haru the needle of konoha 1-5

Episode #1 Origins of a Nin
I am a rain village outcast who has had no family for as far back as I could remember. All I remember is having the comradery of the other orphan’s of my village. I lived a happy life filled with taunting the lazy adults in this deluded town and stealing what I, no, we needed to survive, but it was fun.  However, on one fateful night Orochimaru came through my town looking for strong people to use in his experiments and irritated that none were found he decided to slaughter my village.
The people around me fell like flies. Apparently he was one who liked to play with his prey and asked me to run, but just as he begins to approach me, the air began to crackle and a silver haired man with a strangely painted wooden mask approached Orochimaru at a speed unmatched by any living thing I had seen in my life. He was holding something blue in his hand and the next thing I knew I was saved and Orochimaru was hurtling through the air like a firecracker. When he recovered he decided to retreat because of the three other masked men that showed up at my silver haired savior’s side.
I wake up with a panicked look in my eye to a tall man with a wooden mask over his face and as I examine him and I notice his hair, such a strange sheen for being such a shade of gray. “You!” I exclaim, quickly realizing that it was the same man that saved me. “Yes….” He replied taking off the mask, strangely calm despite my previous outburst at my revelation. “You saved me….” I stated flatly “…..but where are my friends?” He sighs and I know exactly what he’s about to say “They…” “DON’T SAY IT!” I screamed, interrupting his sentence like someone would interrupt the sour punch line of a bad joke. “They can’t be….” I almost whispered as tears of pain that felt like they were mixed with my very blood began to roll down my face.


I screamed as I bolted upright in my bed. “Am I finally awake?” I thought to myself as I heard footsteps from the stairwell and Kakashi entered and asked me if I had had the same dream again. I simply nod. “I’m here if you wanna talk.” he said sitting down next to my bed. “No, I’m fine.” I reply as I looked at the man that most ever resembled a father figure in my life. I was comforted by merely being cared about. “What time is it?” I asked feeling possibly rested enough to begin my day “Oh no, you can’t get up yet you’ve got to rest for your 1st real mission.” I had almost forgotten, the day before I had finally graduated the academy I was so excited but up until now I’ve had nothing but D rank missions. But tomorrow would be different; my team would finally receive their 1st C rank mission. I lie down ready to rest myself for the coming mission. “So what time is it?” I ask again beginning to drift off to sleep. “It’s nine o’clock.” “Oh…”I reply falling deeper into my sleep but then I realized what he had said.
“WHY DIDN’T YOU WAKE ME YOU LAZY OLD MAN!” I scream as I run around throwing my clothes and weapons on to prepare for the mission. As I climb up on the window sill to take the quick way out I stare menacingly at him and state in an emotionless voice, “Just because your always late doesn’t mean I have to be.” I give him a verbal slap before leaving in a puff of smoke.
                                                                                          -end
         #2 The First Real Mission
Soon I arrive at the meeting point my team meets at before every mission and as usual I am the last one to arrive. “I’m sorry Kiba sensei, Kakashi didn’t wake me again.” “Yeah I thought so.” He replied. Kiba sensei had become used to Kakashi’s laziness and in turn my dependence on him. I look over at the twins Sano and Kini who were arguing about something trivial that they knew they couldn’t agree on like the best way to use byakugan or who will become hokage. I didn’t really care and I had gotten used to it, but I’m sure that Kiba sensei had had more than an earful. “Hey c’mon guys I think that’s enough were about to start the mission.” They muttered a few insults before silencing completely to listen to Kiba sensei’s briefing on the mission.
“Oi…” he began with his cute little word that made it very difficult to take him seriously. “…This mission is a retrieval of a hostage being held by bandits and should be easy even without me so I’m gonna try to let you do most of this on your own, but if things get rough I could always save you!” he joked lightly trying to lighten our obviously shocked faces at the word hostage. “This is a high ranking C class mission when compared to other C rank missions meaning it’s a harder than average ones so be vigilant.” We all nod noting the seriousness of his face.
