Spark The Will of Fire!

“Okay class, that ends chapter 5 of the Shinobi Handbook. Now, let us move on to the… wah wah, wah wah wah wah, wah wah wah”
 
The voice of Allegro’s academy instructor started to fade away as he placed his earbuds into his ears to resume his ‘Become a Ninja’ playlist. Was he getting more than he originally signed up for? The young ninja in training was sitting in a lecture hall in the ninja academy amongst his peers, being bored to death almost literally. He had no idea there was this much grunt work and studying involved with becoming the ninja he so looked up to. Somehow, he imagined that his awesome abilities would suddenly appear once he got his hands on one of those cool looking headbands and he would get to carry on listening to his music as per usual. There’s nothing he loves more than his music, after all. Everyone seemed to be tuned into their sensei’s instructions. Meanwhile, Allegro stared out of the window nearest him to watch the leaves dance in the wind and the birds chirp from their nest in the trees. He wondered what kind of beautiful song the birds were singing this time. He let his head rest on his left palm and let out a quiet sigh of contentment.
 
Suddenly, piece of chalk pierced the air in the room, darting straight toward Allegro like a kunai to its target. Allegro’s caught the piece of chalk in his right hand with a look of astonishment on his face. Thank goodness for good reflexes, and the training Allegro had underwent to hone his reaction time. The entire class was ‘ooing’ and ‘ahhing’ at the realization that the tension in the room was at its peak. Allegro made eye contact with the culprit, his teacher, who continued to say, “Slacking off again, are we, Allegro? Why don’t you stand up and repeat to the class the purpose of our shinobi rules and the rule that stands out to you!”
 
The room was incredibly silent.
 
Soon, it was chuckles and scoffs that broke the silence. They had seen this trap before. It was not often that a student will get put on the spot like this at the academy. However, when it did happen, it was quite an embarrassing situation for the unlucky student.
 
“Sensei…what’t the use? That kid never talks. I don’t even think he knows how!”
 
“Hehe, there’s no way a guy like that could become a shinobi. What a ---“
 
The sound of a wooden chair scraping the floor as it was being pushed back interrupted all of the clamor. At a moment like this, one could really appreciate just how tall the thirteen year old was for his age. His dreads were dangled freely just above his neck, while its red color glistened in the sunlight creeping in from the window. His headphones were still in, but the boy finally opened his mouth the speak. The break neck anticipation was palpable.
 
“The Rules of Shinobi…. are what we ninja abide by while in the field. It is the moral compass we follow in order to prevent emotion and other distractions from interfering with the assigned mission. It is our reminder that we are tools to be used for the prosperity and wellbeing of the Leaf Village and those who dwell within it. The most important rule for me….is Shinobi Rule #06. ‘A shinobi must always be aware of their surroundings’”
 


The room was very quiet, and the look on everyone’s face, including his sensei’s, showed a sense of disbelief. How was it possible for someone to hear all that was said, and repeat it verbatim, all while playing loud music in his ears? That was the question lingering in many of the students’ heads. The simple fact is, that was just how things were for him. Without those earbuds in, his ears were not normal. When they are out for too long, his tinnitus creates an annoying pain and an unbearable ringing sound. Allegro waited for his teacher’s approval to be seated, and then did just that. He had not paid attention to his classmate that had their doubts about him. In fact, he saw it as a form of encouragement. He had never had rivals before. He welcomed the idea. Though it may not have seemed like it, though he may not have had a clear reason why, all Allegro did know, was that he wanted to be a shinobi more than anything else in the world. The only way he would truly discover his resolve is by experiencing it hands-on.
 

Allegro’s sensei cleared his throat before trying to carry on with his lesson plan. After breaking for a brief intermission, the class reconvened in the outdoor area of the academy. The students were all gathered along a metal fence facing their sensei. His back was facing what might have appeared to be a playground to an outsider. However, it was much more than that. It was a comprehensive obstacle course designed to test shinobi and push them to their limits. As far as the eye could see, there were pitfalls, hanging logs, climbable walls, sparring areas, target dummies and wooden stumps, etc. This was the site where their sensei, and other higher ranked ninja could come and observe the incoming class of students who would soon join the military ranks as genin. After all, this was the perfect opportunity to observe how the individuals cooperate with each other and gain insight on how to form functional three man squadrons to carry out missions. Soon all of the students were running about picking a field to train on. Allegro didn’t know where to start, but he wanted a real challenge. He wanted to take a stab at some real ninja techniques. He wanted to learn about ninjutsu, taijutsu, genjutsu, but those topics would only appear later in the curriculum. This was only week one at the academy. So he just traversed through each field until he saw something or someone who would peak his interest while playing a relaxing song on his MP3 player. 

[WC: 1026]

It was a relief when the focus went from boring old books to the kid who actually caught the chalk the teacher threw. Suzume couldn't bare to stare at the page any longer. She had already been through this. What was the point in even being in class? Well, moments like this were something to look forward to. From how Allegro seemed to always be in another world, Suzume would have assumed he had no skill whatsoever. But, she didn't know him very well - or at all for that matter. As such, that would be hypocritical to think, as she would often have her head in the clouds and yet have some decent skills for an academy student. 

She looked over to Allegro, observing his eyes fixated on the teacher who would say, “Slacking off again, are we, Allegro? Why don’t you stand up and repeat to the class the purpose of our shinobi rules and the rule that stands out to you!”

