Ch1 Watch Out! A New Team Appears

Ch.1          Watch Out! A New Team Appears.
Seven years ago…
         The leaves blew across the unpaved road in front of the country of fire’s hidden village. The rising sun crested over the high wall onto a five year old child standing where the dust turned to carved stone before the high wooden gates with the swirled emblem of the leaf village. The young boy stood with a green sleeveless cloak wrapped across his shoulders with two intertwined red and black bands radiating from the center of a square. The boy wiped his face clear of tears, allowing his garment to open and reveal a bloodstained interior where he had wiped his hands clean of guilt and memory.
         A bell tolled somewhere within the walls, and the gate slowly rumbled open with a low thud. A white clad old man with wrinkles at the edge of his eyes and the beginning of liver spots showing on his face walked through the passage. The old man bent down, looked the boy in the eyes, and asked kindly, “Well, what are you doing here? What is your name?” The old man finished by placing his right hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Do you know where you are?” The boy lowered and shook his head. He wiped the tears away again but failed to keep his cloak closed from the old man’s observant gaze. “Are you hurt?” The boy shook his head negative. “Do you want to go somewhere warm?”
         He nodded. The old man stood up and considered the boy for a moment. “I suppose since you don’t have a past or a name. I, as third Hokage, say you are part of my family now. Konoha.”
……………
                   A plainly dressed Jounin burst through the office door and pounded his hands down on the Hokage’s large and heavily cluttered desk. “No! You can’t drag me down with a team. I’m too valuable where I am to babysit some trainees on how to throw kunai. Not when the village is threatened by that snake.” Some of the less balanced sheets of paper continued to sway ominously.
         The Fifth stood up from her chair in fuming rage and shouted back, “I am the Hokage! I tell you where you go and what you do as long as you are a ninja of this village,” Tsunade stepped onto the open scrolls on her desk and lifted the sleeve from her arm.
         The Jounin hesitated and backed up three steps before returning a stumbling a reply. “I only meant that I’m not a teacher. My only expertise is assassination. Unless the curriculum of the academy has changed in the two years I’ve been gone, no trainee will do anything but slow me down.” The Jounin kept his voice low and respectful under the Fifth’s awful glare. “You know I have nothing else to teach…”
         Tsunade interrupted, “You are a ninja of the hidden leaf. You will become what you must for the good of this village. You will become a Jounin captain because we need your expertise in a functional team. As you say, since Orochimaru has taken Sasuke and gone into hiding, I need more teams of ninjas then a lone operator who can only kill.” Tsunade bellowed to her assistant in the hall, “Shizune! Bring me the latest team lists.”
         The overworked assistant came in with a large stack of paper sheets and scrolls. “Yes mam. I have it right here for you, um, what is your name?” Shizune looked at the Jounin for an answer. “Um, do you have a name yet?”
         Tsunade answered, “He’ll be going by the name Natsu. I think it fitting considering that jutsu your so proud of. You’ll meet your new team tomorrow at the Academy’s training field at noon. There, you should start teaching them what it takes to be a ninja.” A wicked grin came to the Fifth’s face as she sat back down in her chair. “If you don’t feel up to the challenge, I might have promoted you to Jounin a little early. Maybe I should reverse that mistake.”
         Defeated, Natsu submitted, “Alright, I’ll meet this new team and maybe show them a thing or to the academy didn’t, but you know very well that I’m no good at keeping fouls alive who shouldn’t be there to begin with.” Natsu’s eyes met with the Hokage’s for a brief moment before he turned to look at his shoes. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean back then. I simply meant that they should not follow me on missions.”
         “And what do you think you’re going to do? More assassinations?” Tsunade laughed. “If you are worried about your team’s safety, you should remember what your early missions were like. I’m not going to send them for a cup of sugar till they’re ready to.”
         “Alright, I’ll see if these kids have what it takes to survive as ninja.” Natsu looked over to the quiet aid to the side of the room.  “Can I see the names of my trainees, Shizune?”
         “They’re right here on this top scroll. It contains their grades and history as well as a list of jutsus they know. The rest of their training will depend on your teachings.” Shizune leaned her stack forward as he extracted the scroll teetering on the summit of reports and messages.
