Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ The Reflection of Oneself ❯ Restless ( Chapter 23 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

The Reflection of Oneself

Chapter 23: Restless

Motivation.

Everyone needs a reason. Without reason, we lack the inspiration for life and without inspiration, we simply cease to be. Motivation is food for the soul, allowing us to open doors that would otherwise be closed, welcoming us into different worlds that are just waiting to be explored. Some might call that insanity, true, but what is insanity? Really? If one is ever going to be able to truly say that they have lived, then they must find the drive to cultivate their heart's desire, be it trivial or fundamental, selfish or philanthropic. It is those who were unafraid to take the first step forward that have shaped the world today as we know it.

So be undaunted by the mysteries of life. If we can do that, then perhaps together, we can share our inspirations and can unite our shattered race and thus, recreate our broken world in order to revive the wonders that give us hope.

The world was restless, gradually moving towards the pivotal point of change that was to come. It whispered in tongues unheard by mortal men; whispered warnings for all the children of the earth, water and air.

“Prepare yourself,” the world whispered. “For change will soon be upon you. Take heed of my words, dear children, and you shall be spared. Change is coming… one way, or another.”

And so the elements, feeling what their mother was feeling, felt restless too. Thunder clashed in the skies above and the winds wailed with angry cries; the earth shook, the seas heaved and the hidden fires at the heart of the planet writhed for a chance to be free. Such was the great warning for all those who had the mind to listen. Of course, despite the fierce turbulence that caused the roots of trees to start pulling away from the ground and bring them crashing down, the storm itself was beautiful - in its own special way.

Of course, it was anything but beautiful for one Inuzuka Kiba.

Said shinobi was drenched to the bone, despite wearing heavy-duty raingear, and smelling intensely like wet dog. He wasn't happy at all that his home country of Fire, known for generally warm weather all year-round, was playing host to a tempest the like of which only to be seen in the countries of Wave, Water and Lightning. Yet even though he wanted nothing more than to be inside and away from this dismal weather, drying himself off in front of a nice roaring fire, Kiba was on a quest to locate his wayward niece and drag her rebellious, brooding butt back to the clan complex for dinner… and he couldn't go home until he found the damned gaki!

And although it wasn't like he minded the way he smelled in the least, he knew that if it clung to him for too long, it would remain that way for at least a week. On top of that, he knew damn well that Hinata-chan wasn't a fan of sticky dogs and there wasn't anything he wouldn't do for the woman he loved - like taking care of his personal hygiene.

`Oh, if only it wasn't raining!' he groused in a mental mutter. `Then I could have brought Yozora with me and had her sniff out that gaki out for me. Too bad water throws off a dog's sense of smell…'

Yozora, the toughest of Akumaru's offspring, had become his new companion when her sire was wounded in battle two years ago. Although Akamaru had been otherwise fighting fit afterwards, the tendons in his right leg had been severed and by the time they had healed, he had been left with a permanent limp and growing arthritis in the hip. It had taken Kiba awhile to grow used to having his best friend retired from active duty. He hadn't liked it at all, truth be told, but he had been pacified when the old dog had been given a new job training the compound watchdogs - those who had not been chosen to be the companion of one of their clan's shinobi.

Grumbling, the soaked Inuzuka sought shelter under the neared business' awning, which just so happened to be a particular Ramen stand that he come to grow fond of in the years since Naruto's death.

“Itoko-sama, what are you doing here?”

A sharp poke in the side caused Kiba to yelp, and although not entirely unexpected, he hadn't been prepared for it. Turning, he looked down at Kegawa, son of Hige, who was the son of his mother's sister Momoko. The boy possessed short, straight hair the color of cranberry wine and skin so pale that it made the red fang tattoos on each cheek stand out in a startling contrast. His eyes, which were a tri-toned mixture of the darkest green and brown that surrounded a small ring of bronze at the center, shone with a light that spoke of the many hardships he had faced in his young life. He didn't much look like the Inuzuka, rather he looked like his mother, who until she had had married Kiba's cousin, has been Ichiraku Ayame, daughter of Ichiraku Teuchi, who of course was the owner of said ramen stand.

