[Naruto Main Theme]

In our world there are five great countries, protected by 5 great ninja villages. Although other villages are scattered around the the world the 5 major villages house the 5 ninja called Kage. These are the strongest of their villages and the most legendary ninja of their time. Over the many years in which the ninja have survived they have excelled in amazing techniques. Expert Martial Artists and masters of illusion with amazing destructive power at their fingertips. There have been tales of Ninja so powerful that every corner of the world knew their name. Then there are the stories like this one. A story of origin. A story that takes us way back before our heroes have become the powerful ninja they will inevitably be. For without knowing their past we can never understand a ninja's way and how they draw their strength. Some ninja are born with endless talent while others persevere to achieve greatness. This is the story of two such ninja. This is the Origins of the Hidden Leaf Ninja.


[Naruto's Daily Life]

Far away from the bustling streets of central Konohakakure an older gentleman walked down the dirt path that lead to a small group of buildings. This was the residence of the Asagi Clan. The Asagi's were known in Konoha for being strong ninja that were the backbone of Konoha's force. Their "all-rounder" type skill was most useful to Konoha. A family that specialised in all three forms of jutsu. However this older gentleman was not here to see such an individual. News had came to him of the most recent Asagi to pass the Academy Exam to become a Genin ninja. The old man was one of Konoha's head officials and one of the main advisers of the Hokage, the villages leader. He had come to visit the boy who despite having passed the exam, he had reason to suspect was not fit to be a ninja. As the old man knocked on the front door of the red and brown house the door almost instantly slid to the side to reveal a black haired man with a thin goatee and a scar down his left eye.
"Oh...Koijiro-sama, it's a pleasure" The man with the goatee said with a warm smile
"Greetings Yoji. I am afraid I am not here on a visit of pleasure" Koijiro replied, running his hand through his short, grey hair.
"Oh...right...well what's the matter?" Yoji asked as he ushered the old man inside.
"It is about your son" Koijiro asked, "The council have received word that he has been allowed to pass to Genin status. We...uh...well we would like to speak with the boy and survey him. We want to see if he is as fit to be Genin as the academy implies"
"Uh...why exactly?" Yoji asked, a small grin appearing across his face
"Do not play me for a fool Yoji. The council are aware of your son's condition"
"Chakra Reversal Syndrome" Yoji stated sounding as if he'd said that phrase too many times in his life already
"Quite" Koijiro replied before clearing his throat, "We feel that with no control over his chakra the boy might be...finding trouble if faced in a combat situation. Without chakra to rely on his ability as a ninja is extremely weakened"
"Uh...forgive me Koijiro-sama, but, have you ever met my son?" Yoji asked, his grin now as wide as the scar across his eye.
"Is there something I should be aware of?" Koijiro asked
"Well he's in the top three most skilled combat ninja in his class. He's also the second most skilled close combat fighter, and the first is a Hyuga for crying out loud"
"I...I don't understand. How is that possible?" Koijiro stammered in disbelief.
"See for yourself" Yoji said finally as he ushered Koijiro into his back garden, "Hey Shuzo!"

[Rock Lee's Theme]

"Quiet dad!....94...95..."
At the edge of the Garden a young boy was stood on his hands upside down. Every so often he would drop and then rise again, doing push ups whilst standing on his hands.
"96...97...98...99...100!"
Suddenly the boy pushed himself up and flipped forward, landing on his feet. Now upright the boy was the spitting image of his father. His hair was shorter but the same style. His ears were pierced with small silver earrings in either lobe. He was wearing a black t-shirt and white 3/4 length shorts, black boot-fashion ninja sandals and black fingerless gloves. As he approached the men he pulled a short sleeved white jacket from the ground and slung it over his arms. As he drew closer Koijiro could see that despite being thin the boy was athletically built, even at the young age of 13 he had strong, tight muscle mass and definition.
"What's up dad?" Shuzo asked
"Well sorry for interrupting your training. Koijiro-sensei would like to have a word with you about reaching Genin level"
"Oh yeah?" Shuzo asked as he turned to Koijiro, "The geezer best make it quick. I want to be fighting fit for this afternoon"
Koijiro looked sternly at the boy, most likely annoyed that Shuzo hadn't treated him with the same respect that Yoji had.

[Sasuke's Theme]

Still unconvinced Koijiro pressed on.
"Shuzo...tell me...is it correct that you cannot use ninjutsu?" he asked
"Uh...pretty much" Shuzo replied folding his arms, "Why?"
"Can you use Genjutsu?"
"Nope"
"Well" Koijiro sighed, "How do you expect to fight Konoha's enemies?"
"With my fists" Shuzo stated as if this answer was the most obvious thing in the world, "What else?"
"So you rely solely on Taijutsu?" Koijiro asked
"Pretty much" Shuzo replied
"So then...if an enemy uses ranged ninjutsu how will you respond?"
"I'll dodge it"
"And what if you are not fast enough?"
"You don't get it" Shuzo said with a confident smile, "I will dodge it"
"Well there is nothing wrong with his confidence" Koijiro said with a sigh.
Finally Yoji interupted, stepping in front of his son and Koijiro.
"How about an example" Yoji offered, and before anyone could refuse he had grabbed a Kunai from his pocket and swung at his son who had ducked and flipped back, standing up straight with one hand behind his back and the other facing in front of him, his palm open as if offering a gift.
"Aha...Gouken style Taijutsu" Koijiro remarked as the father and son faced off.

[Beautiful Green Wild Beast]
"Alright Shuzo let's show him! Katon: Immortal Fire Jutsu!" Suddenly Yoji performed seals and immediately spat balls of flame from his mouth in rapid succesion. Shuzo was off without warning. With incredible speed he weaved in and out of the fireballs as he sprinted the length of the garden, curving round to go back towards his father.
"Katon: Great fireball Jutsu!" Yoji roared and suddenly a massive flame crashed towards Shuzo. The young boy ducked mid-run and shot under the small gap underneath the fire's stream. quickly bridging the gap between him and his father, before rapidly punching him twice in the chest, ducking and lifting his leg vertically in the air, kicking his father's Kunai holding hand.
"Konoha Shofu!" He cried as the Kunai was knocked airborne and suddenly he leapt, rebounding his foot off his father's chest before grabbing the kunai and landing behind his father, his arm around his neck and the kunai pressed against his back.
"Hmph!" Yoji said with a satisfied grin, "close but no cigar"
Suddenly Yoji's body became as hard and brown as dirt and then he crumbled and fell apart. Meanwhile his father came out from the house and slapped his son on the back.
"Still not too shabby for a kid" He said
"I think I have seen enough" Koijiro said, although he clearly looked unimpressed, "Shuzo should be meeting with his Genin leader in a few hours so I will leave you be for now. But remember this Shuzo. Without Ninjutsu you will struggle, even if you are a flawless Taijutsu user."
"I think he will do just fine" Yoji replied in defence of his son.
"Don't sweat it Ossan" Shuzo said with a grin and a thumbs up, "I don't plan on loosing...not to anyone"

[Nervous]

One deep breath. He felt the wind on his face and dug one foot back into the dirt and held the kunai firmly in one hand so the blade faced out horizontally. He was no older than 13, dressed in three-quarter length black and dark green shorts, standard combat sandals and a black top with long, flared sleeves that stopped at his knuckles, leaving only fingers exposed. A large dark green hood covered the top half of his body and his head which though partially covered by the hood's shadow, was still visible. He had mid length scruffy black hair, but his eyes were hidden behind a pair of round sunglasses, his expression was still obvious however, as he swallowed and braced himself.

