Date: April 1st, 13 years following the Kyuubi's attack
Time: 7:15 AM
The sudden appearance of morning sunlight entering through the window caused Miho Hyuuga to wake up. There was also the smell of something tasty in the room. Both of these facts caused a bit of momentary confusion on the part of the Jonin… Her bedroom was on the west side of her apartment, not the east and there shouldn't be the smell of anything until she got up to make it...
Sitting up; a soft gasp of surprise escapes her lips as she sees her cousin Hinata holding a tray with some food on it. "Ohayo Gozaimas, Miho-neesan. I have breakfast ready if you want it." She says in her quiet tone.
Suddenly the pieces fell into place in her sleepy mind; her place was getting its bi-annual bug bombing – a process where the Aburame clan send hives of their bugs through a building to locate and destroy any organic espionage devices that wouldn't be picked up by the standard sweep of electronic countermeasures – so she was staying at her uncle's - the Hyuuga clan manor house. "Thank you, Hinata." Miho said with a warm smile, "You know you really didn't need to do this..."
"I know…" Hinata replied with a slight blush of pleasure. "But I wanted to." She sets the tray on the bed in front of Miho then started tapping her fingers together. "Since you're like an older sister to me, I thought you might like this."
Miho smiles and taking one of her younger cousin's hands and says, "Thank you Hinata, I love it. It's the perfect start to a perfect day..."
* * *
In her apartment on the other side of town, Kimiko Itou woke up with a yawn as her alarm clock began its slightly irritating reveille to rouse her from her slumber. Shifting her position, she sets her bare feet on the floor... Only to quickly pull them up with a shriek of surprise; her right foot had landed in a puddle of water.
"Damn... The floor is wet again. How does that keep happening?" She asked rhetorically. The landlord had sent in three separate repair crews to inspect the roof and water pipes, only to scratch their heads in bafflement.
'It's so odd...' She thought to herself, switching her legs to the other side. 'This only started two months ago and every time these puddles show up I have these really weird dreams of my early childhood.'
Kimiko let off a sigh of pleasure as she put her feet into the slippers. She stood up, stretching the kinks out of her muscles due to her sleeping posture. As she did so, she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. "Gaaah! Bed head; on a mission day, no less... Guess I should get that taken care of before making breakfast."
She heads to the bathroom, pausing in the kitchenette just long enough to activate the water boiler for some oatmeal. Kimiko sat down on the edge of the shower/tub, turning the handles to start the water flowing. She took a deep breath of the steamy air, feeling the warmth fill her body; a perfect start to the cooler than usual day.
She put her hands into the water and, judging that it was the perfect temperature, slid off her robe and got into the shower. A blissful smile crossed her face as the spray of warm water enveloped her until her universe consisted of nothing but her and the water...
* * *
Nakahito Haruno was up earlier than usual today - he'd actually managed to get through his morning routine before his alarm clock went off. There was just something... wrong about being the only child in the house. He was so used to the comfort of knowing his entire family was safe at home, but with Sakura off to the Land of Waves, that comfort was absent…
Rather than mope around the house while waiting for it to be time to head over to the Hokage's manor for assignments, Nakahito decided to take the long way to Kimiko's house.
As he walked, he actually took Inugami's advice - throwing training into an everyday task. In this case, instead of walking around the buildings that got in his way, he used the wall-walking technique to continue in a straight line, building up his skill and endurance with each vertical step.
"Damn..." He muttered to himself, wiping away a sheen of sweat, as he reached the roof of the last building between him and Kimiko's apartment. "Sho was right... It's so obvious; I can't believe I didn't think of it myself."
His goal finally in sight, Nakahito took a moment to gauge the distance between the rooftop that he was on and the open-air hallway/balcony that was by Kimiko's apartment. A smile appeared as he judged that he could easily cover the distance. Backing up a few steps, he gave himself a running start before launching himself into the air. A shout of exhilaration escaped him as he felt the absolute freedom of pseudo flight.
He landed on the balcony outside Kimiko's apartment without difficulty. "What a rush..." Haruno took a moment to stretch his legs to make sure that his muscles didn't seize up from stopping his exercise. Once done, he walked over to Kimiko's door, knocking politely, "Kimi-chan? Are you up? We've got about 10 minutes before we need to get going."
There was no answer at the door.
* * *
Kimiko was still in the shower, so absorbed in it that she was neither aware that Nakahito was knocking at her door nor aware of the fact that she'd been in there for nearly an hour.
Her mental oblivion, however, is dashed when she senses the presence of someone else in the room. Blinking slightly in confusion, she turns away from the stream of water that had lost most of its warmth without her realizing it. A shiver runs down her spine as the cool water hits nerves that hadn't been exposed to it yet.
Through the translucent shower curtain she thinks sees a human shadow standing in the room, apparently staring at her. "Who's there?" She demands, but the figure neither moved nor responded. She turned away to grab her wooden back scrubber to use as an improvised weapon.
Brush in hand, she whipped open the shower curtain, prepared to leap out to beat the intruder into a coma.
When the curtain parts, however, the form is nowhere to be seen. A quick glance around the room showed that all the windows and the door were not only closed, but still locked from the inside. "That's weird." She says, pausing just long enough to turn off the water "I wonder if I should tell Sarutobi-ojisan about this?"
* * *
Nakahito, getting worried about the lack of a response from Kimiko, knocks harder on the door and yells, "Hey, Kimiko! It's time to go! We're going to be late!" Again, there was no answer. One of Itou's neighbors, a little old woman, opened her door to see what was going on, but, after a glance, she closed her door with an odd smile on her face.
