Date: February 4th, 13 years following the Kyuubi's attack
Time: 7:15 AM
The droning sound of her alarm roused Motoko Hata from a peaceful night's sleep. The early morning's sunlight was muted somewhat by the green curtains of her window only to be augmented by the sunlight yellow color that her room was painted. She stretched out, letting off a - for her - surprisingly unladylike yawn before sitting up.
She glances at a dresser mirror on the other side of the room from her. She runs her fingers through her straight sunrise orange hair; clearing the bulk of her bed head. "It's going to be a great day!" She said encouragingly to herself - a motivational mantra she'd said every morning for years. So far, it had worked incredibly well; it was rare when she had a genuinely bad day.
Grabbing her emerald silk robe from the mannequin stand - a pole that had a human torso at the top allowing any garments hung on it to maintain their shape and minimize wrinkling - and slipping on her thick slippers of the same shade of green, she ducked into the house's single bathroom. As she closed the door, the sensations through her "link" - for want of a better word - to her brother changed as he woke up in the room next to hers.
Motoko goes through her usual morning routine - changing it slightly from usual as she applied a slightly orange-tinted lip gloss onto her face. She'd seen the gloss at the health and beauty store the day before and she was interested in seeing how it looked. She looked into the mirror. The gloss had given her lips an orange glow that matched nicely with her hair color without being as extreme as orange lipstick would be.
She nodded to herself - her looks didn't put her into the same class as Ino Yamanaka or Sakura Haruno, but she'd probably be able to give Kimiko Itou or Hinata Hyuuga a run for their money.
A pounding on the door broke off her competitive reverie, eliciting a surprised gasp. "Oi! Nee-san, hurry up would ya? I need to use the toilet and you can waste time in your room making yourself look good for Oni! It's not like he's going to notice."
A flash of anger coursed through Motoko. Her twin could be so frustrating at times!
She opened the door and gave Raiden a slightly too-wide grin that caused him to pause despite himself. Raiden might have been the physically stronger of the two, but even he knew better that to push Motoko too far. While she exuded a calm proper demeanor the majority of the time, her twin had been there on the occasions when she revealed that she had a core that was harder than steel. And for the occasions that he forgot, he'd always have that scar on his back to remind him.
Once back in her room, Motoko started laying out the pieces to her usual outfit: the midsection armor that provided a modicum of protection to the vital areas, the skin-hugging shorts that gave her a full range of motion for her legs - she would have preferred a longer pair of pants, but her fighting style focused on using her sword and legs; she had yet to find something that gave her the same flexibility, her long-sleeved top - which suited her proper personality while remaining loose enough for sword fighting, and finally her sash/belt designed to keep her sword sheath held in place behind her back.
She opened up a cabinet that she stored all her weapons in. It took her just a few seconds to pull out both her shuriken holster and the tool pouch that held her kunai and other assorted ninja must-haves. Motoko then opened an inner compartment where her sword, Haruichiban - The "First Storm of Spring," was stored. She bowed respectfully to the weapon before pulling it and the equipment care kit out.
Unsheathing the blade made of the difficult to process chakra-channeling metal, she quickly checked the weapon's condition, as she did every morning, taking a few minutes to hone it to maximum sharpness before getting dressed to face the day.
* * *
Motoko and Raiden were walking through the village after finishing breakfast. They were as far apart from each other as they could be without feeling any discomfort - roughly half a block. They were on their way to a nearby training field, having recalled Okito-sensei's order to keep practicing while he was out of town on the special mission he'd been called off on.
'He seems like a nice man... I hope he doesn't get hurt while he's doing that job, whatever it is… I could see that he's strong and he can make that diamond armor to protect himself, but those aren't always enough…'
Suddenly a dark blur flew at her, dropping down from the awning of the building she was approaching. The blur landed on her left shoulder and had enough weight to knock her off balance against the wall. A slight squeak of shocked surprised escaped her. Motoko turned her head to try and figure out what had hit her.
"Prrowrr?" A questioning kittenish call came from the purring black blur with the golden yellow eyes that looked at her curiously.
"Geez, Kyouran! Don't scare a girl like that!" Motoko said tersely. The panther cub, unfazed by Hata raising her voice, licks the tip of her nose and then rubs his head against her cheek. The fine black fur quickly caused her to start giggling. She sighed, rubbing under his jaw. "But because you're so cute, I guess I have to forgive you."
Takahashi showed up along with her twin brother. "Sorry about that Motoko-san." Kyouran's partner apologized. "I've tried telling him that there are better ways to show how much he likes being appreciated by others, but he doesn't seem to want to change." Kyouran roared at him. The blonde haired young man shook his head. "Don't give me that - they'll still give you treats if you tone down the pouncing a bit." The panther roared again. "Oh, don't even try that; you know you love the treats."
Motoko laughs, rubbing Kyouran's head between his ears. "You should listen to Takahashi-kun. I'll give you treats either way, but if you're going to jump at me, give a bit of warning next time." She kissed his furry forehead, eliciting an eye roll from her brother. Kyouran gave off a kittenish "mew" of agreement before leaping onto Takahashi's shoulder. She looked at the duo. "My brother and I are headed over to Zone 21 to practice. Care to join us?"
Takahashi shook his head, covering his mouth to hide a yawn. "Kyouran's pride and I were out most of the night; we're headed home to get some to get some sleep. Thanks for the offer, though." He bowed slightly, turning to head down the alley besides the building that Motoko was sitting against.
Raiden extended a hand to his sister, who was watching their teammates depart. "Oi, earth to Motoko-chan?" She glanced at her twin. "Can we get going? I know you wanted to practice some before I have my activity today so that you'd be at full power." He sighed. "I wish the doctors could figure this whole connection thing of ours out so that way we could practice on our own whenever we felt like it."
Motoko sighed as she accepted her brother's helping hand to get back up to her feet. He was right for a change: in addition to feeling uncomfortable when away from each other their powers also waned when they were apart from each other for too long. It only amounted to a 25% decrease at its worse, but it did make things problematic.
