Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ When Heavens Fall upon the Night ❯ Training ( Chapter 2 )

Chapter 2 - Training

 

A/N: This chapter is told from Neji's perspective. I'd like to reiterate that I will exclusively use Neji's and Sasuke's points of view for this novel, and I would cite here in my author's note which point of view I would use in each chapter.

Please write me reviews. They are the author's fuel.

I haven't said this before, but I'd like to underscore the fact that I do not own Hyuuga Neji, Uchiha Sasuke and anything related to Naruto.

Warning: slight Shounen-Ai will be present in this chapter (NejixSasuke) and a little angst.

 

 

It was a hot sunny afternoon and I was en route to the training grounds, where I had agreed with Sasuke to train for our forthcoming mission.

 

The training grounds are a vast area utilized by all shinobi for their individual development. There is, however, a secluded sector solely meant for ANBU members. This ANBU training sector has a very versatile land area, constituting of many wooded hills, a lake and river, a wide plain and a barren earth area. This combination of different landscapes enables the practice of numerous elemental jutsus, and it also helps to simulate real battle scenarios.

 

Uchiha Sasuke was sitting under a tree beside the lake when I arrived. I guessed that he had been there for quite a while, contemplating while his eyes were locked unfocused on the gleams of the water's surface. His chin was resting on his knees, as his arms cuddled his shins.

 

Sasuke was wearing a black slim tank top and tight black pants, and these clothes highlighted his lithe build. His preference and taste in clothing always ensued in a sexy contrast to his build, and it was on the verge of being seductive. He has always been an eye candy, both for art and lust.

 

But why am I thinking of Sasuke so much? Ever since we've been partners in training, I couldn't help but stare at him and his beauty.

 

But I'm not gay…

 

“Are you going to stand there staring at me all the time or are we gonna start training?”

 

I was surprised that I had drifted to my thoughts while staring at the Uchiha. Did he think that it was queer? How long had I been staring at him?

 

I blushed and brushed it off. “We'll start training now,” I said as Sasuke stood up and dusted off the dirt he was sitting on. Then he unsheathed a kunai and took no restraints as he came to attack me.

 

The Uchiha is direct and straightforward as always.

 

I drew my own kunai just in time to block his attack, and bounced off, finding a suitable tree branch to act as a catapult to hurl me towards Sasuke in order to attack. I found him on the ground preparing to attack me again, with his eyes bloodshot - he had activated his Sharingan.

 

I leaped towards Sasuke and our kunais clashed again, each of us bouncing back from the collision.

 

“Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!” Sasuke commanded as a blast of fire was released from his mouth. This was the trademark of the Uchiha clan - a mastery of fire jutsus. Though Sasuke has performed a C-level technique, his mastery of the jutsu makes it all the more effective and hard to evade. However, the tactical knowledge that both the Uchiha and I have are already Jounin-level. Mastery of basic skills can't dent us so easily.

 

“Suiton: Suijinheki!” I commanded, summoning a wall of water to protect me against the fire. The orange flames were engulfed by the wall of water, turning most of it into steam. I immediately activated my Byakugan, since the mist gave me an advantage of seeing Sasuke better.

 

The 360-degree view highly increases the contrast, especially between men and their surroundings. The mist helps Byakugan perceive animals because of their body temperature, which is often different from their surroundings. I sought for Sasuke within the 360-degree view and saw him hiding, in the 4 o'clock direction, about 7 meters away. He was waiting to strike me at the right time.

 

I readied my divination stance, and drew some senbon needles as well. Sasuke was about to pounce on me so I had to do the hand seals for my trick very quickly.

 

After doing the hand seals and assuring Sasuke's location, I turned towards him and hurled the thin, almost invisible senbon needles. Sasuke was already airborne, his arms spread wide, preparing to hurl kunai attached to some thin metal thread that he held with his teeth and arms.

 

“Hakke rokujuyon senbon!” I commanded, hurling 64 senbons into the air into the direction of Sasuke. With his Sharingan, he might have implied from my stance that I would do my Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms technique, but I took a wild card, using both my knowledge in senbon-throwing and human chakra anatomy, together with the insight of Byakugan, in order to perform the technique using senbon.

 

The senbon needles are hard to detect with normal vision, but Sasuke's Sharingan may have helped him to detect it as it approached him. The Uchiha did not expect the needles, were arranged in a geometric series like my palm strikes, to hit him, and tried to block, but it was to no avail.

 

The senbon were covered with chakra that helps to disrupt the target's chakra circulation. The first two paralyzed his hands, disabling him from blocking the next four aimed to stop his legs and thighs. The next fifty-eight senbons were in perfect order. I was sure that Sasuke was hit, using my Byakugan to check if all of his chakra points were hit.