Suzume had some doubt that he wouldn't be able to get out of it. Yet, she took note of his height as he stood up to prove her doubts wrong. "He's definitely taller than I am," she'd think to herself. Then he spoke. His voice sounded much different than she anticipated. Not only that, but his speech was so smooth especially for someone to be called out from nowhere it made her a bit jealous. If this had been Suzume, she would certainly have stammered or had trouble finding what to say, perhaps both. The teacher most likely would have her seated down without her ever completing the sudden challenge. That being said, she was glad it wasn't her in the spotlight. 

As the teacher took the class's focus back to the book, she let out a sigh of resentment. Her eye kept to the clock, watching every second go by until it was finally time for a break. Then she remembered how that just makes boring classes like this seem slower, but she couldn't help it. It was better than going over the material once again, anyways. Suzume counted each movement the second-hand made on that clock. Somehow it became so straining that she could've sworn it moved backward, making her eyes shoot open and her mouth drop with a tiny gasp. She blinked a couple of times, to see that it was still moving forward. After watching it make its way around, passing by the numbers and tick marks, the teacher finally finished the class for the day. Suzume closed the book as soon as it was done to stow it away until the next tedious session. 

Now everyone was gathered outside. It was great to be able to stretch out and not be sitting in a seat. She looked around at the training sets in front of her class. The teacher gave some instructions, nothing too complex, and Suzume was off to get this over with. She wanted to have some fun for once, and so she aimlessly walked around to find something that seemed entertaining. She was still a kid after all, who could blame her?

As she moved from one field towards one of the sparring areas, she accidentally bumped into Allegro. "OH! Uh...I'm sorry about that! I didn't mean to..." she awkwardly apologized. "It's that kid from earlier...and I just bumped into him...what an idiot I am...even more so after assuming he was an idiot!" she'd kept these thoughts to herself.  Being the timid child she was, she hoped he wouldn't get mad at her for the mishap. She covered her face with her hands as if he was about to punch her by instinct, even though he didn't seem like the kind to get angry over something so little. 

[WC: 630]

It was a cool day as a snowy haired kunoichi made her way to the Konohagakure Academy, having been invited to observe the shinobi that would potentially make up the next generation of Konoha shinobi. She was to observe them, their interactions with their classmates, and decide if she would want to be the leader of a squad, three Genin from amongst the pool she would witness at the obstacle course-like sets of training equipment. Hikari had never really thought about manning a team or having students, the only person she had ever really taught was Kaya, and she hadn’t seen the young child since they all had to kneel down before the Mizukage. Kaya had been swept away by an ANBU member after the fighting started, presumably taken to safety although the Hyuuga knew not where she was taken to. She could only hope her student was kept safe from the dangers of Kirigakure, her heart would shatter into a million more pieces if her precious student had passed away due to a Kirigakure shinobi.

Her petite stature made average progress across the village, her small legs taking as big of strides as they could as she traveled from the Hyuuga district, wearing her new attire that consisted of a purple ombre dress and connecting sleeve attachment. Walking alongside the small Chuunin (or Jounin, depending on how her fight in the Kono vs Kiri tourney went), was a large, ebony coated wolf. He had elongated fangs protruding from his closed lips, and piercing crimson eyes. If any academy student was afraid of her companion, they would be checked off the Hyuuga’s list for students, as Kuro went almost anywhere with her. The only places Kuro did not travel to with Hikari, were missions and the war, places too dangerous for him as he was not a ninken or familiar. He was an ordinary wolf, some would call a pet, but Hikari always called him her friend, companion, family.

She was greeted at the outside part of the Academy by the teacher, the tall, dark haired man welcoming her immediately and informing her that she may walk around the metal fencing or inside, mingling with the students in an opportunity to acquaint herself with them. She thanked him for inviting her and the information he provided before she walked away, her lilac tinted eyes scanning the children practicing. Many were in groups of two or more, with the occasional lone wolf, giving her the impression that quite a few of the shinobi were getting along swimmingly. It was a pleasant sight to see the next generation already working hard at becoming ninja. The Will of Fire would continue to burn in them, allowing these shinobi to rekindle the flame burnt out in most by the war.

It had only been a month or so since Xyxer came to their gates with his army of bloodthirsty hounds, demanding for their cooperation. Many of them had kneeled before him, as their Hokage, Risako, had ordered, yet a blonde Jounin stood against him, trying to rallying their forces against him. She had succeeded, a war ensuing from her istigation, from her Will of Fire determination. Hikari couldn’t tell if she had much faith in the Will of Fire always being the best option, as many shinobi had died that day before they ever heard the terms of the Mizukage. He could have offered peace and safety, yet they were too quick to judge his intentions, believing that fighting was their only course of action. The young woman always wondered what would have happened if they had surrendered first. Would anyone have died, as he said they would? Like the ANBU whose head he wore as a trophy? Or her little brother whose legs were stolen and was betrayed by his fellow Konoha allies?

Anytime memories of the war or her brother were brought about, her thoughts always traveled back to that unforgettable day. The worst day in the twenty year old’s life. She had witnessed her little brother’s murder, and made a vow to avenge his death, no matter how long it took to achieve. The Will of Fire was the flame to spark the flow of heavy thoughts within the young woman, but she took a deep breath and cleared her mind seconds after.

Today was not the day to be reminded about her disdain for her village, the shinobi of all ranks that had betrayed her brother, and thus, herself. Instead, she moved inside the training facility, wanting to focus on the task at hand. Some of the academy students acknowledged her as being of higher rank, denoting the headband across her forehead. She normally wore it across her head, holding up any loose strands of her flowy white hair.