"It does have its plus sides, though." She pointed out to him.
Raiden paused before nodding grudgingly. "Yeah, you're right. Still, there are times that I can't help but envy the other ninjas' freedom."
'And I can't help but pity them for the lack of connection that we have, Nii-san.' Motoko thought to herself. She took a deep breath. "Let's go."
* * *
The Hata twins reached the 21st Training zone about twenty minutes later. Raiden promptly located a comfortable spot on the side of the hill and proceeded to take a nap; they'd long since figured out that proximity to each other was the important part, not consciousness.
Motoko sighed. 'I really would have liked to have a partner to practice with, but I guess it can't be helped...' She shook her head to push out the distracting thoughts. 'Okay, Tanaka-sensei said he wanted us to practice... I've got the Lightning Bolt jutsu more or less down; I used it rather effectively to distract Sensei during the bell exercise, after all.'
She paused, remembering how Okito-sensei's chakra had changed when he channeled his energy into his weapons. He'd done so twice - once when he cut Raiden's kunai in half and when he tried disrupting her twin's Thunder Wave. Her ability to read chakra told her what he was doing and how he was doing it, but it didn't convey the ability to mimic it without thinking; like the Uchiha clan's Sharingan would have.
'I wonder if there is any Uchiha blood in our family tree...' She thought wistfully. 'It would explain how I can do this... Blood so diluted that we can tap into some of the Sharingan's abilities without being able to get the full Kekkei Genkai.' Then she shook her head with a sigh. 'Guess we'll never know... Mom's parents died when she was young and dad doesn't even where he was from; Grandma and Grandpa said they found him wandering the streets in a border city when they were on a mission back when they were young and eventually adopted him.'
Again shaking the distracting thoughts away, Motoko drew Haruichiban from its sheath. The high quality straight-bladed ninja sword had been a gift from her grandparents upon graduating the Academy. It was styled after the blade that had been passed through the family for generations when the eldest child became a Jonin. Since neither of her parents were ninja, her grandfather still carried it in trust until Motoko earned the right to be its next owner.
Holding the sword in both hands, Motoko tried funneling her chakra the way she'd felt Okito-sensei's - down her arms, into her hands and then into the weapon itself. To her surprise, the blade took on a faint purplish-blue color as the energy started to coalesce. She swung the blade, which made an unusual crackling noise as a formless cloud of chakra appeared behind the blade as the sword's glow vanished. The cloud crackled with electricity but quickly dissipated, lacking a continued source of power.
"Now that was interesting..." Motoko muttered to herself. Raising her blade, she repeated her actions and experienced the same results. Before the cloud faded, she touched it. A high-energy tingle arced through her arm, numbing it instantly and causing a burning sensation in her hand. "GAH..! Not what I expected to happen." She growled at herself.
The numbness quickly vanished and the pain faded shortly thereafter. "Well, I'm obviously doing something right, although it's not quite what I had planned..." She paused. "If I'm making a energy cloud when I'm just using a chakra pulse… What would happen if I used concentrated chakra?"
Holding the blade in one hand, she began to make the seals, albeit with some difficulty due to her occupied hand, for the Lightning Bolt jutsu that grandmother had taught her when she was younger. "Lightning Style, Lightning Bolt jutsu!"
This time, instead of a faint glow, the silver of the blade's metal vanished as the blade became an opaque purplish blue. Uncertain as to what would happen next, she swung the sword with all her strength in a - hopefully - safe direction.
Instead of a little cloud forming, the blade unleashed an electric shockwave that flew in the direction of her swing. The shockwave lashed out with the barely traceable speed of a lightning bolt. The pulse flew until it struck a medium-sized tree about a dozen meters away. Upon contact, the pulse exploded with the pent-up fury of a lightning bolt and the boom of thunder, gouging a massive split in the tree.
Motoko's jaw dropped open in surprise at the destruction her experiment had wrought. Surprisingly, her sword still glowed with its channeled power; albeit with a lesser intensity than before. Aiming at the same tree, she tried a less wild swing this time. This time, the results were less drastic: instead of forming a shockwave, the chakra blade stretched out to nearly triple the blade's normal reach, but didn't disconnect to form a shockwave or dissipate any more energy.
"Wow... Not what I was expecting at all." Glancing around, she found a small rock and tossed it up and out so that it would be in the range of the electric blade. As the stone fell, Motoko timed her swing so that the stretching blade would intersect the rock. The blade touched the stone, splitting it in half and dimming the energy by a fraction.
"So, at full power it generates a shockwave... Will it do so at this reduced strength, too?" Aiming at the already gouged tree, she made another heavy swing and was awarded with another pulse - albeit not one as big and bright as the first - which flew true to the tree. As it departed, so too did the glow enveloping her sword's blade.
Once again, the wave exploded with the crackling sound of thunder, this time nearly splitting the tree in half. The damaged trunk groaned as the weight of the upper branches was too much for the remaining trunk to support. The wood splintered and the tree toppled with a resounding crash that shook the ground.
Raiden, roused by the noise, leapt up into a fighting stance, looking around for the cause of the noise. Seeing only his twin sister, he yawned, approaching her. "Damn, Momo... What the hell are you doing?"
Motoko looked at her twin. "I think I just made a new jutsu, Rai..." She pointed at the tree. Raiden's jaw dropped as he saw the buckled tree lying prone on the ground. "I poured my Lightning Bolt technique into Haruichiban and..." She gestured.
Raiden hugged his sister. "That's awesome, Momo! What are you going to call it?"
Motoko, deciding that a display was in order, formed the seals, generating the glowing blade once again, holding it up for him to see. "The Lightning Arc jutsu. Check it out... I can use it two ways: use the pulse to give me a stretchable blade," She made the light swing to show him how the glow distorted to increase the blade's length. "Or I can generate two lightning shockwaves that took out that tree over there..." Aiming at the fallen tree, she made two great big swings in an X pattern. The shockwaves bored into the trunk, cutting it into quarters with pointed edges for about two meters from the top.