"This is what it means to be a ninja, Akio." The middle-aged man said, he had short spiky black hair that was greying at the sides and swept back, his eyes were equally hidden by a pair of sunglasses and he was dressed in a heavy overcoat, beside him stood a woman of similar age. She had long black hair swept back over her shoulders, a similar pair of sunglasses on, and a dark green gown, cut and tied in places by belt straps to fit her figure, her hands were completely hidden by the sleeves.
"To face unbeatable odds," she added, smirking.
"I u-understand..." He replied, looking from his father to his mother, and then to his sister. A girl 3 years his senior and dressed in the ANBU uniform, her face completely hidden by a mask shaped like a bird.
"But do you?" She chuckled.

[Bad Situation]

"Insect Clone Jutsu," his father said, holding his arms outstretched, suddenly a black mist spewed from his arms and lay to the floor quickly building up, taking a humanoid form. Just as it finished forming it twisted and suddenly mimicked his father's appearance, then suddenly the mass doubled and then doubled again. He was now looking at 4 clones. The clones attacked all at once and Akio leapt backwards to avoid their initial assault, he had to get some distance from them, the others were just standard clones but one of them was made of his father's Destruction bugs and if they came into contact with him, his chakra would be quickly leeched.

"Ah!" He let out a cry and ducked just as his sister swooped in from his side and whipped her sword right over his head, his hood barely made it under the blade as he vaulted away and landed firmly before holding up his arms, just as he was about to retaliate his mother phased in behind him and grabbed his shoulder, bringing a kunai to his back at speed, he whirled around and grabbed her other arm and brought his body backwards, ready to kick her below the chin when he felt cold steel touch his back and his father yell, "ENOUGH!!"
His sister was right behind him, he was sure he heard an almost inaudible, "Almost..." from her that made his skin crawl and she retracted the blade, he felt his back and looking at his hand it came away bloody.

[Sadness and Sorrow]

Though he could not see his sister's face, and so read her emotions, he felt certain she meant to do him harm. He turned to face his father and when his father saw the blood on his hand he immediately turned to his sister, "Mae!" He barked, she looked once at him and then at her father, bowed and then immediately disappeared in a flash.
"Mother," Akio pulled the arm of her gown, "She was trying to hurt me."
His mother sighed and shook her head, "It was part of the training, Akio-chan. She only wants to see you become stronger. She thought as you passed the exam and became a genin that going easy on you would only breed weakness."

He lowered his head and crossed his arms, he wasn't sure if that was true or not, maybe in part. But he was sure what he had heard Mae say, and her actions didn't match her intentions. He felt his mother put her hand inside his hood and ruck up his hair, "Your new Jounin leader should be waiting at the old training spot with your team mates, you should make your way there now. Make us proud." She smiled, and Akio nodded and looked at his father who just stared back at him, "Father?"
Silence poured on for several seconds until at last his mother glared at him and he reacted slowly, "Urgh," he growled quietly, "Don't be late, go!!" He barked, and Akio bowed to both of them, turned and leapt up over the wall surrounding their house and landed in a back alley, he traced it out and onto the main road and made his way towards the old training spot.

As he walked he felt a few eyes on him as he passed, he was the youngest child of the famous Aburame Yoh and Kimiko, and his sister Mae had become an ANBU two years ago due to her abilities. A great deal was expected of him and he felt the weight on his shoulders as he walked to the meeting spot, through his hood and sunglasses the tears that slowly fled down his cheeks were invisible, but it would have made little difference to him if they had been on display. He felt alone, and weak, and now that his genin training would begin, he knew he was going to fail his jounin leader and embarrass the whole Aburame clan.

[Afternoon of Konoha]

As Shuzo came over the horizon that lead to the training spot he saw that someone was already there waiting. He smirked softly as he recognized the nervous looking boy. Aburame Akio.
"Yo, Akio" he said casually as he gave a half hearted wave when he had reached the bridge Akio was stood on.
"...Hi" Akio replied as Shuzo leant back on the side of the bridge and relaxed. He looked around their sorroundings. They were stood in a small clearing sorrounded by trees. Underneath the bridge they stood on was a tiny river that was barely as high as a person's knees. The place was a beautiful little area that was once a favourite training spot in Konoha. Although sorrounded by trees, with the exception of the footpath, the area was quite wide and open and so it was perfect for combat training.
Finally Shuzo looked back and Akio and smiled softly. He knew Akio from the academy but he had never really spent a lot of time with him. In all honesty he never spent a great deal of time with anyone. Due to his training he could honestly say he did not have a best friend. Akio had always seemed shy in the academy. Shuzo would often smile at him or give him a wave if he caught his eye, but still they had never really conversed a great deal.
"So I guess me and you are comrades now" Shuzo piped up. Akio looked up and seemed a little taken aback but smiled hesitantly. "Me and you. We have to look out for each other" Shuzo continued, "Graduates were oddly numbered this year so we don't have a third. You know what that means right?"
"Um.." Akio began
"It means we must kick butt!" Shuzo interupted, "I mean they must think we can handle the job without a third member. So naturally they must think we're genius ninja."
"Cocky and a little full of himself, you must be Asagi Shuzo" came a strong female voice. Shuzo turned around to see an older woman arrive. Standing in front of them was a slender woman with short purple hair that would normally look more suitable on a man, however a portion of her hair was long and tied back in a high ponytail, dressed in sleek black leggings and sandals, with a similar tight top and a green Chunin jacket over it. "And that means you must be the Aburame's prodigy, Akio" she said as she nodded at Akio.
"Uh...are you our Jounin Sensei?" Shuzo asked, his arms foled and his eyebrow raised.
"Toyotomi Yoshitsune" She replied as she stepped on to the bridge, "You guys can call me Yoshi Sensei"

[Survival Examination]

Yoshi turned from left to right, examining her two students. She seemed to be musing about something but regardless she didn't mention what it was.
"For your information. The reason you two are together without as third has nothing to do with being leagues above your classmates" She explained, "The reason you two were selected for this team is because I'm no ordinary Jounin. I used to serve in ANBU and have more experience. So I offered to to take up the two stragglers after all the other teams were picked"
"What?" Shuzo asked as he stood up, frowning. "What do you mean stragglers?"
"Don't get so offended" Yoshi replied, "it's just the way it worked out. Teams are made based on how their abilties and styles will aid each other. Quite frankly there was not enough data on either of you. You don't know your classmates very well and you have no powerful connections with any of them."
Shuzo sighed. He couldn't speak for Akio but he knew this was true of him.
"So before we get into the fun stuff let's make a point to get to know one another" Yoshi continued, "Like I said, I'm Yoshi. I served in ANBU. I don't like whiners and I don't like kids. As of right now you guys are adults. Act like it or you'll get on my bad side. Now what about you Shuzo. Interests? Hobbies? Life goals?"
"Hmm..." Shuzo mumured as he rubbed his chin. Then he stood up straight and cleared his throat. "I'm Asagi Shuzo. I can't focus chakra so I specialise in Taijutsu. I spend most of my free time training. I can't afford not to. I like training and being recognized as an equal. I dislike the thought of being useless. My goal as a ninja is to become the greatest Taijutsu specialist in the ninja world. I'll do anything to achieve that."
"I see. Very sure of yourself. What about you Akio?" Yoshi asked.