He was also dressed in pretty much the traditional Inuzuka garb, which consisted of a white and blue camouflage fur-lined jacket overtop a white undershirt and a pair of black pants. Around his neck, however, was a small pendant with the kanji for `loyal protector'. And although the boy didn't know it, Kiba had given it to him as an anonymous birthday present two years earlier.

“I should be asking you the same thing.” he replied.

Kegawa's face, which some would have said reminded them of a cherub, suddenly took on one of its ever-present glowers.

“I insulted one of the elders and so I'm having dinner with ojii-san tonight.”

The older Inuzuka glanced at the elderly man behind the counter, who shrugged sadly. Kiba sighed, shaking the water out of his hair and then proceeded to seat himself next to the boy.

“What did you say?”

“More like `what did he say', thank you very much!” Kegawa snapped. “That stupid old duffer had the gall to call me an omega just because daken-chan got to graduate early! I might be the deadlast of my class, but I am not stupid!”

And such was the controversy between the stronger members and the weaker members of the Inuzuka clan that was not seen in public. Although Kiba hated to admit it, his clan was very much like Hyuuga in the way that they looked down upon the lower class. He had been lucky to be born as the son of the clan Alphas, and as such he had been either pampered or ignored by the politics that were controlled by the elders.

In a clan that was very much like a pack of wolves, the hierocracy was the same. The Alphas ruled the pack, guided by elders, and the remainder of the pack were either fighters or nurturers. The Omegas, of course, were either the loners or the ones considered too weak and a burden to the pack. That was why marrying outside of the clan was frowned upon, unless one was marrying into another powerful shinobi clan. And that was the way it had always been.

That was Inuzuka Hige's downfall. He had fallen in love with Ayame, who was, to the clan, nothing more than a simple commoner. Together, the pair persevered through all the hardships thrown their way by the elders. Kegawa had been born a year later, only a few months before Hana had given birth to Toboe and subsequently died. The elders had been angry that their heir had died rather then the `common bitch'. But since Hige and Ayame went on to have nine more children, and large litters were uncommon among the Inuzuka like most other shinobi clans, some differences were let slide.

Kiba sympathized with his young cousin for many reasons. As the offspring of a commoner, he was looked upon as if inherently weak and thus a waste of time to be trained properly. As the eldest of ten children, he was frequently expected to pick up the slack at home and was frequently ignored by his parents whom had to take care of the younger children. It was a very thankless existence, one that had caused the boy to become very bitter. In so many ways, if there had ever been anyone that truly reminded him of Naruto, it had to be Kegawa.

He ruffled the boy's hair, his way of trying to tell him that he did care, even if his own duties kept him from showing better.

“Don't let it get you, koinu,” he grinned wolfishly. “You know those old farts are full of hot air. When you pass the Genin Exams in a few weeks, it'll show them not to treat you like that.”

The younger Inuzuka smiled, although faintly. “You really believe that?”

“Of course!”

“But I still don't have a companion! They won't let me get near any of the pups! If I can't get close, how am I supposed to make a bond with one?!”

Kiba chewed on his lip thoughtfully.

“You're right - you got a problem there. But don't worry, I'll think of something,” he stood up then, and looked miserably back into the pouring rain. “You wouldn't by chance know where Toboe is, would you?”

Kegawa scowled again. “Of course. She came by here on a warpath a couple hours ago, ranting about how much she hated the new boy on her team. Personally, I pity him - being stuck with her and the Herbal Essence poster boy. You'll find them at the Hokage's manor, most likely holding a convention to come up with more then a hundred reasons to hate him.”

Rolling his eyes at the typical display of malice both his cousin and niece showed for the people they loathed, Kiba nodded his respect to the old man behind the counter, who was conspicuously grinning, returned to the storm.

He wasn't more then halfway to the Hokage's manor, the complex that was shared by Tsunade, Jiraiya, Shikamaru, Kurenai, Konohamaru and Kozue, when he ran into another bump in the road. This time it was a solitary figure sitting on the old swing that hung from the old oak tree outside of the academy. Golden blond hair shone brightly like a beacon, despite the darkened evening. Since there were few blondes with such color of hair, it meant it could only belong to one person - Kyuuzano Nanikato.