Kini was the first to realize it, “Where’s Akamaru?” she inquired. “Oi he’s out getting the guy’s scent.” We all stared in awe. “We don’t even know where we’re going!” Sano shouted loudly. “Never stopped you before.” Kini sniggered. An old reference to the fact that Sano rarely used his byakugan’s long range abilities. That joke was in fact growing very old but to Sano it still stung as harsh as ever but this time he tried to ignore it. “Well,…” Kiba sensei began scratching the back of his head “...we did know where we were going but I lost the paper so this is our little secret ‘kay?” We all look at him with the same dumbfounded face. But before anyone can speak Akamaru arrives in a puff of smoke and yelps in satisfaction with an obvious job well done in his tone. “Alright Akamaru! Way to go!” That’s Kiba sensei, always the one to over congratulate any small task.
We set off led by team one’s best friend. Oh yeah I forgot to tell you about the other teams, well, there are none yet. The twins passed the 1st graduation exam given early in the school year mostly because they’re the children of Konoha’s second Flash and had to wait for another person to pass to complete the three man team, me. One month later I graduated which finally made team one and only a reality. Without peers we’ve had nothing but the last year graduates to compare ourselves to which I believe is hurting our training by discouraging us with such a large power gap even considering the twins’ family history.
Soon we arrive at an abandoned saw mill by the edge of a river. “All this sawdust is blocking mine and Akamaru’s sense of smell. Kini?” She already knew what he was going to ask and had begun using her byakugan the moment Kiba sensei started talking. “There are 6 guys inside around someone tied up in a chair. Three of them are asleep but they’re all armed with swords. None of them appear to be ninja’s.” she said with a sigh of relief. “Strange…” Kiba sensei began, “I remember the paper saying that there was a rouge ninja with the thugs.” “How did this mission ever get a C rank?” I thought to myself slightly annoyed at the difficulties this mission presented.
“Well whether or not we know where the ninja is we have to save the client.” Kiba sensei stated. We turn to converse with each other and devise a plan. Soon Kini and I bust through the roof accompanied by one of Kiba sensei’s smoke bombs. Kini shot a set of arrows connected by ropes tying down two of the three formerly sleeping thugs now reaching for their nearby swords while I minced two others with my needle rain jutsu. As the other two neared they suddenly collapsed showing that Sano had taken them out with a single attack from behind. As we directed our attention to our captured client the entire room started rumbling and in a cloud of smoke a silhouette appeared behind Sano and he collapsed from an impact the rouge ninja gave to his neck.
As the ninja approached us the first thing I noticed was the blue aura around his hands.  Charka? No, it was too well defined and isolated to his hands to be that immense of an amount of charka. It must have been a medical jutsu that paralyzed the enemy as Sano wasn’t moving but the look of hatred in his eyes toward that man told me he was still conscious.I realized that he looked about the same age as Kiba sensei with a silvery hair that rivaled the shade of even Kakashi’s and his rounded glasses reflected the light giving him a devilish appearance.
“Hello, Haru.” He stated looking straight at me. I was so stricken by the fact that he new who I was Kini was the one who had to ask, “How do you know Haru?!” Kini demanded awakening me from the trance like stare I had with the strange man. The man identified himself as Kabuto a loyal subordinate of Orochimaru in an annoyed tone directed at Kini. “Orochimaru,” I thought to myself refreshing the image of the tall pale ninja in my memory from the night I lost everything. “I was sent to obtain the children of Konoha's second flash, but….that jutsu you used” obviously referring to my needle rain attack I used earlier. I’ve never seen it before and I now see why Orochimaru would want me to retrieve you as well.
                                                                                          -end
             #3 Kabuto vs Kiba!
Before I can react to attack the object of all the hatred I had harbored since Orochimaru attacked my village the ground started shaking again, but this time in a familiar way. I cracked a wicked smile as I knew what was going to happen to Kabuto next. All of a sudden Kiba sensei’s tsuuga ripped upped through the floor of the mill and pushed Kabuto through the roof and apparently splashed into the nearby river. We ran up to see if Sano was alright which he apparently was, cursing Kabuto and complaining about the pain all over his body despite the fact that Kabuto only struck his neck.
Kini picked up her brother and we prepared to pursue Kiba sensei. Kini was much stronger than she looked. As we arrived at the river Akamaru had arrived and Kiba sensei told us to stay hidden as he started his fire style gatsuuga which Kabuto dodged by falling underwater. As we began to conceal ourselves and tend to Sano as best we could Kiba sensei switched from fire style to water style and pursued Kabuto underwater. Soon Kabuto surfaced realizing that he couldn’t compete with Kiba sensei’s speed underwater despite the fact that he still somehow avoided them all and retreated into a forested area.
