Morning dawned clear and bright over the Village Hidden in the Leaves. The rising sun casting a warm, rosy glow over the slowly waking village. The day promised to be beautiful. The few children up and awake at this hour were excited for the potential day of fun ahead. Games of ninja would erupt all over the village including such staples as rescue the princess, kill the evil warlord, and befriend the Nine-Tailed Fox. The early risers—the bakers, the smiths, a dozen other sundry merchants—looked forward to a day of good sales as the lovely weather promised to bring shoppers to the market. Even the shadows seemed brighter, forcing the shinobi hiding within them to adjust their genjutsu to match.
In his one bedroom apartment, Uzumaki Naruto, Konoha's Number One Unpredictable Noisy Ninja and future hokage, could care less about the rising sun and the weather except as it effected the encroaching soccer game with his new-found cousins. He examined himself in the mirror and shook his head. His current outfit joined the rest of the pile.
The pile covered the floor of his room and quite a bit of the hallway. Every piece of clothing Naruto owned was in the pile and some he didn't own, which belonged to his often-away roommate, Sasuke. Naruto would really hate having to pick up all those clothes later, especially Sasuke's, because he could never get the folds quite right, and his friend always knew when Naruto touched his stuff.
That was distant, far-off worry because right now Naruto did not know what to wear. They were going to play soccer. Naruto had never even heard of soccer. A last-minute consult with Iruka-sensei was only mildly helpful. He had never heard of soccer either, which Naruto found to be a great disappointment, but Iruka did say Karin had organized her training uniform so that it resembled a soccer uniform.
Well, Naruto knew what Karin wore to the Academy. He escorted the girls there every day. But how closely should his outfit mimic hers? Did he need to wear red? Should he wear shin-guards? Were pants okay or only shorts? Yesterday, Yuzu had said he should wear something comfortable that he could move around in. But should he go for his shinobi outfit or something more casual?
The light from outside finally registered. Naruto whipped his head toward the window. If it was light outside, then he could visit Sakura. She was a girl. She always knew what to wear. Naruto zoomed to the front door—Sakura's building was on that side, so it was more practical than leaving through the window.
Just before he left, he caught sight of the kitchen clock and skidded to a halt. It was way too early to bother Sakura on a Saturday, especially since she usually pulled a double shift on Friday to deal with all the start-of-the-weekend accidents. Not even shinobi could escape the embarrassment that was drinking too much on a Friday night.
Naruto sighed and closed his eyes. He let his head fall forward to hit the door with a soft thud. Ichigo, Karin, Yuzu, none of them would care what he was wearing only that he showed up. What he had on now would be fine.
He opened his eyes and squinted down at his outfit. Socks. Good. The adorable gama-chan boxers Sai had given him as a gag-gift. Okay. Nothing else. Bad. Bad! Bad! Bad! He was practically naked! He could not go outside like this!
Naruto zipped back into his bedroom so fast that any onlookers might suspect shunshin was involved. Fortunately for Naruto, there were no onlookers inside the apartment or out. They no doubt would have been laughing at him.
A few hours later, Naruto was feeling much better after his morning breakfast of ramen. He was walking over to the Kurosakis apartment dressed in perfectly normal orange t-shirt and dark blue shorts. He was dressed as a civilian today, so he had left his forehead protector at home. As a result, his hair was falling down into his eyes. He would have to cut it again soon, he mused.
At the apartment, Naruto knocked tentatively on the door. Karin had taken the opportunity earlier in the week to explain exactly what would have happened had he knocked on the door the first time. Kurama had told him that he could have revived Naruto even from an attack like that. Naruto was pretty sure the old fox was full of hot air since not even Kurama knew anything about reiatsu or how it worked.
"Come in, Naruto!" called Yuzu cheerfully.
Naruto fished around in his pocket and retrieved the paper key Ichigo had given him. He carefully wrapped it around the door knob and twisted. There was a moment of resistance. Naruto could feel it as easily as he could feel the faint aura of menace coming from the door itself. But just as quickly the resistance and the aura faded, and the door swung open easily. Naruto grinned. Awesome.
"Hello?" he said as entered the apartment. He didn't move out of the entryway and didn't bother taking off his sandals. He thought they would be leaving right away.
"Hi, Naruto-san!"
That was Yuzu. She was carrying a large woven basket toward the door. Instead of her usual gray and green outfit, she was wearing pink hooded sweater-vest, a yellow skirt, and black leggings. Her light-brown hair was held back from her face by a strawberry hair clip. In addition to the basket, the straps of a small yellow backpack were slung across one shoulder.
"Good morning, Yuzu-san," said Naruto. "Do you need some help?"
Yuzu huffed. "You and Ichi-nii, such gentlemen," she said teasingly. "No, thank you. I'm working on my stamina."
"'Sup, Naruto?"
That was Karin. She was wearing her training outfit, after all. Naruto squinted, no, it was a little different. There was white writing on the shirt, and it was made of a different, shinier material that Naruto didn't recognize. Her black shorts were virtually identical, but the shin-guards, which she wore over tall socks, were very different and looked a lot more modern than the usual kyahan. Her hair was pulled back into a short tail, and she was carrying a black and white patterned ball under one arm.
"Hey."
Ichigo appeared behind his sisters. Instead of his training outfit, he wore a black long-sleeved shirt with a few vertical red stripes for decoration. He wore shorts too, and Naruto spotted gloves sticking out of his pocket. He wore tall socks like Karin's, but they looked strange to Naruto's eyes. It took him a moment to realize they weren't the tabi he was used to seeing.
A glance at the entrance way revealed several pairs of closed-toed shoes. They were unfamiliar designs, shoes the Kurosakis had brought from Japan. Naruto looked at his own open-toed sandals.
"Should I have brought my winter toe-covers?" he asked in concern.
All three siblings looked down at his feet.
"We can just play barefoot," said Karin with a shrug. "It's not like dad packed my cleats."
"If there's a place where we won't trip over some hidden traps," corrected Ichigo.
Naruto brightened. "We can use the training ground where Team Seven practices. Is everyone ready? Where's Kon?"
Yuzu leaned in conspiratorially. "He's sleeping-in this morning. He's not used to getting up so early, poor thing." She shifted her basket. "We're ready to go, Naruto-san!"
Naruto wasn't sure how a doll could sleep much less sleep-in, but he had learned not to question the bizarre characteristics of the lion-toy. Instead he led the Kurosaki out of the apartment and toward the training grounds.
On the way, he asked, ever so casually, how one went about playing soccer.
Karin launched into an explanation of the rules, the penalties, the requirements of the sport, and a description of the evolution of the game so thorough and complex that Naruto's head was spinning after only five minutes. When they finally reached the training ground, she was still going and only stopped to examine the playing field.
"I don't—
Naruto cut himself off. A lack of understanding was not sufficient to describe the aching pain in his head as he tried to recall a thousand little details.
"I'm sorry, Naruto-san," said Yuzu. "Karin-chan really likes soccer."
"I could tell," admitted Naruto. Not that it helped him understand anything.
Ichigo heaved a sigh. "You and Karin will be on opposite teams. You'll want to kick the ball into the goal to score a point. You can use any part of your body other than your hands to direct the ball. I'll be goalie and try to stop both of you from scoring. Unnecessary roughness usually results in a foul, but you two will probably end up play a little rough. Just don't break anything."
That was simple enough. He looked at Yuzu. "You're not playing?"
Yuzu had spread out a large blanket a little ways away and was unpacking her backpack. She had a few scraps of cloth and a needle and thread.
She shook her head. "I like to watch. I'll be the cheering squad."
"Alright," said Naruto. He looked back to Ichigo. "So where's the goal? How big is it?"