[Sakura's Theme]
"Uh, uh..." Akio stood up and nervously fiddled, "I am, I... my name is Aburame Akio." He bowed to the jounin and straightened up trying to think of things to say, he didn't really know how to explain anything, he wasn't that interesting. "I want to get stronger, so..." he tried to think of his reasons, "So, i can protect the people that are important to me." He smiled for a moment and Yoshi smiled back at him but he instantly lost what confidence he had for that moment, "I, uhm..."
"Do you have any hobbies, Akio?" She asked, trying to get more information from him.
A pause, then suddenly he blurted out, "I like bugs!"
"B-bugs?" Yoshi repeated, making a strange face, it looked like a smile, but it wasn't natural, it almost looked creepy. She leant back and watched as Akio pulled back the long sleeve on his right arm, revealing his hand.

There, smaller than a pin head on the tip of his forefinger was a little black insect, "I use them, they're my techniques."
"Oh, excellent!" She clapped her hands together but inside she felt like she was going to be sick, she felt dizzy. "Anyway, moving on," thankfully, she said to herself, "I mentioned we'd be doing something fun. We're going to be doing a little test, just to see what your abilities are and how you handle any given situation. Come on, follow me." She stood up, stretched and walked a couple of steps and then in an instant disappeared. Akio watched his team mate follow her and he panicked and shot off after them, he had been surprised at her speed, he knew jounin were meant to be fast but he had no idea, his team mate didn't seem phased though, he guessed, that was the difference in skill between them, he sighed.

[Confrontment]
"Okay!!" Yoshi called as she stopped suddenly, "Here we are." They stopped behind her and looked out, they were in a large clearing of the forest, where sat in the center a small lake. At the far side of the lake there was a waterfall. Akio stared out across the lake and noticed there was something glittering at the top of the waterfall.
"Sensei?" He put his hand up.
Yoshi grinned, bemused at this 'classroom-like' behaviour and nodded, "Yes?"
"What is that?" He asked, pointing at the glittering thing at the waterfall.

"Well..." Her grin widened, "That is the first objective." You have to cross this lake as quickly as possible, find a way to ascend the waterfall, grab the, oh, it's a key by the way. Take it and continue up onto the ledge above, where you will have to race to the finish line..."
Akio swallowed and tried to think desperately, as she continued, "... and, i'm going to warn you, i've placed ninja at various points in this little 'obstacle course' and you will have to beat them, or at least pass them." She let the information sink in for a few seconds then crossed her arms.

"Well, anyway, this isn't graded on who crosses the finish line first, it's graded on your actions and judgements during it." She looked at each of them in turn. Akio tried to calm down, he was going to have compete in an obstacle course with ninja attacks, against his team mate? He didn't like this, he was panicking. He looked over to see Shuzo staring back at him, at first he thought he was being aggresive with that intense stare but he noticed something warm in it, and then Shuzo smiled, "Good luck and stuff, okay?"
Akio's eyes went wide, behind his sunglasses anyway, "R-really?" Akio smiled, and then bowed to Shuzo. "Thank you very much, Shuzo-sama." Shuzo seemed taken aback, but said nothing.
"Alright then," Yoshi grinned again, taking a leap back and yelled, "GO!!"

[Sasuke's Theme]

"Well" Shuzo said as he clapped his hands together, "looks like we better get to work then, Akio-nii"
Shuzo turned to Akio and gave him a wide grin.
"You're wasting time" Yoshi warned
"No rush" Shuzo replied, "I need to think. I can't use chakra to get across this lake so what do you expect me to do? Swim?"
Shuzo smirked at the very idea, although inwardly he couldn't really think of any other option. He wandered closer to the lake and stared at it as if a closer look would have made his options more apparent.
"We can go around it right?" Shuzo asked
"You can try" Yoshi replied with a smirk
"I see, that easy huh?" Shuzo said sarcastically before rubbing his chin. He had half a mind to dive in to the water. He had a feeling Yoshi-sensei wouldn't expect that. But it just wasn't an option. In the water he was a sitting duck. He had no way of avoiding any traps or enemies in there. In truth his only option was simple to go around the lake until he reached the cliff where the waterfall was. He scratched his head. It almost didn't seem very fair. Akio was most likely at his level of speed. In a race he may be able to beat him but he was sure that someone from the Aburame clan would have a bunch of options already buzzing in their head. He had limited options and his Sensei knew this. He'd show her. When the odds stacked against him his only option was to power on through. So he'd do just that.
"Well I'll see you at the finish line Akio-nii" Shuzo said finally before taking off at a sprint.

[The 5ths Fight]
Suddenly Shuzo was tearing down the side of the lake, his arms straight and pointed behind him as he blurred, tilting slightly as he curved around the edge. He was moving so fast that things were beginning to blur at the sides of his eyes. All the while he was thinking one thing. this is far too easy.
Finally what he was waiting for appeared. From the damp ground beside the lake a pair of hands had erupted to grab him. Way too slow. He leapt into the air and as he expected the ninja emerged in pursuit.
"bad move!" He cried in victory as the ninja neared him. he flickered and suddenly he was behind the ninja, his legs wrapping around their neck and his arms grabbing around their legs. They spun around so the ninjas head was facing the ground. They descended quickly and the Konoha ninja's head smashed into the ground with incredible force, causing dirt to rise into the air in a plume. From it Shuzo flipped out and landed softly on the ground. one hand behind his back as he stood in the Gouken stance.
"Clooose one!" a voice echoed as the ninja emerged from the ground, unscathed.
"Sorry but I don't have time for a chat" Shuzo said with a smirk before going at a sprint once more, leaping into the air and bringing his legs back, "Konoha Senpuu!". Shuzo spun around mid-air, his leg whipping out to strike his opponent from the side.
"No chance, Shuzo-kun!" The ninja replied as he flickered from view and was replaced with a block of wood.
The ninja re=appeared a few feet behind him and smirked confidently.
"See that's the trouble with your Taijutsu. It's easy to interpret and avoid with ninjutsu. Such obvious strikes mean you can never hope to defeat a chuunin like me"
"I wasn't trying to" Shuzo replied

[Strong and Strike]
"Huh?" The chuunin gasped looking confused
"This isn't an assasination mission. It's a retrieval mission!" Shuzo replied and suddenly he was off like a shot. The chuuning went to chase him but he stopped almost instantly. It was futile.
"That kid isn't too shabby. He knew I was only avoiding with ninjutsu. But he worked out from my initial action that I wasn't as fast as him. He played me so he could bypass me and move on. Impressive. It's almost a shame I have to do this. Doesn't seem fair. Yoshi really is a hard-ass"

Meanwhile Shuzo was once again a blur. He felt alive as he whizzed the stretch across the lake with ease. Was this really all he had to face? Had their Sensei underestimated him. It didn't surprise him. Everyone always did. As he reached the cliff edge he leapt up and from rock to rock. Higher and higher and still no Akio in sight. He leapt from the final rock and on to the top of the waterfall. The glittering key was in his sight. He sprinted forwards and his hand outstretched. Yet as he reached for the key it seemed to melt away.

[Glued State]

"What the?" Shuzo gulped as he looked around fearfully. The ledge he was stood on was crumbling, melting away like wet paint. The landscape slowly began to distory and soon he was plunged into darkness. He could feel himself falling. Logic told him this wasn't possible. His mind immediately recognized it as Genjutsu. It didn't matter though. His biggest weakness had been revealed so soon. He could not escape Genjutsu. He had no way of doing so no matter how aware of it he was. Panic set in and anger swelled. Tears welled in his eyes and his fists shook. He had only just began and he had already lost.