         Unrolling the scroll, Natsu read out the names, “Let’s see; Keiji, Michiko, and Matsu. Matsu. You named me after one of my students?”
         The Hokage looked back at him pokerfaced. “It might have come to mind, but that’s none of your concern. I want you to give your students the best chance at becoming ninja despite difficulties.”
         “Difficulties? What do you mean difficulties? These papers don’t say anything except poor grades and marginal abilities. You mean there’s more. From this record, the three should be given up on rather than given my teachings.”
         The Fifth planted her entwined fingers under her hands, “I’m giving then to you to fully test there hidden abilities that the academy failed to do. I only ask that you push them as hard as you can for six months. If they can’t hold their own under your teachings, I will personally drop them back into the academy to wait for another Jounin to become available. However. If they survive, you will be their captain for as long as their training requires.”
         A wonderful concept crossed Natsu’s mind and a smile spread across his face. “So, they’re my students as long as they hold up to my training? In that case, I’ll start with some intensive training.”
….………
         The next day began sunny and warm with a breeze blowing between the wood trunk targets and rope climb obstacles as a brown and tan clothed genin pasted through the wood fence gate. He looked around the enclosed area before walking over to the corner and sat down in the shade of an overhanging tree with a disused swing moving in the wind.  He crossed his bandage wrapped arms and legs in front of a cloth overwrapped chest and light paper leaf green jacket hanging suspended by slightly muscular shoulders. The genin checked his cheap but functional watch which rested against intertwined layers of cloth strips that reached from his neck to his fingertips and feet. He readjusted his shinny new leaf headband over his green bandana before impatiently crossing his arms tighter against his chest.
         Fifteen minutes later, the creaking gate swung open again when a young kuninch with short red brown hair and a metal pipe strapped to her hot pink clad hip walked over and stood leaning against the targets next to the gated fence. From five yards away, the figure under the tree called over to her, “Hey, you part of team five. Hey! Are you part of team five? Are you listening? Hey!” He gave up on shouting and checked his watch again. “Do you have the time?” no response, “Didn’t think so.” He looked away and waited.
         The gate reopened and a light blue and red clad ninja entered with a pair of kunai holders on each leg and a bag of other such tools slung across his back. “Hay Matsu. What are you doing with a headband? I thought you were still playing around climbing trees and hunting squirrels.”
         Matsu stood up and stared his nemeses down, “At least I’m not a poppas leach who can’t do anything without constant complaints. I doubt you’ve finished anything asked of you.”
         “You can’t go a week without spending all the money you’ve earned after all your so called hard work. You have to take a dozen jobs just to pay for you shopping sprees.”
         The girl interrupted “Keiji, who are you talking to? I can’t see what you’re saying unless you look straight at me.”
         Keiji looked over to her and responded, “Michiko, that’s Matsu under the tree. He’s probably just hiding from his sorry life.” Turning back towards the tree, “Go away. We’re waiting for the rest of our team.”
         “I am the rest of your team. Oww!” Matsu stopped when Mickiko dashed forward and her iron pipe connected with his head. “Damm it. What was that for?”
         “Why were you following me? What are you doing here?”
         Clutching his head, Matsu retorted, “I was here before you. I’m part of your team.”
         Her expression turned puzzled, “Your part of my team? Oh! I’m so sorry. I get a little excited when people sneak up behind me.”
         Matsu muttered to the side, “I was in front of you the whole time.” He looked back at the new arrival, “Keiji, Do you know when our sensei will get here.”
         Keiji almost stopped laughing long enough to say no. “Ok, I should have warned you about her, um, quirks. She’s completely deaf and has a strong swing. How about we call things even between us on that?”
         Matsu rubbed the lump on his head. “I’ll consider it when my head stops ringing.”
         Michiko leaned closer with a worried expression. “Does it really hurt? I’ll go get a doctor, you stay right here.”
         “That won’t be necessary, it’s time the three of you meet your new captain for this week,” Said the average looking man wearing a slightly oversized green captain’s jacket with the zipper open and most of the pouches. None of the genin had noticed the captain enter or knew exactly how long he had been there, “Honestly, I doubt you delinquents will even last two days as Genin.”