Ichigo gestured at one side of the training grounds. "Over there, probably. So the trees can stop the ball before it goes too far." He pitched his voice louder. "How big is a normal soccer goal, Karin?"
"Two and forty-four hundredths meters by seven and thirty-two hundredths meters," called Karin from the center of the field. She had sat down to strip off her shoes and socks and after a moment of indecision shucked the shin-guards too.
Ichigo looked at Naruto. "You're just going to have to imagine it."
"No problem!" said Naruto.
He formed a series of hand-seals and a pair of pillars the appropriate height and distance apart shot from the ground. Karin released a loud whoop of approval while Ichigo and Yuzu both looked impressed. Yuzu even gave a small round of applause.
"Why are the numbers so weird?" he asked Ichigo as they started to stretch.
"It's really 8 feet by 24 feet, but the Americans are the only ones who use that measuring system," said Ichigo.
"Americans?" asked Naruto. "Is that another place back on your world?"
Ichigo nodded. "There's North America and South America, which are continents. But I was talking about the United States of America, which is a country."
Naruto stared. The Elemental Countries existed on one, single continent and the surrounding islands. The idea of two continents was huge. It was even stranger than the idea of Soul Society. Naruto knew there was an afterlife. He had even fought people from beyond the grave though not in the same way as Ichigo.
"How many?" asked Naruto.
"How many what?" asked Ichigo.
"How many continents? How many countries?" asked Naruto.
Ichigo blinked. "There are seven continents, but people only live on six. Antarctica is at the very bottom of the world, so it's too cold. As for countries, the last count was one ninety-six, I think? Right, Yuzu?"
"The official number is one hundred ninety five, since not everybody accepts Taiwan as a country, but there are some wars in other parts of the world where people want new countries, so it might change a little," said Yuzu.
"Yuzu watched a lot of news," explained Ichigo. "So she's more up to date on that sort of thing than me."
"It's important to keep up with current events, Ichi-nii," said Yuzu.
Ichigo just rolled his eyes and kept stretching. Naruto went through the moves automatically. His mind was still caught up in the idea of seven continents and almost two hundred countries. It was hard to imagine. It was so completely different from what Naruto was used to.
"How many people?" asked Naruto.
"In Japan or everywhere?" asked Ichigo.
"Both," said Naruto quickly.
Ichigo took a minute to think. "Japan's population is just over one hundred twenty five million. The Earth? A little less than eight billion? Why? Is this some hokage thing?"
"Yes," said Naruto automatically because the hokage did need to have an estimate of each countries' population.
Secretly, Naruto only kept from panicking because of his experience as a shinobi. The entire population of the Elemental Countries, as he knew it, was just over seven hundred million. The population of the Earth was more than ten times that amount.
He looked at his cousins. Despite that huge population, one that a shinobi could lose himself in and never be found by anyone friend or foe, Ichigo and his sisters still felt the need to leave their world completely. That wouldn't be happening here. Not on his watch.
Karin sauntered up, soccer ball balanced on one hip, and a victorious grin on her face. "Are you ready, Naruto?"
Naruto leapt to his feet. "Bring it on!"
Karin had outlined how far they were allowed to go before they were considered out-of-bounds. Yuzu was sitting about a meter-and a half back from the line on that side of the field. The center of goal Naruto had made was the center line. Then the same distance again on the other side stopping just short of the pond Naruto had fallen into during the bell test. Length-wise, they would only be playing a half-field, but it still took up most of the training ground.
Standing in front of the goal, Ichigo was holding the ball in his hands. He had put on the gloves—also a fetching shade of black—that Naruto had noticed earlier.
"You ready?" he called.
"Ready!" said Naruto. Karin flashed her brother a thumbs-up.
"Go, Karin! Go, Naruto!" shouted Yuzu from the sidelines.
Ichigo pitched the soccer ball into the air. Naruto and Karin raced toward the ball. Naruto headed for its approximate landing spot—he was ninja, he knew these things—but Karin ran ahead. She jumped into the air and head-butted the ball into the turf. She landed on her feet and took control of the ball racing down the field toward the goal before Naruto knew what happened.
Naruto charged after her with the spare thought that it might have been a good idea to bring his hitai-ate after all. He planned to kick the ball out from under her, but once he caught up, she started guarding it between her feet.
He circled around her trying to find a way to get the ball back, but she knew all the tricks for keeping it out of his reach. After one particularly impressive duck-twist-combination, Karin hauled back her foot and kicked the ball toward the goal.
Naruto watched it sail for the goal-posts at top speed and resigned himself to falling behind in points. But there was a flash of orange and black, and Ichigo was there. The ball bounced off his arms before it could pass through the goals, and Ichigo scooped it up.
"Nice save, Ichi-nii!" yelled Yuzu.
"Heads-up!" said Ichigo.
He pitched the ball further out away from the goal. Karin and Naruto ran after it. Naruto got there first this time, bouncing it off his chest rather than his head. He kicked the ball in front of him trying to keep it between his feet the way Karin had. One kick went just a little too far, and Karin rushed through like a tempest stealing the ball away from him.
"Arggh!" cried Naruto.
"You snooze, you lose," said Karin as she bounded away.
Ichigo blocked her next shot too, diving low to the earth and skidding across the dirt ground to reach. Karin recovered the ball, but Naruto wasn't going to sit by and let her attempt to score again. He caught up with her and watched her legs carefully. There was moment when her stride open just a little wider. Naruto shot his foot out and succeeded in knocking the ball away from her.
Unfortunately, they both crashed to the ground with their legs in a tangle. Before Naruto could even attempt to apologize, Karin was scrambling to her feet and charging after the ball.
"Nice try, Naruto," said Yuzu. "Keep it up."
Naruto jumped back up and chased after Karin. He couldn't get the ball back before she tried to score—Ichigo made another save—but managed to hold on to it a little longer the next time.
They kept going back and forth, sort of. Karin or Naruto starting out with the ball, Karin usually ending with the ball, and Karin attempting to score with ball, though Ichigo had blocked all her shots so far, but Naruto was improving with every attempt. He had almost got dribbling down—what Karin called keeping the ball between her feet while moving—and was doing better at stealing. Once he even managed without knocking them both down first.
Then Naruto saw his shot. The way was clear. Ichigo was the other end of the goal. He took his kick and the ball hurtled down the field straight towards the goal posts. There was no way Ichigo could catch it in time. It passed by the rock pillar…on the wrong side. Tears of frustration poured from Naruto's eyes.
"Wide," said Karin. "Good kick though. Don't forget to aim next time."
Ichigo went to retrieve the ball, which had gone a little way into the tree line after Naruto's failed shot. Naruto took the opportunity to glance at the sidelines where Yuzu was sitting. He had expected to hear something from the other twin, she managed to cheer or commiserate with every move.
To his surprise, Kakashi was sitting with Yuzu. Naruto hadn't seen the jounin arrive, he had been too focused on playing, but that was why they had guards in the first place. Kakashi had orders from Tsunade to check up on all them.
Then Naruto noticed the book in his former sensei's hands and froze. He had grown used to it after so many years in the jounin's presence—not to mention Jiraiya's—but that little orange book should be nowhere near sweet, innocent Yuzu.
"Naruto! Look out!"
Naruto turned his head just in time to catch a soccer ball straight to the face. The next thing he knew he was flat on the ground with Karin and Ichigo leaning over him looking concerned.
"Are you alright?" asked Karin.
Naruto blinked a couple of times and sat up. "I'm good," he said grinning. "It takes more than that to knock me out."
A hand appeared in front of his face. It belonged to Ichigo, whose apologetic look covered his whole face. Naruto took it happily letting the other man help him to his feet.
"Sorry about that," said Ichigo.
"I was the one not paying attention," said Naruto. "And I've got a hard head. Are we going to keep going?"