The boy was looking away from him with his eyes closed, a serenely empty look upon his face - as if he was off in a world of his own. Looking closer, Kiba got the feeling that the blond was actually listening to the wind. And perhaps he was. Staring as the boy, the brunette found his mind wondering back to the times he had glimpsed another blond sitting in the same place, but a deeply forlorn expression written upon a saddened face. Kiba shock his head, trying to rid himself of the cobwebs. Why now, after all these years, while staring at this boy, did he finally realise that he had never known Naruto at all? Or rather, that he hadn't wanted to know…

“Didn't you know that it's rude to stare?”

The dog-nin flinched, snapping out of his reverie to find that, while the boy still wasn't looking at him, he knew that he was watching.

`Pretty good…' Kiba though as he moved around the corner of the building so that he was out in the open and approached the boy. As soon as they were with only a few feet of each other, Nanikato looked up at him, annoyed.

“And what can I do for you this fine afternoon, Inuzuka-san? Break your other arm?”

Kiba growled internally. This just wasn't his day to be dealing with angsty teens. Had he not known Naruto, and thus been acquainted with of the tones of voice used by said loudmouthed blonde, be it he or his clone (they sounded the same after all), he would have taken those words as a threat rather then a very dry form of sarcasm.

He snorted. “Like you could, chibi.”

“I bet you were thinking the same thing the first time, right?” Nanikato smirked, and it was so much like the Uchiha's it made the older man sick. “But I digress - what do want? You're disturbing my meditation.”

“Meditation? It's raining cats and dogs!”

“And where would you propose I go? The daken,” and where had Kiba just heard that delightful slur? “Was kind enough take over my place of temporary residence, so it is not as though I can go `home' since `home' is currently exactly where they are.”

“What did you do?”

Nanikato snapped and sprung to his feet, suddenly giving the Inuzuka a feeling of déjà vu. He had made that mistake with Kegawa only a half hour ago, and now he was making it again with Nanikato.

“What did I do?! What did I do?! You mean what did your flea-bitten niece do!” raged the blond, startling the brunette due to the fact that the boy was nearly always calm, even when mad. “Be it my ill luck that Hokage-sama had to pick the rotten apples from the bottom of the barrel. Hyuuga-san needs to take a chill pill, (mongrel) needs to pull out the stick wedged up her arse, while the bishie needs to stop acting like such a sissy and be a man! Arrogance must be a genetic disease in your clan, Inuzuka-san. (mongrel) had the gall to get mad because I saved her sorry ass! Hyuuga-san was more then ready to leave a beating on those two and go home with a smile. Although I wanted nothing to do with them, I knew that I had to make sure our team passed the exam. I rescued them and gave `little-medic-in-training-san' the time to heal her and her stupid puppy! And what thanks do I get? None! All she could do bitch about how she could have done just fine on her own, thank you very much!”

By the time he had finished ranting, Nanikato's was panting for breath and his face had turned a rather vivid scarlet and the whisker birthmarks looked like streaks of soot.

“Go away.”

The brunette blinked. “Nani?”

“I said go away.”

“No.”

Nanikato glared at him, his eyes like twin chips of ice. “Fine - far be it from me to tell you what to do in your own village,” he violently pushed the swing away from himself and began to storm off in the general direction of the Hokage Monument.

“Wait!”

“What now?!”

Kiba hadn't meant to piss the boy off, but of course, that had always been a part of his charm. He sighed, running a hand through his spiky rain-slicked locks.

“I'm sorry, okay?” he said. “I didn't mean to make you angry, but my niece is more like a daughter to me than anything. She gets her attitude from her father, who should have been there for her rather than take off in fear that he'd break her after nee-san died in childbirth. Toboe is angry because she's always gotten attention from everyone, but the one person that really matters. You don't understand what it's like for her, or for Kozue, for that matter - his father died before he was born.”