Her high heeled ninja boots thumped lightly across the ground as she walked around, her eyes scanning the entire length of the area, Kuro walking beside her. Hikari noticed two shinobi in particular as she made her rounds, a boy and a girl. What caught her eye was that the young girl held her arms in front of her face, in a defensive manner against the boy. She wondered if the two were fighting, and intended to break them up if they were. They were supposed to be working on teamwork, not trying to harm one another. The teacher didn’t seem to notice, or care, that they were potentially fighting, so Hikari took it upon herself to investigate the situation.

Having been nearby, it didn’t take long for her quickened strides to allow her to be within earshot of the two shinobi. Her voice was authoritative in manner as she spoke up, loud enough for the red, dread-locked boy and the long, black haired girl to hear, “Are the two of you fighting with one another?” By this time she would be standing near them, Kuro standing on all fours beside her, with her arms crossed over her chest but e gentle hint in her eyes. She didn’t want to terrify the young students, despite the fact that both of them towered over her tiny, four foot and nine inch frame.

(WC: 1,030)

Allegro casually walked about the playground area with his hands above his head while jamming to his favorite tunes on his MP3 player. He observed as other students dashed through the obstacle courses: leaping over the pitfalls, side stepping through a series of large wooden poles, climbing towering walls that scaled upward father than most students could see, and hurling kunai at their targets. It was embarrassing to see some of his peers missing their target, falling into a pit trap, which ended up being non-lethal anyway, and even slipping and falling from the slippery rock climbing wall. It was true that his class of rising shinobi was not the best to ever do it…. However, one should not lump Allegro with the rest. He reflected on the many nights training hard with his mother to become strong. He was definitely above average, but he did not see a single reason why he should show it. There was no one here to impress. Allegro noticed that there were not many older shinobi, the Hokage included, who were invested in their students enough to actually pay them a visit. But, it was not like he cared to impress them anyhow. He simply increased the volume on his MP3 player and kept it pushing.
 
To his surprise, Allegro received a nudge from behind. His classmate had bumped into him. The boy turned to face a small kunoichi, his classmate, Suzume Himura. Allegro had noticed her a few times in class, they had even sat near each other on occasion. He observed her soft features and black hair as she stumbled over her words. He couldn’t help but smile as he removed his earbuds to hear her more clearly. She eventually became so mortified that she covered her face with her hands, as if from fear for Allegro. No, No…..It’s totally fine, don’t worry about it. The boy tussled with his bright red dreadlocks, feeling confused and awkward in this situation, and thought to console his classmate. Before he could open his mouth to speak, however, another shinobi appeared.
 
“Are the two of you fighting with one another?”
 
Today just wasn’t his day, apparently. The pair had been approached by a ninja in the village he had never seen before. She seemed to hold a higher rank then genin, and Allegro could tell simply with the demeanor in her walk. Allegro could not escape the second kunoichi’s ice cold gaze through those blank, pupil-less eyes. It was only after processing her question that he noticed that there was a large beast by her side. It appeared to be a formidable black wolf with bloody red eyes to match Allegro’s hair running amuck in the village. The wolf and the boy made eye contact for a brief moment….It seems….that Allegro’s life was not in any imminent danger of being mauled. And thus, he raised both his hands to about chest level with open palms, as a sign of surrender as he began to say,
 
“No no….It’s not like that! Suzume-chan and I…..were just…”
 
He let out an awkward, contagious laughter after he spoke. He returned his hands into his pockets and began to study the women before her. This was the first time a ninja of higher rank, besides the teaching staff at the academy, had come to visit his class. Allegro was lowkey wondering what she was even doing here. For some reason, unknown to him, the ninja as of late had been very lackluster. The boy was not enrolled in the ninja academy when the war with The village hidden in Mist ensued. As an average citizen, he had simply evacuated the scene along with his father, and thought it was some type of drill. Still, no one would have guessed that the moral of the village would take such a dramatic turn thereafter. The ninja who fought in that battle had undoubtedly seen some horrendous occurrences, that no one would even dream of telling the academy students about in too much detail. Allegro, without this sense of perspective on this situation, formed a sense of resentment for the generation of shinobi above him. He interpreted this turn of events to just be the same lack of conviction that his sensei had accused him of earlier today in class. Despite his teacher’s premature judgement, Allegro had no intentions of being a lackluster shinobi, nor did he feel like wasting his time around people who were.
 
“The song that the Leaf village currently sings….is dull and out of tune”
 
There would be a sudden break in Allegro’s awkward laughter before saying this, and a look of seriousness in his eyes. His eyes would meet squarely with Hikari’s as if to ensure that his feelings were properly conveyed. Of course, the boy did not literally mean that the village was a terrible singer. He was speaking about its people. Even without knowing about the war, he could see that Konoha’s ninja had few with the passion to inspire future generations, and the result was the pathetic display of talent that Hikari and Suzume could see before them among the other students, still struggling through the given challenges. The citizens had lost their faith in shinobi system, those who were aware of what had happened, anyway. Rumors were spreading that the Hokage herself had bowed before the enemy in defeat, far before they even made attempt to defend themselves. Allegro himself held no ill will towards his Hokage. Maybe he was envisioning himself being a Hokage that could make a difference. He wanted to change the song that the village sang.
 
“But we will fix that...and Konoha will sing beautifully once again! So please help us look after our training.”
 

Allegro bowed as a sign of respect, and then turned to face Suzume to give her a smile.

