Naruto : Wind of Catastrophe

Hatake leads us through the trees to Team 9, who are in the process of a debriefing if the rigid postures of Lee and Neji are anything to go by. To my dismay, Neji is only breathing a little heavily and Lee barely looks flushed.

They seem to wrap up as we make our way into the clearing, and Gai gives them a sharp nod and a smile, clapping a hand on each of their shoulders. Lee beams, and this time I allow myself to feel happy for him.

...

"Are your students well, Kakashi?" The spandex-wearing jonin asks in concern, eyeing the three of us. Kakashi waves a hand.

"Sakura's still getting used to the physical demands of an assault team, but it's fine," he says, throwing a deceptively warm smile my way. "She has Naruto to take care of her."

"I'll take care of you," I grumble under my breath. As soon as I have enough energy to throw a punch. And think of some better threats, maybe.

"That was most youthful of you, Naruto," Gai commends me, grinning widely. Lee nods wildly in agreement. I reach up to scratch the back of my neck.

"It wasn't a big deal," I say bashfully, shooting a discrete glance at Sakura to make sure she isn't beating herself up over it again. "I only helped her out for a few minutes." And it's a good thing I did, too. I don't think I could have handled much more than the length of time I carried her.

We do a general inventory check before heading into the town. The town, a sleepy little place that's too far away from Konoha and Tanazuka Gai and not close enough to the border to have a big market appeal, looks to be settling down for the day. Most of the stalls look to be already closed up or in the process of doing so, and I can only spot a few lights still shining from bars and restaurants. Gai takes the lead and we make a beeline for the hotel, a joint called the The Sleepy Tea Leaf of all things.

We check in with little fanfare, and the kindly old woman behind the front desk shows us to our rooms. Three in all, one for Gai and Hatake, one for Neji and Lee, and one for me, Sasuke, and Sakura.

I immediately head for the bathroom to drain my aching bladder. I shuffle out a few minutes later, stretching and groaning in two parts relief and pain. Sakura is already fast asleep on her mat, face down and snoring softly. I snicker, turning to my own mat.

My mat, which Sasuke is sitting on. The only other mat in the room.

"Really, Uchiha?" I ask incredulously while he rummages through his backpack. "You're not even gonna give me the mat? I nearly killed myself carrying Sakura!"

Sasuke shifts a few scrolls around in his pack, then shakes his head. "Sorry, I forgot to pack a damn to give."

"You," I growl, hand spasming towards my weapons pouch.

"Hey you two!" Hatake says, poking his head from the little conjoining door connecting our rooms together. Gai's voice floats in from behind him, as boisterous as ever, no doubt shouting some youthful orders to Neji and Lee. "I just wanted to let you know that you and Sakura are going to be training with Team 9 while Gai and I start asking around for leads."

You can't do that, Hatake! There are rules! Shoving a demon run and a hazing into one mission is more than wildly irresponsible- it's madness.

That's what I mean to say. Instead I fall backwards onto the floor with an incomprehensible moan, only my bulky backpack saving me from colliding with the cold and unforgiving hardwood floor.

"They start at dawn, so set your alarms!" And with that he shuts the door with a sharp click.

With nothing left to do except maybe cry, I roll out the sleeping bag that I somehow remembered to pack this time and shed my shirt and sandals before wiggling in. Sasuke gets up to turn off the light. I sigh, staring up at the ceiling contemplatively.

"Hey Sasuke."

"Hn."

"I hope that mat has bugs in it."

"Idiot."

...

Dawn does not waste any time in coming, and it feels like I've only just closed my eyes when I find myself being shaken awake by Lee hard enough to make me see stars. I sit up, or get sat up, and blink dizzily at his bright green leotard.

"Naruto-san! Are you up, Naruto-san?" He asks me.

I roll my no doubt bloodshot eyes. "No Lee, I'm fast asleep." I swat him away, struggling to get out of my sleeping bag.

I manage to free myself and squint through the darkness, finding Sakura and Sasuke awake as well and looking about as happy about it as I am. Sasuke is channeling his Uchiha blood into the most poisonous glare I've ever seen levelled at Lee's back, and Sakura just looks straight exhausted. I grope around in my backpack for some clothes that aren't completely soaked with sweat and stumble towards the bathroom.

"Dibs on first shower," I call over my shoulder, earning myself a surly grunt from Sasuke.

The hot water feels like heaven on my stiff muscles, but I keep it short. I don't think Lee would barge into my shower to hurry me up, but I'm not confident enough to test him. I walk out a few minutes later, more hungry than tired. I can't stand waking up early, but once I get going I don't really need more than a few hours to get me through the day.