"Holy crap, sis. That's almost as destructive as my Thunder Wave technique when it hits." He paused, pulling out his knuckle weapons. "I wonder if I could get a similar effect with my knuckles..."
Motoko shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine - the Lightning Arc effect was just a result of random experimentation; even I don't understand why it's working like this."
Raiden grinned at his twin. "Just pour the energy from the jutsu into the weapon, right?" His sister nodded. He made some hand signs, causing his 'brass' knuckles to glow like Haruichiban had, albeit with an odd purple and green tint hue. "You might want to stand back, Momo." Her twin said using his nickname for her. Motoko nodded in agreement and moved aside.
The male half of the Hata twins grinned in anticipation. Dropping into a horse stance, he twisted at the waist to give him maximum thrust speed. "Kyah!" He shouted as he lashed out with all his heart.
Nothing happened.
There was a trail of light drawn in the air where his fist had moved, but there were no unusual effects like Motoko had displayed with her sword. Undeterred, Raiden tried throwing a series of rapid punches, but, once again, all he got was a trail of light. After a few dozen swings, he finally stopped in frustration.
"Aww, man! This sucks." He sighed, punching his right hand into his left palm in frustration.
A sudden explosion of sound blew Raiden ass over teakettle to land a few feet from Motoko.
"Raiden!" Motoko shouted, feeling an odd fuzzy sensation all over her face and upper body. She tried to run to check on her brother, but disorientation quickly set in, as if she had a concussion or something affecting her inner ear, causing her to stumble. She dragged herself the rest of the way over to him.
The glow had disappeared from his right hand, but not his left, so she oriented on the "safe" side of her brother. Raiden's face and body were completely intact, albeit a bit dusty from his hard landing on the ground. He groaned slightly as he started raising his hands to grab the sides of his head.
"No!" She shouted, practically lunging at his left arm to keep it immobilized, visions of her twin's experiment taking his head off dancing through her mind.
Raiden groaned again. "Damn... That actually hurt." He tried sitting up, but Motoko's position stopped him in his tracks. "Momo? What on earth are you doing?"
"Trying to keep you from killing yourself, Baka-chan." She said tersely.
"What? I can't hear you. I think the explosion took out my hearing. Again." He said in the too-loud voice of those who had problems hearing themselves.
Motoko turned her head to face him. "Your hand!" She shouted, shaking his arm to emphasize his point. She then pantomimed lifting her left hand to the side of her head and having it explode, "BOOM!" And finished by pointing at him. "You!"
Her brother looked at his hand. "Woah!" He glanced at her. "Thanks for the save, sis!" She nodded, releasing his hand and allowing him to sit up. He kept his hand safely away from his body. He started forcing a yawn to try to clear the pressure damage to his inner ear. It seemed to work as the muzziness that Motoko had been feeling disappeared and the fuzzy feeling reduced to a weak electric tingle.
"Much better." Motoko sighed. Raiden nodded agreement. "Apparently the technique that we try infusing into the weapon matters... My Lightning Bolt jutsu is a mid-to-long range attack, but your Thunder Wave has a close-to-short range for initial delivery, although once released, it gets a little bit of extra range before unleashing its power."
"That must be it..." Raiden agreed reluctantly. "That would explain why random swinging did nothing, but my frustrated gesture beat me up. I wonder..."
Before Motoko could react, he slammed his arm onto the ground. The ground fissured in the direction of his splayed hand, radiating outwards between three to five meters. A dusty explosion obscured their sight for a few seconds. When it cleared, a fan-shaped section of dirt and grass had been heavily disturbed resulting in loose soil that, even had anyone standing on the ground beforehand had remained standing, would have found it treacherous to walk on.
Motoko slapped Raiden's shoulder. "A little warning next time, huh?"
"Why? You would have just stopped me." Her twin pointed out simply. Motoko frowned at him. "Oh, don't give me that. Besides..." He held up his hand, now absent the unusual glow that it had a few seconds before. "It did what I needed it to do."
He contemplated the destruction he'd wrought. "That would suck to be hit with. It's like taking the Thunder Wave and forcing its energy into a single point." He grinned. "I think I'll call it the Thunder Burst technique… It looks like it would be great for disabling opponents while providing both cover and distraction for an escape. What do you think?"
"I think I should have kept my mouth shut..." Motoko muttered, rolling her eyes.
Raiden's grin grew wider. "I heard that."
* * *
The twins kept up their practice for another hour, although they quickly found that they couldn't manifest their new techniques more than twice without having to wait to recover their chakra levels. The weapon-augmented jutsu were apparently far more demanding of their energy than the original techniques. They were taking yet another quick breather when Motoko's "chakra detector," as her brother called it, sensed the approach of four sources of chakra. Closing her eyes to focus a bit better, she began to sample the flavors - for lack of a better word - that she could pick up with this ability.
The one leading the others held an aura of command and gave off a tingling sensation - much like her brother and her grandfather did - that was far more powerful than she'd ever sensed. The aura also suggested a great deal of emotional sensitivity. The source was a woman, with a trace of uncertainty that was mostly overpowered by her self-confidence.
In short, it was everything Motoko wished she could be.
The next was a proud blaze of strength and arrogance that projected an air of confidence and protection to all within its embrace. The passion that the source felt was strong enough to melt iron, although its chakra pulse wasn't much stronger than either of the twins. It also gave off tones of annoyance and antagonism that was directed at something that Motoko couldn't really understand without being closer to the source.
The third, moving beside the second, was a confident fountain of determination whose taste brought to mind thoughts of a turbulent mountain stream or the depths of the ocean. Along with the determination was a feeling of closeness and happiness that was faintly tainted with feelings of loneliness; a sense that the person, despite knowing that she had close friends, had times when she felt utterly alone. Motoko instantly recognized that combination as Kimiko Itou, one of the few people that she felt comfortable around without being worried about making a misstep.