[TWC 1999]

OOC:

Allegro fumbled with his words, speaking over Suzume's words at every turn. He let out a chuckle as he scratched his dense red hair. The boy watched how her classmate was looking up to the Chuunin, scary doggy and all. Allegro could see an ambition spark in Suzume's eyes, and he liked that. He whispered in her ear, 'Let's go train so we can be strong like her.' The boy would use one hand to cover his mouth as he delivered his message in Suzume's ear. He would then turn to face the nearest bit of obstacle course before running off, attempting to take his new friend with him. He would turn and wave and say "Watch this, Dog Lady-san!"


Once Allegro reached the obstacle course, he dashed ahead by himself to demonstrate his strength speed. He jumped on wooden tree stumps that stuck out of a small pool of water. Allegro noticed that someone up ahead had just fell into the water, and another just behind him was teetering with her balance. Furthermore,  a teacher roughly 20 km away had immediately started writing notes down on the poor display. They're not playing around. The boy wondered if the woman with the nice eyes was as serious about scoring the students as they were. Allegro wasn't particularly concerned. He raced through the watery field from stump to stump. He even managed to grab hold of the struggling kunoichi's hand, allowing her to regain balance and clear the field herself. 

He continued through the rat's maze, dodging and manuevering past automated wooden puppets, climbing large rock constructs with basic ninja techniques that were essential for genin. He dodged kunai, and threw shuriken, each one landing right on target. He faded left to right through a series of bamboo shafts aligned in a straight line, with narrow but maneuverable space between each one. And when Allegro finally made it to the finish line, a teacher was there to click his stopwatch. Allegro hadn't known he would be timed. 

"Uzumaki Allegro. 00:59 seconds"

The boy would run back to where he had last left Suzume. He would have his arms above his head as he gave a smile and a thumbs up. The boy was gasping for breath, after overexerting himself just slightly. He had not done too bad if he could say so himself. The boy finally stood up straight once he caught his breathe. Now it was on to studying some jutsu. Allegro had already learned what the academy had been teaching, but he knew that he couldn’t stop there if he was going to be useful to the Hokage and his comrades. He had joined a bunch of fellow academy students whom were studying from scrolls from the village academy library. There were students reading, practicing hand seals, and a rare few were actually performing techniques. They were all separated and divided up based on the type of jutsu they were learning. Allegro wandered among them, gesturing for Suzume to join him. He even glanced over at Hikari, hoping she would keep a watchful eye over him and even give some additional instruction. It wasn’t every day they were visited by a shinobi who was actually in the field, after all. 


Allegro started at the section of students who took an affinity for space-time related ninjutsu. Allegro listened in on the nearby teacher who was explaining and reviewing the basics of space-time jutsu before he picked up a scroll for the Storage Displacement technique. After reading it over, he decided this was a good skill to pick up. There would be times that he would need tools that were too large to carry. It could also be used to keep important items acquired on missions away from evil doers. This would be perfect for that, and Allegro decided he would make use of that someday. Determined, Allegro wove the two necessary hand seals: Rat and Dog. He then poured his chakra into the ninja scroll he was holding. He tried imagining his closet at home where he usually keeps his shinobi tools. That was the perfect place to store his beloved items. With his destination in mind, the scroll suddenly disappeared with a puff of smoke. The jutsu had been half successful, and now it was time to bring it back.  He focused a bit harder with his right palm outstretched. He did his best to envision the scroll just as he had last seen it. And suddenly, it was there, sitting in the palm of his hands. Allegro had noticed that it had taken a bit more chakra to retrieve something than to tuck it away. Allegro liked the technique, but had no specific affinity for it, not that anyone could tell. The students around him began to clap in awe at the spectacle. The shinobi teaching them smiled and nodded with approval, as if that was just the demonstration he had been looking for. Before returning to their own studies, a few of his peers came up to him to ask for their turn with the scroll. Allegro put the scroll down and continued on to the next focus group.
 
 Now that his feet were wet in Space Time jutsu, it was time to move onto something a little more to his liking. He would occasionally look back at Suzume to see if she had followed, though he would not feel any kind of way if she chose to do her own thing. It was understandable after all. Who would want to hang around someone who always had their headphones in? Or at least, that was the logical conclusion that the boy had come to through his social interactions at the academy thus far. Before he could ponder for too long, Allegro was already at the taijutsu section of the class. He could see people punching and kicking, and adding all kinds of pizazz to their movements. Allegro made a silly face, as it bewildered at the thought of close combat.
“Hell Naw! Not my style.”
 
 Allegro gave a hearty, yet nervous laughter. It would be bad if an instructor decided to test his taijutsu ability, rendering Allegro unable to keep up his genius student façade. The boy quickly scurried away toward the genjutsu section. It was there that he could see most students standing completely still. They were all maintaining the same hand seal, the one for Tiger. He thought about Yensung Aburame, a jounin level ninja who had shown him just how powerful genjutsu could be. The only method he had seen to dispel such a strong technique was physically interrupting the illusion with a rush of foreign chakra. Allegro’s eyes widened. He could see that in the middle of the cluster of students, there was another instructor casting genjutsu with the execution of a few hand seals. He waited and observed from a distance, outside of the range of the technique. The students were visibly paralyzed with fear of something. What a scary technique. After a few moments, Allegro began to see that some students were making progress with cancelling the technique. They had formed the Tiger hand seal and recited the word “Release!”…..Could it have been so simple this whole time. If he had some type of chakra vision, he would be able to interpret the situation for what it was. The Genjutsu release technique disrupts the flow of chakra that is casting the illusion. The greater the illusion, the greater chakra required to dispel it. However, Allegro didn’t have such vision, nor did he have any time left to further analyze. He was up next. Him and a few fellow students were placed under a genjutsu that allowed them to see themselves flunk the genin graduation exam. How cruel and unusual of the instructor…Allegro brought his hands together and allowed his chakra to combat the instructors. In a moment, it was like a large curtain was raised and he was welcomed back to reality now that the genjutsu had been dispelled. He had successfully utilized the Genjutsu release technique. He understood that he would need to perfect his chakra control if he was to ever face the likes of Yensung again, training or not.  But for now, Allegro wanted to explore other focus groups. And so, he did.
 
