”
“What?” Den asked seeming to be snapped out of a dazed state.
“There is Sakura-Chan’s house, you can go admit your undying love to her.” Zero proclaimed raising a hand in the air.
“I am not telling her I am in love with her!” Den yelled loudly.
“In love with who?” Sakura’s voice sounded from behind them. Den froze completely in his tracks, for only a brief moment before Sakura crashed into his back causing him to fall forward onto the ground. “Ow!” Sakura said falling backwards on to her back. Zero began laughing loudly.
“Well I’ll leave you to your chance Den-san, later Sakura-chan.” Zero said walking away from the scene.
“Are you ok Sakura-chan?” Den asked sitting up and turning towards her, expecting an angry response. To his surprise Sakura was already standing up and brushing her clothes off a bit.
“I’m fine.” She said sounding tired. Den quickly stood up and turned around trying to escape. “Who was Zero-kun talking about?”
“Talking about?” Den asked slowly, turning around to see Sakura looking at him with great interest.
“He said something about being in love. Did he say who?” Sakura asked stepping closer causing Den to fall back a few steps.
“No that was m-.” He suddenly bit his tongue. “I mean, I cant tell you.” He quickly shifted his eyes away from Sakura.
“Oh, is it a secret then?” Sakura asked leaning towards him. Den started to panic, franticly looking for a reason to run. “Is it? Is it Hinata-san?” She asked looking towards the ground.
<Hinata-chan?> Den thought to him self about Hinata and Zero for a moment, and the sudden temptation to say yes crossed his mind.
“ I cant say, Sakura-sama.” He said bowing to her quickly. “But I must be going.” He ran off before she could say another word.

Zero was walking slowly up towards the manor, with thoughts of a long sleep awaiting him. As he neared the entrance door, he saw Hinata sitting on the steps plucking her fingers together.
“Zero-kun.” She said suddenly startled by his presence. Blushing slightly she put her fingers by her mouth. “Your home.” Zero looked at her strangely, finding her new behavior a bit odd.
“Something wrong?” Zero asked her, messing with his forehead protector after noticing Hinata’s around her forehead.
“N-n-no. I just-” She started to replay before a sudden booming voice surprised her.
“Zero-kun, I see that you have returned. No doubt you passed Umeko-san’s test.” Hiashi said with his arms folded and a confident look on his face.
“Yes, Hiashi-sama.” Zero said, bowing his head slightly. He then looked over at Hinata waiting for her to finish her sentence, but instead she lowered her head and pushed past her father quickly.
“Good, good.” Hiashi said turning back inside.
“What about Hinata-sama? Did she-” Zero started before Hiashi interrupted.
“Yes, I suppose she passed as well.” Hiashi said continuing into the house. Zero slowly fallowed wanting desperately just to reach his bed and prepare for tomorrow.

The night finally came for the three Gennin, and soon passed, as the sun came over the horizon.
Creeping across the floor, the light found its way to Ryuu's eyelids.
"No, not yet…" Ryuu groaned angrily, slightly opening his eyes, and throwing his sheets at the window in a tired rage. Rubbing his eyes, he slowly stood up walked to a nearby dresser, changed his clothes, and then sloppily combed his hair. Throwing a CD player in his pocket, he abruptly left his quarters.
"Annoying." He stated, whilst trudging down the hallway toward the front door, still sore from the day before.

Zero worked his way down the hall of the Hyuuga manor, having awoken only moments earlier. Stopping outside of one of the doors, he knocked politely, but received no answer.
"Hinata-sama?" He asked, slowly sliding the door open, and peeking in, noticing the bed was already made, and she was nowhere to be found.
"I suppose she is already out…" He finished with a sigh, before closing the door, and continuing down the hall, tying the gauze around his arms, himself. Turning the hall toward the exit of the manor, Zero was caught by the shoulder, causing him to turn around in surprise.
"Ahh, Zero-kun, I see you are off for your first day's missions." Hiashi stated openly, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Yes, I was just getting ready to meet Umeko-sensei." Zero replied promptly, as Hiashi continued.
"I wish you luck, not that you'll need it, Zero-kun." Still somewhat bothered, Zero couldn't help but ask.
"Did Hinata-sama already leave?" Turning his back to Zero, and starting down the hallway, Hiashi slightly turned his head.
"I believe she may have… Not that you should worry over it." He said, in a more stern and formal voice, as Zero turned around to hide his distaste, and left without a further word.

