BUKIMARU



Bukimaru brushed his hair out of his eyes, and readied himself into a combat stance.

"No need for that", Kasumi said. She was seated cross-legged on the floor, in front of Bukimaru.

"Why not?", said Bukimaru said, voice dripping with annoyance.

"Because I've decided we should do meditation today. Got a problem with it, Buki?"

Bukimaru sighed. He had been training with the woman for 13 years, and she was just as finicky and unpredictable as always. "No problem I guess, sensei. I just thought... we were sparring... "

"Well", Kasumi said, smirking, "you know what they say about assuming? It makes an... Well, you didn't use that word exactly, but either way, it makes an ass out of u and me."

"Yes ma'am, Kasumi-sensei."

"Was that sarcastic, boy?"

"Very", Bukimaru seated himself on the ground, and closed his eyes. He thought he might as well comply, and maybe they would spar later if he was lucky. "Well damn, Kasumi-sensei, it's 2 o'clock in the morning. This meditation is going to put me to sleep. I thought we were going to spar, you know, get the blood boiling, wake me up a bi-", Bukimaru was cut off, though...

...by a kick to the forehead.

It did wake him up a bit.

Cursing and dizzy, Bukimaru leaped to his feet, and took up his fighting stance once more. The tricky little bitch."So no sparring, huh?"

Kasumi chuckled, "I changed my mind. Besides, it's your fault for not sensing me coming at you. I was going down right slow with that kick, sweetie."

"Now", Bukimaru said, grinning, "you know I've asked you not to call me that."

Before Kasumi could retort, she was attacked from behind. Bukimaru (or something that looked just like Bukimaru) had kicked Kasumi, hard, in the small of the back.

Quickly, Kasumi reeled around and chopped this Bukimaru look-alike across the side of the head. It exploded into millions of tiny shards of rock.

"How could you have possibly had time to create a clone? That's no fair!"

"Sweetie", Bukimaru taunted smugly, "I was downright slow with that earth clone. You should have sensed it." He then lept at her once more

KASUMI

Well I guess he gets his sarcasm from me. She saw him coming this time, she grabbed his hands as he punched at her.

The unwanted sparring match quickly ended after she stopped both his hands and drop kicked him in the lower abdomen. Bukimaru quickly withered away in pain, then Kasumi silently took her sitting position again.

As she sat there for a minute and waited for Bukimaru to recover, she listened quietly in a medatative state to the vibrations around her and sensed where everything was.

Bukimaru was on the floor cursing, some weapons were hanging on the wall, and the door at the top of the stairs was closed and sealed tightly. Once she came back to herself she then noticed Bukimaru shoving her shoulder yelling at her to come back.

When she went off in her medatative state she often forgot where she was and Bukimaru never did like to be ignored.

Impatient little brat. She opened her eyes and saw a punch coming but she beat him to it and knocked his feet out from under him and pinned him down. She had dug her knee into his stomach and grabbed his shoulders and pushed him into the floor.

While she pinned him down she yelled, "You little brat! One thing you never listened to me about was patience. I said not to touch me while I meditate."

After she yelled that and he nodded in defeat, she backed off and let him stand up.

Then she heard some one come down the stairs.

BUKIMARU


The stairs of the old farmhouse creaked lightly. Bukimaru could sense the presence of someone descending on the dojo from the secret entrance in the guest house above.

Kasumi could sense them too. "Who's there?", she yelled. She motioned to Bukimaru with a tilt of her head.

Bukimaru lightly stepped into the corner. He performed the correct hand signs, and the Genjutsu took effect. To any untrained onlooker, Bukimaru no longer existed, and empty air was left in his place.

No one had answered Kasumi's inquiry. Deftly, she lowered her hand to here pocket and slid out a kunai knife. "I said who's there?". Kasumi inched closer to the door.

Still, no answer came. Bukimaru was slightly worried. He feared that, finally, someone had discovered them. The consequences of that would be none too favorable.

For thirteen years Bukimaru had been trained under Kasumi. Bukimaru was sixteen years old now. He was three when he began learning the ninja arts. For whatever reason, his father Yuukaku had felt that Bukimaru learning to fight and manipulate chakra was important enough to begin the training at but three years of age.

And Yuukaku had never told Bukimaru the reason for the training. Bukimaru had inquired of it a few times when he was smaller. One particular time stood out amongst the rest in Bukimaru's mind, when he was seven years old.