         Matsu and Keiji turned around and Michiko followed their gaze before asking, “Who are you?”
         “I’m Natsu, your new captain for the week.”
         Keiji interrupted, “Wait, what do you mean for the week. Aren’t you supposed to be our captain for the rest of our training?”
         Natsu turned his plain brown eyes to Keiji, “More accuracy, I am your captain as long as you three survive as ninja. I only gave you a week to be generous. You won’t last the day.”
         All three trainees shared worried looks and returned their attention to the new sensei. All three asked the question together, “What do you mean survive?”
         “Just that. I don’t know what you expected when you became Genin, but I’m here to test your meager limits. All three of you failed to fit into any other team and refuse to operate with others in the academy. It’s my job to show you every failure and defeat until you all give up. Let me make this clear. ” All three genin waited stunned for his next few words. “I am your enemy. The first thing I want you to do is go home and bring any and all weapons and equipment you need and meet me at the south gate. Those who are late or fail this task will never advance as my students. Any questions?”
         Michiko tentatively raised her hand, “Don’t you want to know our names?”
         “I don’t care and you’re wasting time asking questions. All you should be concerned with is how you’re going to get through the first day’s training.” Without another wasted word, Natsu turned and left the lote before his students could recover.
         After the silence, Matsu stretched back his shoulders and pronounced, “Well that was encouraging. I’m heading out.”
……………
         Matsu leaned against the over sized doorway of the gate, waiting. He looked up to see Michiko and Keiji walking towards where he stood. Before they could get any closer, Natsu appeared in-between the new group and Matsu. “Well, you’re all just in time. Now it’s time to make you wish you hadn’t come.”
         Natsu crouched and sprinted towards the lone trainee, his fist at his sides. Matsu drew two shuriken from his holster and tossed one at his approaching sensei. The clone went up in white smoke when a blur of motion knocked Matsu over the head from behind. Once hitting the ground, Matsu through his second star before coming to a stop a long distance to the feet of Michiko and Keiji. With a single movement, Natsu snatched the weapon out of the air and discarded it to the ground.
         Natsu looked around at his surrounding students before resting his right hand into his pants pocket. He stood up straight and laughed. “Alright, let’s see what you three are made of. Come at me however you want, I only need my left hand to deal with snot nosed punks.”
         Keiji dashed in first, forming seals before landing on serpent. He placed his hands in front of his mouth like a tube before letting a jet of steam shoot towards the waiting jounin. Natsu stood there with his left hand outstretched until the last moment when he jumped above the scalding vapor, over the trainee’s heads, and onto the telephone wire suspended above the road. From behind him, Michiko appeared with her pipe swinging down from above. Without turning around, Natsu kicked straight up with his left sandal until his heel connected with the bar metal right below Michiko’s grip, causing the weapon and her to go tumbling down to the steam dampened street.
         While the others had rushed in to attack, Matsu jumped up to where the cable connected to the building and griped the wire fastenings. He slowly tugged on the cable until it snapped loose, giving him enough slack to lasso a loop around Natsu’s right foot. Still unbalanced fron his kick and without footing, Natsu turned upside-down and dangled ten meters above the street while Keiji inhaled for a flame attack and Michiko landed, ready to throw a kunai. Fire and steel struck simultaneously when Natsu burst into smoke, replaced by an impaled burnt stump with the cable twisted around the stub of a branch.
         Matsu let go of the broken wire and formed a seal with both of his palms directed to his chest and his fingers resting half on the backs and palm with his thumbs together at the top, similar to the great gate nearby. Before he could do anything other than that simple gesture, Natsu faded in right behind him and brought down his left hand in a short arc. The palm thudded against Matsu’s shoulder, but Matsu stayed planted to the spot, unharmed, as the tiles under his feet cracked. A brief look of surprise flashed across Natsu’s face when he noticed the twin bandages entwining around his ankles stemming from Matsu’s legs.
         Matsu grabbed the edge of the roof and hurled himself down; pulling Natsu over the rim and tossing him head first towards the pavement below by whipping the bandages with his charka. With his right hand stubbornly clenched in his pocket, Natsu rolled in the air to land squarely on his feet. He jumped away almost immediately as Michiko’s kunai sank into the stone where he landed.