Haruno, focused on the door, didn't notice that he was making a scene. 'What is she doing in there that keeps her from answering?'
Visions of worst-case scenarios: Kimiko crying, lying unconscious on the floor, and the like ran through his mind, causing tightness in his chest that was almost unbearably painful.
"I should go in and check on her... Make sure she's alright." He finally decided. Reaching into his jacket pocket, Nakahito grabbed the key that Kimiko had given him years ago so that he - or his family - would be able to get in to care for her if she was sick. A quick twist unlocked the door and he quickly turned the handle to open the door. Stepping forward, opening the door as he goes, he entered the apartment.
A loud, grinding squeak escaped the slightly rusty hinges of the front door.
* * *
In the bathroom, the metallic cry of her front door stopped Kimiko Itou in the middle of drying her hair. Still unnerved at the thought of someone being in her apartment without her permission, she grabbed the back brush again. "Note to self..." She muttered grimly. "Hide weapons in the bathroom…"
Holding the brush in her right hand, she flung open the bathroom door with a loud creak of warped wood.
* * *
The cry of the door opposite him caused Nakahito's roving eye, which had been trying to find any signs of his friend, to target the door which swung open to reveal Kimiko Itou.
A glistening wet and very naked Kimiko Itou, wielding a back brush and a towel around her neck that provided very little in the way of coverage.
Kimiko, who came marching out of the bathroom like a woman on a mission, came to an abrupt stop as she saw Nakahito standing by the open door of her apartment. Their eyes lock on each other as wild, flabbergasted looks appeared on each of their faces. As Kimiko stared in disbelief, a trickle of blood began to stream from 'Hito's nose. While Nakahito gawked in awestruck horror, Kimiko's bottom lip started to tremble as droplets of undried water slid down her flawless skin, causing the other's eyes to follow their path.
Silence reigned for a heartbeat as their minds tried to cope with what they were seeing. There was a clatter of wood on wood as Kimiko dropped the back brush on the floor.
The sound snapped awareness back into the minds of both Genin and a moment later, the two screamed wordlessly in shared trauma at each other. Haruno spun about and dashed out of the apartment, pulling the door shut behind him, while Itou dove to the floor by her bed, scrambling for something to cover up with…
* * *
Miho Hyuuga, now finished with her own morning preparations, was descending to the main part of the Hyuuga clan lord's home when she heard the phone ring. She walked over to the phone and glanced around, but saw no signs of either of her cousins or her uncle coming to answer it. She picked up the receiver, "Hello, Hyuuga Manor."
"Oh, Miho-sensei!" A sobbing voice cried. "I finally found you!"
Although the voice was distraught with emotions and sniffling continuously, Miho was easily able to recognize the voice of one of her Genin. "Kimiko? What's wrong? Are you okay?"
"I-I..." The Itou's voice answered haltingly. "I need to see you. I... 'Hito... I..."
"Its okay, Kimiko. It can wait until I get there. Are you at your apartment?"
"Yeh... Yes." Kimiko cried, although traces of hopeful strength seemed to buoy up her spirit. "Please... I need you here..."
"It's okay. I'll be there in a few minutes. I promise." Miho said, hanging up the phone.
She glanced at the clock in the foyer and picked the phone back up after making a quick mental estimate. She dialed a number that she'd memorized at the same time as the others. The phone rang briefly before being answered by a another voice she recognized. "Sho-san. It's me."
"Yes, Hyuuga-sensei, what's up?" Sho Inugami asked.
"Something's happened over at Kimiko's; apparently Nakahito's involved. It's got Itou really upset and it'll probably take me a bit of time to take care of..."
"Got it." The medic-nin replied as he anticipated her orders. "I'll head over to the Hokage's and inform Iruka-sensei that there will be a delay due to personnel - or perhaps I should say personal - issues."
"Thanks, Sho; knew I could count on your help."
"I'll even throw in a promise to not tease either of them today. It must be bad if you need me to run interference." Inugami said. "I'll head over now to give them as much notice as we can." He hung up the phone.
Miho set the phone back on its hook. "Now to resolve the newest crisis..." She said, walking towards the entrance; fastening her forehead protector as she went.
* * *
Despite the distance between the Hyuuga clan's manor and Kimiko's apartment, Miho Hyuuga managed to get across the village in record time. As she got to the hallway that led to her Genin's door, she noticed a black and red blot on the ground.
"Nakahito." Miho said.
Nakahito Haruno, who'd been staring dejectedly at the ground, looked up at the call of his name. Miho noted that there was a spot of dried blood running from his nose. His gaze was vacant - he was looking at her, but wasn't actually seeing her.
As she got closer to her student, Miho Hyuuga caught the scent of bile. Looking from her new vantage point, she saw flecks of vomit on Haruno's face and shirt; whatever happened was serious if it was bad enough to make 'Hito lose his breakfast.
Hyuuga-sensei pulled out a handkerchief from a pocket, wetting it with a dollop of water from a canteen at her hip. She knelt by the young man. "'Hito... What happened?" She asked, handing him the cloth to allow him to clean his face.
Haruno accepted her offering with one hand. The other hand pointed shakily at the door to Kimiko's apartment. He opened his mouth to answer, but his throat started moving unusually and he turned away as he broke into dry heaves.
Miho grabbed his shoulders. "It's okay. You don't have to answer. Pull yourself together and wipe off your face. Alright?" Nakahito's head nodded as he started taking loud, gasping breaths to try and calm down.
