Tales Of Shinobi

Kotetsu had enough. Leaning against a post, bent over, Kotetsu took deep uneven breaths as he clutched at his gut. He sputtered slightly as he raised his head to look at his opponent, who stood a distance away with unending arrogance. Kotetsu attempted to bury daggers into the boy with his mind. He was reminded of the day still being early from the sun glaring just behind his opponent, casting a halo around the boy's copper-brown hair. Kotetsu spit into the dirt at his feet before continuing his glare.

"What's wrong, boar boy? Too scared to approach a vicious animal? Or just having bad memories?"

Kotetsu goaded Teruo, his first sparring opponent for the day. His stabbing remark had the desired effect as Teruo's face twisted in irritation. Kotetsu forced himself off the post and began walking in a circle, forcing Teruo to begin circling as well. Kotetsu kept the smirk off his face as he successfully moved Teruo out from the line of the sun.

"Big words, for a big mouth. You have yet to take me down this week, Kotetsu."

As Teruo's face became partially lit from the early sunlight, Kotetsu laid eyes on the cause of this dangerous development in the form of the red iris of his Sharingan. Teruo had awakened the damnable ability earlier that week, causing Kotetsu endless struggle as yet another young member was able to overtake Kotetsu in one-on-one combat. Teruo had adapted quite well to the awakening of his Sharingan.

Kotetsu took a stance, un-clutching his gut and ceasing his circular pattern. Teruo stopped at the exact same moment. The two stared holes into each other's faces. Then, without further hesitation, the spar began again.

—

Over six months had passed since Kotetsu joined the Uchiha clan. Atsuo stood with a few others on the rim of the training yard, patiently watching as Kotetsu got his butt kicked by Teruo for the sixth day in a row. Teruo's combat skills had been steadily improving against Kotetsu, finally eclipsing Kotetsu when his Sharingan manifested during a rough mission. He observed Kotetsu's dwindling sanity as Teruo won again and again, getting more desperate with each spar. This fight had begun with Teruo almost effortlessly deflecting Kotetsu's useless strikes.

Kotetsu attacked again with renewed vigor, focusing on the singular objective of planting Teruo's stupid face into the ground. Teruo dodged away from Kotetsu's precise strikes with minimal movement. Teruo took even steps as Kotetsu continued his charge, seeming to throw punches almost at random. Then, the arrogant Uchiha tripped over a small divot in the dirt, stumbling just slightly. That was all Kotetsu needed as his fist slammed into Teruo's chest, sending the boy flailing backward. Atsuo saw Kotetsu's plan and admired his execution. When he had rested against the post earlier, his foot had worked an almost unnoticeable dent in the ground. He had marked the divot with a wad of spit, leading Teruo with his strikes to the spot. Teruo now lay sprawled on a short patch of grass and weeds, startled by the punch. Kotetsu stood over Teruo's prone form.

"Lucky shot." Teruo snapped.

"No, it wasn't." Kotetsu coolly replied.

Then, Kotetsu shoved one arm out, offering it to the fallen boy. Teruo peered up at Kotetsu's smug face.

"You win a single fight and think that I'm just gonna sniffle like a lost puppy?" Teruo snarled, batting Kotetsu's outstretched arm away. He rose from the ground and smeared the morning dew off his back.

"I'm just proving that if we fought anywhere but a flat empty field, you would be toast. Boar boy."

Teruo sneered at Kotetsu.

"Big mouth!"

The two scowled at each other before stomping away in opposite directions. Teruo came up to Atsuo, his face turning sheepish as he glanced up into Atsuo's expectant face.

"He's right, you know." Atsuo idly stated.

Teruo's Sharingan began to deactivate now that the fight was over. The black ring in each of his eyes was marked by a lone tomoe, the sign of an immature Sharingan. The red irises faded to black as Teruo took a step back.

"He gets so… Pompous, though." Teruo grumbled.

"He gets beat up by all of us day in, day out. Now that we are allowed to use our Sharingan against him, his advantages are few in number. He is arrogant, yes, but so are you."

"No I'm no-" Teruo stopped himself at the raised eyebrow Atsuo gave him.

