Adrik woke up, once again breathing heavy. He couldn't help but think back to the fight on the bridge. More and more memories were coming back to him to the point he could perfectly picture each and every detail of his surroundings in each memory.
The flash of lightning cutting across his vision, the fear that took away his breath, how time slowed to an agonizing crawl, he remembered everything. Along with that, he could perfectly remember the excruciating pain of having his skull caved in by a giant slab of metal wielded by someone who far outclassed him.
But for everything that he remembered, he couldn't help but draw a blank whenever the topic of what happened afterwards came up. He remembered nothing about almost killing Zabuza, the burning pressure that weighed everyone down, or eradicating a small army of bandits along with their employer. When Haku, and surprisingly Sasuke as well, explained what they saw him do, he was unable to even begin explaining himself.
Now, though, he was thinking back. During his eight-day-long brawl that resulted in his arms being irreversibly scarred, there were times that he couldn't remember. At first, he thought it was just the result of sheer exhaustion combined with the adrenaline keeping him on his feet. Now, though, he was beginning to think those gaps in memory weren't natural. The battle was far more brutal on his mind and body than the fight on the bridge, so who was to say he didn't do the same thing he did back in Wave?
But if he did take on the same state he did in the Land of Waves, why couldn't he kill that man? Was he just that outclassed to the point that a power boost like that made no difference? Was his luck really the only thing that saved him that day? Was he really just that weak?
Adrik snapped his head around when he heard someone land next to him on top of the roof of the apartment building. When he saw Zabuza with his hands up in a placating gesture, he realized his own hands were blazing with burning ash ready to set off at a moment's notice.
Adrik put his hands back down and the ash dissipated. Zabuza put his hands in his pockets before sitting a short distance away from the teen. They both sat there, not saying anything while staring at nothing in particular.
"... Nightmares?"
Adrik glanced at the man before nodding slowly.
"I get those sometimes. There's a lot of faces in them."
Adrik nodded again. Zabuza looked at the teen, particularly at the side of his head.
"I don't know how you did, but I'm glad you healed up."
Adrik glanced at the man again before shrugging.
"I'm hard to kill."
Zabuza snorted as he nodded along.
"Haku said I need to apologize if we're gonna be a part of the same village."
Adrik shook his head.
"Then tell her she would have to apologize to me, too, if we're going by that logic. We were all on opposite sides and it was a fight to the death for all of us."
Zabuza sighed slightly.
"That's good. I'm not great at saying sorry."
Adrik nodded.
"I can tell."
Zabuza chuckled a bit before they went back to sitting in silence. The jonin would occasionally see miniature wisps of black smoke rise from Adrik's form before disappearing. The entire time, the teen hadn't looked away from the star filled sky.
"... That technique you used on the bridge. You tried to copy my Hidden Mist technique, didn't you?"
Adrik tilted his head slightly from side to side before shrugging.
"It was the inspiration for it, I guess. It was hard to sense you in the mist, but you knew exactly where we were at all times."
Zabuza shook his head, making Adrik raise an eyebrow.
"Nah, I couldn't sense you all that well. You lack chakra, if I'm remembering that right. I can only sense chakra signatures along with being able to make out my terrain. How does your technique work?"
Adrik looked back at the sky as he responded.
"I produce a field of ash and smoke to surround an area. I can sense anything in that area like you can with your technique. But my Element is special."
Zabuza raised a non existent eyebrow.
"How so?"
"I can see, hear, and feel everything from my Element, along with being able to sense signals. Even if I close my eyes, I can see every detail of my surroundings with my ashes. One time I left some ashes on a building an entire town over and when I closed my eyes I could see the room I left them in clear as day."
Zabuza's eyes widened slightly.
"Huh. Well, that's... incredibly useful."
Adrik shrugged.
"I get a really bad sensory overload if I don't close my own eyes to focus on what my Element lets me see. That's why I had my eyes closed the whole time. But it's something I think I can get over if I train with the technique long enough."
Zabuza nodded slightly.
"You're surprisingly knowledgeable."
Adrik shrugged again.
"I have to be. I'm the only one of my kind. I can't always rely on what other people can share with me or teach me."
Zabuza nodded again.
"I'm thinking about staying with Team Seven again for today instead of training with another team. What are we gonna be doing?"
Zabuza shrugged as he got up from his sitting position.
"Haven't figured it out, yet. That's why I'm awake."
Adrik nodded.
"Well, as long as you're better than Kakashi, it'll probably be good enough."
Zabuza laughed slightly.
"I'll keep that in mind."