The blond leered at him. “I think it's you who doesn't understand, Inuzuka-san. Need I remind you that I'm a clone? I have no real parents and I guess you could say that Kabuto-san is the closest thing that I have to a father, seeing as he created me - and that was for some twisted higher purpose that I have yet to find out. Wouldn't that clearly tell you that I understand better than anyone? Oh, and if you're telling me this so that I'll feel bad for them, then you got another thing coming. I don't give a damn about the gaki duo's sob stories. We're ninja and because of that, we lose the ones we love. Our precious people die every day, but we don't disgrace them by acting like spoilt children having temper tantrums. Think about it. I have more of a reason to act selfishly than shedoes - of the nine clones Kabuto-san fashioned, I was the only one that survived. My whole family is dead and the two precious people I have come to see as brother and sister only are currently imprisoned and awaiting execution. If you want sympathy, then sympathise with that first.”

`This just isn't my day…'

They stood there a moment, the younger of the two having finished seething and whose expression had once again gone dead. Kiba twitched, contemplating what he could say and failing miserably. Why did the boy have to be right? He hated the fact that there was nothing he could say or do to make the youth realize what was so painfully obvious.

Nanikato frowned. “If you're not going to leave me alone, could you stop staring at me? I doubt you're going to go away, so do something useful - tell me about nii-san.”

He blinked in shock.

“Huh? You mean Uchiha-teme didn't tell you?”

“Believe what you wish, but Sasuke-sensei truly regrets killing nii-san. I didn't have the heart to ask him too many questions because I could always see the anguish in his eyes whenever I did. Everyone else I've asked hasn't been able to tell me much either. Inari-san only knew him a few months, but idolised and looked upon him like a brother. Haku-niisan and Zabuza-san didn't really know him at all, but he helped free their hearts before they died. Iruka-san saw him as a son and because of that he cannot act logically when in my presence because he believes me to be nii-san reborn. Obito and Nawaki have told me that Yondaime was his father. Finally, the three Hokage have confirmed what Sasuke-sensei told me. What I do know is that nii-san lived a very hard life, hated for reasons that were beyond his control and because of that, as his clone, the elders of this village will hate me too once they learn of my existence within their walls.”

Kiba groaned. Not wanting to talk in the middle of pouring rain, the older shinobi led the boy towards the front steps of the academy and under the protection of the overhanging eves, sat down in one of the few dry places left in the village.

“Where should I star, then?” he asked, and Nanikato shrugged, seating himself as well. “Ever since I was small I had been taught to hate him, to fear him. Although I never felt either hate or fear of him, disobeying my mother was the last thing I wanted to do. It was like that with pretty much everyone born in that generation. Nobody wanted to be Naruto's friend because they feared their parents would hate them - would subject them to the same torment that they tormented him to.”

A muscle in the blond's cheek twitched, but he didn't break from his cross-legged position or the businesslike expression that masked the inquisitiveness inside him.

“But when we were all in the Academy together, things were slightly different. Because we didn't have to worry about our parents' glaring eyes, we could do as we wished - though treading with caution was strongly advised. When I was there, we could be comrades in arms - coconspirators as the class pranksters; helping brighten up the drab days that would either be spent listening to one of Iruka-sensei's lectures or being stuck in detention. By the time we graduated, I saw Naruto as more of rival than an unspoken friend. I had just started noticing girls as something other than creatures that carried `cooties' and there was this girl that I really liked. Thing is, she had always been stuck on Naruto, who was completely clueless when it came to concepts like that, and who could blame him? I wanted to prove that I was better than him any chance I got. I failed miserably, of course. He always had this way of triumphing over the greatest odds… well… except one.”

Kiba glanced out into the turbulence beyond his small haven and for a second, thought it was going to halt. It didn't, sad to say, and so he continued the story that he really didn't want to be talking about.