 
 Allegro was getting bored at this point. He had liked the art of genjutsu much better than Space Time jutsu, however he had yet to find the jutsu he would be passionate about. That is until he circled back around to the focus group that was surprising close to where the kunoichi with the wolf dog was once preparing to scold he and Suzume. The students of this group were practicing Fuuinjutsu. Allegro’s eyes widened once again. This time, it was because he knew that this is where he was meant to be. He watched the instructor and the other students. It seemed that none of them could really get the hang of it. They didn’t understand the fundamentals the way Allegro did. It was something about the Uzumaki that gave young Allegro an early exposure and affinity to Fuuinjutsu. He reflected on the Space Time jutsu he had just learned and how it used chakra to transport physical matter to a different space on the same plane. The most basic form of fuuinjutsu was not very different in nature. All he had to do was inscribe the necessary kanji on a blank scroll before placing the target object on the scroll. Then, in the same manner, collect chakra in enough quantity to transport the item to a different plane. Allegro demonstrated with a simple kunai. The teacher was impressed. However, Allegro was curious about further applications of Fuuinjutsu.
 
He picked up a nearby scroll that detailed the use of fuuinjutsu for tracking purposes. Known as the Mark seal, Allegro knew that in its simplest form, it was just a marker that lets the user know where the target is at any point in time. After reading up on the elementary jutsu, he tried to get the attention of the instructor. Alas, he was busy with other students. It would seem that fuuinjutsu was one of the subjects that not many shinobi got the hang of. That made Allegro want to pursue it even more. Allegro rose from his seat on the dirt floor and approached the stranger with the wolf companion. He had planned to use the seal on her, for fun of course. He stretched out his fist to offer her a fist bump as a token of respect and acknowledgement. He would look her straight in the eyes while he said,
 
“I never introduced myself. Sorry about that. I’m Allegro.”
 
Unless she had been silent the whole time, Allegro would be listening to what the chuunin had to say this entire time he was studying jutsu. He would wait would the woman to accept his fist bump before saying anything further. Should she accept, upon coming into physical contact with the boy’s deep brown skin, a black swirly symbol, reminiscent of the Uzumaki clan crest, would appear on her knuckle, and then fade from sight. Allegro would use his chakra and funnel them into the one spot that would occupy lest than an inch on the girl’s smooth skin. The seal, of course, would be harmless. Allegro knew that the purpose was purely for tracking, so he would know to just sense for the presence of his own chakra on Hikari.
 
“Once I learn some groovy fuuinjutsu, I will help Konoha sing its beautiful song!”
 
Once introductions were out of the way, Allegro would continue to study the effects of the technique, and then learn how to break the seal, should it ever be placed on him.


[TWC 3964]

It seemed the two Academy Students before her understood quickly that she was not just another student, but instead that she held authority in rank if nothing else. The boy raised his hands in a surrender-like motion, stumbling over his words as he tried to explain the situation. The snowy haired kunoichi had not meant to terrify the young shinobi in training, and instantly felt bad by their nervous stammering and obvious sense of worry, as the young girl began to talk whilst the boy was, also frantic. From what she could deduce of their chopped up sentences, the girl had accidentally bumped into the boy and must have reflexively tried to protect herself. Hikari had never seen someone act in such a defensive manner, especially when they had only done something on accident, but she figured there was a first time for everything.

“My apologies, I didn’t mean to scare either of you.” Her voice was softer, sweet like honey compared to before, and a small smile graced her lips. She wanted to put the two at ease, to make them feel safe in her presence. “I just wanted to make sure you were getting along. It wouldn’t be good for our next generation of shinobi to fight with one another after all.” It seemed her words were able to slightly calm them down, the boy removed his hands from the air and stuffed them back into his pockets in a lazy manner. The girl, on the other hand, seemed distracted by something, staring at the Hyuuga as if analyzing her.

Around this time the young man began to speak to her, conviction resounding in his tone. The subject he spoke of was one she knew far too well. But he could not have known the pain brought by the Kiri shinobi, for he was too young to actually understand the tragedy of that day. If he had understood the perpetual flood that day cursed them with, he would not have spoken so easily about the hardships they went through. He would not have called Konoha dull nor hinted that they lacked passion.

The shinobi of her generation fought hard for their village, standing against Kirgakure with everything that had. Despite their foolishness to go to war without hearing the Mizukage’s terms, they had defended Konoha as best they could. Although the young man was right about their eternal flames being extinguished, the Will of Fire had burnt out that rainy day, when they were forced to kill one of their own to save them all. The mention of that day brought only fury to her eyes, the tears she once had threatening to fall remained no longer. Hikari had vowed to avenge Salzem that day, and she would risk her life in order to do so.