 

Sasuke falls to the ground, about 4 meters from me. His eyes regain their abysmal onyx; his Sharingan was deactivated by the attack. However, he has much strength left, and he is able to strain his body to stand and move quickly, albeit not as sharp as before the attack. He could use Taijutsu, but not ninjutsu or genjutsu.

 

This training match was not intended to be lethal, but if either the Uchiha or I would choose to push our bodies, it could become lethal. We would die from the strain we put on our own bodies, not from the attacks we receive.

 

Sasuke would have a difficult time to avoid heavy strain on his body if he were to attack of defend himself using taijutsu. It would be best for him to rest now, or hide and set up a trap or throw kunais and shurikens to distract me.

 

Using my Byakugan, I found out that Sasuke had escaped from my field of view for omni perception, a good radius of 30 meters. A barrage of kunais and shurikens were coming my way, almost from all directions, but nothing that my Hakkeshou Kaiten can't deflect.

 

Enhancing my Byakugan to scout out for Sasuke, I focused it to scan the area in the same fashion as a light beam does from a lighthouse. Byakugan would be concentrated in a beam, and it would sweep a circular pattern, allowing me to perceive things up to 1 kilometer away.

 

Alas! Sasuke had already regained his chakra control. I sensed bunshins coming in from every direction. What was odd was that the replications each had their own chakra circulatory system, which is not possible when one summons replications using bunshin no jutsu, mizu bunshin no jutsu or any of that kind. I faintly remember that I had participated in past match with replications that had the same quality. Unfortunately, I could not recall the type of bunshin used.

 

Another swarm of kunais and shurikens were thrown at me, and again I used my Hakkeshou Kaiten to deflect them.

 

Immediately I found out that I made a mistake. My mind had been used to the automatic response of using Hakkeshou Kaiten in order to deflect the continual storm of kunais and shurikens. This time, however, I used the same technique without putting into consideration. As soon as I had stopped turning, the bunshins were almost underneath me.

 

“Kage Buyo!” The clones kicked me into the air. Each clone was unusually solid. Suddenly I realized Sasuke had used Kage bunshin no jutsu. He must have learned or copied it from Naruto.

 

Sasuke was too fast; he was immediately underneath me when I was airborne. Before I could do Kawarimi no Jutsu, the wind from my lungs escaped me as Sasuke performed his Shishi Rendan. The first kick hit me on my right, hurting my ribcage and external obliques. The next 5 kicks were focused on my abdominal area, crushing my stomach, causing me to spew blood from my throat. I ended up landing on the hard ground below with a force that could never ensue in comfort.

 

I was surprised that the Uchiha had been able to recover very quickly from my attack on his chakra circulatory system. He had indeed grown not only in strength and knowledge of jutsus, but also in tactics and strategizing.

 

But it wasn't time to give up yet. Sasuke was directly above me, depending on my temporary paralysis so that he could deliver a direct blow without getting deflected or countered in the process. His eyes were a crimson red, and murderous intent had leaked into his aura. He wouldn't stop till he was assured that I was down. Both of us never took risks in giving the enemy even just a slight chance of recovering. As assassins, we were trained to disable them completely, often by killing them.

 

Nonetheless, we were also trained to be risk breakers. Commanding my hands to move, I took the risk to get out of the way. “Shunshin no jutsu,” I whispered as I teleported to a body of water about 5 meters away. Once there, I was able to ignore my body as it screamed with pain and concentrated on a counterattack for Sasuke, who had just landed on the place where I was supposed to be.

 

“Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu!” The lake violently blasted towards the Uchiha in the form of a dragon. The attack was fast and unexpected, and Sasuke didn't have a chance to block it with a defensive elemental jutsu. He was overwhelmed by the sudden rush of water, as it slammed him into an old tree that bent and almost fell down from the force.

 

It was only then that I realized that the bastard Sasuke had been pushing himself over his limits. His chakra circulation was jumbled and chaotic. Only a few tenketsu points were active, but most of the 64 points hit by my earlier attack had been damaged critically, not only deactivated, as that would be the effect of the Hakke Rokujuyon Senbon. He had put strain on his body to perform jutsus.

 

He was powered by rage and impudence again… although I am not certain where this rage is coming from. Could it be that he is still bitter towards his brother, Itachi? I had profusely read the older Uchiha's profile last night, and it was disheartening to know that Sasuke's own brother had taken everything away from him.

 

I would take a chance on talking to him about that later… for at that time I had to attend to the idiot who pushed himself over the edge, before he would obtain permanent injuries.

 

I rushed to the wet and injured Uchiha, who was supported by the thick old tree that somehow held him throughout the attack of my water dragon. He was unconscious, with his head bent down, as if depressed and praying that the earth would swallow him up. This was not good. His chakra circulation had become very chaotic, especially after the trauma of my last attack.