“Only a few months after Tsunade-sama became the Godaime Hokage, we were given nothing less than a suicide mission. Our mission: recover the wayward Uchiha Sasuke. Uchiha-teme had gone AWOL on us by abandoning the village for the sake of power. But it couldn't have come at a worse time. All experienced forces were away on missions or resting from the completion of one. Due to the shortage of available shinobi, Tsunade-sama chose to send one chuunin and four genin to go up against Sasuke and jounin-level captors. As the chuunin of our generation at the time, Shikamaru was our leader and going with him were Akimichi Chouji, Hyuuga Neji, myself and my companion Akamaru, and of course, Naruto. We all fought tough battles along the road to get the Uchiha back, but none more so than Naruto. I could never understand and still can't understand what he saw in that bastard, even after he had betrayed us all. His determination to bring back his best friend, however, ended up being his downfall…”

“No, it wasn't his downfall.”

“What do mean by that? Of course it --”

Nanikato shook his head, arms crossed. “No,” he repeated. “It wasn't his downfall - it was his greatest triumph. Although Naruto-niisan died because of it, he could have considered it a victory. Just because Sasuke-sensei didn't return to Konoha doesn't mean that nii-san's last words didn't have an affect on him. I think they literally had too much of an affect on him. From what I have learned of sensei's youth, it was just as dark and troubling. To protect himself, he created mental shields against everyone - even those who wanted to help. In the end, when he took nii-san's life, his shields had been shattered. He realised that what he had done made him no different from his brother. If you knew Sasuke-sensei like I know him, you would see what I see. He's afraid of himself. I've known it since he first started visiting me after my awakening.”

The boy sighed. “I believe, that what nii-san was trying to achieve when he sacrificed himself, was to open up sensei's heart.”

“You might be right about that,” Kiba admitted. “But I'll never forgive the Uchiha.”

“I didn't ask you to.”

Nanikato stood and bowed to the older man.

“Thank you for telling me what you did, Inuzuka-san. You have to be one of the first that hasn't tried to lie to me about the events that took place over thirteen years ago,” he turned, heading down the steps and then stopped, glancing back over his shoulder. “And it would be educational if you took the time to listen to the wind every once and a while. It might help shed some light on things to come.”

And then the boy was gone, swallowed up by the storm. The older man remained where he was for moment before he too got to his feet. Walking down the steps and out into the rain, he noticed that, only now, the storm clouds had begun to break up. The thunder had stopped, though lightning flickered far off in the distance. The winds had gone quite, the waves had slowed and the earth had stilled, while the fires, unseen and unheard, hissed softly and waited.

Looking up into the skies above, Kiba saw stars shining through gaps in the slowly dispersing clouds.

`That kid really is something, Naruto. If I know your style, then I know that life here in Konoha will never be the same again.'

-.ooOoo.-

The Following Morning:

The sun had just begun to rise over the peaks of the mountain overlooking Konoha, bathing the village in a sparkling morning glow. Yesterday's storm had left many things littering the streets, like overturned trees, torn shingles and huge mud puddles. And although most civilians were still asleep, the shinobi were awake and going about their daily business. Damages didn't repair themselves and missions like that could always be given out to anyone that wanted to earn a little bit more money.

One such soul was that of Hyuuga Hinata, having awoken the hour before from a fitful night's sleep. Having banished the last remnants of fatigue with a refreshing shower, the young heiress yawned as she slipped out of her bedroom and tread softly down the corridors of the main house mansion towards the dining hall. Clutched in one hand was a portfolio containing the detailed information she had been working on concerning the cursed seals Orochimaru had created. Since Konoha was now host to more individuals baring such seals, she had been given the express mission of finding a way to dispel them. Shikamaru had told her that she was the only he trusted with this case and if she needed aid, to only choose those in which she trusted herself.

So with Sakura's help, Hinata had made the startling discovered the seals were akin to a disease, parasitic and yet symbiotic in nature at same time, having originated from a pure, unknown human source. Sickening as it was, it appeared that within the seal itself, the sickness thrived. When it came to experimenting on extraction, Anko-san had come forth as a more than willing test subject. And fortune had smiled upon the seal mistress and the medic-nin, as they had been able to purge the contamination from the older woman, drawing out the infection that had been pumped into her body so many years before.