That meant the second person was Nakahito and the first was their Jonin… Which meant… Her cheeks colored as she reached out for the fourth source, feeling a rush of excitement that set her heart pumping.
The final chakra source was another powerful one, albeit not in the same category as the first, but stronger than Kimi or 'Hito by a good margin. It was like the cool breath of the morning breeze at dawn, bearing the same mix of hopeful daylight and the murk of despairing night. The source was an enigmatic figure: full of goodwill and a desire to help any and every one, the pain of ostracized loneliness, and much, much more. Motoko felt her cheeks warm even more and her heart start to flutter as she sank into Sho Inugami's chakra aura.
She felt a desire to delve into the depths of his presence - to share his joys, salve his wounds, and just be there for him. The medical ninja was always so aloof and emotionally locked up (at least externally,) but his chakra could not cloak itself before her skills. Because of her ability, she knew that use of medical jutsu required the opening of all the internal doors of the soul to be as effective as Inugami was at them. Having been on the receiving side of his tender treatment, her ability knew the keys that would grant her access. If she desired, she could see Sho-kun's nakedest soul - all that he was laid bare for her to know...
But...
As tempting as that thought was, Motoko knew that that was mostly her infatuation wanting to know more about him. It was cheating - forcibly taking information about what made him tick and using it to make herself more attractive to him. Motoko, as much as she yearned for Sho's touch beyond that of just his chakra, had enough personal pride - despite her usually timid nature - to refuse to get what she wanted unfairly.
"He's here, isn't he?" Raiden asked, finally breaking Motoko out of her introspection.
"W-w-who are you talking about?" She asked her twin, stuttering as she tried pulling herself together.
Raiden's eyes narrowed. "You went absolutely still, which means you started sensing someone. Then you turned redder than Iruka-sensei did when Naruto used that 'Sexy Transformation' jutsu of his in class. I'm talking about Oni - the only person that makes you go as far to pieces as you are now."
"He's here with his team... About three hills to the west." Motoko said as Raiden started walking away. "Wait! Where are you going?"
Raiden grinned. "I want to see what they're up to. Plus, you said the other day that Oni could beat me; I'm going to see what he's capable of and then make you eat your words, Nee-san." He then started running.
"Damn it, Raiden!" She shouted, getting to her feet to chase him. "One time, just one time, I wish you'd actually listen to me before getting us hurt." She sighed as she hurried to catch up with him.
'Well, at least I know Sho-kun won't hold a grudge against me for my idiot brother's actions...' Motoko thought to herself, a faint smile tugging at the corners of her lips.
* * *
It didn't take her long to catch up with her brother. He'd dropped prone on the hill just before where the chakra pulses of Team 13, which had been growing stronger for the last few minutes - a sign that they were actively molding chakra for use; likely in a training exercise. Motoko assumed the training part since she'd seen Team 13 departing for the Hot Springs Village a week or so ago on an official mission, so they shouldn't be another mission yet...
Raiden extended one hand back, making a 'Come on' gesture. "Hurry up! They're just about to get started." He hissed down to her.
The elder Hata twin nodded, scaling the gently-sloped hill with a graceful ease that would make Kyouran jealous. As she crested the hill, she saw Team 13, just as her senses said that she would. Motoko was able to quickly spot her friend Kimiko, who had started doing a training kata using a pair of Tonfa that she'd inherited from her father after graduation.
Itou stood by their Jonin instructor. The long, curly raven-haired, self-confidant woman - Hinata Hyuuga's cousin by marriage, according to Kimiko - was the most beautiful woman Motoko had ever seen in person. A thrill of jealous desire filled the Hata girl as she contemplated Miho Hyuuga's long legged frame and incredibly good looks. 'Hinata-chan's cousin is incredible... I so wish I could be more like her...' She thought to herself with a sigh. "I would just settle to look as good as she does." Motoko whispered.
Raiden looked at his twin, feeling her thoughts about her looks in comparison to the Jonin's. "Oh, come on, you're going to be a knockout when you grow up. After all - you got all the looks and I got all the brawn, remember?" Motoko patted her twin's shoulder in a gesture of thanks. He nodded, turning his head back to the small valley where the other team was practicing. "All right, it looks like they're finally ready!" He said with a gesture.
Motoko's gaze shifted to where the red and black blotch of Nakahito Haruno was facing off against the blue on white form of Sho Inugami. Sho stretched, the midday sun reflecting off the white of his hair and clothing, creating an aura that gave him an almost deific appearance. Motoko's heart skipped a few dozen beats as she took in the image of the young man she'd sacrifice anything and everything for if he asked it of her.
"All right, O..." Nakahito said, his voice ringing clearly enough to be heard atop the hill where the twins watched stealthily. The Hyuuga Jonin gave him a terse look. "Sorry, sorry, Sho… Like we agreed - no jutsu. No Dragon Fire for me, no Body Flicker or Chakra Scalpels for you."
Raiden's eyes widened slightly in surprise that was both written on his face and flowing through their psychic bond. "Did he just say that Oni can use Body Flicker?"
Motoko, feeling a bit cocky, gave her brother a smile of vindication. Her senses had already told her the outcome of this fight, if not the specifics. She knew that Sho was going to win and he would undoubtedly do so in a way that even her brother would be unable to dismiss as a fluke. "Fifty ryou on Sho." She said, knowing that Raiden had been thinking about betting with her and extending her hand.
"Please. Even if Inugami knows Body Flicker, he's still not allowed to use it. Nakahito was ranked number three in our year for Taijutsu while Oni wasn't even on the board. I'll give you three to one odds - it'll make me feel better for taking your money, Sis." He said, shaking her hand.
Down below, Sho sighed. "Yes, Haruno, I remember." He looked at Miho Hyuuga. "Is this really necessary, Sensei? I mean, at least let him have Kimiko to help him gang up on me."
Miho sighed. "You know that until he does this he's not going to stop trying to pick a fight with you. Kimiko and I have both had it up to here with it. Have the fight – without holding back – and then let's get to work on the training we meant to have today. Besides, the Gambit showed me the more dynamic moves that you both have; now I need to see your mundane ones."