The young man took but only a few moments pause, taking the time to meet her lilac tinted eyes, before explaining with renowned vigor that they would rebuild the village to its former glory, and that he wanted her to look after their training in order to do so. A small, sad smile crept across her rosy lips at his enthusiasm. It reminded her of the times before the war, of the times when Salzem was by her side, cheering her on through everything she did. She knew, if he were watching, that he would be proud of the spirit that the young students in front of her had.

Her softened eyes watched as the two proceeded to bow, showing her their respect as a veteran shinobi. She had never been given such a gesture, and was unsure how to fully react to the respect given to her. Soon after they bowed, the boy whispered something into the girl’s ear, words she could not hear from where she stood. Then the red headed one ran off to the nearest obstacle course, wanting to take his companion along with him.

His enthusiasm was quite contagious, and she couldn’t help but chuckle every so slightly as he called out to her, deeming her the “Dog Lady”. Hikari wasn’t even offended that he called Kuro a dog instead of a wolf, too busy being distracted by the fact that no one had ever called her such a name before. It was an interesting, and unexpected, experience, to say the least.

Her pupilless eyes watched as the students attempted the obstacle course, many of their fellow peers struggling to overcome their inability to balance on the tree stumps that floated in the water. The dreadlocked student, however, was unlike his peers, able to pass the obstacles with ease even assisting one of the other students on his way to the finish line of sorts. Hikari was impressed with his drive, ability, and desire to help others even while he was doing his own thing. It showed he had passion and cared about others, wanting to help everyone equally. It was a quality she wished more of their shinobi held.

He continued on through the next parts of the course, weaving his way through a maze and striking targets right on center with shuriken while simultaneously dodging kunai. After he finished, with quite a record time of fifty-nine seconds, he walked over to where the black haired student was, smiling and giving her a thumbs up. He took a few moments to catch his breath, the exercise earlier winding him slightly, before he moved on to the other area of the field, where they had many different stations set up for all the types of jutsu one could specialize in. The first place he went to had thousands of scrolls lined out for the students to read, many of whom were sitting around reading while a few decided to test their luck by performing the techniques they read about. The young man walked through the large area, hoping for the ebony haired girl to follow him it seemed as he motioned for her. She wasn’t entirely sure why he glanced back at her, perhaps it was out of plain curiosity about if she were still there or not.

It seemed he found an interesting section where students were practicing space time ninjutsu, going over a jutsu she recognized as Storage Displacement. She had recently learned that technique herself, after learning about its useful properties that came in handy after she had received many mysterious gifts during the month of December. The young man seemed to be quite proficient in chakra control, easily mastering the jutsu within about ten minutes. It was very impressive for a student such as himself to be able to learn a technique like that by only reading about it, not even needing the instructor to demonstrate it first. Once he finished with the jutsu, he handed the scroll to the other students in order for them to practice it as well while he went on his way to the next station of his liking. He approached the taijutsu section and Hikari had hopes he would stay there and try to learn some of the lower ranked jutsu, ones she herself knew as she had been training taijutsu in order to learn her clan’s Gentle Fist techniques. Much to her dismay, he spent little time by the taijutsu section, although she couldn’t blame him for not having an interest in close combat- it was an acquired taste to specialize in. The next area he went to taught the students about Genjutsu Release, where an instructor performed a simple genjutsu technique on them in order to see if they could successfully free themselves from its clutches.

Many of the students were able to quickly release themselves from the jutsu, performing the tiger hand seal and calling out “Release!” as they had been taught in the academy to do so. Not long after he arrived at the scene, watching as the others attempted to technique, it was his time to show them what he could do. She had no doubts he would be able to learn it just as swiftly as he had the other technique, and about a minute and a half later he proved her right by freeing himself from the genjutsu. Having mastered what that station was doing for the students, he moved on to the next station, one about fuinjutsu. This area was a lot closer to her than the others had, giving her the ability to inspect him more closely. The technique they were learning was similar in application to the Storage Displacement technique, however this one used kanji written on a scroll and the user’s chakra to seal away objects. It seemed the simple jutsu was not enough to satiate his curiosity over fuinjutsu, as he went over to the stack of scrolls and began reading from one, his eyes quickly scanning the contents. Hikari couldn’t make out what jutsu it was detailing, causing her to wonder which one it could possibly be. Having tried to get the attention of the instructor to no avail, he seemed to move on from whatever it was that he wanted from them, and walked back over to her, extending his fist for a fist bump.

It was a rather odd thing to suddenly do instead of a simple handshake, but she shrugged it off and raised her right hand and cupped it into a fist before bumping their fists together as she replied, “Nice to meet you, Allegro, I am Hikari Hyuuga.” The moment their fists touched, she noticed a small black mark appearing across her knuckles for a brief moment, giving her enough time to notice what he had done. Allegro had used the Mark Seal jutsu on her, and the reason for the fist bump had been his way to being able to mark her, although a handshake would have given him the same opportunity to mark her.

“So, you learned the Mark Seal I see.” Her voice broke through after their introduced themselves, “I must say, I am surprised you used it on me without asking first, it is usually common courtesy to ask before marking someone. However, lucky for you, I do not mind. But try to keep in mind that not everyone is as willing to have jutsu used on them, especially from allies.” The tone she used was not stern or reprimanding, but more on the gentle side, motherly even. She didn’t want him to get into trouble with someone because he had misread a situation and used a jutsu when he should not have, for not as many shinobi would like to be marked by those they have just met. For all she knew, he could have been a high ranked shinobi infiltrating their village and had just marked her so he could track her later and ambush her for her doujutsu. Of course she didn’t think he would do that, but that was the kind of thought process some shinobi had in regards to tracking jutsu being placed on them. “On another note, I am highly impressed with how quickly you were able to pick up on those jutsu. You have very fine chakra control and are a fast learner, both excellent qualities for a shinobi to possess.”