Meanwhile the chuunin ninja was knelt on the ground, his hands locked in a ninjutsu seal. He looked a few feet ahead of him. He look saddened as he watched Shuzo's fearful gaze. The boy was frozen, stuck in place, plunged into a world beyond reality. The chuuning didn't feel right doing it to one of the leaf. Such a simple genjutsu and yet it had completely stopped Shuzo in his tracks.
"Sorry kid..." he sighed, "Yoshi-senpai's orders"

[Bad Situation]
The moment that Yoshi had begun explaining the trials of the test Akio had already begun trying to find the best path through it with the least amount of possible ambush points and dangers, however, every time he went through it he just kept coming back to the same answer, crossing the lake directly at the greatest possible speed to the target was the only possible answer, the Jounin couldn't have factored his knowledge of chakra control into the equation having never shown his ability outside of his family's training grounds, and so would not have made preparations to counter-act that strategy, he watched as Shuzo disappeared in a haze of speed. He stood there for a moment looking down at his feet, and while he could say he was very agile, or that his reflexes were probably the best in his class, he had never seen speed like it used by a ninja at his level. Inwardly, he felt ashamed.

"Akio?" Yoshi said, frowning.
"Ah!" He jumped realising he was already losing this race, Shuzo had already made it half the distance to the waterfall just by going around the lake, but he also knew that this was the longest and possibly the most dangerous route to take, the lake would be no better but at least he would have the element of surprise. He concentrated for a moment, closing his eyes. Still being inexperienced in comparison to any chuunin, he had to focus his chakra to his feet in exactly the right amount, allowing for the fluctuating and unstable nature of the water. Yoshi watched what he was doing and realised immediately and the look of surprise on her face was evident.
Now! He thought suddenly, opening his eyes and running forwards. He sprinted right up to the edge of the water and leapt onto it, as his foot hit the water he felt like he was going to sink, his sprint faltered for a moment but after the first wobbly steps he was able to run at the same speed he could on land.

Come on!! He told himself, crossing the lake, he had to catch up to Shuzo or he would surely lose when facing him in the straight dash at the end, he was almost to the waterfall when he heard a startled cry and looked to his right to see Shuzo in combat with a leaf nin. He kept running, he had to win!! But as he neared his target he checked again and saw to his great surprise that Shuzo had been frozen, his eyes glanced to the leaf nin and noticed the formed seal, "Genjut--?" Just as he spoke a hand burst from under the water and grabbed him by the ankle, he let out a scream and while trying not to panic flowed chakra into his left arm. As he continued to be pulled under he slammed his arm onto the water's surface, keeping him afloat for a moment longer and reached to his hip and pulled out a kunai from his hip pouch. With a swift throw the dagger flew through the air at lightning speed at the same time a second hand grabbed his belt and yanked him under the water.

[Need to be Strong]
He let out a scream, and only bubbles floated to the surface as he clawed to bring himself back up. He knew the kunai would reach it's mark but now he was concerned for himself. He looked down to see a pair of ninja wearing breathing masks, they were leaf nin but it didn't reduce the fear Akio felt as he readied for the attack he knew was coming, they came at once in unison, armed each with a kunai. He moved to block them and managed to stop both attacks using his arms and in the same moment swung around and kicked one in the neck, making him choke and immediately swim for the surface to breathe. The other ninja backed off and readied to attack again, sizing him up.

In a split instant everything had changed, he had seen Shuzo in danger and tried to help but now he was facing the same danger and wasn't sure he could fight it head on, he wished he had a greater confidence in his abilities but he knew ultimately that he was too weak to fight these opponents and given enough time, they would overpower him. He reached into his hip pouch and searched quickly, but he could only find a single kunai and just as the leaf nin swam directly for him, he pulled it out and countered the vertical stabbing attack with the blade of his kunai. They struggled underwater but he was already feeling lightheaded from holding his breath, he winced and a few bubbles trickled out, he wouldn't be able to last much longer. He swam for the surface but the leaf nin grabbed him and held him in a vice-like grip, he simply wasn't strong enough to fight back against an adult, chuunin-level ninja. He felt dizzy, and the water around him seemed to be getting deeper, a shadow hovered over him.....

[The Raising Fighting Spirit]

The kunai soared through the air at high speed, silently reaching its destination with surprising accuracy. Shuzo blinked as he felt the world repairing itself around him. His vision returned and he found himself standing by the lake, not much further to where he had ran from the chuunin. He looked down to see the cut along his upper leg, sliced by a Kunai embedded in the ground not so far away.

"Shit!" The Chuunin cursed realising Shuzo was conscious again. Standing up he backed off performing more seals. "Doton: Erupting Ground Jutsu!" he cried as he finished the seals and suddenly earth shot out of the ground behind him, arcing in the air before zeroing in on Shuzo.
"heh...Akio-nii..." Shuzo said with a smirk as he leapt into the air, vaulting the oncoming lumps of dirt, bounding from each of them as he reached the Chuunin and landed a powerful punch in his jaw, sending him sprawling backward across the ground. The Chuunin went to get up but Shuzo was already on him. He felt his grip tighten around his neck as the young boy lifted him without an ounce of effort, holding him in the air.
"Y...you...can't"
"Shut up!" Shuzo growled "I don't care about this stupid test! Look!" Shuzo pointed with his free hand out into the lake. "Akio is in there! I won't let him die! So I'm warnng you, stay the hell out of my way!"
Shuzo dropped the Chuunin on the ground and made a start for the ocean.
"Wait!" The Chuunin called to him, "Why are you helping him. Do you think Yoshi-sensei would really let him die? This is your chance to get to the key first!"
"...Akio-Nii is from Konoha" Shuzo explained, "Because of that we're brothers. No matter what happens I have to protect my brothers!"
For a moment the Chuunin paused. Then a smile spread across his face.
"Now I see why they stuck you with Yoshi-senpai" The Chuunin explained
"Huh?"
"Nevermind. We have to get you to your friend" The Chuunin said, "I can only get you so far then you're on your own! Doton: Rising Earth Jutsu!"
Suddenly the ground began to rumble violently. From under the water large pprtions of earth began to rise above the water creating an uneven path leading to where Akio was.
"Right!" Shozu replied as he took off, sprinting down the path of earth. It wasn't long until the path had stopped, he still had a way to go. He pushed off from the ground and rose high into the air. "Here I come! Akio!"

[Turn Over]

Under the water a distant sound could be heard before something crashed violently through the surface, plummeting like a torpedo into the ocean. The water shook around the figure and for a moment you couldn't see him, then as it settled Shuzo began swimming towards them, three shuriken in his hand. He hurled them through the water and the ninja holding Akio let go to easily block them, but Shuzo had reached him. He gripped him and flipped over him, resting his feet on the ninja's back before springing off of him and gripping on to Akio tightly, rising to the surface quickly. As they breached they both gasped for air and for the first time Akio seemed to notice that Shuzo was with him.
"Shuzo-sama?" He gasped
"Akio...you alright?" Shuzo replied
"I..I think so"
"You really helped me out back there. Thought I'd return the favour"
"I.."
"Hey let's talk about it later. We aren't out of the woods just yet" Shuzo reminded him. It dawned on both of them that even though they were both safe they were still stranded in the ocean with at least two ninja beneath them.