"Come on, Sho… I promise I won't beat you up too badly." Nakahito goaded.
Inugami gave Haruno a contemptuous look. "You barely drew blood from me when you hit me with that kunai… And I wasn't trying to defend myself when you cold cocked me during the illusionary test." He dropped into a combat stance. "But since I'm going to have to drum it into your skull, then I guess I will… The hardest part will be trying to not enjoy it too much." Sho said with a feral grin.
Raiden's eyes ratcheted open another little bit. "Holy cow..." Motoko looked at her brother in confusion. "His stance - it's flawless. I can't see a single opening in it! Uchiha is the only one I've ever seen capable of doing that; that's why he was ranked number 1 and I was number 2 in Taijutsu." He looked at his sister. "Hey... Uh, Nee-san..."
"Forget it. I'm not letting you cancel our bet." She said. "Now hush - I want to see Sho-kun in action."
Nakahito edged forward, eyeing Sho warily. "So you do know how to do more than just ambush an opponent..." Sho gave his teammate a self-confident smile, but said nothing. The medic's response irritated Haruno. "Why the hell did you hide this level of skill while at the Academy?" He demanded as Sho adjusted his position in response to Haruno's movement. "You would have been a lot more popular." The red clothed Genin threw a punch, as if to emphasize his point.
Inugami easily side-stepped the blow, trapping Nakahito's arm with in a leveraged bar hold. "Life is not a popularity contest, Nakahito. I told you that on the day we became Team 13." He tapped the other Genin's arm before giving him a firm push that threw Haruno off balance. "Now would you please get serious? I could have just severed your brachial artery and radial nerve if I had felt so inclined."
He paused. "Since I know you barely know anatomy, it means I could have basically rendered your arm worthless until you got to a medic. Either stop holding back so I can honestly beat you so you stop griping or grow up enough to know that it doesn't matter. I'd much rather do some real training than a dance that's pretending to be a fight."
"Oh, man..." Raiden said from their perch over the fight. "That is not the way to talk to Nakahito; it's just going to make him madder…" A grin crossed his face. "Now I really want to fight Oni." Motoko looked at him incredulously. "I want to see how I compare to him!" He said. "I know Sasuke outclasses me by a substantial margin, but the more strong people I find, the more it gets me pumped up!"
Motoko sighed, turning back to watch the fight. Haruno, apparently goaded by Sho's words as Raiden had predicted, had started a rapid combo of punches and kicks. Inugami was blocking or dodging, but wasn't responding to the attacks with his own. The medic led his hot-headed teammate in a tightening spiral pattern. When they reached the "center" of the spiral, Nakahito brought up his leg in an inner roundhouse kick.
Sho, still showing the almost precognitive ability that had kept him uninjured thus far in Nakahito's barrage, ducked under the rising kick. This time, however, the medical ninja threw a reverse sickle sweep that cut Haruno's feet out from under him, dropping him onto his back. As the other hit the ground hard enough to knock the wind out of him, Sho rolled backwards into a hand stand that quickly put him back on his feet.
"Okay..." Nakahito said a few seconds later, sounding exhausted. "I'll let you off easy this time." He rolled over onto his chest. "Oww."
"Yes!" Motoko cheered softly as Raiden groaned. "He won!" She looked at her twin, mussing up his perpetually wild hair. "Looks like you owe me 150 ryou, little brother."
"Lay off would you?" He said, breaking out of her grip. "All right; I lost fair and square. I promise I won't doubt your opinion about your man ever again."
"Reeehh?" The female half of the pair said, her face flushing as her brother's comment triggered both her fancy and her timidity at the same time. "My man?" She repeated, unable to wrap her head around what at times felt like an impossible dream to her. Her heart began to beat a bit harder as she began to visualize it in her mind's eye.
Raiden grinned at his sister. "Gotcha. That, my dear sister, was almost worth losing the bet over." His watch began to beep softly. "Oh, man - I'm going to be late!" He quickly sat up and began running down the hill. "I'll see you at home later."
"Rai..." Motoko said, still flustered by his words. 'Damn him... Why does he always do that?' She sighed. 'And why do I always go to pieces because of it?' She put her face into the feathery grass. "God, I'm so pathetic..." She moaned aloud, again wishing she was more like Miho Hyuuga - beauty, grace, and confidence would be really nice at the moment.
"All right," Miho's voice came from over the hill. "Now that the boys have that out of their systems," A snort of derision that Motoko recognized as Sho's interrupted but the Jonin ignored it, "…we can now get to today's training. I know that Kimiko and Nakahito are capable of basic Nature manipulation - it's how they can use their special techniques. What about you, Sho?"
"I've got one elemental technique: Wind-natured chakra is kind of rare outside of the Sand or Cloud Villages. The only person I know of in Konoha with it is Azuma Sarutobi, Team 8's Jonin, but I really don't know him well enough to ask for his help. My non-elemental scalpels are usually good enough."
"Is your technique a ranged one?" In response, an odd buzzing sound arose which changed pitch oddly, followed by a crack and the muffled crash of what had to be a tree branch being cut and falling to the ground. Exclamations of surprise came from Kimiko Itou and Nakahito Haruno.
There was a short pause. "You could have just said, 'Yes, sensei,' you know." Miho said wryly.
"Where's the fun in that?" Sho asked in a ribald tone. Motoko snorted despite her self-depreciatory mood. Sho's humor was usually grim, pointed to irritate people, but there were times that Motoko simply loved it.
To her surprise, a similar snort of amusement came with Miho Hyuuga's melodious voice. "Okay, I guess I walked into that one. Okay, well, that means we can do the training exercise the way I was hoping. Aside from Sho, does anyone know the chakra elemental strength and weakness chain?"
"Oh, man..." Haruno said. "It was Water beats Fire... Earth beats Water... Umm... I know I know this. Kimi?"
