-Three days ter-
Pov: Shibi Aburame
It seems they have finally found and tracked down the encampment of spies- disguised as bandits it seems... they look like Lightning nation vilgers, but that is a decoy most likely- I would guess Water nation with how they act... makes sense with the areas they were discovered poking around in.
I open the report scroll and write down the current information as my bugs scan the area, Ryū is talking with Satsumi and Raiki as they watch the woods hide-out from afar.
...
A few chunin, two Jonin and a hidden watcher fifty feet from the hide-out, probably Jonin rank as well.
Satsumi and Raiki slowly make their way to the front of the camp as Ryū hides around the edges and back probably to kill anyone running away.
Satsumi makes a loud noise alerting the group and Raiki yells at her the two argue before defending against the camp that have come out to attack them.
Four chunin rush them as they are the most prepared and engage them in taijutsu- Raiki still mocks Satsumi as they defend, great at taijutsu but no use of Nature chakra as described from my mission breifing.
...
The ninja all attack except for the hidden one, Ryū seizes this opportunity to join the fight seeing as none of them rush to leave the camp.
"Light up!" He commands and my bugs watch the two start to cackle with immense power and energy... the Chunin are knocked out with a simple punch, kick or sp as the two rush around with intense speed and precision.
The Hidden ninja prepares an arrow and bow as he approaches the campsite- he slowly draws it and aims, I should eliminate them as the bow could kill one of the trio, Ryū is blind on top of the whole team being busy.
...
I send a bug to intercept- but as the bowman aims at Ryū, so does Ryū aim a lightning dart at the bowman- me and the bowman tilt our heads as Ryū's lightning dart peirces his chest.
Fast.
And precise.
I write that down in the scroll and have my bugs watch the entire scene so I can write it down, the two Jonin remain and have already started to counter against the Duo, water techniques shield them as the two try to get past any orb or wave of water being used to make an obstacle.
Ryū could kill one and leave the other one to test the two... but it seems he waits and eliminates the chunin with ease as they y upon the ground asleep.
He begins to tidy up the camp and search through it as the two continue to apply pressure on the Jonin.
...
A few minutes pass and they lose their lightning prowess... the two Jonin seem happy to have stalled them so long but unfortunately they ck chakra from so much defensive water jutsu in the middle of the woods.
Raiki and Satsumi smile as they approach and crack their knuckles- it seems they still have chakra to run through.
I write in detail on how the two prior Anbu now students of Ryū use their precise and brutal taijutsu to beat the Jonin down... not even using their chakra advantage? Odd choice.
Ryū gets fed up with waiting and decapitates the two tired Jonin with a simple ninja wire as they struggle for their lives, he then commands the two to help him store the bodies in some scrolls and clean up the area.
Hm.
I will leave a few bugs to monitor them but I should be good to go ahead and beat them back to Konoha, get a report in for the Hokage before the trio can.
I pack my things and finish writing to rush home.
---
-Two months till Kenzo returns-
Pov: Kanata
...
We got back from the mission early but that means we have nothing to do again.
Apparently we are getting a few more genin in this department and that confirms what I feared most- we are just in the genin corps when Kurenai-sensei leaves us for her new team.
Also they will be getting a new cool thing to test in the field while we will be stuck managing them from the side-lines, aka no cool thing for us.
Me, Katsuko, Kenzo when he returns, Ryū, Raiki and Satsumi will have to share this desk room as our office and the other genin will be using the training field that Ryū has booked for most their activities.
*Creak*
Speaking of-
"Hey dude" I chirp up as I go through some documents on the table.
"Kanata, Katsuko- sorry for being away so long... new people to manage and all that hehehe" He scratches his head awkwardly as he limps to his seat.
"Right! You two will be in charge of internal investigations Battle-Sage unit, so the hierarchy now just adds a few genin below you, while Satsumi and Raiki are just my assistants now" He informs us.
Haaaa- more work, maybe I should have stuck with the Violin? I probably will shift back to it after the Chunin exams and proving to Katsuko that she is worth a lot more than she thinks.
Unless of course my situation is better than it currently seems ter.
"H-How many genin?" Katsuko asks as she stops writing a report on the gaps in patrol routes this week- she has taken control over the the whole internal patrol stuff, meaning she deals with all the patrol teams and making sure no one is corrupt and such.
I handle the missions, checking any suspicious ones and ensuring that no one comes back from a mission with a different personality or preventing spies from taking the chance to get into Konoha via the missions... I talk to the two guys at the gates and a few people at the mission centre.
"Ten genin volunteers- and in two months time you will be able to send them on missions regarding internal corruption around the vilge or outside the vilge with Raiki or Satsumi to back them up, only on B-ranks at most, if you have a mission higher than that come to me and I will sort it" Ryū tells us and moves his head as if winking... he then realises what he did and facepalms.
How is he still not used to being blind? Its been two months since we saw him first and then he should have time to learn before that...? Kenzo told me he learnt quick so maybe I am comparing him to someone better than him.
I would prefer Kenzo being in charge rather than this guy who keeps dumping responsibility on Kenzo- a four month mission and taking overtime? Ridiculous, he is lucky that Kenzo is a workaholic!