For Anko, it had worked and the only reminder of the horror she had faced was the stain on her skin in the shapes of three tomoe. From the few blood samples taken from Sasuke and Tayuya's seals, she was confronted with an entirely new problem. The parasite housed within the two former Oto-nin had mutated, evolving into sly little beast that wouldn't be so easy to kill. Since Anko had not activated the second level, the virus had remained dormant and contained, whereas Sasuke and Tayuya had activated theirs, allowing the virus to adapt and evolve - become unique to them alone; like siblings to the original strain.

Right now, there was still the matter of finding out whether or not it could still be removed.

Reaching the dinning hall, Hinata slid the door open and was shocked to discover that Hanabi of all people had beaten her there. The younger woman was seated at the table, a newspaper in hand and half eaten bowl of soup before her. She seemed oblivious to her older sister's presence as she read, although the truth was far from it - she was staring ever so discreetly over the edge of the paper.

Seeing Hanabi at all these days was odd, knowing that well enough that her sister preferred not to eat in such `public' places.

“Ohayou gozaimasu, imouto-chan.” she said, setting her portfolio down on the adjacent chair and then seated herself. “What brings you here this morning?”

The younger Hyuuga harrumphed, sparing her the shortest of glances out of the corner of her eye. It was at times like this that she reminded the older woman so much of their father.

“Mission.”

Hinata blinked. “I was under the assumption you would remain on the inactive roaster for the next few months.”

“I still am,” Hanabi replied curtly, setting the paper aside. “However, my mission involves the involuntary supervision of a kodomotachi no gaki.”

She stifled a small gasp. Hanabi… supervise children? Oh, those poor children! The last time her sister had had anything to do with children, she had burnt poor Kozue-chan's eyebrows off. Kurenai-sensei had been enraged, churning forth a litany of reprimands, livid that the younger woman would dare harm her son. Things had only gotten worse when Hanabi had come back with “You think I care? It seems to me you're trying to get a daughter out of a son with all your mollycoddling. And why not? He's girly enough as it is already!”

“So… you'll be working at the academy?”

“No,” the younger Hyuuga scowled. “Genin.”

“Genin? But - ”

“Blame Shikamaru-sama - it was his idea.”

Hanabi then purposely ignored her then, returning her attention back to the neglected bowl of soup. Hinata blinked.

“So, who are your new students?”

Without pausing, her sister's free hand went into her hip pouch and withdrew a small photo, which she deftly whipped like a shuriken. Hinata caught the piece of glossy paper between her fingers and as soon as she turning it over, the breath catching in her throat.

`So that's why Kiba-kun wouldn't tell me what happened at the meeting I missed…'

It reminded the indigo haired young woman of another snapshot, one of a team that was no longer existed. Displayed in a small memorial of the few pictures they had of Naruto-kun, was his team photo. Kakashi-san had been the back, smiling with his hands on Sasuke and Naruto's heads. Sasuke was looking indifferently at the camera while Naruto glared at him and Sakura smiled obliviously in the front.

Although this new photo had its differences, much of it looked the same. Standing in the back, where Kakashi-san once stood, was Hanabi - looking like she wanted nothing more than to kill her new charges. In front was a frightened looking Kozue, who looked as though he was afraid the apocalypse was approaching. Flanking either side was Toboe, with Yukimaru on her shoulder, glaring venomously at a blonde haired, blue-eyed boy who stared indifferently at the camera.

That boy…

She brushed a finger over the whiskered face of the teen in photo, tears prickling in her pale eyes. “Naruto-kun…”

“I wouldn't call him that if I were you.” Hanabi remarked, pushing her now empty bowl aside. “From what the reports say, Kyuuzano Nanikato hates people calling him that. I heard that Iruka-san got removed from the active roster for unprofessional behavior due to antagonizing the kid. He should have known better than to piss of an apprentice to the Uchiha…”

She nodded slowly. “I k-know. It's just - it's just hard to - ”

“Accept the truth? Onee-san, you've had thirteen years to accept the fact that Naruto is dead and is never coming back. I dare say Kiba-yaro would be extremely disappointed if you abandoned him for a boy half your age.”