"Yeah, Sho mentioned something like this during the Gambit when he had to do that Chakra transfusion, but it didn't quite match with the regular chain." Kimiko's voice spoke up. "Because in the transfusion chain Wind countered Earth, but in the S&W chain it was... Oh! Water beats Fire, Fire beats Wind, Wind beats Thunder, Thunder beats Earth and Earth beats Water! Clockwise to beat and counterclockwise to enhance."
Motoko's head rose; she'd forgotten the reverse cycle's effects. 'Thunder chakra can augment Wind jutsu?' She thought, intrigued. 'And Sho-kun has Wind natured chakra. I can use my powers to make Sho-kun... stronger?' She paused as realization drove the point home. 'I could help Sho! I can be useful if he needed me!' Joy began to well up within her chest, giving her a warmth of confidence that she'd felt all too rarely.
"Good job, you two." Miho said from the other side. "You're exactly right. Today's training is going to utilize that fact." There was a sudden rumble as the Jonin's chakra pulse rose to a crescendo, attracting Motoko's attention. As the Hata girl started to delve into the powerful Lightning aura to learn more about the person generating it, Hyuuga-sensei continued as a crackling sound came into being.
"I'm going to fire this ball of electrically-modified chakra. Your job will be to destroy it using your techniques. You each start with three points. Every ball you destroy earns you two more points. You lose half a point every time you have to use your technique. If someone destroys your jutsu's manifestation, they steal one of your points. If you merge your jutsu with someone else's to destroy the thunder ball, you split the points. In other words, this game is about more than just being able to hit the target - you have to avoid getting hit by someone else's technique to prevent yours from being broken, but you might want to hit someone else's because it will augment them." She shakes her head. "In any event, when you run out of points, you lose. The winner will be the last one standing or the first to ten points."
"What happens if we do a triple merge?" Sho asked. "My wind techniques can easily blend with both of theirs, although if Nakahito's impacts mine instead of the other way around mine gets destroyed. It's theoretically possible for me to augment Haruno's and then our joint jutsu is combined with Kimiko's to create a super jutsu embodying all 3 types."
"Theory is good, Sho, but in this particular situation, I doubt it would be possible. Combining elemental chakra is easy enough to do at close range, at least for two non-conflicting types, but it's nearly impossible on the fly at range, even for a Jonin. IF you somehow manage to do it, I'll be my treat at the Shushuya." Through her empathic link to the Jonin, Motoko could sense confidence that Miho had managed to intrigue Sho enough to even the field enough to give the other two a fighting chance. Projectile Wind jutsu were far more nimble than Fire or Water ones, after all, and that gave the medic an even greater advantage in the game.
"All right, everyone spread out to give yourselves some room." Miho ordered. "The early balls will be stationary, but as you start getting the hang of precision targeting, I'll start animating them to increase the difficulty." The crackling sound changed pitch as a fist-sized orb of electricity rose over the hill like the start of a fireworks display before hanging in the air like a newborn star.
"All right you three - the game is on!"
"Fire style, Dragon Fire jutsu!" Nakahito's voice said in unison with the fiery roar of his chakra as he manifested his signature technique.
"Water style, Water Bomb jutsu!" Kimiko cried as Motoko heard the gurgle of her chakra form the orb of compressed water that expanded explosively when its watery skin ruptured.
Sho-kun's chakra stirred like a miniature tornado. "Wind style, Razor Wind jutsu." He ordered simply. Again the high-pitched hum appeared.
Motoko, interested in the training the other Team was doing, crawled forward a bit more, giving her the best view of the scene. As she watched, the red hot orb of Haruno's attack flashed upwards, missing the lightning orb by at least a half meter, eliciting a curse from him.
As the miniature sun continued to rise, a thin, oblong disk that looked almost like a glowing blue shuriken appeared out of nowhere to strike the fire technique. The texture of the flames suddenly shifted as they started burning hotter and expanded as Sho's wind chakra interacted with Nakahito's fire. The new ball grudgingly began to alter course as Inugami continued to influence his attack to bring it back on course with the target. The heated air ball impacted with the ball lightning and detonated impressively. Kimiko and Nakahito cheered openly at the chakra fireworks.
"A point each for Sho and Nakahito." Miho said as a new thunder orb was generated and thrown into place. "Good job, now keep it up!"
* * *
The game continued for another twenty minutes. Kimiko's and Nakahito's aim improved greatly over the course of destroying the first ten orbs with Sho stepping in with his jutsu to give the other two a second chance at the orb when they missed, seemingly content with sharing the points for hitting the target. Once the orbs started moving on their own, though, even he had troubles hitting the target. When the attacks went radically off course he would try to redirect the techniques, attempting to create the "impossible" tri-element attack.
Motoko, who'd been watching the exercise raptly, was not just sitting on the sidelines. After seeing Miho Hyuuga-sensei generate the ball lightning seven or eight times, she'd started trying to use the technique herself. Since she shared the same nature as the Jonin, she had far greater success feeling her way through the technique than she'd had when trying to copy Okito-sensei's fire, earth or diamond chakra.
The twin had finally managed to figure out the jutsu and had formed the ball when she heard a voice shouting from behind. Since she'd been so focused on the new technique it took her a few seconds to realize what was being said. Maybe it was because there was a loud roaring of wind muffling the sounds.
"Oh, damn it to hell!" It was Sho's voice. "I can't stop them... Hata-san! Take cover!"
Motoko Hata shook her head. 'I could have sworn she'd just heard Sho-kun calling my name...' She snorted. 'I must be imagining it; he doesn't even know I'm here.'
The roaring of the wind became even stronger. "Damn it, Hata-san! Roll down the freaking hill you're sitting on or you might get killed!" Inugami shouted, his chakra surging through her senses.
THAT got her attention. She craned her head over her shoulder, seeing a heavily swirling barrier of air holding one of Haruno's Dragon Fire balls and one of Itou's Water Bombs about a hand's width apart. Both jutsu were straining against the wind and were clearly on collision course angles with each other.