"Let's take a break and eat something," said Karin. "You can rest that hard head of yours for a while."
The three soccer players wandered over to Yuzu and Kakashi. Naruto was a little disappointed that they weren't going to keep playing; he was finally starting to get it. But he was cheered by the prospect of a picnic lunch made Yuzu. Then they reached the blanket, and Naruto abruptly remembered why he was distracted in the first place.
"What are you reading in public?" spluttered Ichigo.
Ichigo's face had gone bright red with embarrassment, and he was averting his eyes. Naruto winced and looked at Karin. She just rolled her eyes and dropped to the ground to fish out a bottle of water from the basket.
Kakashi just pointed a finger at Ichigo's reaction and tilted his head in Yuzu's direction.
"Ichi-nii's just shy," she said brightly. "You might want to put your book away for lunch, so it doesn't it get dirty."
There was an awkward silence while everyone else tried to ignore the obvious. Ichigo's face couldn't possibly get any redder. Naruto was debating the merits of strangling his old sensei; women everywhere would thank him for it, and Sakura might even give him a medal if she heard. Kakashi, thankfully, slipped Icha Icha Paradise back into the pocket of his vest.
Legs stretched out in front of her and leaning back one hand, Karin tilted her water bottle at her sister. "You do realize he was reading porn."
Yuzu, who was pulling side-dish after side-dish out her basket, looked mildly confused. "Yes? Kakashi-san said that Naruto's master, Jiraiya, used to write them."
Naruto gave it up for a bad job and flopped onto the blanket next to Karin. She tossed him another bottle of water along with an amused smirk. Ichigo ended up sitting next to Naruto, though he had been a bit too distracted to move smoothly and had jerked and twitched like a damaged puppet as he lowered himself into a seat.
"I asked Kakashi-san if the series was any good," said Yuzu completely ignoring her brother and passing out paper plates loaded with rice. She even had enough for Kakashi. "But I thought he might be biased. What do you think, Naruto-san? You must have read them."
Naruto choked on his water. "No! I haven't read them! I mean, ero-sennin made me proofread them for him, but I haven't read them read them."
"So, they're not good?" asked Yuzu ladling curry on to each plate.
Naruto shifted uncomfortably in his seat and wished Yuzu would stop asking him about porn. "No, it's definitely the best series out there."
Yuzu turned her attention on Ichigo. "You should think about buy a novel or two, Ichi-nii. You've been stressed ever since we got here. Taking some time to relax would be good for you."
Ichigo groaned and buried his face in his hands. Naruto could only make out a few words. But they were mostly variations on "why me." Naruto was just relieved she had moved on to someone else.
"That's not something you usually think about," said Karin. She looked bored by the situation rather than concerned.
"I thought it was something daddy might say," explained Yuzu. "Dig in, everyone!"
"There's your problem," said Karin reaching for her chopsticks. "If Goat-Face said it, then it's the wrong thing to say. Don't worry, Ichigo, it's just the moron bothering you across the Great Divide. Itadakimasu!"
Four voices echoed hers. Even Ichigo had managed to straighten up to eat. His face was still red, though not quite as bright as before. At least, Naruto didn't have to worry about his cousin's head exploding.
Relieved, Naruto turned his attention to his lunch. The main dish was curry again though a different style than the one they had for dinner last week, but it was still delicious. It was almost as good as Ichiraku Ramen, thought Naruto. Almost.
"Don't worry, Naruto-san. I haven't forgotten about my promise to make you ramen," said Yuzu. She blushed faintly. "I've just been a bit too tired to cook this week."
"She tried about a billion different recipes on us before that though," said Karin. "So it'll be good when she makes it."
"Of course it will!" said Naruto. "Yuzu-san is the best cook ever."
"Have you been eating out a lot then if you haven't been able to cook?" asked Kakashi. "Keeping up your strength is important when you're training hard every day."
"Oh no," said Yuzu shaking her head. "Ichi-nii cooks for us. He used to do that after mom died before I was old enough to use the stove."
"It's not as good as Yuzu's cooking, but they don't starve," said Ichigo blandly.
"Your dad didn't cook for you?" asked Naruto hesitantly.
To his surprise, all three siblings turned green.
"He tried," said Yuzu after a moment. "But cooking isn't daddy's strong point."
"Ugh, better to starve than eat that," added Karin.
"He was doing other stuff anyway," added Ichigo. "Funeral arrangements, working at the clinic, making sure we had money to buy food. Just…not fixing food. Never fixing food."
Naruto nodded. It was good that their dad hadn't abandoned them after their mom died, even if the Kurosakis did call him weird names. He had a hard time cooking himself. Other than preparing instant ramen, all Naruto knew was a bit of camp-fire cooking and whatever Sakura had been willing to show him after he returned from his trip with Jiraiya.
"Your game was very interesting," said Kakashi. "I'm not sure of all the rules, but from what I could tell, Karin was very good."
"Karin's great at soccer," said Yuzu. "She could have been a professional player right out of high school."
Karin blushed and hid a pleased smile with her plate. Naruto felt way better about losing in that case. It was impressive that he managed to keep up, and he would do better next time.
"Oh?" asked Kakashi. "And Ichigo managed to block all those shots anyway?"
Ichigo snorted. "That's because Karin made me practice with her once the neighborhood kids wised-up."
"Jinta and Ururu still played with us," said Yuzu. "And that white-haired boy Karin liked."
"Yuzu!" hissed Karin. "We're not talking about that."
There was a loud snap. Naruto turned his head to look. Ichigo had broken his chopsticks in half. Sensing where this was going, Naruto scooted out of the line of fire. Kakashi and Yuzu looked on with obvious interest.
"White-haired boy?" asked Ichigo. "Toushirou? Captain Hitsugaya Toushirou of Tenth Division? Has been playing soccer with my sister? On a regular basis?"
Naruto, who had just played soccer with Karin, thought maybe he was reading too much into things. Then again, there were quite a few full-body collisions, so maybe Ichigo had a point.
"It's ironic because daddy was the Captain of the Tenth before he met mom," Yuzu whispered to Kakashi just loud enough for everyone to hear.
The outraged cries of protest from Karin and Ichigo almost deafened Naruto stuck between them as he was. But then he noticed Yuzu's genuine soft smile and the amused twinkle in Kakashi eye, and he took in the sight of the siblings yelling at Yuzu about their father and yelling at each other about this Hitsugaya person and decided that they were having fun. Ichigo waving his hands and making threatening faces, which were more silly than scary, was the most animated he had been so far. Karin's denials were almost as passionate as her soccer game.
It was play fighting, he realized. Team Seven had never really done much play fighting. Sakura's punches had eventually changed to love-taps—just as hard but with filled affection rather than annoyance—but Naruto had never mastered the art of hitting back. His fights with Sasuke always set them as rivals, and maybe it had been friendly competition on Naruto's end, but it had still been real competition. He and Sasuke could spar now as friends, but he knew Sasuke was often haunted by their fight at the Valley of the End.
Naruto hoped that if his parents had lived, if he had had other siblings, he could have had this sort of relationship with them. One where fighting wasn't always angry or for training but for fun too.
Eventually, the two settled down, and the rest of the meal continued. The conversation was light, mostly because Yuzu and Kakashi asked easy questions, and she showed off the yukata she had made for Kon during the soccer game. Karin and Ichigo weren't big talkers, Naruto had noticed, and he was happy to listen for a change.
"For dessert we have dango," said Yuzu pulling out a box.
"Ah, we've been having a lot of dango this week," said Ichigo. It didn't stop him from reaching for a skewer.
"It's Anko-sempai's favorite shop," said Yuzu. "We stop by there every day on the way to the apartment. She really likes dango."
Naruto tried to suppress snicker with only mild success. Dango was Anko's favorite food. She like dango almost as much as Naruto liked ramen, and unlike the cheerful blonde, she could get scary when someone tried to steal a bite.