'He's shell-shocked...' She realized. 'And Kimiko didn't sound much better. Whatever happened must have struck them both deeply to have this effect... Not even Sho's commentary that I stifle couldn't have done this much damage to them; this pot's boiling a bit faster than I expected...'
Miho patted Haruno's back comfortingly before rising to move over to the front door. The Jonin gives the door a firm knock to announce her presence. "Kimiko? It's me. Can I come in?"
"It's open..." Itou's listless voice responded. Hyuuga opened the door, which gave off a metallic cry that caused Nakahito - she saw out of the corner of her eye - to curl up into a ball, burying his face in his knees.
Entering the apartment and closing the door behind her, Miho's experienced eye noticed a number of clues: A small puddle of blood about two steps in from the door with a spray arc swinging towards the door... Undoubtedly Nakahito's. Across the way, a wooden brush lay on the ground by a patch of water that trailed into the room from the bathroom. A damp towel lay on the ground between the water and the bed.
Walking over to the bed, Miho found Kimiko on the floor, draped in the blue silk bed sheets that had been half pulled off. Her eyes were red with tears and her half-tamed hair was plastered to her skin. "Hey... You okay?" Miho asked, sitting down beside the young woman.
"Oh, Miho-sensei!!!" Kimiko bawled, grabbing onto her teacher for emotional support. "I'm so glad you're here!"
Miho reached up onto the dresser she was leaning against, taking down a brush, which she began to use on Itou's hair. It was something that her own mother used to do when Miho herself had been as messed up as Kimiko was now. "It's okay, honey..." She said soothingly, "Tell me what happened…"
An emotional dam collapsed in Kimiko and she began to talk rapidly about the events of the day... The unusual dreams and water puddles in her apartment, zoning out in the shower, thinking someone had broken into her house and was spying on her only to find no one in the room, hearing the door squeal and running into the main room to find Nakahito. It all ran out like a poison escaping her mind and body; exactly as it was supposed to.
"I'm so embarrassed..." Kimiko said, finally calmed down. "I don't know how I'm going to be able to face 'Hito-kun... He saw me n..." A furious blush crossed her cheeks and coloring her ears, preventing her from finishing her thought.
A smile crossed Miho Hyuuga's face. "I remember the first time a friend accidentally caught me in the buff... We had been pretty much like you and Nakahito were." Itou looked at her sensei with an unspoken question on her face. Miho's smile changed slightly by emotions that Kimiko didn't recognize or fully understand. "Things were tense for a while, but we both realized it was an accident, so we forgave each other and got over it." A gleam of delight glittered in her eyes. "It helped when I found out that he'd punished himself as much as I had myself."
"I doubt Haruno's beating himself up..." Kimiko said angrily. "I mean, look at how much of a pervert he is: the imaginary Cloud ninja, you and Kurenai-sensei at the onsen..."
Miho gave Kimiko a motherly hug. "Would it help if I told you that he's out in the hallway, sick as a dog with embarrassed guilt?" Itou looked up at Hyuuga. "He's feeling so bad about it that he actually threw up. He couldn't even think of you without trying again."
She paused, a secretive smile crossing her lips as she thought, 'And it's not because of how you look, girl. He's feeling sick because he saw a beautiful woman that he finds attractive, but his mind is rebelling at finding his closest friend - practically a sister to him - interesting in that way. THAT might be one revelation too many for today, though.'
Itou looked up at her with a confused half-happy/half-disappointed look on her face. "He is?" She looked pensive before returning her gaze to Miho. "Is there something wrong with me? I've never felt this far out of it before..."
Hyuuga-sensei smiled, giving Kimiko another hug. "Trust me; you're no different than I was at your age. You'll get used to it and learn to roll with life's punches."
Kimiko sniffled gratefully as she looked at a clock. "Is that the time?!" She asked in shock. "We're going to be late for assignment!"
Miho smiled. "I asked Sho to go on ahead; he's already taking care of it. But getting dressed might be a good idea. I'll be outside getting 'Hito pulled back together. Okay?"
Itou nodded, accepting her sensei's help to rise to her feet. "All right. Tell him..." She paused, shaking her head. "No... I'll tell him myself."
"Attagirl." Miho said as she turned and walked out the door.
* * *
It didn't take much to get Nakahito back into a functional state. He was at least verbal by the time Miho came out of the apartment. Haruno had used the handkerchief and had cleaned himself up fairly decently on his own.
"So..." Miho asked as she exited the apartment. "I've got a pretty good idea of what happened, but why don't you give me your side of the story?"
Nakahito sighed. "I got here about twenty minutes before..." He shook his head to skip the uncomfortable flashback. "Anyways, I knocked on the door, but Kimiko didn't respond. I waited as long as possible, trying again every few minutes with no results... Kimiko gave me a key a couple of years ago, so I went in, worried that she might be sick since she wasn't answering me. And then..." A shudder coursed through his body.
Miho nodded. It was exactly as she'd suspected. "All right. It's an accident; something you seem unusually prone to experiencing from what I've seen."
Nakahito nodded glumly. "I'm beginning to think that maybe Oni threw a bad luck curse on me when we got into that fight when we got assigned... I definitely didn't have this problem before then." His eyes widened and he looked at her. "You don't suppose..."
Miho-sensei giggled. "I've been all over the place, 'Hito, and I've seen a lot of nasty techniques, but I've never seen, or heard of, a 'Bad Luck Curse' jutsu before." She sobered up, "But seriously. Do you think you'll be able to handle this situation? We could always..."