         Natsu finally came to rest in the center of the road. “That’s it? Pathetic. None of you are ready to be dog walkers, even less ninjas.” He lifted his left hand to his chest, concentrated an amount of chakra to his feet, and jumped in one huge bound into the air and onto the arc above the open gate; three kunai landed inches in front of the three trainees before any of them could blink. “Do any of you still have hopes of being ninja. I’ve run out of patience for these games.”
         “Shut up!” Keiji shouted, “you’re just mad we were about to beat you.” He blinked up at the figure standing in front of the sun.
         Michiko joined in when she didn’t hear Keiji, “I don’t care what you say. I have to become a ninja like,” she suddenly faltered.
         Meanwhile, Matsu just stood near the wall with a curious smile playing on his lips. He finally stared up and grinned.
         Natsu looked down at the kid smiling there. That’s when he saw the humanoid shadow of someone behind him. Twirling in place and kicking out to the shadowed figure, instead of connecting with one of his students, his foot sunk into a tangled mass of bandages that locked around Natsu’s leg and reached to engulf him. Without blinking, Natsu reached into his open flak jacket and flashed a kunai through the mass of cloth. The blade failed to cut against the bonds the first time so Natsu directed his wind chakra along the blade, shredding the prison and allowing him to jump away into the empty air high above the trainees.
         From below, Keiji prepared for another jutsu, finishing on the hand sign tiger. He blew a pillar of fire straight up at his unprotected sensei. Unable to dodge or deflect the blaze, Natsu tossed his chakra saturated kunai down through the jutsu and wacked it’s round pommel against Keiji’s forehead protector, knocking Keiji to the ground and redirecting the blast.
         As Natsu continued to fall to the ground, Michiko stood where he would land and swung her pipe. Natsu used his empty left hand to grab the hollow metal inches from his scalp while rebounding from his fall with both feet on her shoulders.
         He looked at the fallen forms of Keiji and Michiko on the road and closed his eyes, listening for the third trainee. He jumped into the air when he heard a loud crack from beneath his feet just before the ground exploded up as more bandages reached through the flying rubble. Natsu reached the apex of his flight when six shrunken cam whistling over the roof tops. Natsu twisted his body into a back flip in the air as lethal metal edges grazed his loose jacket and trousers in places.
         When Natsu had turned towards the sky in his flip, Matsu emerged from the shards of stone and mortar below and again formed his seal for the next attack. A single ribbon unwrapped from around his waist and shot up to knot around his sensei’s neck. As Matsu yanked the garrote downward, Sensei’s clone popped in a cloud of smoke, leaving the bandage to fall to the ground.
         Surprised, Matsu suddenly realized that his feet dangled off the ground and the pressure around his neck in a one arm head lock. He struggled for a few seconds before the lack of oxygen caused him to black out. Michiko and Keiji watched warily as Matsu’s body limply dropped to the ground before jerking back awake at Natsu’s feet.
         “The three of you should give up as ninja before you find someone less merciful then me. Had this been a real ninja fight, you would all be dead at Konoha’s very doorstep. Ninja have to travel to every corner of the world and deal with any kind of opponent yet none of you could handle a single opponent. I dodged every one of your moves with simple clones and replacements. Pathetic.”
         Keiji and Michiko looked down disgraced but Matsu glared up at Natsu’s sneer, his eyes burning with anger and his upper lip rising from his sharp canines. Natsu ignored them and continued, “If any of you want more reason to give up as ninja, train and meet me at area thirty three in five days. Otherwise, stop wasting my time.” Natsu finally removed his right hand from his pocket and formed a seal before disappearing, this time without smoke or trail.
         Matsu pushed himself up and looked at the center of the crater he helped to create, torn strips of cloth dangling from the gate and roofs, the telephone wire laying in a pool of condensed steam, and broken roof tiles that had fallen during the battle. He looked down and clenched his fists at his side, letting his rage slowly subside while taking deep filling breaths. Before the others could ask anything, Matsu raised his head and dash off towards the Hokage building.
         As Matsu ran away, Keiji turned to Michiko and asked so she could see his lips, “We should leave before someone comes and makes us pick this up.” Michiko nodded and followed him away from the wreckage.