"Are you ready for the first mission?" Sounded a voice from behind, just as the door closed behind Zero. Just as Zero began to look about, Ryuu stepped out from behind one of the pillars by the roadside.
"I guess so." Zero answered, as he joined Ryuu on the road, and the two started toward the front gate.
"Why did you wait for me, instead of just going yourself?" Zero asked, turning his eyes toward Ryuu, slightly suspicious of his motives. Ignoring this, Ryuu put his hands in his pocket, placing a headset over his ears.
"I felt like taking a rest, and the Hyuuga mansion happened to be nearby. It's that simple." Ryuu answered nonchalantly, turning his head to the sky as they walked. Silence began to encroach, but was quickly shattered by Zero.
"Have you seen Den-san, yet today?" Placing one hand in his pocket, Ryuu stared toward Zero through the corner of his eye.
"No, I haven't seen him." Ryuu answered, turning the corner toward the main gate, Zero following from the side. Upon gazing toward the gate, Ryuu and Zero caught site of Den, lazily leaning against one of the pillars, apparently sleeping. Almost immediately, a smirk came over Ryuu's face.
"Maybe we should 'wake' him up." He said holding back his laughter.
Looking around for a few seconds, Zero turned to Ryuu.
"We may as well, it doesn't seem like Umeko-sensei is here yet, anyway." Zero replied, walking closer to the still oblivious, Den.
"But what could we do?" Ryuu asked in a whisper, taking up a position right next to Zero, as the two began plotting.
"Maybe, we could try dumping water on him. That would be hilarious, wouldn't it?" Ryuu asked, as Zero continued to stare at his sleeping comrade.
"I guess that would-" Before Zero could finish the sentence; a huge downpour of water fell upon himself, Ryuu and Den. Suddenly awoken, Den jumped up, pointing toward Ryuu and Zero, just as a voice from the pillar above, rang out.
"Not noticing someone is watching you, sleeping in public, picking on a teammate…"Umeko stated, throwing the bucket in her hand in the air.
"I wasn't sleeping! I was meditat-" Before Den could finish however, the bucket struck him, knocking him down.
"But we were only-" Ryuu began, before Umeko interrupted.
"And worst of all, you didn't even bother to see if I wanted to help! I could have come up with much better!" She finished, in a scolding tone, crossing her arms over her chest. Glancing over, Zero noticed a large, black, case on her back.
"What is that for?" He asked, as her mood suddenly returned to its normal, upbeat tone.
"I said we would have a mission today, and this is the 'gear' we'll need." She added, quickly walking through the gate, signaling for the group to follow.
"Annoying." Ryuu said, wiping his headset off, and following Umeko, as Den sat up rubbing his head.
"This is what I get for showing up early." He said under his breath, as he followed Zero onto the road after Umeko.
"What sort of mission is it?" Zero asked, still wondering about the contents of the case.
"Oh this is a 'BIG' mission!" She began, as a smile overtook her face.
"A mansion has been 'invaded' by 'enemies', and we have to 'remove them'! They're going to be all over the place! Isn't it exciting!?" She asked loudly.
"I-is that really safe for us? It doesn't sound very safe…" Den asked with a gulp, still wiping the water from his coat.
"Safe? You're supposed to be ninja! If you wanted to be safe all the time, you should have been a shopkeeper or something." Umeko said, turning forward again, as Den looked away in embarrassment.
"The sun is almost overhead, when are we going to be there?" Zero asked, as Umeko stopped abruptly.
"We're here." She said in a low tone, looking to a large, vacant-looking manor on the side of the road.
"I don't see anyone over the-" Zero started, as Umeko quickly interrupted.
"They're there, follow my lead." She said in a whisper, as she slowly crept toward the front door; Zero, Ryuu and Den following from behind. Stopping by the large, door, she placed one arm against it.
"Get ready, they're going to be everywhere inside…" She said, raising one hand with three fingers up, and slowly counted down. All three of the gennin tensed up, as each finger went down, until she finished, and slammed the door open. Ryuu, Den and Zero charged in, quickly looking about the darkened room, as Umeko came up from behind.
"Where are they!?" Ryuu asked, still looking around the room as Umeko stepped in front of the group.
"Th-They're everywhere!" She said, with a look of horror on her face, as fear began to set into the group.
"I don't see anyone though!" Zero protested, holding his hand to his sword's hilt, as a grave look came over Umeko's face.
"They're…" She said, slowly sticking her hand out, and pointing at the ground.
"D-downstairs?" Den questioned, still looking for the enemies, as Umeko's expression changed from fear, to that of extreme laughter. Pulling the case from her back, she threw it to the ground, causing it to open.
"You don't mean…" Ryuu said, as a look of annoyance overtook the group. Inside the case, were two brooms, two mops, and bucket. Before the team could get over
"Y-y-you guys actually believed, you were going to fight, on your first mission!?" Umeko said, having trouble catching her breath in-between outbursts of laughter. Before her laughter ended, a door a few feet away slowly creaked open, revealing an elderly looking lady.
"Did it go well?" She asked, slowly walking towards Umeko, who was hunched over, her laughter finally ending.
"They, they fell for it!" She said, as the old lady began to laugh also.
"So they did? I wish I would have seen their expressions!" She said, as Umeko made a face of exaggerated shock.
"It was something like this!" She said, as her and the old lady began laughing again, further angering Ryuu and Den, whilst Zero began to laugh also.
"We're still right here, you know!" Ryuu protested, Though Umeko ignored this, and continued laughing.
"You shouldn't be mad, it was funny." Zero defended, finding the humor in the situation.
"But its immature to play pranks-" Den began, before Umeko stumbled over, standing behind Zero, as her laughter began to subside.
"You should learn from Zero-kun, stop being so serious and enjoy yourselves." Having completely lost interest in the matter at hand, Ryuu turned the volume on his CD player up, picked up a broom, and started work on the deck outside. Lowering his head with sigh, Den grabbed a mop.
"I guess you're right." He said with his voice trailing off, as Umeko stepped forward, patting him o the head.
"That's the spirit, Den-san!" She said, smiling largely, before pointing to the ground and continuing.
"You and Zero-kun should work in here, I'll go 'help' Ryuu-san outside." Quickly running out the door, she looked from side to side, before slamming the door. Stepping forward, the old woman pulled a chair from a nearby closet.
"Don't mind me, I won't bother you." She stated, sitting down, and flipping a switch, lighting the room up.
"We ought to get to work. She probably wouldn't be happy if she came back and we hadn't done anything." Zero pointed out, as he began sweeping the floor at his feet.
"Umm, Okay." Den said, nodding in agreement, as he grabbed the mop, and began working also.