Haruno shook his head. "Kimiko and I agreed about this after what happened during the wall walking training; we'll only hold each other accountable for deliberate actions on the part of the other. Like you said, this was an accident... It probably won't be easy for us to get over it, but I won't leave Kimi alone over something like this… I swore a long time ago that I'd never let her be on her own ever again if I had any say in the matter."
'Just like Iruka all those years ago...' Miho Hyuuga thought with a smile. 'Only I was the one who promised him and he was the accidental peeping tom.'
Kimiko's door opened and she stepped out, dressed in her usual outfit. Nakahito turned to face her and again their eyes met. The two friends stared at the other for an eternal instant. Finally, they nodded in mutual silent agreement and Itou gave her friend a hug. Haruno, going along with it, gave her a one-armed hug in return.
Miho let them be for a few minutes before coughing slightly. "I know you two will have a lot to work out, but we have a mission to go on." Haruno and Itou nodded to their teacher. "Team 13, let's move out."
* * *
Sho Inugami was leaning against the wall by the double-doored entrance to the Hokage's office/palace/manor when the rest of his team arrived. He glanced at Kimiko and then Nakahito with an analytical expression on his face, causing both to develop embarrassed blushes; as if they somehow believed that Sho could read their minds and could see what happened.
Inugami looked at Miho with an almost devastated look on his face, further embarrassing Itou and Haruno, but causing a toothy grin to appear on the Jonin's face. Sho then shook his head with a sound that was equal parts sigh and snort of humor; clearly saddened that he'd promised to not play one of his games with his fellow Genin and thus losing out on the humor to be had.
"They're waiting for us." He said simply before falling into place as Hyuuga-sensei lead Team 13 into the offices. "Everyone else has been assigned and been sent on their way."
Miho Hyuuga nodded as she led the way to the mission assignment center. She knocked on the door. The voice of Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Fire Shadow of the Ninja village of Konoha, resounded through the door. "Enter."
Team 13 entered the antechamber. The Sandaime sat in his chair, projecting his usual image of the kind grandfather that he was. If you didn't know who he was, the Hokage could be easily mistaken for a regular old man rather than one with almost god-like power and knowledge who was deadlier than some of the nastiest creatures in mythology.
He took a deep drag of his pipe, a smile appearing at the corners of his face. "Ah, good... You're here with plenty of time before the mission needs to start. The patron will be really pleased - he asked for your team specifically."
The jaws of Haruno and Itou went slack while the normally emotionally-remote Inugami's right eyebrow raised (which for him translated to the same as his fellow Genin's) at the news. Time-sensitive missions where the shinobi are specifically requested by the client were rare even at the Jonin level and unheard of at the Genin level. And the phrase 'never' came to mind when the Genin had only been active for less than three months.
Miho Hyuuga looked at the Hokage. "This is extremely unusual Sarutobi-sensei..." She said. "I'm extremely proud of my team, of course, but I doubt they've been able to make a big enough impression to be widely known... Who is the client?"
"You can enter now." The Hokage said, turning his head. A door to the left of the desk slid open.
A smile of true pleasure appeared on Miho-sensei's face. "I should have figured as much." She said as Iruka-sensei, lead instructor at the Ninja Academy stepped into the light. The teacher had a small duffle bag, which he set on the ground by his feet. "Okay... Color me intrigued; what's going on here, Iruka?"
"Irukaio," The Hokage answered, using his preferred name for one of his favorite students, "asked for your team because of the skills they possess in the fields of..." A wry glint twinkled in his eye. "Camouflage and espionage."
A groan escaped Inugami as he put it together almost as fast as Miho Hyuuga did. Her eyes opened expressively as she looked at Iruka with something that could be described as nothing less than disgust. "Oh, no... Not..."
Iruka's own eyes bugged and he quickly waived his own hands to banish the thought. "NO! Geez, Miho... You remember how much we both hated that; it was one of the first training exercises I did away with once I assumed the role of the Ninja Academy's dean. I completely changed it from top to bottom. It's just stealth training, now."
Sho gave Umino-sensei a remarkably foul look. "Are you going to stand there and tell me that the Hide and Seek exercise you put us through is actually an IMPROVEMENT on something?" Inugami looked at Miho as Kimiko and Nakahito finally made the connection, causing sour expressions to cross their faces, as the medic-nin threw up his hands. "That's it. I have now officially lost all faith in humanity."
Miho looked at her three Genin. "What's wrong with you three?"
"S-s-s-st-t-tealth training..." Nakahito stuttered as he shuddered as if frozen to the core.
Kimiko nodded, shaking as well. "Kawai..."
"It was really boring..." Sho answered, nonchalantly, although the fact that goosebumps were appearing on his arms defied his calm demeanor.
Miho's head tilted in confusion as she looked at Iruka. "What on earth did you come up with to cause these three, who typically are ready for anything, to hate stealth training so much?"
Iruka shrugged. "Hard to say for certain... But in this case you'll be coming at it from the other side. We instructors are so overloaded with the end of the quarter paperwork for all the other classes that we need chasers. Since the three of you were consistently the hardest to locate, who better to be the ones looking?" The teacher's response caused the Genin's reactions to do an about face, eliciting a high-five between Nakahito and Kimiko and an evil grin to cross Sho's face.
Miho Hyuuga gave Iruka a new look of confusion. "Chasers?" She asked, arching a finely manicured eyebrow.
"Like I said," Iruka Umino answered. "I changed how it works. What we do is we basically make it a giant game of hide and seek. The students have limits as to how far away from the Academy they're allowed to go based on which year they're in, so it's a bit more fun for the kids than what we used to have to go through."