As Kiba pursued Kabuto he analyzed his surroundings and realized that Kabuto was trying to limit his jutsu possibilities by eliminating the water factor and being in a flammable area. “Heh he’s pretty good.” Kiba said to himself. Kabuto suddenly turned around and slowed to a stop pulling a kunai and renewing his medical jutsu the blue aura reviving to a vibrant blue from the dimmed state it was in before. Kabuto looks around quickly realizing that Akamaru was missing and jumped to the side just as Akamaru surfaced from underground with a powerful explosion. Kabuto was now surrounded and with the accent of a smoke bomb Kiba and Akamaru’s gatsuuga began to rip at Kabuto missing more often than not but still landing a few glancing blows. But as Kabuto began to tire he realized that he couldn’t keep it up and knew he had to do something.
“Doton earth wall flip!” Kabuto declared after completing a relatively short sequence of hand seals. A slab of wall flipped up in front of one of his swirling attackers. And slowed it just enough for Kabuto to deliver a blow to the back neck of what appeared to be an animalistic Kiba. As Kiba slid on the ground in a puff of smoke it was revealed that it was actually Akamaru. “Akamaru!” Kiba shouted before burrowing underground with a look of malicious intent on his face. Soon he resurfaced, but Kabuto had learned to read this attack and easily dodged it in Kiba’s angered state. However, Kiba then realized why he wasn’t hitting his opponent.
“Calm down.” He thought to himself biting his hand and smiling slightly as he remembered doing this in his fight so long ago against Naruto. He examined Kabuto and realized that he must have an antidote on him somewhere and noticed that his kunai pouch held not kunai but medical shots. “One of those must be the antidote.” He muttered to himself apparently formulating a plan in his head.
“Heh.” Kiba smiled as he pulled out a kunai in each hand. “Bladed Tsuuga!” he screamed as he jumped into the air beginning to rotate faster. While the bladed tsuuga was definitely deadlier it was apparently not faster as Kabuto still dodged it. However, Kiba threw the kunai while Kabuto was in the air but that missed as well but only by a hair’s breadth. “Heh, that was close.” Kabuto said as he landed. But as he looked up he realized that Kiba was tending to Akamaru. “What’s the point you can’t do anythi…” he stopped realizing that he no longer had his antidotes with him. “When did he?” Kabuto thought to himself then remembering the kunai he had barely dodged earlier. It wasn’t meant for him but to cut away his antidote pouch!
                                                                                         -end
    #4 Emergency! An Injured Comrade
Kiba and Akamaru stand and face Kabuto ready to make him pay for endangering their students. But then Kiba remembers Sano and knows that he has to get to him somehow wherever he is. The truth is that the three were watching this entire fight nearby and Haru and Kini were making preparations to help their sensei hold off Kabuto and revive their teammate.
Kini and I nod to each other before we cut a string next to each of us sending a flurry of kunai and arrows at Kabuto. Kabuto, while surprised, he is still able to dodge these and another set of arrows Kini sent at him herself but then he was hit, finally, by sensei’s and Akamaru’s gatsuuga. Kabuto recovered and looked up to analyze the situation. He knew my jutsu and recognized Kini’s byakugan, and then there was Akamaru all of us ready to face him but with Kiba tending to Sano we couldn’t beat him and he knew it. However, that wasn’t our purpose.
“This medical jutsu may not be meant for people but it should still help the vaccine spread through your system faster, after all people and animals both have veins, right?” Kiba thought really trying to convince himself hoping nothing would happen to his student. Soon Sano’s eyes fluttered opened as he slowly came to his senses and Kiba started to brief him on the current situation knowing he would need all the help he could get to take on Kabuto.
“Needle rain!” I declare releasing my signature jutsu in an attempt to stop Kabuto’s further advancement on my sensei and injured teammate. Akamaru’s tsuuga slowed Kabuto long enough for Kini to tie his feet to the ground with her arrows.  Akamaru began to run at Kabuto determined to give the final blow, but Kabuto let himself fall backwards onto the ground dodging Akamaru's tsuuga by inches. While he may have dodged Akamaru I knew from my position I could permanently stop him by pinning him down with my needles. As I prepare to launch my attack he yanks his feet free of Kini’s arrows and dodges my spray of needles with a back handspring.