After a few hours, the sound of wiping and brushing ended.
"Done." Zero said, looking at the floor, which was now completely dusted, and mopped.
Wiping the sweat from his forehead protector, Den grabbed the bucket of sudsy water.
"I wonder how far along, Ryuu-san is." He said, pulling the door open, and throwing the water into the grass.
"Does it look clean outside?" Zero asked, leaning against the wall, catching his breath, as Den examined the deck out front.
"It looks, completely spotless!" He exclaimed, noticing his own reflection in the woodwork. Slowly walking over and gazing at the freshly cleaned deck, Zero began to look around.
"Well it looks done, but where is Ryuu-kun, now? And Umeko-sensei for that matter." Zero questioned, as he and Den stepped outside, looking around the entire house, until reaching the back yard. There, lay Ryuu, completely exhausted, with Umeko standing at his feet, ranting.
"Come on! You can probably get another five or six lap in easy!" She barked, whilst laughing to herself, as Ryuu stared at her, with a twisted look on his face.
"If you want it so clean, then go do it, yourself." Ryuu wheezed, making no effort to get up, as Umeko finally noticed Zero and Den.
"Oh, so you guys are done, I presume?" She asked, acting as if Ryuu was not even there any longer.
"Umm." Den began, before trailing off, still gazing at Ryuu, leaving Zero to speak
"Yes, we are finished." He answered promptly, as Umeko turned her attention to the downed, Ryuu.
"Maybe if you worked as hard as your teammates, you might-" Before she could finish, Ryuu slowly stood up.
"As hard as them? They were BOTH working on the same area!" He protested, as Umeko began to chuckle at his obvious annoyance.
"All day, and you still haven't even laughed once. That's not fun." She said, walking past her team, and signaling for them to follow.
"We're done here. I'll go work out the details with the old lady, you guys can head back to the village or something." She added, walking through the front door, and slamming it behind, as Ryuu, Zero and Den continued down the road. After a few moments, Ryuu broke the silence.
"This is what a 'ninja' does? Cleaning houses and scrubbing decks!?" He asked in a very annoyed tone, as Zero laced his fingers behind his head and looked up.
"I guess so. But if she hadn't been joking and we really went on a dangerous mission today, would that have really been any better?" Still unhappy, Ryuu continued.
"It's annoying either way." Ryuu finished, before turning his attention to Den.
"You aren't really enjoying this kind of work, are you, Den-san?" Keeping his attention to the ground, Den answered in a low tone.
"It's alright, I guess." He said, starting to trail off, before he caught himself and finished.
"It can't get too bad, it will probably get better, soon."