"Yeah, right..." Kimiko Itou said. "Except for the part where when you get caught, the teachers are allowed to scare the living hell out of you - typically by using Genjutsu to find the student's worst nightmare and bring it to life." A shudder visibly ran up her spine which was duplicated by Haruno, but not Inugami.
Iruka lowered her head in shamed embarrassment as a final piece clicked into place. "Ah… Actually that was Mizuki's doing... I should have realized then what he was truly capable of - to be willing to do something like that to students, regardless of how reasonable his arguments seemed to be." He shook his head and looked at Team 13 squarely. "In any event, we're changing things this time around."
"Changing how?" Inugami asked.
Iruka reached into the bag and pulled up four strips of cloth: blue, purple, red, and white. "We've divided the classes you'll be tasked with locating - the 8, 9 and 10 year olds and the combined 11 & 12 year olds - into four groups. We did this since we realize that you won't necessarily recognize the students in those classes on sight. Each student will have an armband that has all four of these colors on one arm; when you catch a student, you remove it and put on one that corresponds to you as an indicator of who caught them."
He then pulled four smaller bags from the duffel that looked like the standard ninja tool hip pouches. "You can put them on however you wish to drive home the point that you caught them... After all, you'll be the opposition to the kid's mission, so being found is the equivalent to failing - just nothing too severe, okay?"
"And then we send them back to the Academy?" Kimiko asked.
Iruka nods to the girl that had been a little sister to him, much the same as Naruto was a brother. "Exactly." He sorted the packs as he stepped over to his recent students. "This one's..." He glanced inside, finding a set of red ribbons and giving the pack to the red clad member of the group. "Yours, Haruno-kun; I tried to get colors that match each of your personal favorites." He handed another pack to Kimiko. "Blue for you, Itou-chan."
"White for me." Sho said as Iruka-sensei passed him the bag. He glanced at the others. "It was that or purple... And I don't care for purple myself."
Iruka nodded, handing the final pouch to Miho. As their hands touched, a trace of a blush appeared on both their cheeks. "And, obviously, purple for you, Miho-chan."
"My favorite color..." She said with a smile.
A wistful smile crossed the face of the Third Hokage. He then coughed, breaking the moment. "In any event, you now have your assigned task. Good luck to you all."
* * *
Team 13 and Iruka walked slowly to the adjacent Ninja Academy, the Academy's leader explaining how the training mission was meant to work from the teacher's viewpoint. As the school's yard came into view, a small horde of students - roughly forty all told - were standing in the plaza area of the front entrance, accompanied by a handful of teachers that the Genin of Team 13 remembered all too well.
Miho Hyuuga recognized many of them too, but in her case they were her former classmates or upperclassmen. Miho took a few minutes to talk with each of them, reminiscing about the old days and catching up with each other.
After a few minutes, she came back to stand by Iruka-sensei, who clapped his hands to get the attention of the students who had been talking amongst themselves. "Ore ore ore... I know you're excited to be outside, but fun's over. It's time for Stealth training!" A collective groan escaped the students, but it seemed to mainly be a reflex as most of them still seemed excited.
"But... We have something different happening this time!" The students started whispering, wondering what Iruka-sensei had cooked up for them. "You might have noticed we had you put on those multi-colored armbands and are undoubtedly wondering why... Well that's the difference. See, instead of trying to hide from the other teachers and I, you'll be hiding from some of our recent Genin graduates and their Jonin instructor instead!"
The whisper became a buzz of anticipation. "Now, don't get your hopes too far up." Umino continued. "These Genin are no slouches: they collectively hold the distinction of being the hardest students to find for at least three of their last five stealth training sessions. That means that not only will they know all the obvious tricks, but they might use ones you've never imagined to sneak up on you!
"Now, you'll probably recognize their names immediately... Kids, allow me to introduce Konoha Village's Genin Squad 13: Nakahito Haruno!" The red and black clad ninja raised a fist, causing a cheer to escape some of the older students who knew Haruno by sight and reputation. "Kimiko Itou!" The Itou clan's sole survivor waived her hand at the kids, who smiled back at her. "And Sho Inugami!"
The apprentice medic, always one to enjoy a bit of intimidation, pulled a repeat of his ogre transformation he'd used when Team 13 initially formed and let off a bellowing roar that spooked all but the more confident students and caused no small amount of gulps from the younger students – with the exceptions of Lucia Inugami, who giggled at her brother's joke, and Karin Inugami, who rolled her eyes.
Iruka-sensei shook his head. He should have expected as much... "And their instructor, Miho Hyuuga; they will be today's Chasers."
"That's not fair, Iruka-sensei!" One of the younger kids shouted.
The arguing student wore a yellow shirt with an oversized blue scarf draped cape-like around his neck. His gray-brown hair was in a style sticking straight up like the top of an onion and had a pair of green and gray eye protection goggles, similar, all three of the Genin noted with a bit of surprise, to the pair that Naruto Uzumaki had always worn. Flanking him were two others wearing the same headgear: one was a runny-nosed boy with tree bark brown hair, thin, black-framed glasses, and a shirt with differing shades of gray. The third member of the trio was a girl with a red scarf around her neck, a bit too much red blush on her cheeks and her tan-colored hair pulled up into two tufts split down the middle.
Iruka sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Konohamaru..."
Miho raises a hand to stop Umino mid-chastisement, stepping over to the Third's grandson and sitting on the ground, crossing her legs so as to look at him squarely. "You know, honorable grandson, that rather than just shouting an objection, it's usually better to just raise your hand and ask a question... Now, since I'll be in charge of this little game, why don't you tell me what you feel is unfair and why you think so?"