(WC: 2,903)

Suzume wasn't entirely sure whether or not to follow Allegro to the obstacle course, it was pretty intimidating to do that stuff in front of others - even more so when they were examining everyone. But, there was little time to think. She decided to follow him, after hesitantly standing there for a second. After all, not showing off anything at all would have looked bad. It would be as if surrendering a battle. Before trying it herself, Suzume would watch Allegro go through the course. She took some mental notes of what to expect when she did it. He made it look easy, which made her a little more relaxed. As he walked towards her from completing it successfully, she headed in.

The way Suzume maneuvered the course was different than Allegro had. Instead of zipping through every part, she observed how each object operated. She waiting for the log to swing back and forth a few times to determine the best time to move past. Instead of dodging the puppets, she took a moment for them to turn away from her before sneaking past them. When Suzume approached the rocks, she took a few steps back to analyze the best path to climb up, only using her jutsu if it was absolutely necessary. Having kunai thrown at her caught her off guard, but somehow her reflexes managed to allow her to catch a few of them, while the rest flew past her as she ducked. The bamboo poles were simple enough to get through, and she took smooth steps as to not make any of them move too much. At the finish line, she was given her time. 2:35. "Not the quickest, but hopefully they give me positive marks for doing it efficiently still," she thought to herself.

She noticed Allegro over by other students surrounding a jutsu demonstration. Not having an idea of what jutsu it was, she went over to check it out. It took awhile for her to catch on, as she joined half-way through, thought it seemed to be a pretty useful technique. Seeing that Allegro was giving it a try, she did too. Her attempts would not be so successful. Suzume pushed her chakra through herself and onto the scroll whiling making the necessary hand signs, but to no avail. She fiddled with the ability, only to find that she might just not have fully understood it. "Perhaps if I had made it in time for the whole instruction I'd be able to do it correctly..." She told herself. She was amazed that her classmate had done it, joining the others in their applaud for his achievement.

She continued to follow him through the areas, until they came across the taijutsu center. She snarkily laughed at Allegro when he ditched the place as soon as he realized what it was. Scooting through the other students, she joined them in watching an on going battle. One of the contestors seemed tired out, breathing heavily and sweating. The other kid was still energetic, as if they weren't having enough. He snapped a high round house kick to the other' face, knocking him over. Suzume smiled at him, hoping to battle him even if she didn't have much chance in winning against them. The proctor just so happened to point at her to be the next opponent. Not being entirely prepared for the sudden situation, he face went a pale with nervousness, yet she was also excited. Taking a place on the opposite side of the ring, she got into a fighter's stance and took a few deep breaths. She couldn't help but to think "I'm not ready" over and over again. "Maybe I should have kept with my classmate?" But now she had no choice. This other kid started with a jump side kick, to which she simply stepped out of the way. "If he jumps again, maybe I can catch him midair and bring him to the ground," she planned. Making steps around him, she got some distance in hopes he would fall into her trap. But, the kid would only throw a string of kicks her way until he was able to grab her arm, to which she countered by tossing a chop to his wrist. She then would make an upper cut to his chin, but he would block this. She quickly took her other arm to make a punch straight to his stomach, which knocked him back a bit. Suzume next made a swift hook kick to hit him behind his knees, only for him to dodge this by jumping. "Now's my chance!" she brightened up, capturing his ankles between her elbow. Her opponent would fall on his head, not being able to pull free from her grasp. She let go, giving some time for the guy to recover. He sat up and looked at her, and accepted defeat. Before leaving this section, Suzume would give a good bow.

She wandered over to the genjutsu station. "If I'm not able to use these abilities then I may as well learn as much as possible about them so I can do the most I can in case an enemy uses it against me..." She noted. Seeing that there was hardly any movement near the person showing off the skill, she kept away. Eventually, she spotted Allegro and walked to his side to look with him. "Yeah, I wouldn't mess with someone who can use such tactics..." She'd say. Although, some students were brought forth to be challenged under the genjutsu. She hid behind other people so that she wouldn't be selected. But, as Allegro had been chosen, she stayed to watch how he'd do. It seemed that he had enough talent to break from it. "He is pretty good..." Suzume would think.

Once again, she tagged along to wherever Allegro was headed. The next section focused with sealing techniques. She wasn't particularly a natural with these, but then again Suzume hadn't exactly messed with it either. She figured she may as well give it a go. She tried to copy exactly as the instructor had done, yet did some steps a little wrong. The her luck, the instructor went up to her to show her how to fix her mistakes while also showing the other students. Suzume didn't have a full understanding of how these things worked, although she knew eventually it would make sense if she kept at it.

Spotting Allegro talking to the woman who had talked to them earlier, she got up and thanked the instructor then turned towards them. After their exchange, Suzume approached to add herself. "And I'm Suzume.." She shyly put, smiling and looking away due to her discomfort with meeting new people.