"This ninja stuff really has gotten better, last week we cleaned a house, now we're picking corn!" Ryuu said sarcastically, as Den threw a stalk of corn into a half empty wagon.
"It's not my fault." Den replied in a barely audible voice, as Zero emerged with several more stalks.
"Maybe we could do a better mission, if you guys worked, instead of whining." He stated, sounding a bit fed up, as he added to the pile. Looking over, Ryuu noticed Umeko walking by, tugging two full wagons, and a smug look about her.
"You guys aren't done with you're first load?" she said, laughingly as she passed the team.
"And she is still annoying." Ryuu said to himself, throwing another stalk into the wagon.

"This really is starting to get boring." Zero said throwing a shovel to the side, as Ryuu mimicked this action.
"I don't know. Digging is, alright, I guess." Den answered weakly, continuing to throw dirt out of a large hole, as Zero and Ryuu sat back watching.
"Yea, it certainly looks very entertaining." Zero taunted, sitting back against the wall of the hole, as Ryuu stared blankly upwards.
"It's big enough, already, just take a break." He called toward Den, who then jammed the shovel in the ground, joining his comrades in rest. The three sat still for a moment, until Den looked toward Zero.
"How, how do you-" He started, before trailing off mid-sentence and looked away, as Zero turned back toward him.
"Spit it out." Zero said, as Den looked toward the ground, too embarrassed to actually ask what was on his mind.
"N-nothing." Den answered quickly, keeping his attention to the ground in front of himself.
"Fine." Zero stated, turning his head in the other direction. His eyes widened when he saw a pair of eyes staring back at him, an inch from his own face, causing him to fall backwards a bit.
"So, you're all done, now, Zero-kun!?" Umeko asked energetically, ignoring Den and Ryuu who sat only a few feet away.
"How did you get there so silent-" Zero began, before changing his tread of thought.
"I mean, yes, we're done." Staring at Zero with a large smile, Umeko stood up, and slowly took a step toward him, as he reactively inched further back, feeling awkward around her. Bursting out with a laugh, Umeko turned around and jumped out of the hole.
"Let's get back to the village, then." She said, as Zero stood up, brushing himself off.
"Why does she always talk to Zero-san like he's the whole team?" Den asked, looking toward Ryuu, who shrugged the question off, turning his headset up, and leaving also.

"This isn't even funny anymore!" Ryuu screamed, grasping his nose whilst dumping something into a large bag.
"Umm, this really isn't even 'alright'." Den answered, looking away from the bag he was holding open for Ryuu.
"'Isn't alright? Its manure! It can' really be worse." Zero shouted, throwing his shovel to the side.
"You can't quit, we aren't done-" Den began, before Zero interrupted.
"I'm not quitting, I'm going to talk to Umeko-sensei, and get us a 'real' mission. I hope." Zero said with a gulp, as Den turned toward him. Quickly seizing Den's wrist, Ryuu looked at him with a frown.
"Let him do it himself, if she is going to listen to anyone here, its probably him." he explained, as he walked to a nearby tree and sat down next to it. Dropping the bag, Den too, sat down, laying his head in his hands.
"I wonder if it will work." He asked out loud as Ryuu stared toward the direction Zero walked off in.
Walking down the road, Zero looked ahead, noticing Umeko off in the distance, looking as if she was thinking to herself about something.
"Umeko-sensei?" He called out toward her.
"Why are you here? Done already?" Umeko asked, without even looking back to see Zero, as he stopped in his tracks, and began thinking out his question.
"Umeko-sensei, when are we going to be able to put ourselves to a real test?" He asked slowly, as she turned around, staring strangely at him.
"Real test? You mean a dangerous mission or something?" She asked, as he nodded and awaited her reply.
"You should have said so!" She said with a smirk, as she slowly placed her hand on the hilt of her sword.
"I-I didn't mean-" Before he could finish however, there was a glimmer of light, and in an instant, her sword slammed the ground in front of him, causing an explosive tremor, as Zero fell back, reaching for his own sword. Before his hand could even reach it, Umeko had her blade hovering still right above Zero's head.
"B-but I didn't mean you!" He said in a shaky voice, as she smiled and sheathed her sword.
"That was dangerous, and you weren't even ready." She said in an exaggeratedly sad voice.
"If all we ever do is clean things, and pick up manure though, we'll never get anywhere." Zero continued, standing up and starting to walk away.
"Don't worry about it right now! You, Ryuu-san and Den-san will all have your chance, Soon." She proclaimed, as Zero continued back toward his team. As soon as he was completely out of sight, Umeko leaned against a tree.
"I guess they'll have to get their chance soon." She said, with a slight laugh.