"I'm, uh, gonna go wash up." Teruo stammered, before shuffling away from Atsuo and the other onlookers.

"Now that his Sharingan has awakened, he is allowed to join us on harder missions, right?" Dan asked from Atsuo's side.

"He has adapted well. Father said that he has something lined up for him. Though, I don't agree with the terms he's set for this mission…" Atsuo peered down at a rock, kicking it as he spoke.

"Terms?" Dan questioned.

Atsuo hesitated. "It's… Kotetsu. He's been allowed to assist with lower tasks, but what father wants… Well, I'll just say that I don't approve."

Dan thought for a moment.

"Is it about his origin with the Azuchi Kingdom?"

"Yes. Father wants to see if Kotetsu can become useful as… An asset."

Dan did not like the sound of that.

—

Over the six months since Kotetsu had joined the Uchiha clan, he spent most of his time cooped up within the camp. He would spar with the Uchiha kids and young adults, routinely getting his butt kicked since they were all now allowed to use their Sharingan. Despite the concerns of Eito during their talk about who the Uchiha were, Kotetsu actually did know about the clan- he simply wasn't aware of their names. He was raised on stories of historic shinobi and their battles, which included the Uchiha. Kotetsu wasn't good with names, so most of what he remembered of these stories were the vividly described fights.

Over five months along, Kotetsu had finally gotten Atsuo to help convince Eito, the clan leader, to allow Kotetsu to participate in a mission. His first mission had been with Teruo and the two that he first met alongside Dan, Shingo and Okita. That first mission was to hunt and kill a wild creature that had torn through half of a farm. A mission like this did not usually fall on the lap of a shinobi clan, but the hunters previously hired for the task had returned scared witless, marking the mission as especially difficult. The group of boys had stumbled on to the creature after a long day of hunting.

"We've walked for hours now… I want to eat. Let's stop and eat here." Kotetsu loudly complained, walking behind the group of boys as they marched through the underbrush of a low forest. Their day-long tracking had led them on a trail of broken branches, trampled weeds, and muddy prints.

"How about you eat dirt?" Teruo smugly joked.

"How about you eat dirt~..." Kotetsu mocked.

Teruo threw a pinecone, which Kotetsu deftly caught and peered at.

"I didn't realise your food situation was so dire, Teruo. If this is what you've been eating then I'm truly sorry-" Kotetsu was interrupted as a second thrown pinecone made its way into his open mouth.

"Will you two shut up? It's difficult enough paying attention to the tracks with you two yapping back there." Shingo ordered.

Another set of footprints appeared pressed into the soft ground. Shingo called for a halt.

"I'm almost positive it's a boar." Shingo commented, looking down at the prints.

"There's no way. Those prints are much too different. They must be from, like… A bear, or something." Okita countered. They had found various sets of prints that ranged in size but were otherwise identical, leading the four in circles as they attempted to pick out the prints of their target.

Teruo and Kotetsu stood in the back while Okita and Shingo quietly argued back and forth. Suddenly, they all felt a soft vibration through their feet. The vibration turned to shaking in a matter of seconds. They all turned at the sound of wood violently snapping to find their target. A large creature, easily over ten feet tall, and at least twice as long. Its body was covered in white tufts, with patches of leathery black skin dotting the body. Above its snout were two yellowed tusks protruding from dark bases that spread out more like the antlers of a stag. The four boys were sent into temporary shock at the sight of the monstrous boar bearing down on them.

Shingo was the first to snap out of his shock, calling to Okita and grabbing Teruo. Okita hesitated, then turned around to where Kotetsu was standing. Kotetsu stood staring dumbfounded at the approaching beast. Okita clutched Kotetsu's arms and shot up into the air, barely clinging to a low branch with his feet.

The giant boar rushed beneath the four boys, who were busy shaking with sweat from the encounter. One of its huge tusks ripped a gash into a tree as it passed, sending bark and wood chips flying.

"Can we really take that thing on?! We weren't expecting something that huge!" Okita roughly shouted over the crushing stomps of the boar. A sound like bellows let loose from the beast, sending shudders through the boys.