Akio and Shuzo looked beneath them, any moment the two ninja would surely ascend and make a second attack. While Shuzo was looking around Akio closed his eyes and sighed, he didn't want to use this just yet but if he was in the water it wouldn't be very clear, he looked over at Shuzo who seemed focused on the waterfall at the far side of the lake. He pulled his arms up out of the water and splashed them back down into it quickly, making a loud crash, below the water a shadow began to spread.
"What the hell....?" Shuzo began.

[Strong and Strike]
"Please, Shuzo-sama, look away." Akio asked politely, "I don't want you to think less of me for my technique." The shadow under the water grew and grew but then suddenly swirled and changed shape and seperated into two smaller oval-shaped clouds, a few seconds passed and then the shadows dispersed. "It's over." He said finally.
"What is?" Shuzo said, completely confused now, he looked under the water just in time to see both the leaf nin float to the surface, unconscious and shaking, it seemed as though their chakra had almost completely disappeared, they were very weak now.

"We should go, please." Akio grabbed Shuzo's arm and as he pulled himself up onto the surface of the water helped Shuzo onto his back, "You are faster than I am, Shuzo-sama, but I can do this at least for us." Supporting Shuzo on his back Akio took off at a sprint as quickly as he could, they had almost crossed the lake now and as they reached the waterfall several traps activated and a rain of kunai flew out to them from behind the falling water of the falls.
"Now!!" Shuzo yelled, and leapt off from Akio's back, kicking the kunai away effortlessly, as he started to fall back down Akio leapt up to meet him and gave Shuzo a boost, allowing him to reach the first rock of the waterfall. Akio sprinted across to the first rock and by that time Shuzo had already made it up and offered a hand, as Akio grabbed it Shuzo used all his strength and threw Akio up.

"A-Amazing!!" Yoshi took a step forwards from the edge of the water, "I don't believe it." She muttered. They're judging and reacting to each other's actions perfectly, she thought to herself, they're doing by instinct what it takes most teams years to learn by training! She clenched her fists as her eyes widened in anticipation, had they figured out her test? Or were they simply willing to sacrifice the mission for the survival of their team mate? A pair of ninja appeared behind her and she turned to face them, "I'm heading to the last part of the course." She said, and without another word disappeared in front of them, they looked to each other and then nodded, knowing they had to recover the injured leaf nin that had been left behind.

[Sarutobi]
He reached the top and grabbed the key, landing with a tap on the top of the waterfall, "I've got it!" Akio said with a jump, looking at the key with curiousity as Shuzo landed beside him.
"There's only one." Shuzo said, looking down at his feet.
"Oh, yeah..." Akio said, feeling quickly embaressed, at the end of all of it, only one of them could win. He looked at the key in his hand, what did it unlock exactly? He sighed, "Shuzo-sama?"
"Hmm?"
Akio held the key out, "You should take it." Shuzo looked shocked, but Akio forced the key into his hands, "I wouldn't win this kind of contest anyway, you should have won it outright."

Shuzo grinned, "Shut up, alright?" He held the key in one hand, "Who says we gotta follow their rules, we can share the victory!!" He was very taken back by Shuzo's attitude, he had never met anyone quite like him. After a few seconds passed Akio quietly smiled and nodded his head, "Mhm!" Together they ran into the forest.
"Targets are approaching the last door." The voice crackled on Yoshi's headset and she took it off and threw it aside, that was all she needed to know. Her eyes widened as she waited for one of them to come around the corner, ahead of the other and use the key to open the door to the small log cabin behind her. She waited, and waited and after a few seconds a figure appeared, running at incredible speed.

She grinned, "So, he won after all." She said, as Shuzo came running down the path, a second or two behind him was Akio but it was clear the winner was Shuzo, he would reach the door first. Yoshi nodded to him and stepped aside to allow Shuzo access to the door, and he stood in front of it and turned to look at her.
"Well?" She said, frowning.
"I've got it!" Akio called out, holding the key above his head, and caught up to Shuzo and pushed the key into the door and turned the lock, and together they pushed the door open as Yoshi stood there in disbelief.

[Fooling Mode]
"Whaaaaaat?!" Shuzo started shaking Yoshi back and forth, "That was all just to see if we'd work together?!"
"Mmm!" Akio smiled, his mouth full of dumpling. The table in the middle of the living room in the log cabin contained all manner of foods and he was munching away on a particularly large dumpling. Holding the food to his lips with both hands, only the fingers really on show due to his extra long, flared sleeves. His glee-filled eyes hidden behind the round sunglasses and the shade of his hood.
"Tch," Shuzo muttered and sat down, tucking into the spread that had been laid out.
"Sorry, but..." Yoshi laughed, "I couldn't just ask you if you'd work as a team." She crossed one arm and picked up a rice ball and shoved it whole into her mouth, before crossing the other arm. "We've got a mission." She added finally, Akio choked on his dumpling and fell off his chair.

[Afternoon of Konoha]

Akio was sat on the ground with his back against a tree just outside the gates of the village. Like always he wasn't speaking much but he had been waiting for 2 hours. He wasn't alone mind you.
Shuzo's head popped up suddenly to Akio's height and then dropped back down again. A little over a second passed and his head shot back up again.
"Y'know..." he said before descending once more, "...Yoshi-sensei...has a...habit...of being...late"
Shuzo suddenly sprang to his feet, obviously sick of doing push-ups for the time being. As he stretched his arms he saw their Jounin leader appearing from over the horizon, heading towards them at a leisurely pace.
"Morning team, sleep well?"
"It's the afternoon now..." Shuzo grumbled as Yoshi walked straight passed them, ushering Akio to stand up and for them to walk with her.
"In that case we better move. We don't want to be late" Yoshi replied to the astonished expressions now spread across their faces.
"Hey wait a minute Sensei!" Shuzo protested as he followed alongside her, "Where are we going? You haven't told us anything"
"Oh right" Yoshi said with a smirk, "We have a retrieval mission. Our destination is between the Wind Country and our Fire Country. In the River Country we will rendezvous with our client who has documents she wants to entrust with the Hokage. This is an open and shut mission, we shouldn't have any problems, got it?"
"That's it?" Shuzo asked, "So will there be any danger?"
"Probably not" Yoshi said nonchalantly, "I mean there is always the possibility of a fight"
"Really?"
"Yeah but probably not. This is a retrieval mission so its mostly just travelling. Why dont you just enjoy the Fire Countries landscape and enjoy the stroll"
"Yeah...right" Shuzo grumbled as he folded his arms in the huff.

[Fake]

Hours later the trio had left the safety of the main pathway and had delved into the forests, taking to the trees and leaping from one to the other. Shuzo was beginning to get anxious.
"How long is this going to take?" He whined, "this is so dull"
"We can be in the river country by nightfall with any luck" Yoshi replied as she walked ahead of them.
"That long?" Shuzo huffed further. He was far too bored. "And this is pretty much all we'll be doing?"
"Of course" Yoshi confirmed, "What could happen?"
As she said this three shuriken came out of nowhere, slamming into the side of her head. Blood flowed and she fell from the trees, crashing into the fallen leaves on the ground below.

[Bad Situation]

"Yoshi-Sensei!" Shuzo cried as he leapt from his branch, descending to the ground. As he landed he sprinted for her but he felt his leg hit the hidden trip wire immediately. "Shit!"
Suddenly Kunai came at him from his right like bullets, he narrowly ducked to avoid the barrage before vaulting off a tree trunk and back into the branches. They won't let us get near her!