'They'll hit each other just over my head!' She instantly realized in horror. As she watched, she saw that the wind was losing the battle to arrest the forward motion of the two techniques. However Sho was making this barrier, it was clear this was a desperate move on his part, created by raw power as opposed to a refined Jutsu.
'I've got to get out of here!' Panic began flooding her with the strength of adrenaline.
As she turned her head forward, she saw the ball of electrically-modified chakra in her hands. Recalling the fact that Lightning jutsu could enhance Wind spells, like the one Sho was using to protect her, she began to contemplate the wall of wind. Her chakra sense saw the necessary configuration to augment the wall rather than to fight it, adapting the ball in her hand before she even thought of doing so.
Motoko tossed the ball at the wind barrier as she hurled herself into a somersault to roll down the hill as quickly as gravity would pull her. As the world spun past her, she saw her lightning mix with Sho's wind. The extra energy bought her just enough time to get safely to the bottom of the hill before the protective shield failed altogether. The two balls of nature-altered chakra crashed into each other, releasing the combined energy of both in an explosion of superheated steam that blew the top half meter of the hill off, raining clumps of mud down on both sides of the hill.
"Motoko-chan?!" Kimiko yelled, running around the hill and finding her only other true girl friend covered in the detritus of the explosion. "Motoko! Are you all right?!" She asked, kneeling down to help clear the muck off the Hata girl as best as possible.
The young woman coughed slightly as she started to pull her wits back together. Kimiko helped her sit up as the other three members of Team 13 appeared from the other side. "Yeah... I don't hurt anywhere, so I'm pretty sure I'm okay. What happened?"
Her words of confidence didn't prevent Sho from kneeling beside her, his hands glowing the gentle, healing green of his medical jutsu. The only odd thing was that he paused momentarily when he looked at her before moving his hands in a search pattern a few centimeters away from Motoko's body. The Hata girl felt a tingling sensation all over her body as Sho's chakra actively washed over her. The closeness she'd felt the last time he'd done this returned to her mind, causing her heart to begin to beat a bit harder and faster in excitement.
"Nakahito and I were both aiming for Hyuuga-sensei's target while it was over by the hill." Kimiko explained.
"Oni shouted at us to hold our fire," Nakahito said, remorse and disbelief coloring his words and his aura. "But it was too late."
"That was quick thinking, Sho." Miho agreed. "You managed to summon that wind fast enough to protect her." She glanced at Motoko. "And it was equally quick thinking to use that lightning jutsu to give it the extra kick necessary. Good job, young lady."
Kimiko started trying to straighten out Motoko's hair as Sho, apparently satisfied that the female Hata twin was indeed fine, rose to his feet. "What were you doing here all alone, Motoko-chan? It's dangerous in the Training Zone when ninja are practicing!" Itou almost shouted in worry for her friend.
Motoko Hata opened her mouth, her mind fumbling for an explanation when Inugami spoke up. "She's been watching us since before Nakahito and I started our 'dance' nearly an hour ago." Motoko's eyes went wide as her mouth started to open and close trying to ask the obvious question. "I felt your chakra pulse - probably not long after you detected ours, you definitely have the better nose, Hata-san." He paused, looking over at Miho-sensei, missing the sudden flush that turned the twin almost as red at Nakahito's shirt. "Didn't you notice it, too, sensei?"
Miho Hyuuga paused. "I sensed something... But it felt so similar to my own chakra that I figured it was merely a pulse echo bouncing off the hill. If I'd realized that someone was over there, I would have avoided leaving the target by the hill as long as I did."
Sho nodded. "I can see how you could imagine that; especially given that this is probably your first encounter with the Twins." Miho nodded. "They both have Lightning element chakra and, for some reason I've never been able to figure out, seem to give off the same textural twist that I sense from all the Hyuuga I've ever encountered, but they don't have the Byakugan. It's something that's always intrigued me about Raiden and Hata-san..."
'I... I-I-I...' Motoko started stuttering to herself in her mind. 'Sho-kun finds ME intriguing? But why does he always call me Hata-san? He doesn't have a problem saying Rai's name!' Tears of excited confusion began to well out of her eyes. 'Oh, no... I'm crying! I mustn't...'
But as fate would have it, Inugami chose just that moment to turn around. Seeing Motoko flushed and crying, Sho - for a change - jumped to the wrong conclusion; thinking that he'd missed something during his initial checkup of her. He knelt back down beside her. "Hata-san, you're as red as a beet... Are you sure you're all right?" He raised the back of his hand and pressed it against her forehead.
The actual touch of his hand sent a thrill of pure joy and terror coursing through Motoko's heart and mind. 'He-he-he-he's worried a-a-a-about me?' The blush became so furious that her cheeks actually took on a purplish hue for an instant. 'Oh, god, I'm an absolute wreck! And he's so kind and good looking...'
Suddenly, unable to take it any longer, Motoko breathed, with as much firmness as she could - that is to say, none at all, "Gomenasai!"
Then she bolted.
"Motoko-chan?!" Kimiko called after her. "Where are you going?" Motoko, in an emotional tailspin, simply ran without saying anything. Itou was well aware of Motoko's feelings for Sho - though, before they'd become a team, she'd never understood why she was interested in Oni out of all the boys in their class - and Hinata's for Naruto Uzumaki, but she'd long since promised both ladies her silence until they could admit their feelings to their respective boys.
Sho Inugami, hand still extended where Motoko's forehead had been only seconds before, looked at his team members in confusion. "I know my social skills aren't the best in the village, but didn't just say anything odd, did I?" Kimiko Itou said nothing, just staring off in the direction that the other girl had run off in, while Nakahito Haruno simply shook his head at Sho, just as confused as the medical ninja.
Miho Hyuuga, also watching the other kunoichi's mad dash, simply grew a secretive smile that none of her three Genin noticed or might have understood.