"We should get out of here, let an adult take care of this thing..!" Shingo vigorously affirmed.

Kotetsu had been transfixed by the sight of the beast. All his life within the Hyuuga clan, he heard stories from the older clan members about some of their missions. His favorites were those that involved huge beasts and other creatures. He had never been allowed the chance to see one of these animals himself, though. Before now. Okita had let go of Kotetsu to stand by himself on the branch, and Kotetsu snapped out of his reverie at hearing the discussion beside him.

"We… We can't leave! We need to fight it, that's what we're here to do!" Kotetsu turned and pleaded.

"No!" The two shouted in unison at Kotetsu, before turning back to face each other.

Okita and Shingo ignored his further pleas as they continued to discuss how best to escape. Kotetsu felt his back stiffen as he understood what needed to happen.

Teruo had first been shocked, then amazed at the sight of the monstrous boar. He watched as the beast lazily circled their tree, breaking saplings and bending trees as it carved a path. The feeling of something brushing his side brought his attention there, where he found Kotetsu jumping down into the brush below. His eyes grew as wide as saucers at Kotetsu's intentions.

"Uh, Okita? Shingo? It's Kotetsu, he's-" Teruo tried to warn the other two, but the words died in his throat.

"Hey, beastie!" Kotetsu cupped his hands to his mouth and shouted.

The boar ceased its circling and turned in an instant, immediately charging straight for Kotetsu. Kotetsu stood with his nose turned up, a leering smirk directed at the boar. His hands smacked together to form a mess of hand signs, and he took a deep breath. Exhaling, a stream of flame began to pour out from his mouth- but before he could do anything else, his body was forcefully shoved aside by Teruo, who now found himself mere seconds from meeting the boar. Kotetsu's flames curved and coiled, striking the side of the boar. Wind blasted past, and Kotetsu pulled his face from the ground back up to where he was standing to find Teruo gone and the boar rushing away.

Teruo knew he had a lot to learn. However, even he knew that facing a boar head-on was possibly the stupidest thing he had ever seen. So, after pushing Kotetsu away and turning to the boar, he found that he was even more stupid than that. Truly, stupidity had no limits. And as the dozen sharpened points of the boar's tusks rushed to meet him, his mind finally caught up with the actions of his body. The sensation of blood roared in his ears and behind his eyes. That moment before he was impaled stretched on for an unreasonable amount of time. He watched Kotetsu's ill-attempted flames light up the boar's side. Partially driven by desperation and a hunch, Teruo leapt right at the boar, reaching out and grasping for life.

Teruo's foot had snuck past one tusk and planted itself firmly against the boar's snout. With his arms, he managed to get through the entanglement of sharp bones and slam his body on the boar's head, escaping certain death for the moment. The boar continued forward, practically running right through a tree with its massive tusks, snapping and crushing the tree into a thousand pieces. Teruo held on for dear life as his body was pelted with wood shrapnel. Shingo and Okita were unfortunate enough to be located on that tree, and were flung in opposite directions as the tree vanished from under their feet.

Kotetsu watched all of this happen in a matter of seconds. Teruo's flailing form as he remained stuck between the boar's tusks, the tree blowing up, finishing with Okita and Shingo flying away. With his heart racing, he got to his feet and rushed to follow the boar. He wasn't about to let Teruo take all the glory for himself. He attempted to keep up with the speeding beast, but it left a path of destruction that was difficult to navigate around. Kotetsu kept following Teruo and the boar for several minutes, until Shingo and Okita caught up next to him.

"Is Teruo still on that thing?!" One of them shouted behind Kotetsu. Kotetsu didn't bother speaking, just grunting affirmation to save his breath.

The forest ground had sloped up to a sharp incline, and eventually opened up to a large field on the side of the mountain. Teruo was happy for the reprieve from attacking trees, and took the opportunity to free a foot which he had somehow gotten stuck between two branches of the tusk. He looked up to spot Kotetsu's flames still present on the beast. Strangely, there were no flames coating the black leathery patches of skin. After that observation, he turned his head to see where the boar was taking him. His blood ran cold as he spotted a cliff fast approaching. Surely, the boar would stop, he thought. Then he remembered his head slamming into something soft and squishy, and turned to find one of the boar's eyes had blood pouring from it, and the other eye barely open. In a split second, he understood his situation. Before he could act, the boar rushed right over the edge of the cliff. He didn't know if the squealing noises came from the boar or himself.