"And did Anko tell you to practice on your brother and sister this weekend?" asked Kakashi drily.
"She did say I needed to practice," said Yuzu. "And Ichi-nii and Karin are fun to wind up."
Her siblings choked and sputtered. Naruto threw back his head and roared with laughter. Even Kakashi had a little chuckle.
Shortly after that, they were packing up lunch and debating whether or not to try another brief game of soccer when there was movement in the bushes. Naruto caught a glimpse of an ANBU mask but was distracted by an alarmed yelp from Karin. He turned in time to see her drop her ball and kick it at the ANBU.
The shinobi moved before it could connect, but the ball made a hole in brush and hit a tree. It took a moment for Naruto to realize he could see through the first tree to the one behind it.
"What was that?" demanded Naruto.
"Karin almost took out Ne—ah, our ANBU guard," said Ichigo idly. "You're getting that by the way."
"I thought it was a Hollow," said an embarrassed Karin as she went to retrieve the ball. She shouted a casual "Sorry!" into the brush.
"Why did the ANBU remind her of a… Hollow, did you say?" asked Kakashi.
"It's the masks, right?" asked Naruto. "Ichigo said something similar a few days ago."
"Hollows wear white masks," confirmed Ichigo. "It makes the ANBU a little unnerving."
Naruto and Kakashi exchanged a look. There were plenty of reasons why the ANBU were unnerving. The masks were the least among them. Still, Kakashi didn't know that Hollows ate people. If Naruto thought anyone in a white mask wanted him for lunch, well, he'd probably be a little wary around the ANBU too.
"I've never seen one of them before," said Karin once she returned. "Why did he move like that?"
Ichigo coughed. "ANBU-san was probably trying to point out that I had a formal dinner tonight at the Hyuuga Compound so another game of soccer was probably a bad idea."
Naruto snickered. That would teach Neji to break protocol for something so silly. Naruto glanced at the tree again and that perfectly round hole. It wasn't small being the shape of a soccer ball. Karin could kill a man with an attack like that before the victim ever knew what happened, and she hadn't even hesitated.
"Those were some sharp reflexes," said Kakashi obviously following a similar train of thought.
Karin shrugged. "Hollows started showing up at most of my pick-up games in high school. I could usually keep them occupied until Ichigo or another shinigami showed up."
Naruto twitched and looked at Kakashi, but the older jounin just thought that meant a soldier of Soul Society. He had no reason to be suspicious. Still, Naruto did not approve of the curious expression overtaking Kakashi-sensei's face.
"So shinigami and Hollow are on opposite sides," said Kakashi. "Is that why they attack your games? Because your father is from Soul Society and the soldiers there are shinigami?"
Silently Naruto despaired his teacher's curiosity. Tsunade hadn't said one way or the other, but no one wanted to throw around terms like evil spirits and the afterlife casually.
Naruto knew Kakashi could keep a secret if necessary, but it shouldn't be necessary. However, if Tsunade and Naruto ordered a gag-order on questions when Tsunade wanted near constant reports on the Kurosakis, then that would make Kakashi even more suspicious. He might try to find answers without asking questions using methods like sneaking into a booby-trapped apartment.
"They went after Karin because she has strong reiatsu," said Ichigo. "Hollows are opposed to everybody, even other Hollows."
"Then how was it that you came by Hollow powers? Or am I not allowed to ask about that? The hokage ushered us out very quickly after you brought it up the other day," said Kakashi.
Ichigo's whole body stilled. His expression wasn't angry just empty. It was almost worse than anger when compared to how vivid he had been before.
"Hokage-sama wanted to confirm that despite my Hollow abilities I was not inclined toward cannibalism," he said completely ignoring both questions.
Naruto could tell that Ichigo favored lies of omission over outright untruths, but an obvious side-step like that would not stop Kakashi-sensei for long. Still, mentions of cannibalism could throw anyone off track, even the famous Copy Nin.
"Cannibalism?" repeated Kakashi.
"You don't need to worry about that from me," added Ichigo. "But we really do need to get going, Kakashi-san."
Naruto watched in stunned amazement as Ichigo turned on his heel and proceeded to walk away. Karin gave Kakashi a little wave and followed along behind bouncing her soccer ball from foot to foot as she went.
"It was good see you again, Kakashi-san," said Yuzu with a small bow. "Naruto-san, I think Karin wanted to ask you something about Sakura-sensei."
Naruto grinned. "Sure thing. Bye, Kakashi-sensei!"
Leaving his former jounin instructor behind, Naruto and Yuzu hurried to catch up with the other Kurosaki siblings. Naruto knew that he would pay for walking off and leaving Kakashi with unanswered questions. At least the man wasn't in charge of his instruction anymore. That was Tsunade, who was training him to be the next hokage.
"Karin, what did you want to know about Sakura-chan? I'm an expert."
As Karin outlined her need to discuss more specific properties of kidou healing, Naruto felt a swell of joy in his heart. She wanted his advice. They wanted him to be here. It was like joining Team Seven all over again. He knew that there was trouble on the horizon, but part of him wished days like this could last forever.
-0-0-0-0-0-
Hinata waited in the recessed alcove beside the main gate to the Hyuuga Compound. Technically, Hanabi or one of the Branch Clan should be meeting Team Three, but Hinata wanted to do it. She liked greeting visitors. She smoothed out the creases in her formal kimono—a light lavender base with darker purple butterflies along the bottom hem—and activated her byakugan. It would not do for a Hyuuga to open the door before the guest arrived or after they waited too long.
There were Kurenai and Konohamaru walking up to the gate. She had learned the pattern of Kurenai's chakra years ago. She was the easiest person for Hinata to find in the village after Naruto and Hinata's immediate family. Konohamaru was also a familiar presence. He had been to the Compound several times, usually in Hanabi's company. They often trained together, and their arguments were legendary.
Kurenai's kimono was a deep red that matched her eyes and trimmed in white. Like many shinobi women, she had cut the bottom of the kimono very short so that it just reached mid-thigh and wore leggings underneath. It was not the most formal of garments modified as it was, but all of the fabric was the finest silk, which made it acceptable to the clan elders.
Konohamaru wore dark blue kimono with subtle green stripes over grey hakama. He could not seem to remember to leave the scarf at home, even for formal dinners. Though given the blue color, it blended in rather nicely with the rest of his outfit. He had left off the formal haori too, but he had met Hiashi on several occasions, and one more piece of cloth couldn't affect her father's opinion one way or the other.
She almost missed Ichigo's arrival. The arrival of his ANBU guard seized her attention, and it took her a moment to notice him. Ichigo's chakra was dampened to the point that it appeared deliberate. That was a very advanced skill she did not expect him to know.
Somewhere Ichigo had found a formal kimono sized to fit, but she noticed immediately that he was not carrying any weapons. Hidden as she was, Hinata allowed herself a wince. The lack of armaments could be a problem once the elders started to spy on the dinner.
"You don't have any weapons," Kurenai's voice filled the alcove. "Not even your bokken."
Some long ago Hyuuga had hidden openings in the outer wall so that no conversation held outside the gates could be a secret. Hinata listened shamelessly. She was a kunoichi, and she had grown up in a family of natural voyeurs. She was practically obliged to snoop.
"Was I supposed to?" asked Ichigo.
"By coming unarmed, you imply your hosts are weak, so easy to defeat that you don't need to bother carrying a weapon," explained Kurenai.
Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Ninja are so weird."
Konohamaru reached into his sleeve. "You can borrow one of my kunai."
Hinata grimaced. If Ichigo only had one weapon and Konohamaru was missing one, then everyone would be able to tell what happened. It was not ideal. Even if exceptions were made for Ichigo's foreign upbringing, some would complain about his place on Team Three. Maybe she could toss a few kunai over the wall, or pass Ichigo some senbon as he entered the gate.