"Father", he had asked, "why do I have to do all of this? It's hard! None of the other children learn to fight, so why do I?"

"Buki", Yuukaku had said affectionately, with his toothy, old man's grin, "I've told you, don't you worry your little head about it. It's all for a greater good, my boy."

"But I want to know!"

"Okay Buki. I could tell you,", Yuukaku said. Still smiling, Yuukaku positioned his thumb and index finger into the shape of an L, and placed his index finger on Bukimaru's forehead. "but I'd have to kill you".

Often Bukimaru would think back on that and wonder if Yuukaku really was just kidding.

Even if Yuukaku was joking about that, Bukimaru didn't doubt that Yuukaku might kill an outsider who stumbled upon their secret training. As tightly guarded as it was, there just had to be a very important purpose behind it. Probably business related. Above all else, Yuukaku was a business man, and he would not let anything get in the way of his business ventures.

As Bukimaru hid in the corner, he prayed that none of his cousins, or any of the farmhand's children had stumbled upon the dojo.

Kasumi was beside the door now, left hand resting on the knob, right hand holding the kunai. "This is the last time I'm going to ask you. Who's there?"

The dojo was silent, except for the constant sound of the creaking steps. Kasumi wasn't waiting for answers at this point. with her left hand, she flung the door open, and then jumped back a pace, kunai held in front of her.

In the door way stood a squat little man, with greased back grey hair and a long full beard. Even this early in the morning, was he was donning his business attire, a black suit, with a long tan coat and hat. He removed his hat and bowed a shallow bow to Kasumi. "Hello, dear? How's the training coming along today?". Yuukaku glanced around, "Speaking of which, where is the boy?"

Kasumi sighed, and lowered her kunai. "Geez, why didn't you say something when I was calling out?"

"Ha, sorry dear, my hearing aid is on the fritz. But to the point, where is Bukimaru?"

Bukimaru released his Genjutsu. "Over here, father."

Yuukaku nodded his head in greeting. "Hello my boy! Good to see you've advanced in your illusory techniques. I hear you were having quite some trouble with those. Why is that?"

"It's the visualization required", Bukimaru mumbled, resisting the temptation to say something to Yuukaku that he would regret, "I can't imagine the illusion correctly in my mind."

"Bukimaru, you will have no success in the practical until you have some firm grounding in the imagination", he tapped the side of his head," I've told you this before, yes?"

"Yes indeed, father." Bukimaru replied. His eye twitched.

"Well. To the point. I've come here to discuss something with the two of you, and I'm afraid we may not have sufficient time. Bukimaru... I plan to start a war."

Bukimaru was shocked. He must be joking.,"A... war?"

"Yes my boy, a war. Against the Village Hidden in the Sea Spray. And I plan to make you my, er, General of sorts."

Bukimaru was almost rendered speechless.

Almost.

"A war? What... what-the-fuck?"

Now normally, Yuukaku would have smacked Bukimaru for such language, but this was different. "Now, now calm down. It's really not quite as far fetched as you would think! I have been contemplating it, planning for it, for decades-"

"Yet you never felt a need to tell me anything?"

"I would have, Buki, but... you must understand, if you had have for some reason told anyone, it would threaten our uprising."

"Why do you say our? This is for you, isn't? Probably just a matter of business for you, right?"

"Buki, Buki, no, you misunderstand me. This is our war. You, me, our family, all in this land who are fed up with being pushed around by the Hidden Sea Spray Village. All those in this fine country who can't live peacefully because of this damned military." Yuukaku tightened his fist. "This is a war for the common man. We are going to overthrow this shinobi government. And we will arm the common people, and make sure this never happens again."

A tense silence choked the dojo for a while. Kasumi finally broke it, "So when does this war begin?"

Yuukaku glanced down at his watch. "Technically speaking, around right now. I have intercepted a plot from the Hidden Sea Spray. A plot to assassinate me. They have already caught on to my insolence, and want me taken out before I start a conflict. Suppose their a bit late there, aren't they? To the point though, I've evacuated everyone in the the manor to the guest houses, and when the Hidden Sea Spray ninja search and find no one in the manor, that's when you will assault them Bukimaru."

"You aren't even going to ask me if I want to fight?"

A look of sorrow flashed across Yuukaku's face. "My, son, why wouldn't you want to?"