X
Team Seven, along with Adrik, stared in confusion as Zabuza unsealed dozens of scrolls that all fell to the ground. They grew more confused when the jonin disregarded the scrolls and stepped towards the genin while reaching into his pockets.
"I was told I'll have free reign over your training. While this gives me lots of options, it also means I have lots of choices to make. Fortunately, you brats can make some of those choices for me."
Zabuza pulled out three small pieces of paper. He gave one to each of the genin of Team Seven.
"That is chakra paper. Channel a little bit of chakra into it, and it tells you your affinity. If nobody told you already, affinities are just the word for what elemental jutsu you have an easier time learning and using. For example, mine is water."
Zabuza brought out his own piece of paper and channeled some chakra into it. After a few moments, it grew damp. The four genin saw this and went to do the same. The paper Sasuke held crumpled into a ball. The edges of the paper became slightly singed.
"Lightning affinity with Fire as a minor secondary affinity."
Sasuke looked down at the paper with surprise as he thought that fire would be his strongest, or only, affinity. Sakura went next. Her paper crumbled into a pile of dust that fell to the ground.
"Earth affinity. A pretty strong one, too."
Naruto was the last to go. He channeled chakra into the paper and waited. After a few seconds of nothing happening, the paper split into dozens of pieces that all fell to the ground like drops of rain.
"Huh. That's one hell of a Wind affinity. Your Water affinity looks pretty strong as well. So, we've got all five elements between the three of you. Good thing, too, because I had to fight with the librarian on getting jutsu scrolls for all five elements along with everything else."
While the genin were excited at the notion of learning elemental jutsu, Naruto looked elsewhere as he had a concern. Zabuza noticed and followed the blonde teen's gaze towards Adrik.
"Hey, uh, New Sensei, what about Adrik?"
Zabuza thought for a second before responding.
"Well, I assumed the chakra paper wouldn't react with Adrik, but it doesn't hurt to try, I guess."
Zabuza walked over and handed Adrik a piece of chakra paper. Adrik raised an eyebrow as he glanced between it and the jonin.
"Just try doing something with the paper, kid. I don't know how your power works."
Adrik looked back down at the paper and shrugged. A moment later, tiny wisps of black, embery smoke began drifting from his hands. Seconds passed and nothing seemed to happen. The jonin gave it some more time but, again, nothing was happening.
"Well, it was worth a shot-"
Zabuza cut himself off as his eyes narrowed at the paper. Jumping between the skin of Adrik's palms and the now burning paper were tiny, orange arcs of lightning, sparking like static. Adrik dropped the paper with widened eyes as he shook his hands from the static shocks. Upon inspecting his hands, he saw the uncovered parts of his fingers were cut up slightly. Some cuts were even made in the wrappings over his palms that reached the skin, barely drawing blood. Adrik stomped on the paper as it fell to the ground. He noticed his quickened breathing and looked around. He calmed down and scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
"Sorry, I... don't know what happened..."
Zabuza sighed as he walked towards Adrik. He patted the teen's shoulder and motioned for Haku to follow them.
"You three. There's two scrolls for each element. In the first is how you get started on training your affinity. In the second is a low level jutsu for that element. Some of the other stuff in the pile is for arts like medical ninjutsu and kenjutsu. Pick a scroll on what two arts you want to learn more about. You have fifteen minutes to figure it all out."
The three genin barely got a chance to nod in response before Zabuza walked off with Adrik and Haku following behind him.
X
Upon making their way into another clearing, Zabuza stopped, signaling for Adrik and Haku to do the same. The jonin turned around and stared at Adrik.
"... You're strange, kid."
Upon seeing Adrik's confusion, Zabuza continued.
"I couldn't figure out a way to help you train for the life of me. You're a walking headache just waiting to happen. Your abilities are almost nothing like what we can do with chakra. The only thing I could even remotely help you out with is kenjutsu, since that's what I specialize in. So, I wanted to bring you over here to see just what you can do at this moment in time before you start training. I've seen your weird taijutsu and your strange kunai throwing method, along with that barrier and that sensory field you used against me. And even those ash gauntlets. Show me everything you can do outside of that."
Adrik stared at the jonin for another second before nodding slowly. He stepped away and looked out across the clearing. There was a tree in the middle of the clearing that could serve as the perfect target. Haku and Zabuza stepped back as they had no idea how wide of an area Adrik could affect with his Element.
Adrik closed his eyes and breathed out. He stopped and reopened them. He immediately slammed both of his palms to the ground. From the ground rose several black chains made of solid ash that wrapped around the tree and tightened to the point that the bark began to crack. The tips of the chains grew sharper as they extended outward before stabbing deep into the tree. Adrik slowly stood back up with the chains receding back into the ground where they broke down into tiny clouds of black smoke and disappeared.