Konohamaru Sarutobi paused to make sure he wasn't just being talked down to, and, seeing that he wasn't, nodded. "I'm sorry, Hyuuga-sensei, but your Byakugan gives you an unfair advantage over us - there's nowhere we can hide that you wouldn't be able to see us, so we're being set up for a no-win situation being disguised as something different."
"You little brat..." Nakahito said, trying to jump to his teacher's defense, but Kimiko grabs his shoulder. Sho steps up, tapping a spot on Haruno's back, slowing him down as his left foot began to transmit the pins-and-needles feeling of being half asleep. That plus the stop gesture from Miho-sensei finally ends Haruno's gesture. "Gah... What did you do to me, man?" He asked softly over his shoulder.
"Shiatsu pressure point. It'll wear off in a few seconds." Inugami replied. "I didn't put too much into it; it would be embarrassing if you were to collapse to the ground because your entire leg stopped hearing your brain's orders."
Miho Hyuuga turned her gaze back to the young boy. "I'll tell you what, I honestly didn't even consider using my Byakugan for this, because my students will be doing most of the work and they don't need any help. But you raise a valid point - your grandfather, the Sandaime would NEVER knowingly send a team into a situation they had no hope of victory in. So, if I promise that I will not use my Byakugan for the rest of the day, will you join in the training?"
Konohamaru looked into Miho's silver-white eyes, standing straight as he realized that she was treating him not as the Third's grandson, but a fellow ninja. "Ojiisan says that the word of a Hyuuga is as absolute as you can get; you have a deal, Hyuuga-sensei." He says; extending a hand that Miho shook in response.
Miho smiled at him as she rose to her feet. "All right, then. You have until the crack of thunder and the flash of lightning to get into position," She extended one hand, which began to glow a faint electric purple, "which will be in fifteen minutes. At that time, I'll release my squad of chasers. Good luck to all of you!"
The student ninja split to the four winds.
Miho Hyuuga waited the appointed time before unleashing her lightning chakra infused energy bolt, giving the promised sign to the younger students. Once done, she turned to look at her team. "Okay, Thirteen. Why don't you go and find as many as you can in, oh, say an hour. After that, we'll meet back here, find out who's still hiding and then go find them in teams of two - obviously, I'll join in to allow us to divide up properly."
"Yes, Sensei!" Team 13 agreed in unison as they launched into action.
* * *
By general agreement, the three Genin split the city into thirds. Sho took the eastern sector, Nakahito headed west, leaving the central section to Kimiko. Itou had just reached the central market plaza and was able to quickly spot two students right off the bat: one used a pretty decent transformation technique, but forgot to hide the armband; the other used a rather bad blending technique - the student in question was using the disguise cloak meant for a wooden fence against a brick building...
She spent a few moments looking for any other obvious students; not easy since the market was bustling with dozens, even hundreds of people. Finally, unable to spot any at ground level, she ran up a nearby wall to allow her to get to the higher levels and a different vantage point. She spends a few minutes to look down, but nothing seemed to stand out. It was a fact that was not surprising when you realize that you're looking for 40 juvenile ninja spread out over an area of approximately four square kilometers. For the first time, Kimiko felt a brief appreciation for the work the teachers had to go through for this particular training exercise.
"Kimiko-san?" A voice asked, accompanied by a light thump, from behind her.
Kimiko Itou turned in the direction of the voice, finding Rock Lee rising from a crouch that, when combined with the thump, suggested he'd just jumped onto the rooftop. "Lee-kun? What on earth are you doing up here?" She asked, feeling no small amount of confusion.
"I was passing by the market and saw you looking around for something on your own. When I saw you, I realized that Gai-sensei and I had left Ichiraku's shop rather abruptly the other week without saying goodbye." He held up a single flower.
The flower was a very unusual shade of blue - something between ultramarine and cerulean that glistened in the sunlight as if it had the morning dew on its petals, but they were completely dry. The core of the flower had an unusual mix of yellow and black that were barely visible past the long blue petals.
"May I?" He asked. Kimiko, uncertain as to what he wanted, nodded hesitantly and was pleasantly surprised when he slipped the flower behind her ear and curled a lock of hair around the stem to hold it in place.
Kimiko pulled out her hand mirror, taking a look at the new decoration. For some reason, the flower looked perfectly natural, rooted in the chocolate brown of her hair. A flush of pleasure colored her cheeks. "It's beautiful, Lee-kun, thanks."
A smile of true joy appeared. "I also have some good news for you. I asked Gai-sensei about the Ocean Fist Taijutsu style... He said that while his own knowledge of it was limited to what he was able to see first-hand when he wasn't much older than we are now; he's willing to show you what he does know. Apparently, Gai-sensei's own Jonin instructor was of the Itou clan. The teacher was pretty close mouthed about his own skills, but Gai-sensei says he saw at least three of the 12 kata before his teacher..." Rock Lee suddenly trailed off as he realized what effect the final part of his statement would have on Itou-san.
"Three kata?" Kimiko breathed, hardly able to believe her ears or her luck. A kata was a dance-like exercise to help generate muscle memory. If Lee's teacher could show her that much, especially if he knew the entire sequences, she would be able to reconstruct nearly 38% of the entire style, since each kata was designed to work in harmony with the others - it would allow her to then experiment and everything that felt wrong was likely not part of the style. A wellspring of joy filled Kimiko's very being and, needing an outlet, she grabbed Lee in a giant hug; kissing him on a cheek.