Shuzo stopped to try and think of what to do. He was confused and panicked. Calm down! You need to stop this! he tried to warn himself but it was no good. His nerves were shot. He couldn't see Akio anywhere. His head was darting in every direction. Suddenly something came at him at incredible speed. It was a ninja with long blonde hair and a long fringe covering one of his eyes.

[Ultimate Secrets]

"Bad move!" Shuzo cried as the ninja closed in on him. As he came to arms length Shuzo grabbed him by the scruff of the neck, hurling him further into the air. before leaping after him. Suddenly Shuzo flickered and he was behind the ninja, shadowing him. The Shadow of The Dancing Leaf.
"You're finished! Omote-"
"Exploding Clone Jutsu: Release!" The ninja cried and Shuzo's eyes widened as his target exploded, sending him hurtling towards the ground. He hit it hard, crashing along the dirt and scraping his entire body. He lifted his head, struggling to get up. He felt footsteps behind him.
"Hehe..stupid kid, You don't want to get up close to my explosives!" The ninja jeered
"Shut up!" Shuzo roared as his legs kicked and spun around, turning his body up before he vaulted to his feet, his legs apart and one hand behind his back, the other held forward as if offering something.
"You don't want to get close to me, trash!" Shuzo snarled angrily before going at a sprint. The ninja performed a seal and the ground beneath Shuzo exploded, however this time he had expected it. With inhuman speed he flickered from sight and appeared behind the ninja, crouched with his arm pulled back, suddenly his powerful fist crashed into the ninjas back and sent him flying across the ground, crashing into a tree. Shuzo breathed heavily, his body aching from the fall. The ninja managed to get up and turned around. Underneath the long fringe of blonde hair Shuzo could see the forehead protector of the Hidden Earth Village. The young ninja was dressed in tight fitting brown clothes with fishnet sleeves on his arms.
"You little brat!" He snarled viciously, "I'll show you! Doton: Hidden Minefield Jutsu!"
Suddenly several explosions began to erupt from underneath the ground around Shuzo, smoke and flame flying everywhere, engulfing him inside and shielding him from view.
"Hahaha!" The ninja cackled, "That'll teach you to mess with Reiza of the Hidden Earth!"
"...That?...no sweat" came Shuzo's voice from behind the settling smoke. As it began to fade portions of his body became visible. His skin was darker, almost bronzed. As he came fully into view even the white of his eyes had went completely bronze.
"What the hell!?" Reiza cursed, "You should be dead!"
"Well I'm not..." Shuzo growled, "But my Sensei is! So I'll make you suffer!"

Shuzo shot forward at a run, his teeth clenched and his eyes wild with fury. But before he could reach Reiza something had slammed into his side. It felt powerful but not hostile. He looked to see Yoshi had tackled him and was now carrying him at incredible speed away from the fight.
"Sensei!?" he gasped
"Keep quiet!" she snapped as the blurred world around them began to focus and they landed in the thick of the forest, Akio waiting for them.
"Akio? There you are" Shuzo sighed with relief
"Yes, he was smart enough to see that I had used Kawarimi and replaced my body with a genjutsu decoy" Yoshi explained, "Unlike you who ran headlong into their traps. You're lucky to be alive"
"But-"
"Trust me you wouldn't be if it weren't for...that...what kind of jutsu is that?"
Shuzo looked at his own bronze hand and for once he didn't have a lot to say.
"I don't know Sensei" He said finally.
"Well we can figure it out later. Whatever it is, it helped" Yoshi sighed, "That ninja you faced was just one of three. They are highly dangerous"
"How dangerous?" Shuzo asked
"That man you faced is a high level Chuunin ninja. There is also two Jounin with him. Put it this way boys. This mission has become A-rank"

[Sneaking Nightmare]
There were Jounin?! Akio used one finger to push the round sunglasses back up his nose and put his hands on his knees once he'd crouched, "Sensei, I think we should go back..." He said, looking out at the forest that was now deadly quiet. He knew that neither he nor Shuzo would be able to fight off chuunin-level ninja, they would be on a whole other level, and to think that there were two jounin as well, against Yoshi-sensei. He was sure she was strong, but the odds were against them, and they had very little combat training.
Yoshi could see the worry in Akio's expression despite the sunglasses and hood hiding half his face, the tone of his voice was incredibly distressed, she looked out into the forest for what felt like an eternity.
"They will pursue us regardless," she said finally. Akio lowered his head, resigning himself to his fate, but she continued to speak, "So, there's only one option." She said finally, looking at each of them in turn.

"Either we fight them, or we elude them." She looked at the expression on Shuzo's face, she could tell he wanted to prove himself greatly but he was still too headstrong and these ninja were tactical, and at jounin rank there was no matching them to her students. She looked at Akio and new he had an amazing potential but his confidence in battle so early on, it wasn't enough, and while she considered the possiblity of taking the three enemy ninja herself, she knew it would leave her students vulnerable to attack.

"Sensei, I want to help." Akio said, pulling on her sleeve.
She dismissed it quickly, "I know Akio, but I need a moment to think, okay?" She looked at him for a moment and then turned back to watching the forest, Akio brought his hands together until his sleeves touched, obscuring his hands completely from view, and when he parted his sleeves again there was a little black speck on the end of his finger.
"Sensei..." He asked again, and she turned to look at him, "I can scout..." He said, smiling weakly, and raised his arm up to show her the little speck, at first it looked like nothing but on closer inspection it was a tiny insect.

"Oh, of course!" She smiled, how could she have not factored in Akio's abilities into this situation, she had simply dismissed him, and she felt bad for that, of course he was the prodigy of the Aburame clan, the bug users. She turned to smile at Shuzo who was just staring intently at the little bug, "...... lint?" He muttered.
Yoshi froze, a look of utter frustration on her face, as Shuzo leant forwards to look at it the little bug took off into the air and flew away, "The lint flies!!" Shuzo froze, watching it fly off into the forest. He turned to look at Akio as another two bugs flew off into the forest, "Where are those coming from?" He stared at Akio with a raised eyebrow.
Akio put his fingers together nervously, embaressed now that he'd shown his destruction bugs, most people were revolted by his clan's technique use, and he felt ashamed now as Shuzo stared at them, even if he was only looking in interest, Akio felt on trial and started to fidget nervously.

A few minutes passed and the three little bugs flew back and landed on the tip of Akio's collar and Akio turned to look at them for a few seconds in silence, Yoshi and Shuzo watched as the bugs then crawled down the inside of the collar and disappeared from view, "Uhm, I don't think those ninja are here any more, they've moved in the direction of Konoha, i think they expected us to run..." he said finally, looking at Yoshi but then finally Shuzo who he felt he had already alienated, he played with his fingers nervously and then when it became too much for him he stood up and walked through the forest back onto the main path, then leapt up into the trees and waited for his teacher and comrade to join him so they could continue their on with their journey, he only hoped that the ninja they had just met, would not be seen again.