Kotetsu, Okita and Shingo all came to a halt at the cliff edge, seeing the skid marks of the boar as it attempted to stop its forward momentum before plunging off the side of the mountain. The three boys were hesitant to look over the edge. Then, a voice coming from the cliff surprised them, leading to them peering over the side with astonished expressions.

"Hey… Anyone there? A little help, please…" Teruo's voice quivered as he hung on for dear life to a dead tree. His dirty and bruised face turned up to look at the three boys, who began hysterically laughing and crying. Beyond the edge, the carcass of the boar could be seen. Its body lay in various states of splatter and crushed muscles. The few dark splotches of leathered skin were all that remained intact, the boar's deep red blood running down the rocks, leaving splotches of glossy black stone in its wake.

—

Kotetsu sat alone in his tent dwelling. He had been offered a tent for himself, much smaller than the medical tent he had found himself in those first few days in the clan. The last six months were exciting- and frustrating. In the Uchiha clan, there were no restrictions on teaching Kotetsu, so he took to learning everything he could about being a shinobi. The one thing Kotetsu absolutely wanted to learn was Ninjutsu, as his previous understanding was severely lacking at best. One thing that surprised him was finding out the hand signs had names, and he recited these names as he moved his hands between forms.

"Horse, Tiger, Dog, Ox…"

His words were quieted by footsteps outside his tent. He peeked his head out to find Atsuo standing over him with a disgruntled expression. He spoke with lackluster energy.

"Hey. The Clan leader wants to see you."

Kotetsu noted that he didn't say his father. Atsuo began to walk away. Sighing, Kotetsu got out of the tent, having to make long strides to catch up with the taller boy.

—

"You wanted to see me, Clan leader?"

Keina got right to the point as she pulled the tent flap aside and sat down in Eito's tent. She caught Eito mid-sip with a strong smelling drink. He almost sputtered as the drink was set down next to him. He coughed into his fist before looking up to meet Keina's blank expression, gathering his thoughts.

"Er, yes. Hello, Keina. We have an assignment I would like you to lead." Eito spoke after a moment.

Keina simply sat and waited. Eito inwardly sighed at the cold display.

"It will be a group of four, including you. Your mission is simple. A village a day's travel east has requested our presence. Apparently, they are having trouble with a group of thieves. Nothing serious, but they wish for us to act as a deterrent." Eito explained.

Keina blinked. "Babysitting duty? For how long?"

Eito brought his drink up and took a long pull before answering. Lowering the half-empty cup with a sigh, he answered.

"One week."

Keina did not let her outward appearance show any dismay. It didn't matter as Eito could clearly see the subtle change in posture.

"Why me? Who else is available?" Keina asked in monotone.

"There are many operations underway. Our attention has been split too much, so I need you to step up. The people of this village are good people. They have treated us well in the past. Plus, their pay is rather…" Eito took another satisfying sip from his mug. "...Luxurious."

Keina caught a vague scent of fruit wafting from the alcohol. She could not identify the fruit.

"...Fine. Who will be in my team?" Keina caved in.

"Like I said, you will have three others with you. That includes Atsuo, Teruo, and-"

Keina had been listening to footsteps approaching from behind, just outside the tent entrance. The flap opened, and she turned to face their intruder. Eito finished speaking after his dramatic pause.

"-Kotetsu."

"Yeah?" Kotetsu asked, peering into the dark tent.

Keina's entire body stiffened.

"Here he is." Atsuo announced in a dejected voice.

Eito smiled. "Atsuo, will you fetch Teruo as well? I will give all four of you the assignment briefing today."

Atsuo groaned with disapproval as he trudged away.

Keina turned rigidly in her spot and almost shot her question at Eito.

"How long until we depart?"

Eito leaned back slightly. "You will all be leaving tomorrow."

Keina could not keep the miserable expression off of her face this time.