I haven't even made it all the way through the door when Sasuke shoves past me inside. I consider taunting him about missing his beauty sleep or something equally hilarious, but from the look on his face he'd probably just punch me for it. So I shrug and go over to my pack to snag my training supplies. Kunai, shuriken, senbon- I eye the carton of throwing needles dubiously before pocketing them- and a couple bags of balloons.

I'm filling up my first balloon of the day when there's a soft poke on my shoulder.

"Naruto?"

I crane my head to look up at my pink-haired teammate. "Hey Sakura, feeling better?" I ask.

"Yes, I am," She says, smiling slightly. "But... I wanted to apologize."

I cock an eyebrow. "For what?"

"For making you carry me."

I snort. "You don't need to apologize, Sakura. You know how many times I've helped Sasuke out of crap?" She shakes her head. "More than I can count. You know how many times the prick has apologized for it?" She smiles again. Booya. "Exactly. We're teammates- just say thanks."

"Thank you Naruto," she says quietly. I smile warmly.

"Any time."

As it turns out, there aren't any training grounds in this civilian town, so instead we wander around in the woods for a while until we find a clearing that Neji declares "sufficient". Then we split off. Before I can even propose a spar Lee has grabbed Sakura and Sasuke and dragged them off towards one end of the clearing while Neji strolls over to the other. I shoot Sasuke and Sakura a smirk and a sympathetic look respectively, then follow after my personal trainer for the day.

"I have been informed that your sensei is training you in the Dancing Fist," he says stoically when we've reached the edge. I blink.

"The what now?"

He rolls his eyes. I think. "The art of dodging."

Oh. "Yeah, if that's what he wants to call it."

"Is this because of your lack of skill with chakra augmentation?" he 'asks', in that Hyuuga sort of way that really means he's stating a fact. I nod curtly. "I thought so."

He settles into the typical Hyuuga stance, and the veins around his eyes bulge as he activates his Byakugan. My tenketsu already hurt. "The Gentle Fist is a style which requires extreme agility as well as precision, not unlike the Dancing Fist, so I'm going to teach you how to dodge."

"Can we call it something different?" I ask. He raises an eyebrow. "Like, Dancing Fist is almost as bad as Breeze Fist. Why can't we call it something cool, like the Wiley Fist, or the Ghost Fist? Or, or-"

Neji surges forward and pokes me in the shoulder.

I won't go into detail on the complete and utter asskicking that follows, because it hurts just to think about it. But suffice to say it was swift, and it was brutal, and it smelled like coconut shampoo. When I finally collapse on my back with a strangled groan and Neji straightens up out of his Gentle Fist stance, my arms and neck and face are all riddled with sores from the tenketsu blows, and I don't even want to think about the skin underneath my clothing.

I take comfort in the fact that it was to be expected, at least. Hyuuga get trained in the Gentle Fist practically from birth, and I only started with this Dancing Fist crap two months ago. Still, it doesn't stop the indignation from burning steadily away, urging me to get back up and try again. Too bad Neji disabled the tenketsu that let me bend my knees.

"That was pathetic," Neji says above me. So much for being polite. "You weren't even using the Dancing Fist for half of the fight. You were brawling."

"Because you wouldn't let me use my chakra!" I snap.

"I wouldn't let you use your pressure defenses and attacks because they were disrupting my Gentle Fist strikes," Neji says, voice icy. "The difference of an inch in this style is one of life and death."

Of course I know that. Say what you want about it, but the Gentle Fist is dangerous. I don't even have a shadow of a doubt that if one of the numerous pokes he'd delivered to my neck and chest and face had been knocked just a little bit off I could be dead on the ground right now.

I'm just being petulant.

"That should not have been an issue, regardless," My wonderful tutor continues. "I did not restrict your agility at all, and while your ability to divert attacks with your chakra could be useful with the correct training, it should not be your primary method. The Dancing Fist by itself is capable of handling most close combat situations."

"What's the harm in using my chakra if it works?" I ask.

"There are two reasons." He holds up a finger. "The first is that, as I said, you don't have enough control over it. If you dodge an attack it will not hit you, and that is it. If you try to knock it aside, any number of things could happen depending on the nature of it. You could end up blowing it at one of your allies, or detonating it on the spot, or any number of things."

He holds up another. "Second, if you fall into the habit of using it you will be less proficient with the Dancing Fist when you have to use it by itself.

Since your means of augmentation is external and wind-based, you'll need to dodge a katon jutsu with a greater breadth that you would other attacks. This sort of split second reaction requires a familiarity with the Dancing Fist that can not be obtained with a crutch."

I stare.

"... Oh."

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