* * *
Motoko Hata darted blindly through the forest that divided the Training Zones from the village proper. Her mind was racing nearly as fast as she was: overwhelming joy at Sho's comments, utter mortification that she couldn't face him without falling to pieces, gratitude to Sho for protecting her from serious injury, rage at herself that she hadn't been paying attention and nearly gotten hurt.
'Stupid. Cowardly. Childish.' Part of Motoko's mind raged at her in a mantra of self-loathing. 'Stop being so pathetic when he's around and tell him how you feel!'
"I can't..." She cried aloud in protest. "I'm a nobody... I'm not even close to being his equal. I couldn't handle it if he rejected me. God, I'm just glad Raiden isn't here to see this; he'd tease me mercilessly if he knew."
'Oh, please...' The stronger inner voice replied. 'We were USEFUL, damn it! Sho-kun made us aware of the danger, but we helped buy us time to get away from it. And who says we have to be his equal? He finds us interesting and even seems to respect us... I mean he's never ONCE played one of his tricks on us - how many people can say THAT?!' Before she could answer herself, Motoko ran into something that was resilient enough that she bounced off it, landing on her butt.
"Oww... Man this is not my day..." She moaned softly.
"Motoko." A familiar voice said. "Are you okay?"
"Shino-kun?" Hata asked, instantly recognizing the soft yet firm voice of one of her good friends. She looked up, seeing his dark-haired, dark glasses, and clad in a trench coat appearance. "What are you doing out here?"
"I believe I asked my question first." He said, extending his hand to help her to her feet. "But to answer yours, I'm studying a swarm of beetles that only lives in this part of the forest."
Motoko accepted the proffered hand. "I just made an absolute fool of myself and I'm trying to run away from it." She sniffled as Shino helped her to her feet. "Thanks, Shino-kun..."
"You've been crying again, haven't you?" He asked rhetorically, pulling a handkerchief from his jacket pocket and handing it to her. Shino gestured to a fallen trunk and they sat on it. "While many people see you as diffident and indecisive, I know you better than that... Motoko Hata doesn't run crying through the forest just because she's embarrassed herself."
"I wish I was as sure of myself as you are of me, Shino-kun." The kunoichi said, drying her eyes. She sighed, looking down at her feet in the standard open-toed, open-heeled ninja footwear. "But you're right; I not only embarrassed myself, which is bad enough, but it had to be in front of Sho-kun of all people..." She dabbed her eyes to dry new tears that were starting to well up when she thought about it.
"I see." Shino said. He, too, was aware of her feelings for Inugami, but had never questioned them. "You seem to be one of the few that have no problems befriending the ones that the rest of the village seems to consider..." He paused, searching for the right word. "Abnormal. If you say Aburame, Inugami, or Uzumaki in public, at least 99 out of every 100 cringe in irrational fear."
"But there's nothing wrong with any of you!" Motoko exclaimed, showing confident passion. "Yeah, being walking insect hives, killing a boar and not bothering to wash off the blood, and..." She paused at a loss for what caused the final reaction. "And whatever it is that makes people so scared of Naruto may seem a bit scary, but none of you are bad or evil people!"
Shino nodded. "This is one of the reasons that I like you. You don't hold people accountable for what they are or what they might have done in the past out of necessity; you care about what they're doing by choice. Now, why don't you tell me what happened."
Motoko nodded, describing the events of the day: her new jutsu, observing Team 13's training, nearly getting killed when Nakahito's and Kimiko's techniques had gone awry, Sho-kun's rescue and its aftermath. She didn't bother filtering out what she'd been thinking at the time... One of the things that she liked the most about Shino Aburame was that he didn't make judgment calls about people. It was a trait that was shared by not only him, but his entire clan - probably because of the psychic link between them and their insects caused a lot of the mental traits to be carried over. Bugs didn't care about what people thought about each other, after all.
Shino looked at her intently. "You really do care for him, don't you?"
Motoko Hata nodded without hesitation. "Yes, I do." She lifted her hand to her breastbone, clenching her fist, as if to grasp her heart to keep it from racing out of control. "From the depths of and with all of my heart, but I'm not quite sure how to how to approach him."
Shino-kun gave her a rare smile. "Then there's only one thing you can do to keep from suffering like this, my friend." He said kindly, touching her fist with a single fingertip. "You need to listen to this - that's where the truth lies."
The kunoichi puzzled over the insect master's words for a few moments. "You mean that I should listen to my heart?"
Aburame nodded. "If you are as certain about your feelings towards Inugami as you claim and what makes him tick is what attracted you to him, then deep within your heart you know that, even if he might not feel the same for you as you do for him, he will not reject you as cruelly as you fear. All you need to do is resist those irrational fears when they crop up."
Warmth flooded her body as the back of her mind expressed agreement with Shino's words. Motoko took a deep breath. "Thanks, Shino-kun... I know it won't be as easy as saying the words, but I owe it to myself to at least try." A slight smile crossed her orange-tinted lips. "I might even manage to prove myself right."
Shino nodded agreement as a kikai mushi - the chakra-eating insects that the Aburame clan utilized in their special techniques - landed on his extended finger. Retracting his hand, he looked closely as the bug as it began humming and buzzing on his finger. He nodded. "Understood. I'll be there as soon as I can." The bug flew off and he looked back to Motoko, rising to his feet. "I am being summoned by my family. Will you be okay?"
She nodded. "Yeah. I've got a lot to think about, but I think I'll be fine. Thanks for helping me, Shino-kun."
"Isn't that friends are for?" Aburame said as he started to walk off.
Motoko Hata sat there for a few moments, contemplating the day's events and shoring up her courage. The sun had started to set by the time that she finally got to her feet and got to the far side of the small forest. She nodded - somehow the setting sun was appropriate; the days when she was terrified of being assertive were nearing their end. Soon the day would dawn that she would be as confident in herself as Miho Hyuuga was in herself. All Motoko needed to do was to get through the night in between.
"And I'll make it by listening to my friends..." She said to herself, raising her hand to her breastbone again. "And if I listen to my heart as well."