"Battle-sages? Why that name?" I ask.
"Sage's are those who can learn to use a powerful ability and become wiser for it... these guys will be doing the same thing but without learning much and only doing combat- hence Battle-Sage... don't like it?" He replies.
"Its fine..." I reply.
"Tch- I wanted to call them battle mages but the Hokage told me I had to change it and stop being weird... haaa-" He admits, which is crazy because no amount of torture could make me admit that the Hokage called me 'weird'.
...
"Have you been training good? I am in charge of you guys and should start taking loads off of Kurenai-san's back to help train and prepare you guys, if you need help I can spend some afternoons at the training grounds?" He asks.
"Oh, that's actually something nice from you for once..." I say.
...
Didn't mean to say that out loud, my bad.
"Y-yes please Ryū-san" Katsuko nods and I smile in agreement.
...
..
"Oh, yeah me too" I say aloud as he cant see me, maybe it isn't so easy to remember he is blind? No- he has no excuse as he has a constant reminder of it.
"Cool... we can train together... ill be your training dummy in both taijutsu and insults" He grumbles and mock sniffles.
...
He the coughs awkwardly and goes back to working at his desk- how does he read? He is touching the paper so maybe it has braille?
---
-One month till Kenzo returns-
Pov: Katsuko
"Alright! Stop with the light show!" Ryū yells sternly and mostly everyone stops using the seals.
...
*crackle!* *zap!*
"Is my word not enough of a warning? TURN OFF THE DAMN LIGHT SHOW GENIN!" Ryū yells and limps over to the genin duo still showering themselves in lightning.
"GENIN! STOP! THE! SEAL!" He yells once more.
He is much scarier in training than working for him, I am gd we didn't get the lightning seals like these guys...
I suppose he treats us with a bit more care than anyone else- I now know he isn't a clumsy boss but rather a weakened ninja.
"Why..?" A genin asks as they slowly close and open their hands, obviously drunk on power.
"Yeah- what are you going to do? You just gave all ten of us nature chakra... your empty aren't you?" The other genin chuckles and tightens his fist.
...
They ugh loudly as Ryū doesn't respond.
"HAAHAHAHAAHA! Come on! Lets show him why he shouldn't of made us do all those ps!!" The genin -clearly not sane- jumps at Ryū alongside the other one.
*SLAM!* *THUNDER!!* *CRASH!!!!*
...
They break his mask and it shatters to the floor, he stands stoically as he takes the hit.
...
Everyone takes a breath as Ryū cracks his neck and the two shuffle backwards wondering what just happened.
"What...? Wh-Where is the chakra going!?" The genin panic as they are no longer wrapped in lightning and it slowly shifts to Ryū's body.
"You are such wastes... only forty five seconds and you used up eighty nine percent of the energy I gave you... make no mistake genin, I am injured yes- but that means nothing to someone as pathetic as you... seven hundred ps, and by the end of the day- if you fail to complete them double the amount until you do" Lightning seeps from his breath as grips their shoulders and they take a gulp.
"Now. Genin" He mutters under his breath and the two start sprinting around the training ground.
"Sir... they only have a few hours till midnight?" Kanata asks, now much more weery of Ryū.
"Tough" he mutters and looks back to the rest.
"You don't need to practice control or coating Battle-Sages! That's what I do for you, with my seals! What we will be training is efficiency and taijutsu- meaning exhausting you of your nature chakra and making you fight every day until Satsumi is confident in your abilities, you two! Begin demonstrating to the css!" Ryū orders and the genin all pay attention to Raiki and Satsumi go through the basics of the Battle-Sage taijutsu.
...
Its not a good expnation... but at least they can do it physically.
...
"Kanata, Katsuko- you two have been here all day, take tomorrow off and I will see you Thursday" Ryū turns to us and we nod as he turns back.
We shuffle out of the training ground and walk back to the office together.
"He is much harsher to them than he is to us when training, guess we got into his good books?" Kanata says.
"Mmh" I nod and agree.
"How has your training been going? I have been so focused on my deflecting and ninjutsu that I lost focus of you... not that it matters since Kenzo isn't here and we are only teammates in name" Kanata asks.
"Oh... I have been keeping up, Kurenai-sensei tells me I have been getting stronger at least, just... well she is technically right but compared to... you and Kenzo.. and everyone else..." I mumble.
"Psh- compared to who? The best? Sorry but your correct... only second best unfortunately~" Kanata teases me and I sigh.
"Not what I meant..." I reply.
"Yeah, yeah- don't you get tired of this talk? I know I got sick of Violin this... Violin that" He tells me.
"You don't like the violin anymore?" I ask.
"What? No- of course I do, just realised nobody else understood me when I talked about it- I could of expined music stuff but decided not to... you could expin your stuff and have people understand you, ya know? Might be better to get it all off your chest?" Kanata tells me... again.
He always does this, but their isn't much to talk about- my family don't like me being a ninja or near Kenzo, my talents are cking and everyone thinks it... Neji just made me think it too- I never cared about him so much to devote my life around his words... I just understood my pce. The pce everyone always told me I belonged.