[Confrontment]

As nightfall descended their travelling slowed. Without their eyes to guide them they moved with caution. The group were unusually quiet, or perhaps it was just Shuzo who was being quiet. They eventually came to the edge of the forest and out into the moonlight. They were atop a large scar in the earth, a gorge. Shuzo couldn't see very far into it before darkness covered the bottom from view, but he could hear the sound of running water.
"Looks like we've made it to the Land of Rivers" Yoshi said as she looked out into the dark horizon, "We'll set up camp and then we'll find a bridge in the morning. We don't have to meet our client until then anyway"

It wasn't long before the campfire had illuminated the small area they were camped at, just between the forest and the edge of the gorge. They had already eaten and were getting ready to rest up for the night.
"I'll take first watch" Shuzo said before anyone had even suggested it
"...Fair enough" Yoshi replied as she nibbled on the remains of flesh on the chicken bone in her hand, "Akio and I will rest up"
"Right" Shuzo said finally before moving away from the campfire and sitting away from the camp, staring out into the distance past the gorge. He looked down at his hands and in the dim light of the campfire behind him he could see that his skin had still not changed colour. It was bothering him. Was something wrong with him?
He heard someone get up and sit by him after a short time and he turned to see Yoshi, who was staring out into the darkness as well.

"Is it troubling you?" She asked him
"...Yeah" Shuzo replied uncomfortably
"I see..." Yoshi sighed before turning to look at him, "The Aburame clan have some peculiar abilities but I assure you that you have nothing to worry about. I know how hard it is to deal with bugs and-"
"What?" Shuzo turned and shook his head, "I don't care about that. Who'd be scared of some little bugs?"
"I...right, of course not" Yoshi replied sheepishly, her eyes twitching nervously, "So...then what did you mean?"
"My skin" Shuzo said before scratching at his arm, "It's not going away. I don't know what it is"
"Oh that...well I have some ideas" Yoshi said as if his real worry was much more irrational than a fear of bugs, "It's not quite like a Kekkai Genkai, however, the technique is probably unique"
"And how does that help?" Shuzo asked irritably
"Well it's about all you can discover from someone else. I'm afraid you will have to figure out how to use this technique on your own. But it came from you, and it protected you. So don'"t fear it."
With that Yoshi stood up and headed back to the camp where Akio was already buried in his sleeping bag.

--- --- --- ---

[Morning]

"Hey Akio!" Shuzo said as he poked his friend gently on the arm. Akio stirred and looked up. The sun was shining again and it was another glorious day.
"It's morning..." Akio said with a yawn, "What about my watch?"
"Yoshi-sensei decided to keep on going through the night" Shuzo said as he began rolling up his sleeping bag, "Said she had a bad dream about beady eyes or something"
"What?" Akio asked
"I dunno. I think she's scared of bugs" Shuzo said with a grin, "Stupid huh? One of the strongest ladies in our village and she's still scared of a little thing like that"
At this point Akio seemed to notice something about Shuzo. But he was having trouble spitting it out.
"Um...I..uh"
"Yeah! My skin" Shuzo said, "It was gone when I woke up. I guess I was worried over nothin' huh?"
"Are you two ready to go yet?" Yoshi called to them
"Coming!" Shuzo yelled back, "C'mon Akio we better move"

When Shuzo told him that Yoshi was being stupid for being scared of bugs something lifted visibly from Akio's shoulders, he smiled and nodded, not really sure how to reply, finally deciding to leave it unsaid. As they made their way through the river country Akio had been focused on his own thoughts. He was terrified the enemy jounin would return, they would be far beyond his skill or Shuzo's and he knew that while Yoshi was powerful she'd be at a massive disadvantage with her having to watch over them both. He looked up to see Shuzo was looking at him. "Are... you okay?" He asked, perplexed. He smiled and nodded but he couldn't shake the feeling that this mission was going to end as it had began, with a bang. For good or bad.

[Sneaking Nightmare]
It took a few more hours of travel, going as quickly but as carefully as they could to reach the rendezvous point. When they landed beside a small river with a large black rock in it's centre, splitting the water in two directions around it, they knew they had arrived. Yoshi turned to face them before looking into the trees in the distance.
"I don't like this..." She said aloud, and as she did a figure rustled on the other side of the river. She had already moved to ready for an attack, Akio and Shuzo quickly followed but as Akio held his kunai his hand was shaking.

He tried to steady it but it was no use, then from the shadows ran a woman. Long locks of blonde hair lay casually across her back with a spiky fringe, but it was the fact that she was perspiring and had a deep gouge across her right shoulder, that had caught his attention. He took a step forwards and stopped himself even as she was reaching inside her kimono jacket. "Please, quickly, I don't have time for the confirmation, take it." She forced a small scroll into Yoshi's hands and darted back onto the other side of the river again. "You must get it to the Hokage, i've already been attacked twice, there's--" Something made a faint noise and she stopped talking mid-sentence.

"......... Goodbye." She said finally, and darted back into the forest. Yoshi was staring at the scroll in her hand. He looked down at his own shaking hands and steadied them as best he could before he walked close enough to read the inscription on the outside, which read: "Five Band Forbidden Seal".
It didn't mean anything to him, he turned to look at Shuzo but he looked equally confused but the expression on Yoshi's face was clear, it was serious now. Even as he thought this he felt a jarring disconnection and despite his concealed features Yoshi read it immediately.
"Akio-kun?" She pushed, grabbing him by the shoulder.
"T-they're coming..." he said, hardly believing it himself.

"How do you know?" Shuzo asked, getting ready.
"I-I left some of my destruction bugs behind us in a wide arc so that if anything passed over it i'd sense the fluctuation in my bug's behaviour. Yoshi allowed herself a small smile. Smart kid, she thought to herself. "Then, we have to leave."
He was shaking his head, "No..." he barely mouthed, turning to look the way they'd come, "It's too late." And as he said the last word three shadows broke from the tree cover and landed in their retreat path.

[Narukami]
"Reiza of the Hidden Earth." The ninja repeated, looking across them with a wry smile. "You... do remember my name, right?" He grinned, as the two other ninja joined him, but then as quickly as that, they passed infront of him as though he was nothing. "I am Kugutsu." One said, he was tall and lithe with pale skin and white hair. A large black tattoo of some kind of big cat scrawled across his forehead. Facing so that it's eyes pierced them even as his own, deep-set of yellow orbs did. Beside him stood a muscular man with short blue-black scruffy hair who seemed passively observing everything, then with a booming but indifferent voice grunted, "Diaboro." Indicating himself.

Reiza seemed deflated by their introductions, they were clearly stronger than he was and in command of their mission. The two infront scanned Yoshi, Akio and Shuzo, exchanged something between them in low voices so they would not be heard, then all took a step forwards. "We want the scroll." Kugutsu said plainly, putting one hand out.
"Scroll." Diaboro added, nodding. His voice as overpowering as the sound of a gunfire amongst whispered words.

"S-Sensei..." Akio's hands were shaking now, uncontrollably and Reiza was the first to notice.
"Oi oi, look!" He called, grinning wide and pointing. "A crybaby leaf!!" He laughed, Kugutsu made no motion to smile or join in, but the giant of muscles and few words cracked a smile, as though he wanted to be a part of the interaction but did not truly understand what was going on.
"It's alright, we're not splitting up." Yoshi said calmly, taking a step infront of her students to protect them. "I can't give you the scroll, so..." She turned her attention from one to the next as she spoke, each one receiving a deadly glare, "Why don't.... you all... go to hell!"