I look back over my shoulder to check on Kiba’s progress with Sano and am shocked to see Sano standing apparently ready to fight but I didn’t see Kiba sensei. Then I realize everything when I see the gaping hole next to Sano and he motions me over. Kiba must’ve given him a plan, “let’s hope he remembers it all.” I thought to myself running over to him. I check to see how close Kabuto is and see Kiba sensei fighting with Akamaru clearly keeping him overwhelmed with the flame tsuuga (through the battle we somehow found ourselves in an open field where Kiba sensei could use his flame tsuuga once more).
After Sano had finished explaining the plan we all looked at each other and nodded getting in a triangle formation with Sano at the front and Kini and I on either side. We waited for Kiba to see we were ready and we began running at Kabuto who had his back to us trying to hold off the onslaught Kiba sensei and Akamaru were giving to him. As we neared Kini and I released a flurry of arrows and needles which Kabuto dodged but then was hit by Kiba’s fire style tsuuga sending him flying upward where Sano was waiting and dealt the final blow, his Hakke Rokkujyo Yonshu. Luckily all of the 64 attacks hit their mark putting a permanent end to Kabuto's medical jutsu and knocking him unconscious after the impact he had when he landed.
We were all worried for Sano who had the same unsuccessful landing as Kabuto, but he slowly staggered to his feet and was apparently more concerned about Kabuto than himself. As we approached Kabuto our guard still up Kiba picks him up and sets him on Akamaru and Kiba begins to head back toward Konoha but we stare the other way. “What’s wrong?” Kiba asked.
“What about the client?” I asked the question on everyone’s mind. “Oi that’s right, I guess I forgot.” Kiba sensei said with an embarrassed look on his face. We all stared at him dumbfounded that a jounin could at anytime forget the goal of the whole mission. “Well Kabuto's to dangerous to be given any leeway in recovering, I’ve got to get him to Konoha as fast as possible so you take Akamaru with you and rescue the client. “Understood!” we all respond as per mission requirements.
When we arrive at the mill no one is in the seat tied up then Kini realizes no one was there when she picked up Sano. “But that means….” I started. “….this entire mission was a fraud just so Orochimaru could capture us.” Kini finished, looking at her brother.
                                                                                         -end
             #5 A Missing Sensei
We all turn and disappear in a puff of smoke simultaneously running as fast as we could to return to Konoha with the sensitive information that we carried. As we neared we were relieved that we hadn’t been attacked by any other subordinates of Orochimaru. I was rather suspicious that things were going so smoothly, Orochimaru wasn’t one to let his prey escape easily. I recalled that fateful night and realized that before Kakashi’s group showed up Orochimaru was still determined to fight him off showing his confidence in abilities. However, when faced with a four on one battle with one of them being Hatake Kakashi he reluctantly decided to retreat shooting one last evil glance at me.
As we entered Konoha he leapt up jumping rooftop to rooftop trying to take a direct route to the Hokage’s tower instead of relying on the winding streets and alleyways below. Kini and Sano had activated their byakugan and on the way to the Hokage’s tower they were scouting to see if they could find Kiba sensei without needing to go to Tsunade. Despite their efforts we reach the her office without having located sensei and knocked prepared to share our information with her.
“Come in.” said an obviously annoyed voice on the other side of the door. We enter to see Tsunade bent over looking at some papers that appear to be bills from over thirty years ago. “How was the mission?” she asked looking up with a broad smile that faded when she saw our tired state. “What’s wrong?” She asked. As we sat down to explain the rather lengthy story we learned she had not received any word on Kiba sensei’s arrival back into Konoha.
“Kiba sensei’s not back yet!” Kini exclaimed voicing the fears now shared by the entire group. “Kabuto must’ve woken up.” Tsunade said. “He has an incredible healing rate.” She explained as we cast glances at Sano who was staring at the floor in disgust with his performance today. Being taken out so quickly and being a hindrance to the mission. He wasn’t used to that. And his sixty-four strikes wasn’t even enough to knock Kabuto out long enough for Kiba to return to Konoha. He truly must’ve felt like he was worthless.
“Genma!” She called out. “Sir.” Genma said appearing in a puff of smoke. “Find Shino and bring him here. Tell him he’s receiving an A class mission.” She ordered. Genma nodded as he disappeared in another puff of smoke. “Shino can’t do this alone and since Orochimaru will keep you three alive the longest of all the teams if you get captured I I’ll send you. And, when some more jounin return to the village you’ll be receiving backup. Go prepare for a long-term mission and meet at the entrance gates of Konoha in one hour.”
                                                                                          -end