See? Nothing at all.
"I'm good" I reply and grip my Katana tighter.
"Fine~ Fine..." Kanata yawns as we enter the office again.
---
-Four day's until Kenzo returns-
Pov: Ryū
"So I should keep the apartment? How do I pay for it and help Naruto with my money? How do I keep being two people without any clone jutsu?" I ask the Hokage as we sit atop the building and I lean on the railings, the stars shine beautifully as I give my final report before Kenzo returns.
"I will pay both saries, I have fully separated you two in any folder or document, only me and you know about this whole separate Identity thing so don't tell anyone- even Naruto. Do as you did before and suddenly make Ryū 'busy' you will be... especially when you do double the work" The Hokage tells me.
"I see... and what about Naruto? I haven't really been keeping an eye on him, is he doing alright in the academy?" I ask.
"Yes- he learned the clone jutsu just the other day, he worked himself to death getting his chakra control better while you were gone- he also invented a new jutsu along the way" The Hokage chuckles at that st sentence.
"New jutsu?" I ask in wonder.
"Sexy jutsu he calls it- I know a few people it might work on as well, cheeky brat" the Hokage smiles as he smokes his pipe.
Huh... sexy jutsu? I will find out ter.
"What about the Battle-Sage unit? Wont it need more supervision than ever? Shouldn't I be going on another four month long mission to keep them in check... the natural energy is powerful stuff that makes pitiful minded individuals think themselves oh so mighty" I tell him.
"The unit will have themselves busy with all the work your team will be giving them, plus- your not going anywhere are you?" He smugly smiles at me.
"Like I could, you probably have a thousand Anbu keeping an eye on me" I make a joke.
"But I am not" He says matter-of-factly.
...
"Really? No tracking at all?" I ask.
"No, except for the mission you did a bit ago to monitor your marks... I haven't sent anything after you at all" He says.
"That's stupid- I am one of the biggest flight risks-" I am interrupted.
"Are you now? My st two biggest flight risks left because I treated them so... if you leave than that is that" He sighs.
Ah- Oorochimaru and- someone else? I wonder who?
"Well... thanks" I say.
"Anything else to report?" He asks.
"Ryū is going on a week long or maybe more vacation..." I tell him and he smirks.
I furrow my brow as I jump off the roof and slide my way across the roofs of Konoha to arrive at the gates.
The gate guards check my id and such before letting me leave- I sprint down the road and into the world, I head towards a town about seven hours away from me at my current speed... no one follows me? Strange so he is telling the truth.
Trust... is it like the saying- 'if you love someone let them go?' Because he certainly trusts that I will come back... why?
Because I may be a tad bit overprotective with Naruto? Or because of something else...? Its like he understood something about me in that conversation and I can't seem to grasp...
Ah damnit- I turn around and sprint back to the gates, tell the gate ninja I left something in my apartment and rush back to the Hokage who stays standing on the roof.
"Came back?" He chuckles.
"What changed?" I ask.
"Hm?" He responds back as he taps his pipe.
"Clearly something happened in the middle of my report- what was it?" I ask.
"You weren't talking as Ryū, first time in a while I heard Kenzo again. What changed you ask? Four months and you didn't check up on Naruto... four months and your report was soaked in concern for Konoha, why Kenzo should go and Ryū should stay- why Ryū is so much better for Konoha. I realised you weren't the flight risk you seemed to have been at the start of this year, Kenzo was worried about returning, because you see Kenzo as the weak link in your own head- the monster versus the retired ninja... you like Konoha and don't want to have Konoha hate you back" He tells me so, so smugly.
...
I sit down on the railing and rex my shoulders, just staring at the stars for a moment.
...
..
.
"I... don't like being Kenzo do I?" I respond.
"No, but you like the people Kenzo talks to, and you love the vilge Kenzo grew up in... it may seem easy ck any care for this pce and portray yourself as this monster that no one likes... but as soon as you acted differently and stopped putting up those walls- you realised how heavy they were to keep standing" He tells me.
...
"How do I stop being Kenzo?" I ask hopeful.
"You can't, that's you... but Kenzo can grow into someone like Ryū don't you think?" The Hokage tells me in his most confident voice.
Why is a part of me so greedy and guilty? Why do I want to lie to everyone in this pce and never tell them about who I really am? Why couldn't I tell the orphanage I am not Kenzo.
Why am I now Kenzo? And why did I wait so long to want to be O again?
Ryū... is like O, not aggressive and being stupid... I want to be Oswald and yet I can't.
...
Shame really, had I told someone about my predicament at the orphanage so many things could have been done- but now it is too te.
"You seem worse, my words not that comforting to you?" The Hokage asks in concern.
There- that. He just lost sight of me the second my shoulders tensed and I thought of being Kenzo, he is actively watching me guilt trip myself into setting up walls once more.
...
"Lord Hokage, may I tell you something quite outrageous? Possibly insane?" I ask.
"When your ready" He smiles.
...
Here it goes... damnit.
"My- well-" I stand up and face him eyes to eyes, I take off my goggles and give him my most earnest gaze.
"My name is Oswald"
Thanks for reading :)