[Kokuten]
"Space out!" Yoshi commanded, they each did so but did not dare stray more than a few metres from Yoshi, now one either side of her. Akio turned to look at Shuzo for reassurance but saw he was focused on the enemy. He looked at his feet for a moment, unable to swallow the shame and then slowly brought his head up, to stare directly into the eyes of the earth nin, Reiza.
"Aaaaah, scaaaary!!" Reiza called, laughing harder and harder.
"I-I won't run..." Akio said, resolutely. He took a step forwards, mustering as much confidence as he could, and bringing the kunai up so it was horizontal to the ground, point facing the enemy.

"Yeah yeah, i'll kill that one." Reiza said, the look on his face said he wanted to face the other boy as well, but he clearly wanted to teach Akio a lesson. They stared at each other as Yoshi locked with Kugutsu.
"Shuzo?" She asked, but Shuzo was focused.
"I'm okay." He said, nodding.
"Alright." She looked at Akio, face hidden by collar, hood and sunglasses, she saw through it all. Beads of perspiration, his shaking hand, his lips pushed tightly together, preparing for the attack. But she said nothing.
"I don't want this to end in bloodshed but--" Kugutsu got halfway through his offer when Reiza darted forwards, screaming with bloodthirst, destined on a path to Akio.

[The Raising Fighting Spirit]
"Hwwaaaaarrghhhh!!!" He screamed, throwing a shuriken and then forming several seals as it flew towards Akio, "Doton: Earth Clone Shuriken Special!" The ground below the shuriken exploded an multiple clones flew forwards, tracing the speed and angle of the original, now ten deadly blades rushes for Akio.
Blood was rushing to his head, adrenaline, he couldn't hold back now, he told himself. If he did he was going to die, his comrades were going to die, and he promised he wouldn't let them down.

He moved with a surge of incredible agility, he leant to one side effortlessly to dodge the first shuriken, rolled as the second flew over his head, leapt through the air in a spinning roll. Four more missed. As he landed he burst into a run and used his kunai to block two more. There was two left. He threw the kunai he was holding, smacking into the penultimate throwing blade and sending both ricocheting diagonally into the ground either side of him. He was still running, one shuriken remained and it seemed like he wouldn't dodge it.

He didn't.

With a sudden jerk he stopped, and with a quick action whipped his arms back and held them fast as though he had just stopped the locomotion of a huge object. His sleeves flew back up to his elbows and two large clouds flew up from his arms and mauled the incoming threat, sending it harmlessly to the floor.
"What the hell was that?" Reiza's face was utterly stunned as he looked at the boy with a new found dislike, he turned to look at Kugutsu who seemed amused, as though everything the boy had just done would have been utterly useless had it been him on the attack. The enemy too far away, his comrades several feet behind him. They couldn't see the tears that streamed down his cheeks, he had asked this not to happen, not his first team, his first mission. But it had, and it was and now there was nothing he could do to stop it.

"I-I won't!!" He muttered. Reiza's ear twitched and he strained irritably while he stared dumbly at the large cloud hovering around the hooded boy's arms.
"What was that?" Reiza asked smirking, pulling another shuriken from his weapons pouch.
"I-I won't... I won't let you..." Akio repeated, the tears in his eyes blurring his vision slightly.
"Won't what?" He barked angrily.

Shaking his head fervently while his sunglasses glistened in the sun, his gentle voice rose and rose with each word until his shoulders shook with his conviction, "I... Won't... Let... You... HURT THEM!!! He screamed. The words left his mouth and he barely felt they were his, he blinked but didn't budge. This would be his first real battle, he was exhilarated and terrified but he had to overcome his fear, he would not be a weak link. Shuzo? He asked silently, bunching his hands into fists. Lend me your strength.

[Beni Soubi]

Suddenly a figure appeared behind Reiza, rising into the air as his legs curled back before swiping a swift kick to the back of Reiza's head, knocking him sprawling across the ground. Shuzo landed gracefully on the ground, dropping into a low crouch before sprinting off like a rocket after Reiza, slamming a fist into his face as he began to get up. again and again he rattled the ninja in the jaw, swinging furiously.
"Leave! Akio! Alone!" He roared after every punch before crouching low and leaping up, flipping backwards with a swift upward kick to Reiza's jaw. Reiza went up into the air before falling backwards and slumping on to his back, his mouth and chin covered in blood.
"Konoha ninja stick together!" Shuzo said with a wild grin as he darted a confident look towards Akio, "Isn't that right, Akio?"
As usual his partner just stared at him without much of a reply, although he seemed nervous and shaken.
"You...you asshole!" Reiza snarled as he got to his feet, wiping blood from his face on the back of his sleeve, "This isn't your fight!"
"Says who?" Shuzo replied as he folded his arms, "Alone we might be able to handle ourselves, sure, but together..."
Suddenly the black swarm had moved, expanding and arcing around Shuzo and Akio, "...Together nothing can stop us!"

--- ---
[Midaregami]

Yoshi and Kugutsu seemed to be at a standstill. They were staring each other down, trying to assess each others movements before they were even happening. Kugutsu smirked and repeated what he had began before.
"I don't want this to end in bloodshed" He said quite calmly, "But it seems our underlings think otherwise"
"Who says it's just them?" Yoshi replied with a scowl
"Oh-ho?" Kugutsu said with a half hearted chuckle, "and here I thought we could settle this peacefully"
"I know that neither of us is backing down, so blood is going to spill" Yoshi said reasuringly
"Very well, though you are fools to think you can beat us" Kugutsu said as he nodded towards his comrades, "Your Genin seem to have their hands full"
"It seems to me they have the better of the chuunin" Yoshi replied with a smirk, "what makes you so sure you're coming out of this alive"
"Because it appears your perceptions are lower than you think" Kugutsu said finally, his grin spreading widely as his cat-like eyes seemed alive and menacing. Yoshi was confused as she looked around, and then suddenly her eyes widened with fear. Diaboro was just standing there, whilst Akio and Shuzo fended off Reiza. It wasn't right. Shuzo had struggled against Reiza before whereas now he had beaten him off with ease.
"Genjutsu!" Yoshi gasped as she put her hands together to break the seal however Kugutsu waved his finger back and forth.
"Ah-ah, do you think it's that easy" Kugutsu warned, "you see cats toy with their prey, they give them an opening, and then they take it away. You may have discovered this part of the genjutsu, but how many more have been set in this time? You are trapped like a mouse!"

--- --- ---
[A Crisis After Another]

Shuzo was standing with his eyes searchingly darting between Yoshi and Akio. His sensei was frozen on the spot, seemingly trapped and unaware of her sorroundings. Meanwhile Akio was facing Reiza however Shuzo could not get to him, even though he wanted to. The behemoth of a man was standing between them, the one who called himself Diaboro.

"Come" he commanded, standing with his arms folded, showing no signs of even moving. He seemed to be simply waiting for Shuzo to attack him.
"Akio-nii...Yoshi-sensei!" Shuzo whispered under his breath, "I have to break through! Here I come!"
Shuzo went off at a sprint, immediately leaping onto the air for a strike to Diaboro's upper body.
"Konoha Senpu!" He cried as he spun around and his leg smashed into the side of Diaboro, however the man did not flinch. His body seemed as hard as a rock and he did not so much as move from the impact.

[Kouen]

"What the-!?" Shuzo gasped as Diaboro grabbed his leg and began to squeeze it, tightly gripping it as he forced Shuzo to the ground, twisting his ankle in his bare hand.
"AAAAAAGGGH!" Shuzo screamed in agony as he felt as in his leg was going to break. Was this it? Was this the kind of gap between a Jounin and a Genin. Akio had his own problems and Yoshi could not help him either. He was alone.