Hinata sputtered, turning a brilliant shade crimson.

“I wasn't thinking like that!” she shrieked, then slapped a hand over her mouth, shocked by her outburst.

Her sister smirked.

“Of course not. You're going to leave the honors for dog-girl.”

“Toboe-chan? But she looks like she hates him!”

“An overdone pretense. She's probably all hot and bothered and trying to hide it.”

“Imouto-chan!”

Hanabi's sneer grew wider. “Poor naïve onee-san. At this rate you're going to die a virgin. That mutt of yours is probably going to go crazy soon from lack of action.”

Hinata continued to sputter, her face glowing a bright red.

-.ooOoo.-

`Freedom!'

A little later that same morning, Sarutobi Kozue was taking a deep breath of the tangy scent of nature. It helped little to calm his spastic nerves, being a newly minted genin and all, but even if he was incredibly nervous, he was first and foremost ecstatic that he was free of the classroom and ultimately the dreaded reach of his rabid fangirls.

When he looked back on them, the events that had transpired yesterday were so surreal that he was hard pressed to believe that they had actually happened - and he was there for Kami's sake! He could hardly believe that he, let alone two others, had actually passed Hyuuga Hanabi's brand of survival exam.

In his personal opinion, his new sensei was a menace. Although he wouldn't say it (because it would gravely wound what male pride he had left), the woman scared the crap out of him. She wasn't a psycho like Mitarashi Anko, but Hanabi could be very nasty when she really wanted to - all of the beatings Konohamaru-itoko had received while hitting on her was enough to prove that.

But even with his fear of the near emotionless Hyuuga, Kozue was pleased with how his new team had been formed. He was overjoyed that he had Toboe-chan and Yukimaru at his side - even the new boy, Nanikato, was a welcome addition. Speaking of the new boy, he was a bit weird. Although the brunette had only known the blonde for a day at most, he was already puzzled. Toboe made it clear that she hated Nanikato after the introduction, which had gone disastrous to say the least (and damn her, why'd she have to drag him into it?!).

Still…

Suddenly a screeching noise like the sound of the Klaxon alarm split the air. Kozue cried out in pain, covering his ears with his hands and gritted his teeth. Yukimaru was howling loudly while Toboe screamed, her pointer fingers wedged deeply into her ears. Nanikato, however, sat with his back against a tree, unfazed at though he was listening to the most beautiful music there was to hear. It lasted a few minutes more before dying out at the exact same moment their sensei appeared.

The deadly beauty that was Hyuuga Hanabi dropped out of the tree in which Nanikato was leaning against. Everyone was silent, save for Toboe muttering murderously, taking in information or recovering from what had just happened.

Hanabi frowned distastefully. She had been hoping that the brats she had been saddled with yesterday would have learned better. What a disgrace! Soothing her left temple, the former oinin reached into her vest pocket and pulled out a small black box with two silver buttons.

“Can anyone tell me what this is?”

Kozue and Toboe stared blankly at the box, having no clue whatsoever as to what it might be, although the male of the pair had the inkling that it had something to do with the noise they had heard only moments before. Of course it was Nanikato who answered for them, rising to his feet to join them in front of their sensei.

“It's called a fuuton device.” he replied, slipping into what they assumed was his form of lecture mode. “Manufactured in Otogakure, it soon became a dangerously effective form of crowd control. It is able to render an enemy army incapable of fighting as it can produce up to supersonic levels of sound - those capable of shattering an opponent's eardrums. Seeing as Otogakure has taken the lead in technological advances, they possess a much bigger arsenal of weaponry then Konoha could ever dream to have.” he paused, raising a single golden brow. “By the way, Hyuuga-san, how it that you are in possession of a fuuton device?”

Hanabi nodded appreciatively, but did not smile as the Hyuuga rarely smiled.

“That's classified.”

“Very well,” he conceded. “But from the looks of it, it is only a prototype that's capable of only half of what I just mentioned. It has only been the last year and half that they have started to make more improvements upon the current technology.”