"No, I've got this," said Ichigo.
Kurenai raised a painted brow. "You don't have time to go back to your apartment. Being late is just as bad."
"No," said Ichigo. "Zangetsu."
A gigantic sword appeared on Ichigo's back. Hinata dismissed and reactivated her byakugan in quick succession. The weapon was still there. The hilt reared over Ichigo's right shoulder and the tip barely avoided brushing the ground behind his left foot. Yet Ichigo's back remained unbowed beneath the massive blade which had come from nowhere.
Hinata had never seen anything like it. The sword burned her in vision. It was not made of chakra. She had seen Sasuke's Karin use chakra-chains, and they looked very different to her sight. This was all light, though not painful or bright, but a steady shine—sometimes red, sometimes blue, sometimes black, but always light.
"Will this work?" asked Ichigo.
"It should be fine," said Kurenai sounding stunned. "Did you have that the whole time? No, never mind, we can discuss it later. We wouldn't want to be late."
That was Hinata's cue. She deactivated her byakugan letting the world fade back to normal sight. Then very carefully, she pulled open the primary gates. Kurenai stood in front with Ichigo slightly behind her to the left and Konohamaru on the right. They bowed, and Hinata bowed back.
Rising, Hinata had a better look at Ichigo than with the byakugan, which tended to blur colors slightly. He wore a full, formal kimono complete with haori in all black. The only exceptions were his white tabi, white obi, and, on the front his haori, two small spiral patterns in white beneath his shoulders. The only color was a dash of dark red from his under-kimono and the blue of his hitai-ate wrapped around his upper left arm.
The overall affect was chilling, Hinata decided as she led them into the house proper. No one would ever describe Ichigo's demeanor as cheerful, but now he looked cold, not hostile exactly, but distant as though the formal wear was really armor separating him from the rest of the world. He even held himself differently as if there was heavy weight on his back, a weight more significant than that of his sword. He barely acted as if the weapon was there, crossing the wooden porch outside and coasting over the tatami mats inside as silently as a ghost.
Normally, Hinata preferred to serve her family dinner, but since this was a formal occasion, her father insisted that they be served by retainers. She was able to direct their guests to the proper seats on the tatami mats. Her father was at the head of the room, farthest away from the door. Hinata would sit at her father's right hand, then on her right would be Hanabi, and next to her Konohamaru. Kurenai, as the team's instructor, would sit at Hiashi's left, then Neji, and finally Ichigo.
There was a moment of excitement when Hinata realized she did not know what to do with Ichigo's sword. They had rests for katana in other parts of the house, but she doubted they were of a size to handle the massive blade. Eventually, Ichigo rested the weapon against the wall. To her surprise, the point rested firm against the woven mat and did not sink. She thought the cloth wrapped around the blade might have been the cause, or perhaps the weapon was made of some lighter alloy, either way she was relieved.
Once all the guests were arranged, they bowed to her father, who bowed formally back, and the meal was begun. Retainers, members of the Branch House, brought in trays bearing rice, miso soup, pickled vegetables, and grilled fish. After the obligatory round of compliments, and really the cooks had done a very good job, Hinata would need to thank them later, silence settled over the room as everyone started eating.
Ichigo, she observed, had much better manners than Naruto. It was not Naruto's fault. He had raised himself from a very young age with only mild guidance from the third. Jiraiya had been too wrapped up in his spy-ring to teach Naruto any normal life skills, and Sakura's time was limited with her work at the hospital. Sasuke did what he could, when he was in the village, but he was often away for the same reasons Jiraiya had been.
Still, Ichigo looked comfortable in the formal kimono and moved smoothly from dish to dish never dirtying his sleeves. He ate small bites and expressed the appropriate amount of appreciation for the food. Other than that, he was completely silent. It was amazing to think that he and Naruto were related.
After a time, Hinata realized that she had instigated their previous handful of conversations, and it would be up to her again if they were ever to learn about anything about her sister's new teammate. She latched onto the obvious, the seal on Ichigo's haori that resembled, eerily enough, the swirling tomoe of an active sharingan though the heads were closer together and tails elongated.
"I am afraid I do not recognize the spiral pattern you are wearing. Is it a symbol from your homeland, Kurosaki-san?" she asked.
Ichigo set down his chopsticks and looked at her. His face was a little friendlier than at the start of the meal but only a little. "It's the crest of House Shiba, my father's clan."
Hinata dreaded asking why Ichigo did not use his father's name. Fortunately, her father was willing to advance the conversation in her stead.
"I am not familiar with Clan Shiba," said Hiashi.
"The Shiba are one of the Five Noble Families of Soul Society, which lies outside the Elemental Countries. I wouldn't have expected you to have heard of them," said Ichigo.
He said it so casually Hinata almost missed it. However, she was a kunoichi trained to observe and record the smallest detail, and she was not the only one to take note.
"You're a noble?" asked Konohamaru loudly and with obvious dismay.
Ichigo blinked in honest surprise. "Yes, technically. Dad left the clan when he married mom, but Kukaku adopted our branch back in a few years ago. Is that bad?"
"Nobility, outside of the daimyo, who is considered something of a warlord, rarely involve themselves in military matters, Ichigo. When they do, it is almost always to hire or order troops, not fight directly," explained Kurenai.
What Kurenai did not say was that nobles were elevated record-keepers with too much time and too much money on their hands. Most of Konoha's high-ranking contracts came from nobles trying to kill one another or protect themselves from assassination. Sometimes Konoha even received contracts from both positions for the same person. It was up to the hokage to decide which contract the village would accept. Generally, the higher paying contract was chosen though exceptions were made for individuals who had very good or very bad relations with the village.
Still, Ichigo's look of surprise had shifted to understanding. "It was similar in Japan, where I grew up, back when there were nobles. It's mostly the same in Soul Society too. However, the Clan Heads of the Five Families usually serve in the Court Guard as captains, and the lower nobility recognize achieving high rank as an accomplishment. But rank is always determined by skill."
Hinata was curious about Ichigo's homeland, Japan. She had never heard of a system that shunned nobility entirely. Even Konoha had the Clan Council where the more prominent families debated law. She wanted to ask but knew they were supposed to be assessing Ichigo's skills tonight.
Neji leaned in from his seat. "What was your rank, Ichigo-san? You mentioned you had duties assigned by the Court Guard as a shinigami."
Hinata's eyebrows raised of her own accord. Neji looked utterly serious, but there was a touch of teasing in his voice. Team Three mirrored her expression of surprise, but her father did not. Doubtless, Neji had reported what he knew of Ichigo to Hiashi when they learned Ichigo would be on Hanabi's team for the Exams.
"Yes, yes, it's a pretentious title," said Ichigo with a scowl. "It's better than psychopomp, alright?"
Hinata grew confused. She had never heard the word psychopomp before. Perhaps it was another title for soldiers in Ichigo's homeland. Still, Ichigo continued on regardless.
"I was a substitute," said Ichigo. "Or a reservist? Do you have those here? I mostly patrolled Karakura Town in place of the regular squad member stationed there, but I was called in for emergencies. Eventually, they had another shinigami take over when…when I moved to go to university. But I helped out around there too."
Ichigo might scowl and frown most of the time, but that tiny grimace was a reflection of deeper pain. This was not an interrogation despite her father's feelings on the matter. She could direct the conversation away from that topic.
"So, you joined the ranks of Soul Society because that was traditional for members of Clan Shiba?" asked Hinata.