Adrik held his right hand outward as a small, black orb of dense ash began to form right above his palm. He faced his palm towards the tree and thrust it forward, sending the orb flying at high speeds and impacting with the trunk. The orb exploded shortly after making contact with the bark, forming a small, scorched crater in the side of the tree. He put his hand back down at his side.
Adrik lowered his posture slightly before stomping on the ground. From the earth rose a small, pitch black spike. In front of it rose another spike, this one slightly larger. In front of that spike grew another, this one once again larger than the last. This pattern continued until the line of spikes reached the tree. A spike as big as Adrik himself formed, stabbing straight through the tree and out the other side. Adrik stood up straight once again. It was at this point that he could tell his next attack would fell the tree.
Adrik got into a running stance before sprinting straight towards the damaged tree. Upon reaching it, he held out his right hand, supporting his wrist with his left hand. Ashes formed on his hand before he thrust it forward, making contact with the tree. This resulted in a small explosion of black smoke and ash that sent Adrik flying back slightly. He landed in a crouch and watched as the tree began to creak before it fell over, still smoking.
Adrik stood up and looked over to where Zabuza and Haku were. He saw they were surprised and, hopefully, impressed by his technique display. He grew confused when Zabuza narrowed his eyes slightly. Adrik walked over to the duo to see what was wrong.
Upon reaching the two, Zabuza looked at Adrik with an indecipherable expression.
"What the hell, kid?"
Adrik was about to ask what the jonin meant but was cut short.
"You have a few strong techniques at your disposal and you didn't use them against me. Both you and Kakashi. You two could've probably defeated and killed me without much effort. Why didn't you?"
Adrik's eyes widened as this wasn't what he was expecting. He looked over at Haku, who was seemingly asking herself the same questions as Zabuza. He looked back up at the jonin as he tried to come up with a response.
"Well, we couldn't sense where you were. I thought it would be better if I could track you to let Kakashi fight better."
Zabuza stared directly into Adrik's eyes for a few seconds. The teen scratched the back of his head nervously as he looked away. The jonin sighed.
"Right. You were still just a genin on his first C-Rank mission. You probably haven't even gotten your first real kill. Well, outside of that guy you talked about."
Adrik looked down at the mention of that man. Zabuza patted his shoulder, making him look back up slightly.
"I know everyone has their reasons for not resorting to the lethal stuff right off the bat. Listen, kid. Right now, you're in a career where you could lose your life if you don't kill your enemy. Just because things turned out alright against me and Haku doesn't mean it'll happen again. In fact, it probably won't."
Adrik nodded slightly.
"Now, let's get back to why I asked you to show me your techniques. From what I've seen from you, you've got versatility and power down in terms of what amounts to your own version of ninjutsu. Your taijutsu is... something, I guess. The only thing I can think to train you on is kenjutsu while you keep training how you've been training. Is there anything else you might want to learn?"
Without missing a beat, Adrik responded immediately.
"Fuinjutsu."
This confused both Zabuza and Haku. Adrik seemed set on learning the art.
"Well, I don't really know much about that other than making storage seals. But even then, it won't work without chakra."
Adrik shrugged.
"It's something I want to at least try."
Zabuza looked at the teen for a second before shrugging as well.
"I guess it wouldn't hurt to recognize different seals. But I can't teach you anything more than what a book or a scroll could. So, the only thing you'll really be learning from me is kenjutsu. And trust me..."
Zabuza's evil grin was hidden by the bandages covering part of his face.
"I ain't gonna make it easy."
Adrik nodded nervously. Off to the side, Haku couldn't look any more anxious. Even though Zabuza didn't use them, senbon training with him was brutal. She felt bad for the teen and whichever genin on Team Seven wanted to learn kenjutsu as well.
X
Zabuza laughed loudly as both Naruto and Sasuke wanted to learn kenjutsu. Naruto's other scroll was on fuinjutsu. Sasuke's was on genjutsu. Sakura and Haku couldn't help but be frightened by the jonin's enthusiasm at having three new kenjutsu students.
In her hands, Sakura was holding the scrolls on the Earth affinity and the Earth ninjutsu, along with a scroll on medical ninjutsu and taijutsu. Luckily for her, Haku could help her with the basics of medical ninjutsu. She had read stories of a medic ninja who was able to use her chakra and medical expertise to increase her strength many times over. She wondered if she could achieve something similar.
X
Adrik walked into a small shop as he was told to buy a training weapon of his choice by Zabuza. