Black Aria

VI

Akito crouched beside his sensei, both watching the other pair try and find the ‘Whistling Stone’. Akito didn’t know what to say, really. Naruto-sensei had explained to him that he needed to see how everyone worked together, wanted to see if they could handle failure. Ryouji and Haruko had already failed the ‘work together’ part when they had left Akito behind.

But Naruto knew why they had acted as they had. Akito knew why too.

The three of them were misfits, just like their sensei had been.

“Are you ready?” Naruto asked. Akito slowly nodded. “All right. You know what to do. Lead them to the forest and I’ll take it from there.”

Akito swallowed and looked at his sensei, earning a little smile. Then Naruto was gone, and Akito had to play his part. Taking a deep breath, the Hyuuga boy launched himself from his hiding place, sailing over the heads of people, looking for his teammates. Steeling himself, as he passed by, he shouted his practiced words.

“I found it! This way!”

And just like Naruto-sensei had predicted, Ryouji and Haruko raced to follow him, pass him, and disappear into the woods. Akito landed on a tree branch and watched his teammates vanish into the shadows. Genin-rank they may be, but ninja they weren’t. Friends, they weren’t. Competitors.

And that was why they would fail.

Naruto-sensei was just too kind to tell them that.


Haruko shoved Ryouji forward, only to throw herself off balance and land in a heap in an open clearing as Ryouji pressed on. The young kunoichi yelled in frustration and struggled to her feet. Her ankle protested this action, however, and down she went again, fighting not to cry. It wasn’t fair! It wasn’t fair that she should have to do this test, that she should be second to a by! Haruko wasn’t supposed to lose. She was supposed to win and be the strongest kunoichi ever. This was what her mother had told her. She couldn’t rely on men, on others, only herself.

Haruko sat there, trying so hard not to cry. But the tears came anyway and she blamed them on the pain in her ankle.

Her mother had moved to Konoha from Amegakure. Her father had left them for his mistress and her mother had changed. Haruko only wanted to please her mother, to avoid vicious harangues about the stronger sex, and prove to her mother she was worth something. That was why she dyed her hair – because it was naturally a grey-blonde, her father’s colour – and as long as she looked like her father, she was useless, worthless.

The reason she didn’t have any friends was because Haruko was a compulsive liar, exaggerating everything to the point of make-believe. No one really liked her. She had through she would be okay with that, but she wasn’t.

“Are you okay?”

Haruko looked up at Akito, seeing those pupilless moonlight eyes narrow in concern. He crouched before she could tell him to go away and examined her ankle, gently binding it before helping her stand.

“Why?” Haruko asked as the Hyuuga moved to support her. The shorter boy sighed.

“You’re my teammate. We have to rely on one another to survive.”

“We’re not friends.” Haruko snapped.

“No,” Akito replied softly. “We’re not."

Still, the Hyuuga boy helped her move, both working to catch up to Ryouji. Haruko kept her silence, refusing to let her ‘teammate’ see her weakness.

They caught up to Ryouji soon enough, finding him on his back with an ANBU stepping on his throat. Haruko felt Akito tense and knew if they didn’t do something, Ryouji was going to die. She looked at Akito when he set her down, running at full speed then toward the ANBU, trying to save someone he didn’t like. The ANBU stepped back to avoid the blow and backhanded Akito into Ryouji sending both to the ground.

But Akito kept trying to protect Ryouji, kept trying to deflect the attacks of the stronger shinobi. Why? Haruko wanted to scream. Why would you risk your life for someone so weak?

“It’s precisely because they’re weak that we protect them,” Naruto said from beside her. Haruko jerked her head up to look at the jounin, finding him watching the boys. “Enough!”

The ANBU nodded and hauled each kid up over his shoulder, dropping them before Naruto before the shadow clone disappeared. Naruto stared at each genin from eye level before sighing.

“You’re all under the impression that succeeding means winning.” Naruto began. “You think you need personal strength, power, to prove yourselves to others, but you don’t.”

“There wasn’t a stone was there?” Haruko asked. Naruto shook his head.

“You three have a lot of work to do. None of you worked as a team, or showed any concern whatsoever about working together. I can’t teach you if you don’t understand this lesson. I’m afraid all of you are going to have to give up the genin rank.”

“Test use again!” Ryouji blurted. “Please!”

Naruto only stood and shook his head. “Come find me when you understand what power truly means. Until then, you’re no longer genin. Team Four no longer exists.”

Naruto was gone then, leaving the three children alone. Haruko felt the prick of tears and fought the need to cry. Ryouji was speechless, and Akito only bowed his head in shame. They’d failed. All of them, together, had failed.


“That was a little harsh, kit,” Kyuubi said, looking down at the blonde jinchuuriki, who crouched on the branch, watching the genin.

“It was necessary. Haruko needs to realize she can rely on others; Ryouji needs to realize his actions have consequences; and Akito needs to have more confidence. They all need to understand that they are all each other have.”

“They’re kids.”

“So am I.”

Kyuubi sighed, conceding. The three genin needed to understand true power came from protecting those you loved, not yourself. That was how Naruto’s team had failed when he was their age, and that was why Naruto wouldn’t teach the genin he had now until they realized that. Naruto was special. He had a special power about him that allowed him to change the way people felt. He had the power to make friends from enemies, and make people feel important.

Kyuubi knew Naruto would be the best Hokage that Konohagakure had ever seen.

“How long are you going to make them wait?” Kyuubi asked finally. Naruto rose with a shrug.

“As long as it takes them to understand.”

Kyuubi gave a slashing glare to Naruto. Naruto slashed a glare at Kyuubi. How long the two stood staring each other and down, they didn’t know, but it was finally broken when three timid voices asked the same question at the same time.

“Naruto-sensei?”