[WC:1127]

The daytime sun was beginning to set, and most students had already given up on their little field day. Some students headed inside while others chose to keep at it. Allegro was regaining his breath alongside Suzume. He really enjoyed his time exploring the different shinobi arts with her. He had learned that the kunoichi was just as bright. He remembered cheering as loud as he could when Suzume took down her opponent in her taijutsu match up! She made quick work of him. By the time they had returned to face Hikari Hyuuga, they both would have expended more chakra than the average academy student. Meanwhile, the chuunin was giving instructions about the common courtesies of applying fuuinjutsu. He was amazed that she could see the seal so easily. Though, he should not have been so surprised by the skill of someone several ranks higher than him. Overall, he was just happy that Hikari was overlooking his training. Allegro thanked her for the tip with a small bow, and wondered if he should remove the seal, so as to not be disrespectful. He knew that a skilled fuuinjutsu expert would be equally as versed in removing seals as placing them. He formed the half tiger seal and let chakra run to the tip of his fingers. Before long, he was pretty dizzy. Maybe he had expended a bit more chakra than he should have. He stopped the technique before he could finish breaking the seal and tried his best to recover his strength. This was around the time that Hikari told him that she didn’t mind being marked anyway. With his hands on his knees at first, he eventually took a seat on the floor and showed the large wolf, Hikari’s companion, some affection. He would rustle with Kuro’s fur and laughed a little at the realization that Kuro wasn’t a blood thirsty carnivore like most of its cousins. Hopefully the inviting atmosphere would sway Suzume to join him. Allegro would look up to Hikari and ask her,
 
“Thank you, Hikari senpai! Suzume-chan and I have been working hard, you know! I want to become a strong, dependable shinobi.”
 
Allegro looked around and caught the eye of some of his other ninja teachers. He had hoped to surprise them with how hard he worked towards learning ninjutsu. He was the same lazy student that they were throwing chalk at just hours ago. He liked that Hikari was different; she didn’t judge Allegro on his appearance, but embraced it as something that made him unique. Allegro took off his headphones as he prepared to say something. This was usually a good indication that he had something important to say. He demonstrated that he was capable of learning some of the simpler techniques. But Allegro felt that he was ready for a more complicated one. What’s more, the opportunity to test one’s strength against an upperclassmen did not come every day. Suzume was not too far from Allegro and Kuro, and he wondered if Suzume was thinking anything similar to what he was. It was true that Allegro skipped out on the taijutsu section of training, but that was because he did not want to waste his time or get his clothes dirty over a scuffle. If he was going to gain combat experience, why not against one from the strongest clans in the Leaf Village? Allegro carefully measured how much Chakra he had remaining, and deemed he was willing to give it a shot. He refocused his attention on Hikari, this time, with a more serious face on. He would carefully read the chuunin’s reply before putting up his handseal of confrontation.
 
“Do you think maybe we have enough potential….to take you on?”
 
Of course, he was hoping that Suzume was up to the challenge as well. He would definitely need her help in order to even stand a slight chance against Hikari. Plus there was always the matter of Kuro. Although Kuro wasn’t a combat companion, one definitely could not tell by the wolf’s size. Allegro would wait to hear a response from the two kunoichi before advancing. It would only take a few moments for the young boy to formulate a strategy to take on the ninja. In reality, without having encountered the byakugan before, most of these strategies would fail. However, it would not be for naught; Allegro would mentally document each failed attempt and evaluate the distance in power between the student and the chuunin.
 
After analyzing both kunoichi’s response to his question, Allegro would cloak both of his hands in his own Chakra. He demonstrated his vast chakra reserve and refined control over it, which would only be visible to someone with chakra vision. Allegro had thought about all of the stations he had visited today. He had learned to store his ninja tools in a separate dimension of space using space-time ninjutsu. He also learned the basics of releasing Genjutsu, and his personal favorite, the most basic and versatile Fuinjutsu. He was still working on strategies that would allow him to defeat an opponent using different specialties of techniques to keep their opponent guessing. Allegro reviewed his studies about jutsu specialty areas, and thought about the techniques he had not yet visited. Medical ninjutsu was not something the average shinobi would be capabe of mastering. It was true that only those skilled with refined chakra control could learn advanced techniques. As his chakra glowed, he recalled a demonstration of the Chakra Absorption technique. He could replenish his own chakra by siphoning out his target’s. Now all that was left was managing to make physical contact with Hikari.

And with that, Allegro would dash around Hikari several times, attempting to achieve his full speed while separating himself from Kuro the wolf. He made about four revolutions before suddenly drop low swipe at Hikari’s feet with his chakra soaked hand, attempting to force her into the air, even if just for a moment. If Hikari chose to tank the hit, she would find that she had lost some of her chakra. However, with the Byakugan, she probably would see that Allegro was up to something and dodge the attempt easily. Allegro would jump into the air after her release a flurry of open paim strikes that would latch onto Hikari upon contact. Idealy, Allegro would land on the ground with Hikari, hands interlocked with some part of her body. He would let the Chakra Absorption jutsu do the rest of the work. He gave Suzume plentry of opportunity to follow up with an attack in case Allegro’s initial horizontal swipe was unsuccesfful, or while Hikari was airborne. He also trusted his back to Suzume, in case there were any tricks up Kuro’s furry sleeves.


Chakra Absorption has 25 Power
Max Speed of 25
[TWC 5041]
[Mid Topic Claim:]
+25 stats
 
-Storage Displacement (500/500)
-Genjutsu Release (250/250)
-Generic Sealing Technique (250/250)
-Mark Seal (250/250)
-Chakra Sensory (2000/2000)
-1791 WC Towards Chakra Barrier Seal