Ichigo stared. "I—no—I didn't know any of that when I started. A Hollow attacked our house and the squad member on patrol got hurt pretty bad protecting me. I used her zanpaktou to kill the Hollow and then kept up with her duties until she…went back. I got Zangetsu around that time, so I was able to keep Karakura clear pretty easily. It was almost a year before I found out my dad was from Soul Society and even longer before I learned he was a Shiba."
If the story was true, and Hinata was inclined to the think so, then Ichigo sounded quite noble to her. But she was curious as to how he had grown up not knowing his father's origins. It seemed unfathomable to her. "Was there a reason for that, Kurosaki-san?"
"Mom's ancestors and Soul Society had fought each other in the past. I guess my parents thought we would be safer if we didn't know anything," explained Ichigo with a shrug.
Hinata suppressed a wince, but Ichigo did not sound upset or resigned. He was accepting as though it was normal to have family on different sides of a war, or that having his true heritage hidden from him was no matter. Then again, normal family histories did not carry the same weight as those of clans such as the Hyuuga.
"But you feel comfortable wearing the Shiba Crest despite that conflict?" asked Hiashi. If Ichigo's family did not live in Soul Society, and his father had abandoned that name, then they obviously allied with his mother's clan.
Ichigo scoffed. "Kukaku practically forced me into it. She said that if I had to make a mess then at least people should know who was responsible." At their blank stares he added, "The crest symbolizes the Eddy of Heaven. The Shiba Clan tends to stir things up."
Hiashi's expression went blank in a way Hinata knew meant "oh no, another one." She saw it a lot when Neji's team came to visit. Her father was proud of his nephew, but Gai and Lee together were a touch too much for traditional Hyuuga sensibilities. If Ichigo was anything like Naruto, Hinata expected she would be seeing a lot more of that expression.
Hinata thought she could ease the conversation away from that direction to spare her father a little pain though personally she was interested in the messes Ichigo had made. She suspected he meant something more important than painting the Hokage monument with graffiti.
"Kurosaki-san, Hanabi has discussed your past few missions with us. She mentioned during the Tora Mission," Hinata ignored the black aura that surrounded her sister; Hanabi would get over it someday, "that you were able to stop the cat from biting you. Did you poison your hand?"
That was the method that had occurred to Hinata and Neji when they had heard Hanabi's description of the events. But she insisted that Ichigo had not moved or done anything to indicate the use of poison.
"No," said Ichigo sounding vaguely alarmed. "I used Blut Vene, a Quincy technique, to make my hand really hard. Tora felt like he bit into a rock the second time."
There was a pleased sound from Hanabi. Hinata ignored that too. There had only been a little bit of swamp muck. Not to mention, the trip through the tannery and the red light district were valuable life experiences. She was overreacting.
"A Quincy technique?" asked Hinata. "What does that mean?"
Ichigo frowned. "The Kurosakis were a Quincy Clan. They were…how did Naruto say it?" The frowned clear. "Right, he said it was a kekkei genkai."
Kurenai choked on her rice and reached frantically for her tea cup. The rest of them simply stared at Ichigo in shock. He was a noble and a possessor of a kekkei genkai, and neither of those facts seemed worth mentioning to him.
Hinata thought perhaps he was a bit too much like Naruto in that regard. Taking pride in one's abilities was important, especially for shinobi who, by the nature of their work, often had few positive feelings but pride.
"You have a kekkei genkai that makes you stronger?" asked Neji faintly.
Ichigo's scowl returned. "It doesn't make me stronger, exactly. Blut Vene increases my endurance so that opponents' strikes do less damage. Blut Arterie increases offensive ability by making my attacks more powerful and me a little faster. But they have limitations. They're impossible to use at the same time, and they take a lot of energy."
"Have you been using them at morning practice?" asked Neji.
"No!" protested Ichigo sounding scandalized. "I told Lee I wouldn't be using any special techniques."
Neji gave him a pointed look. "No ninjutsu or genjutsu. What you're describing is still taijutsu. I'm telling Lee and Gai that you're holding out on them. Lee especially. He wants to go faster, but he's worried that you're going to start vomiting blood again."
"That was one time!" said Ichigo. "That was using a completely different method. Anyway, that's not appropriate dinner conversation."
"This is a dinner with shinobi," said Hanabi cheekily.
Kurenai, having recovered from her choking spell, turned accusing red eyes on Ichigo. "The hokage didn't tell me you have a kekkei genkai! Why haven't we been training it? What can you do?"
Ichigo blinked at her. "I don't know why she didn't tell you. She knows Uzumaki Mamoru married into the Kurosaki Clan. As for, why we haven't been training it?" He held up a hand to start counting the reasons. "You've been teaching me ninja stuff. I'm better with Zangetsu. There isn't an archery range anywhere that I can find, and a lot of Quincy techniques involve shaping reishi into arrows."
"We have an archery range," said Hinata.
Immediately she blushed and glanced at her father. She ought not to have volunteered the use of the Hyuuga range to outsiders without consulting the Clan Head first. Hiashi looked amused by her outburst rather than angry.
"We do have an archery range," he said. "It is not an art commonly practiced among shinobi of Konoha, but we find it advantageous when paired with our byakugan."
"I can see why," said Ichigo. His frown turned hesitant. "I thought the Hyuuga style focused on close-quarters combat."
"The Gentle Fist requires it, yes," said Hiashi. "But our elderly and those otherwise retired from the ranks cannot always use Gentle Fist due to physical limitations. Archery allows them to participate in the defense of the clan, should it be necessary."
"That's why the Quincy use bows too," admitted Ichigo. "I can make a sword to, but I don't need to since I have Zangetsu."
Hinata turned her attention to the blade. She imagined it was a beautiful weapon underneath the cloth wrappings. Another sword would be superfluous and impossible to wield. The sheer size of this weapon indicated a need for a two-handed grip.
Hinata wanted to ask about it, but Ichigo had taken up his bowl and chopsticks while the other diners studied the sword. A little guiltily, Hinata realized they had been keeping him from his meal with their constant questions.
Instead, she asked after Kurenai's daughter. Kurenai talked enthusiastically about her progress in the Academy and her growing prowess at strategy and tactics. That was mostly in part to her baby-sitters, Konohamaru, who excelled in tactics, and Shikamaru, who was a master of the long game.
"Shikamaru is keeping her tonight," said Kurenai. "Nara-san thinks it's good practice for when he has children, but I don't know how true that is. She loves playing shogi for hours, and most kids aren't that relaxed. Not to mention, Shikamaru isn't too enthusiastic about having children of his own."
"It might be difficult with Temari in Suna," admitted Hinata.
"We have good relations with Suna though," said Konohamaru. "Naruto and Gaara are great friends."
"Which is why we have such hopes for the Chunin Exams this year," said Hiashi. "Suna will not encourage any sabotage against your team. Along those lines, Kurosaki-san, what sort of combat experience will you be bringing to the Exams?"
At least Ichigo had time to finish eating while Kurenai was talking, thought Hinata. But she was interested in the answer as well. This was her little sister's teammate and Naruto's cousin. Even Neji appeared interested, and he had spent more time with Ichigo than anyone else.
"My combat experience?" asked Ichigo. "Like I mentioned earlier, I patrolled Karakura for Hollows. There were a few, very brief wars and the occasional odd incident. But for the most part, I fought Hollows."
"And how does a Hollow rank compared to a shinobi?" asked Hiashi mildly.
"We mostly saw basic Hollow and Huge Hollow in Karakura. Those are about genin and chunin level respectively," said Ichigo. He paused and considered. "There was that time Ishida's Hollow-bait summoned a Menos Grande, but that ended up okay."
Neji was staring at Ichigo as if he were expecting more. But Ichigo seemed to content to let that be the summary of his actions.
Hinata thought that if they pressed, they might get more, but she suspected Ichigo would resent them for it. Antagonizing the shinobi that Tsunade-sama herself had selected to complete Team Three would not be wise.