The indigo haired woman was impressed. Had the boy been loyal to Oto, they wouldn't have known what the device was called or what it could do aside from producing such mind numbing noise.

“Since you know what this device is, then I'm sure you can tell me what that lesson was for.”

“The object of the lesson was to expect the unexpected. When on a mission, one needs to have their wits about them at all times or else they might fall pray to an ambush or the like. As we have only just become a team, you wanted to see if we would be prepared for anything you threw at us. While I had the feeling that we were being watched, I had no idea where you were, much less directly above me. Although I can't speak for my teammates, it is doubtless that they were any more prepared than myself.”

“If you were not prepared, then why didn't this fuuton affect you?”

He smirked.

“Because onee-sama drilled me on the same subject only a few months ago. As a result, I was rendered temporarily deaf for at least a week before my eardrums healed from the extensive of damage she put them through. I can now withstand a great volume of sound before it becomes painful.”

Kozue, who had been watching the whole exchange between his sensei and teammate, frowned.

“Nanikato-san?”

“Yes?”

“How do you know so much about Oto?”

The blonde glanced at him, his expression natural and didn't even bat an eyelash as he answered the brunette's question.

“Because I used to be a genin of Otogakure.”

“NANI?!”

Toboe's eyes were as wide as saucers while Yukimaru's jaw hung slackly. Kozue nodded, realising that it all made sense now. The Uchiha had been captured over two weeks ago, and from what he had heard his okaa-san and Shikamaru-ojisama talking about that day, the man had had a boy their age with him. That had been the very reason why he and Toboe had skipped class that morning to wait at the gates for their arrival - they wanted to see what the boy looked like. Now that he knew, Kozue wasn't really sure what to say.

“Then that means you're Uchiha Sasuke's apprentice, right?”

Hanabi's eyes narrowed dangerously. “And how do you know about that, Sarutobi?”

The boy squeaked in surprise, shielding his head.

“I-I overheard okaa-san and Shikamaru-ojisama t-talking about it in the d-den the morning they were caught!”

The Hyuuga glowered, pinning not only him, but also Toboe and Yukimaru with a hard stare.

“Repeat that to nobody. Loose lips sink ships, remember that.”

“But why?” Toboe demanded. “Just because he used to be an Oto shinobi, or because he's the Uchiha's apprentice?”

“For reasons,” the pale eyes woman growled. “That are classified.”

The two younger genin and the puppy glanced at Nanikato, wondering what it was about the blonde that made him so special. Looking at him more closely, Kozue was certain that he seemed terribly familiar, but he couldn't put his finger on whom…

Having given up on debating whether or not to seriously maim the effeminate boy, Hanabi began barking orders at her three new students. Last night's storm had given her enough time to plan the perfect course of training that they would have to endure the whole time that she was their sensei, not to mention receive authorization to conduct the training in that place. As soon as the three-plus-one-canine-companion were in manageable order, she gave them their directive. They would not be training where they had been scheduled to meet this morning, but rather in a place much better suited for her style.

Having no idea of her style, Kozue, Toboe and Yukimaru followed warily whilst Nanikato really didn't give a damn - nothing Hanabi dished out could be much worse than what Tayuya could do to him - exhibit A being his eardrums. Twenty minutes later, the group of five arrived just outside a training field, which was actually a small meadow inside the boundaries of the Forest of Death, which was sanctioned for ANBU/oinin use.

The five acres worth of land was filled with all sorts of, in Kozue's opinion, torture paraphernalia. It looked like someone had razed the place with exploding tags and a bombardment of S-class jutsu - which was completely true. All sorts of hidden traps awaited the children, silently crossing imaginary fingers in hopes that they would be tripped.

Hanabi's smirk took a sinister slant as the three genin stared at the field, their eyes growing wide.

“Welcome to Boot Camp!”

-.ooOoo.-

Translations/Original Jutsus:

Kegawa - Fur

Hige - Whiskers

Momoko - Peach blossom child

Daken - Mongrel

Kodomotachi no gaki - a group of bratty children

“FuuTon” FuubiTonkyou- Overwhelming Disarray