 

Using Byakugan, I observed as his erratic chakra circulation was disrupting his internal organs. I ripped his black tank top in order to treat him with medical jutsu. At the back of my mind a thought of eroticism sprouted involuntarily. I brushed it off immediately, focusing my hands in order to perform chakra healing*.

 

Sasuke had two damaged chakra pressure points over his heart, five over his right lung, four over his left lung and seven over his stomach, while the others were at non-critical locations. I focused on the tenketsu points over his vital organs.

 

I first healed the points over his heart, as it was irregularly beating, and the raven-haired boy was on the verge of convulsions. My hands floated over his sternum, as the green healing chakra sealed and repaired the damaged tenketsu points.

 

Looking at the Uchiha's face, his lips had turned into a shade of blue. I feared the need to resuscitate him if ever his lungs would fail if I wasn't fast enough in healing the ruptured tenketsu points over his lungs.

 

But why was I pleasuring myself with the hope of rubbing my lips against this dark-haired boy? I have never experienced being attracted to another man. It is irrational, illogical… disgusting. Men are meant for women and vice versa. Is there something wrong with me? Am I leaning towards insanity or homosexuality?

 

I healed Sasuke's tenketsu points over his lungs. I massaged his chest in order to do this, and his pectoral muscles were firm yet slender. They were artfully perfect. I found myself digging for more, and stopped myself when I realized what I have been doing.

 

One has to admit that Sasuke is the kind of guy who, even when beside beautiful women, is the man whom other men look unto. He has this alluring aura, and it attracts you like how a light does to a moth. Even if you're not gay, you have to look and you need to look at him, and admire this lithe Adonis.

 

But this temptation must be eliminated. I must not be attracted to Sasuke. A man can't fall for another man. It's just not possible. When I was starting puberty and developed into my teens, I wasn't attracted that much to girls. I mean, I know which girls were pretty and beautiful, but I didn't show much interest as to courting girls and finding a girlfriend. I wasn't into it. I always preferred to train rather than to find girls. I didn't talk about girls with the other boys as well. I was always oblivious to what relationships were all about; though I've read it in books, I really haven't experienced anything that could be called as infatuation or love. But somehow now I couldn't even rationalize the way I was `feeling' for Sasuke.

 

I finished healing all of Sasuke's tenketsu points over his lungs. In the end, he didn't need to be resuscitated, yet surprisingly I was disappointed at not having a chance to brush his lips. After healing his lungs, I went to other tenketsu points in his chest and a few on his legs. After reassuring myself that I had healed all ruptured points, I deactivated my healing chakra and wrapped him up with my white outer shirt. He was a bit cold from the dampening strike of Suiryudan. Then I started to rest beside Sasuke.

 

I was drained, having performed numerous jutsus, and having healed Sasuke's tenketsu points, which took a big chunk out of my chakra reserve. The pain in my mid-section and chest from the Uchiha's Shishi Rendan was already setting in. I was already at my limit, and I needed rest.

 

It was late afternoon and the sun was beginning to set. The sky was embracing a warm golden hue, and the warm winds were blowing their last breath for the day. I stared into the blushing sun, and suddenly found the Uchiha's side comfortably warm and welcoming. I couldn't prevent my eyes from closing nor could I stop my mind from drifting into an easy slumber.

 

The warm winds lulled me as the heaviness in my eyes slowly grasped my waning consciousness. There I slept beside the raven-haired Sasuke.

 

 

End of Chapter! Yay! At last I finished it. This has been the chapter that took the longest time to write so far! I had to do research on different jutsus, and strategize Neji's and Sasuke's fight plan. So what do you think? I hope my battle scenes aren't confusing… Please do write me reviews!!!

 

*I had introduced Neji as a medic-nin in prologue 1 (Reverie), together with Hinata. However, Neji is not as good as Sakura and is even less proficient than Hinata in medical jutsu.

 

Notes:

Shinobi - another name for ninja

Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu - Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique

Suiton: Suijinheki - Water Release: Water Encampment Wall

Hakke rokujuyon senbon - (my own original jutsu) Eight Trigrams 64 senbon technique

Hakkeshou Kaiten - Eight Trigram Palms Heavenly Spin

Bunshin no jutsu - Replication Technique

Mizu Bunshin no jutsu - Water Replication Technique

Kage Buyo - Shadow of the Dancing Leaf

Kage bunshin no jutsu - Shadow Replication Technique

Kawarimi no jutsu - Change of Body Technique

Shishi Rendan - Lion Combo

Shunshin no jutsu - Body Flicker technique

Tenketsu - chakra pressure points

Suiton: Suiryudan - Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique

 

References:

Naruto jutsu. Wikipedia Encyclopedia, September 17, 2005. Retrieved September 17, 2005, from the World Wide Web: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naruto_jutsu