Her father seemed to be thinking the same thing. He followed a different line of inquiry turning his attention to weapon Ichigo had brought with him.
"This Zangetsu is the sword you used when fighting Hollows?" he asked.
Ichigo nodded. "Yes. I've needed to have Zangetsu re-forged a few times. But this last time, we found a good form. It hasn't broken since."
Hinata kept her face clear, but on the inside she was astonished. If Ichigo had fought hard enough and often enough to break his blade more than once, then that meant he had done much more fighting than his description of patrolling suggested. She doubted it was a flaw of the blade that had caused it to break so frequently. Any sensible warrior would discard a sword if the metal was weak.
"May I examine the blade more closely?" asked Hiashi.
Ichigo looked surprised by the request and turned his head to look at the sword. After a minute he shrugged and said, "It should be okay."
He got up and retrieved the sword. As Ichigo knelt between Hiashi and Kurenai, the wrapping around the blade unraveled on its own. Hinata observed curiously that the cloth hanging from the hilt of the weapon did not appear to be enough to cover the whole thing. Then again, she had seen him materialize the blade out of nothing, perhaps the excess wrappings were stored somewhere else.
"It resembles a straight-edge Khyber knife," said Hiashi. "I have never seen one so large before."
Large was perhaps an understatement. The blade was nearly as long as man was tall. Made primarily of an unfamiliar dark black metal that Hinata had never seen, only the single edge held the silvery sheen she normally associated with bladed weapons. Oddly, the sword had no guard or pommel, just the white cloth wrapped around the tang to serve as a grip. Clearly it was not a weapon meant for defense.
"Ah, you recognize it," said Ichigo. "I got yelled at the first time I called it a kitchen knife."
Hinata covered her smile with her hand. It would not be fair to laugh at Ichigo for a mistake long-past. But what sort of warrior could not identify his own weapon?
"May I hold it?" asked Hiashi.
Ichigo's wary expression returned, but eventually he nodded in agreement. There was an awkward shuffle when Kurenai and Hinata backed away so neither would get in the way of the weapon, and Ichigo had to flip it around, so he could hand Hiashi the flat edge.
Once he had Zangetsu firmly in his grip, Hiashi studied the blade with much more interest. "It could almost be mistaken for one of the weapons belonging to the seven ninja swordsmen of the mist. Though I am surprised, since all seven are much heavier than Zangetsu."
Visibly alarmed, Ichigo opened his mouth to reply. Whatever he intended to say was lost as Hiashi abruptly dropped his hands to his lap as though the sword had become inexplicably heavy. A moment later, her father dropped as well when the tatami below him crumpled.
The blade wavered dangerously, and the sharp edge slowly angled down. Before the sword could come close to cutting Hiashi, Ichigo reached out and grabbed the blade-edge with one hand, easily lifting it from her father's hands.
"Sorry about that," said Ichigo. "Zangetsu's very proud. I thought he would behave, but I guess not."
The blade flashed dangerously but still did not bite into Ichigo's hand. In a few easy movements, Ichigo had the sword wrapped once more and secured on his back. He paused where he stood looking down on the assembled diners.
"Um, I don't think I should put Zangetsu down just yet," he said carefully.
Her father was still reeling from the near-loss of his knees, so it was probably for the best that dinner came to an end. Hinata smiled at her guests.
"I would never wish to make you feel unwelcome, but I am afraid we do not have any entertainment scheduled for the evening," she said.
Everyone understood her meaning. Konohamaru and Kurenai had both finished eating, and they all had plenty to think about, except perhaps Ichigo, who was looking guilty and awkward. After bowing to the rest of her family, Hinata led remainder of Team Three back to the gate.
Konohamaru and Kurenai bade her a good night and wandered off to collect Kurenai's daughter from Shikamaru. Ichigo hesitated before leaving.
"I'm sorry about making a mess, Hyuuga-san," he said. "I can probably pay for a new tatami."
Hinata smiled. "It was only a mat and my father's pride. The mat we can replace easily. The latter, well, pride is something we Hyuuga have in abundance; he will recover. There is no reason to fret Kurosaki-san."
"If you're sure," said Ichigo. He bowed again. "Thank you for the meal. It was a feast."
Hinata bowed back. "Thank you for coming, Kurosaki-san. I will see you tomorrow."
Ichigo blanched. "Are we doing this again tomorrow?"
Hinata giggled slightly. "No, maybe again before the Chunin Exams, or after if things go well. But I heard Cousin Neji insist that he would be telling his team about your abilities. I thought I might stop by to watch, if you don't mind."
Ichigo sighed running his hands through his hair. "I almost forgot about that. They're going to be even worse now."
"You mean, Youthful, Kurosaki-san," said Hinata.
"Of course," said Ichigo with a wry smile. "How could I forget? See you in the morning then, Hyuuga-san."
Ichigo finally departed. Hinata was almost tempted to activate her byakugan in case he ran into any trouble on the way. Then she remembered the ANBU guard that had followed him to the house. Ichigo would be perfectly safe. Hinata would see him in the morning.
Hinata shut the gate firmly and turned back to the house. She had a dinner to clean up, a house-hold to run, and a father to console. She was far too busy to give in to passing whimsy. She would not peek.
Hinata peeked. Just a little. She was a shinobi. No one could blame her for doing her job.
-0-0-0-0-0-
Konohamaru opened his eyes and shut off his alarm with a groan. The red light and loud noise was bad enough, the bold five o'clock was a true assault on his senses. It was a completely unreasonable time to be awake on a Sunday morning without a mission to make it worthwhile. He sat up blinking the last of the sleep from his eyes. He did a mission of sorts.
Half-awake, Konohamaru pulled on his training outfit and fixed himself breakfast. He was pretty sure orange juice did not belong in his cereal once he started eating, but it was too early for him to care. It was almost the same as a serving of fruit. Moegi and Udon pestered him about that sort of thing all the time.
A short time later, teeth freshly cleaned and hair almost brushed, Konohamaru set out from his house. He knew where he was going at least. Everyone knew which training ground Team Gai used for morning practice in order to avoid it at all costs. Tenten and Neji weren't as bad as Lee and Gai, but any one of them felt free to demand a practice fight from anyone foolish enough to show up. Konohamaru was willing to risk that none of the taijutsu experts would consider him a challenge.
He landed with a crash, his usual method, and recovered with a sloppier roll than was typical. He even gave up his pose half-way through as a bad job. Konohamaru was not a morning person unless the safety of the village was as stake.
"I'm surprised to see you out of bed this early."
Konohamaru blinked as he recognized Aunt Kurenai's voice. Looking around, he realized he wasn't the only visitor. His aunt, Hanabi, and her sister were also there. Hinata looked impeccably dressed. But he was happy to see Hanabi looked equally displeased by the early morning hour.
"Why are all of you here?" asked Tenten.
She was considered the sane member of Team Gai, but she still looked depressingly awake to Konohamaru.
Standing next to her, Neji smirked. "Last night, Ichigo told us that he has a kekkei genkai that enchances taijutsu ability and that he hasn't been using it. They all wanted to see the fight this morning."
The rest of his team looked stunned. But while Lee appeared excited, Gai was more reserved. He turned to Aunt Kurenai for confirmation.
"That's what he said," agreed Kurenai. "And it will be a good opportunity to gauge Ichigo's taijutsu level. Hanabi's the only one of our team that specializes in that area."
"He is most skilled," said Gai. He gazed over Konohamaru's head. "Speaking of which..."
Konohamaru turned and almost got a foot to the face for the effort. At the last moment, Ichigo seemed to gather a bit more speed and landed behind Konohamaru instead of on top of him. Konohamaru turned back around ready to yell his frustrations to the sky but was stopped by the utterly dismayed on Ichigo's face.