Looking out over Rock Lee's shoulder, Itou spotted another student on the streets below. "Thank you, Lee-kun, and thank your sensei when you see him..." She broke off, leaving Lee looking just a little punch drunk. "Ask Gai-sensei what would be a good day for us to get together - I'd go now, but I've got an unusual mission going on and I just spotted one of my targets that I need to deal with!"
Lee made a half-aware attempt to agree, but Kimiko didn't really hear him as she raced across the roof, dropping to the street as safely as she could. Once at ground level, she stopped in front of a blank looking section of wall. She put her hand out, passing through the seemingly real surface. As she did so, a young voice made a surprised squawk and the section disappeared to reveal one of the trio that had been wearing the Uzumaki-style goggles on his head - the one with glasses.
"Got ya!" She said. The boy tried making a dash for it, but Kimiko whipped out one of her ribbons that caught him around the chest, stopping him dead in his tracks. The boy slumped to the ground, knowing he was defeated. Kimiko quickly swapped the boy's armband for a ribbon. Then, curious, she sat on the ground in front of him. "What's your name, kiddo?"
The boy looked up at her. When he did so, she saw something that she never really expected to be able to see: someone develop an instant crush on her. The signs were obvious – the boy's eyes widened in awe, his mouth loosened just a bit and his breathing changed. "U-U-Udon, Itou-sempai."
Kimiko smiled at him. "Well, you know Udon-kun; I have a friend that used to wear a pair of goggles just like you do." The boy looked at her with rapt attention. "His name is Naruto Uzumaki; do you happen to know him?"
Udon shook his head. "I've never met Leader directly... At least not yet."
"'Leader?'" Itou asked, confused. 'Naruto's a nice guy and all, and Hinata really likes him, but he's never seemed the leader type...'
Udon nodded. "I'm a member of the Konohamaru Corps. Uzumaki-sempai is Konohamaru-kun's friend and rival to be Hokage someday. Konohamaru wears these, so Moegi and I do, too."
'And now the pieces fall into place.' Kimiko thought to herself. 'Knowing Konohamaru-chan the way I do, Naruto must have said or done something that really impressed him. I'll have to ask him or Naruto the next time I see one of them.' She paused. 'That reminds me, I should check on Hinata - she got really depressed when she heard that Naruto was going to be gone for a month.'
"Excuse me, Itou-sempai?" Udon asked, bringing Kimiko out of her reverie. "How did you find me?"
She smiled at him. "You only hid yourself at ground level with your jutsu. I happened to be on a rooftop and saw how the wall's pattern changed around where you were." She touched his nose. "If you'd put a 'lid' on top of your illusionary box, I might have missed you."
"Really? I did that good?" Udon asked, his eyes practically watering with joy at the compliment.
Kimiko nodded. "You did that good. Iruka-sensei would be really impressed with you." She stood up. "Now, why don't you head back to the Academy - I need to go look for the others."
Udon nodded, running off, while Kimiko turned the other way and resumed her mission.
* * *
Kimiko paused at a tree with a bench underneath, taking time to sit for a few minutes. She'd made pretty good progress - she'd managed to locate another 8 students in the last 40 minutes, bringing her total to 11. All the running around was finally taking its toll on her - the morning's... incident had left her with no time for breakfast and she was starting to run on empty. She reached into her pouch, pulling out an apple that she'd purchased at the market after sending Udon on his way.
Nearly famished, Kimiko took a large bite of the apple. A bite that she nearly gagged on when an annoyingly familiar voice called out. "Hey, Kimiko!" Hoping that her hearing was off she turned to the direction of the voice, but, unfortunately, Ino Yamanaka was indeed there.
Kimiko finally swallows the chunk. "Ino? What on earth are you doing here?"
"Uh, DUH?" Ino asked, gesturing over her shoulder. Itou looked; blinking in surprise. The building the tree was in front of was her family's flower store. Yamanaka paused in surprise as she noticed the flower in Kimiko's hair. "Oh! You're the one that guy bought the rare flower for. 'A blossom suitable for a beautiful lady whose soul is as pure as the mountain stream, but whose spirit is as strong as the ocean's tides.'"
"Say what?" Kimiko asked, utterly baffled.
Ino took an empty spot on the bench. "Those were his words." She answered. "He asked me to sell him a flower that was right for a woman like that." She paused, evaluating Kimiko. "And, come to think of it, his description isn't all that far off. A bit idealized, but I can see it."
"You mean Lee-san bought this flower here?" Kimiko asked, intrigued. There were, after all several dozen flower shops in Konoha. "What kind is it? It's really beautiful, but I've never seen one like it before."
Yamanaka nodded. "It's a Water Tiger Blossom and it is extremely rare here in the Land of Fire; it's native to the Land of Water. It only blooms once per year and cannot be cultivated for regular use in our store because it requires a TON of water to grow. In fact, I've only seen it by the shore of this secluded pond about half a day's journey outside the village walls. Because it absorbs so much water, though, the flower stays vibrantly alive for nearly a month after its cut if you keep it watered."
She gave Kimiko an odd look. "You're sure you've never seen one of these before?"
"Never, why?"
"Take a look inside the flower. I couldn't have picked a more appropriate flower, even if I'd known who it was for."
Her curiosity, piqued by Yamanaka's words, Kimiko pulled the flower out and oh-so-gently manipulated it so that she could look down into the core. This time, in addition to the golden yellow pollen and the black stamen, she saw a few traces of red. "Okay... It's pretty, but I'm not..."
She felt a sudden tapping on her chest. Glancing over, she saw Ino tapping her clan's crest. Feeling more than just a little bit self-conscious after the earlier run-in with Nakahito, a blush started to creep into her cheeks.