"Father", Bukimaru said, "don't get me wrong. I will fight for you. I believe in every concept that you claim to fight for, but.... "

"You feel excluded? You feel like I should have told you sooner, yes? I'm sorry, Buki, but it's as I told you, I couldn't just-"

Bukimaru shook his hair out of his eyes and grinned. "No, none of that. I was just saying, let's hurry the hell up and get this fight over with. I'll take them on easily."

Yuukaku chuckled and mussed up Bukimaru's hair, "There's my boy! Now", he turned to Kasumi,"your case. Kasumi, I officially declare your employment with me to be over. You are free to go and do as you wish."

KASUMI

Kasumi was suprised. Her work almost never seemed done, there was so much she hadn't finished teaching Buki. She wouldn't have told him that though, she didnt want any part in the war.

Kasumi didn't enjoy killing people, she would rather run away from them than kill them. "Buki do you need any help?" Kasumi asked. It was against her better judgement to ask him but she didnt want to she him get hurt over his father's silly agendas.

" No but you can watch," replied Buki. So they both went up stairs while Yuukaku stayed hidden in the dojo.

Once they reched the top she immediately hid herself even to where Bukimaru couldn't find her. Then Buki began to set his trap. He made a rock clone of his father and himself sitting there drinking tea, and then hid himself but Kasumi knew where he was. She had only hoped the attackers wouldnt find him or the dojo's secret door.

When the attackers come through the door they immiediately attacked the clones and fell directly into the trap. When the clones exploded into rocks Bukimaru came out of the shadows. He had a kunai waiting for the first mans head. The attacker wasn't expecting him but managed to dodge anyway.

Stupid boy I told him never to take shortcuts. Kasumi was ready to jump in at anytime quick and unexpected. Since there were two men Bukimaru was slightly outnumbered, but these men's chakra affinitys were weak against Bukimaru's.

They continuously used water-style techniques and Bukimaru was quick to block and counter or repel the attacks.

Just like I taught him.

There was only one mistake so far but with every attack Bukimaru was gaining more of the advantage.

Finally the attacks slowed and they ganged up on him and started throwing blows. One would kick from the front and one would punch in the back. Alternating the small attacks until Bukimaru managed to grab a foot in front of him and pull. Bukimaru pulled him forward, drew back his fist and punched the man as he pulled him forward. It hit him hard enough to knock him unconcious for a short while.

That was one down, one to go.

As the first man went down the other man jumped back a step, leaving the himself not to far behind Bukimaru. Bukimaru was still out of breath from all the continuous punches and kicks so he was slow to see the next kick coming. It caught him directly in the back of the head knocking him down to his knees.

"I'm not stepping in, not yet," Kasumi thought to herself.

Bukimaru stood back up and spun around with a kunai in his hand. He almost missed as the man dodged his attack but Buki managed to throw it into his left shoulder. With the man unable or painfully able to use that arm it made him slower. He was bleeding very quickly since the kunai had pierced one of the larger veins in his body.

Then the man managed to pull out the kunai and start again. They were intending to murder someone that day whether it was Yuukaku or not. It was shameful for themselves as ninja to have failed and returned to the Hidden Sea Spray village.

When the second man came back for more he came with a ninjutsu Kasumi didn't even recognize at first, and her second affinity is water. It was a 4-headed dragon made entirely of water. It of course began to flood the place but the dojo was water proof. The upper levels were not.

Kasumi then quickly jumped in from out of the shadows of the ceiling, and drew Bukimaru's largest sword from his side and stabbed the man. She missed the vital spots but she had stabbed him and twisted the blade, causing enough pain to bring the man to his knees and double him over.

She then slowly withdrew the sword and washed it with the falling water from the dragon that had started to disappear. The more the man was in pain and dying the faster the dragon began to fall apart, making it rain inside the house.

Kasumi took the sword and grabbed the other unconcious man that was waking up from all the cold water hitting him and knocked him in the back of the head with the handle of the sword. She hit him hard enough to possibly cause internal bleeding.

After the water dragon was completely gone and she assured that the men were either dead or close, she wondered what Bukimaru would have to do next.

Kasumi then told Buki to go get his father and she had some questions for Yuukaku. As Bukimaru walked down to get his father Kasumi began to worry if he would be okay. She had always been the sentimental type.

She wasn't happy about leaving since her job here was done, but if Bukimaru wanted her to stay she would have and if he really didn't need her she would have left.

After she heard steps coming back up the stairs, she began to wonder about what the other side would be planning along with what Yuukaku plans for domination were.