"You're all here?" he asked. Superfluously, in Konohamaru's opinion.
Obviously they were there. Konohamaru had almost had his head kicked in being so at hand.
"Ichigo! Neji mentioned you have a kekkei genkai that enhances physical ability!" said Lee. "Why did you not reveal it before?"
Ichigo glared at Neji, but even Konohamaru could tell it was for show.
"It's an advance skill, and I thought this was just simple practice," said Ichigo. "And I'm not the best at using it."
"What better place to practice your skill than among those immersed in the Springtime of Youth?" said Gai apparently over his reservations.
Konohamaru twitched and slunk over to stand next to Aunt Kurenai and the Hyuuga heiresses. He was taller than all three, but if he ducked down, then he could definitely hide behind them.
After a series of threats and cajoling cries, Ichigo finally agreed to use his kekkei genkai. Watching the group warm up was almost enough to lull Konohamaru into a false sense of security. It almost made him want to stretch. But if he so much as moved, he would be drawn into the madness with no hope of escape.
Eventually though, Ichigo and Lee deemed themselves ready to fight. The other members of Team Gai joined the rest of them on the sidelines, and all three Hyuuga activated their byakugan.
"So, there are two modes: defense and offense, but they can't be used at the same time," said Ichigo. "Which one would you rather see?"
"Offense," said Lee brightly. "Let us see what sort of damage you can do."
Ichigo nodded. He closed his eyes and concentrated. After a moment, he opened them again. "Ready."
Konohamaru didn't notice anything different. He glanced at Hanabi.
"I can't see any difference," she said in response to his look.
"Maybe a thickening of chakra," suggested Hinata.
"Ichigo doesn't use his chakra to enhance his movements normally," said Neji. "They don't use it at all wherever he's from."
Lee and Ichigo got started. Lee attacked while for the most part Ichigo dodged. Even though Lee increased his speed with each hit and Ichigo kept up easily, it didn't seem out of the ordinary, especially if the growing look on frustration on Lee's face was any indication.
"Don't be a wimp, Kurosaki. Hit him," called Tenten.
Ichigo started in surprise, but the next time Lee got close, Ichigo slipped under his guard and slapped him in the chest with both hands. Konohamaru was in a position to see the veins on Ichigo's hands turn black, and presumably the Hyuuga saw more, but they were all distracted by the way Lee went flying up and over the tree line on the opposite side of the training grounds.
There was a loud crash from somewhere out of sight. Evidently, Lee had landed badly.
Ichigo turned and pointed. "Is he?"
"He's fine," said Neji. "What did you do?"
"I attacked him?" suggested Ichigo like he wasn't really sure. "It's what you wanted."
A moment later, Lee bounded out of the shrubbery. "That was amazing! Youthful energy surely fueled your strike. May I remove my weights, Gai-sensei?"
"It is your own decision, Lee," said Gai fondly. His expression turned serious. "However, do not forget that this is a practice bout. Your Flames and Ichigo's should only inspire not destroy."
"Weights?" muttered Ichigo.
Konohamaru assumed he had filtered out the rest. He had only been sparring with Team Gai for little more than a week. Perhaps that was long enough to acclimate to the energetic jounin and his pupil. The thought gave Konohamaru chills.
Lee promptly sat down and started unwrapping his arms and legs. He had lots of practice by this poinit, and in short order all the bandages were removed. He tossed the weights aside casually, forming small impact craters as they hit the earth.
"Weights," said Ichigo. "Right."
Lee stood up. "Let us begin again. I will be much faster this time, Ichigo!"
He was faster, so much faster that Konohamaru had a hard time tracking his movements. A glance at Hanabi showed she was having similar difficulty. A sharingan would be useful in a situation like this.
Ichigo didn't have the same problem as the other genin. He was keeping up just fine. He kicked Lee in the side, but Lee got his arms up in time to block and only went skidding part way across the clearing this time. Lee was getting in several hits of his own, but Ichigo seemed to shrug them off easily enough despite using the offensive manifestation of his kekkei genkai.
Konohamaru missed the exact sequence of events, but on second Lee and Ichigo were up, and the next, Lee was on the ground. Ichigo aimed a punch at Lee's face, who rolled out of the way. Ichigo stopped before he could hit the ground, but something, the force of his attack maybe, kept going.
An impact crater blossomed beneath his fist almost half a meter deep in the center and three meters in diameter. Lee, caught by surprise, tumbled backwards into the crater, rolling to a stop against Ichigo's outstretched arm. The two stared at one another before Ichigo pulled back and Lee jumped to his feet.
"Most impressive," said Lee. "I would have to release a gate to mimic the feat."
"Thanks," said Ichigo. He didn't seem too concerned about almost crushing Lee's head. But he had probably anticipated Lee's ability to dodge.
"You are most welcome. Shall we go again?" asked Lee.
"Perhaps Ichigo might demonstrate the defensive manifestation of his kekkei genkai," suggested Gai. He didn't look worried either, but Konohamaru thought there might have been some extra tension in his stance.
"That's fine with me," said Ichigo.
"It is more than acceptable," said Lee moving into his starting position. "Let me know when you are ready."
Ichigo took a deep breath. There was still no visible change that Konohamaru could see. But he had to have done something.
"Alright, ready," he said. Ichigo shifted into an opening stance opposite Lee's.
After a moment, Konoha's Beautiful Green Beast charged aiming a punch at Ichigo's jaw. Konohamaru realized just before the hit connected that Ichigo wasn't going to move.
There was a crunch. Ichigo's skin glowed with the same black lines at the point of contact, and Lee turned white with pain.
"Oh dear," said Hinata. "I can fix your hand Lee-san."
Hinata hurried over to the pair to begin healing Lee's cracked knuckles. Ichigo stood a few feet back watching with interest.
"I didn't think you would believe me if I said punching wouldn't work," he explained. "Blut Vene hardens the blood vessel and makes the skin almost impossible to pierce."
"An impenetrable offense," said Lee weakly. "That feels much better. Thank you, Hinata-san."
Hinata gave him a look. "Don't use that hand to fight anymore today. If you do, I'll tell Sakura and have her yell at you." She turned to Ichigo. "It does seem impossible to beat, if nothing can penetrate your skin."
Ichigo blushed faintly. "Well, almost impossible, it can be torn with enough force."
"Sounds like a job for me," said Tenten. "Call up that sword of yours, and let's go."
Ichigo stared at her. "You want me to use Zangetsu and Blut Vene?"
"You promised me a match with the real thing," said Tenten. "And, wasn't it you who said it didn't feel right to fight an unarmed opponent? That bokken may be a weapon, but it's not a blade."
"If you insist," said Ichigo reaching over his shoulder.
Konohamaru watched carefully, but he still couldn't tell how Ichigo summoned the massive sword. One moment there was nothing, and the next there was a sword strapped to his back. It looked damned impressive though—almost as good as one of Konohamaru's top-tier ninjutsu or Aunt Kurenai's genjutsu.
The next match got underway, and Konohamaru stared in amazement as Ichigo casually batted Tenten's flurry of weapons from the air with his sword. The ones that he missed, just bounced off his skin.
After a few unsuccessful tries, Tenten called over Neji to help her out. She would throw the weapons, and the ones that Ichigo deflected, Neji could direct back with his kaiten ability. For his part, Ichigo didn't seem bothered at all as he faced off against one of the deadliest taijutsu combinations in Konoha. When they started to speed up, he even seemed to be having a good time.
"We are going to die in taijutsu practice," said Konohamaru quietly to his teammate.
Beside him, Hanabi's grin was vicious. "Who cares if we get pounded in taijutsu practice? We are going to dominate in the Exams."
Konohamaru returned her grin with one of his own. Hope swelled in his chest. "Oh yeah, this year we are going to win."