"Uhm... Ino? Why are..." Suddenly, the other kunoichi's gesture made sense. Looking at the patch, she noticed it too. "My clan used this flower as the basis for our crest?! And we originally came from the Land of Water; someone must have been carrying a few of these flowers and they managed to find a spot where they could flourish." Feeling a new connection with the flower, she put it back into her hair.
"That makes a lot of sense. I really love these flowers and I had simply assumed that one of the founders in your clan had as well. I didn't realize your clan came from another nation." She sighed wistfully. "I really wish someone I liked would give me such a flower that was as appropriate for me as this Lee-san did for you."
Kimiko nodded absently as she began nibbling at her apple. Lee had done two very remarkable things for her in such a short period of time... Even considering that his finding the Water Tiger Blossom was sheer luck, it was still very encouraging to her...
Ino, as if able to sense the thoughts running through Itou's mind, simply leaned back against the tree; showing an unusual - for Ino Yamanaka - courtesy to the other kunoichi. As she did so, her eyes shifted upwards. To her surprise, she saw a pair of disembodied feet on one of the tree branches.
The florist ninja leaned forward as if in thought. "Hey, Kimiko?" She whispered softly. "Would you happen to know why there are feet in my tree unconnected to someone's legs?"
"Mmm-hmm." Itou replied as if merely enjoying her apple. "My team was assigned to help with Stealth training at the Academy today." A grimace crossed Ino's face - she'd also been found by Mizuki on a previous occasion. "It's one of the students failing today's training exercise. I noticed him when I was walking down the street; it's why I stopped here for my apple..."
Kimiko took another bite of her apple. "Mainly I'm waiting to see what he plans on doing. It's one of the twelve-year-olds - Iruka-sensei is going to be disappointed; most of the eight-year-olds I found did a better job of hiding themselves." She chewed the final bites of her apple. "Would you mind playing the distraction?"
Ino smiled wryly. "I thought I already was."
"Well, he did get excited when you started tapping my clan symbol." She sighed. "What is it about us that attract perverts like this?"
Ino gave a mock long suffering sigh. "I blame my parents for making me look so damn good, myself... Let's face it; we're some of the best looking young women in the village."
Kimiko snorted in amusement as she rose to her feet. She tossed the core of her apple into the trash can by the tree. Raising her voice to allow the student in the tree hear their conversation without giving away that she knew he was up there, she said, "Well, thanks for telling me about the flower, Yamanaka-san, but I'm afraid the break's over. I've got to get back to my mission."
Ino nodded. "Any time, Itou-san. I think that I'm going to stay out here for a bit longer. I'll see you around." Kimiko nodded, walking off in the direction she originally came from. After she was out of sight, Ino looked up. "So, you want to get out of the tree now? It's pretty old and has a bit of wood rot - you're lucky the branch hasn't broken already."
The student's voice came back. "She's gone?"
Ino looked around. "I don't see her anymore." She paused. "So, are you as good looking as your voice sounds?"
"Maybe." He answered, dropping to the ground. The young man landed solidly facing away from Ino. He rose to his feet turning around. The owner of the voice looked to only be a year younger than Ino.
Yamanaka was taken aback by his appearance: his hair was styled the same as Sasuke Uchiha, albeit with crimson red hair. His features were even similar. "Who are you?" She asked. She never expected to run into someone else so good looking. He wasn't Sasuke-kun, but this guy could be a decent second choice in the unlikely situation that Sakura won Sasuke's heart.
"My name is Taven Kuroshida."
"Nice to meet you." Ino said.
"Got you!" Kimiko shouted, appearing from her hiding spot and tapping the young man's shoulder.
Taven looked over his shoulder, his jaw dropping. "Oh, crap!" He tried making a run for it, but ran right into both Ino and the bench she was sitting on. Taven and Ino got dumped onto the ground with the young man falling face first into Ino's substantial bosom.
The young man tried to adjust his position, but when one of his hands ended up on Ino's chest, Yamanaka cried out in justifiable outrage. "Get off me you pervert!" A swift knee and an adrenaline augmented throw caused Taven to rise from the ground to land on the bench with a groan of indescribable agony.
Kimiko took the opportunity to make the necessary swap of ribbon for armband. Itou looked down at Yamanaka. "Sorry about that, Ino. Are you okay?"
Yamanaka brushed herself off as she sat up. "My ego's been bruised, but that's about it. Being groped was the last thing I was expecting to have happen today. I didn't care for it..."
"Me neither." Kimiko agreed. "Now it's happened to me twice." Kuroshida got a drooling look on his face that annoyed Itou. She frowned at Taven, who bowed his head apologetically. "Oh, just get out of here, you. Head back to the Academy." The young man nodded, bolting as ordered. She watched as he ran off. "Still, there are worse things that can happen. Trust me."
Ino shook her head. "So, in addition to it being an accident, it was payback?" She asked wryly. "After all, I not only groped you, but I did - in a way - do one of those worse things to you a few weeks back..."
Yamanaka's observation took Itou by surprise. "Actually, I never even thought of it that way." She paused. "You know, Ino, we're still not friends... But I don't see any reason that we can't work together as allies." She extended a hand.
"Deal." The florist agreed, accepting the proffered hand. "Now we've both got to get back to work - go chase those kids down and show 'em what we kunoichi can do."
Kimiko nodded in agreement, taking a running leap to the top of the flower shop. She paused momentarily to look back down at Ino. The purple-clad kunoichi threw Itou a mock salute, which she returned before dashing off in search for any students on her way back to the Academy for the first hour rendezvous.
* * *
To be continued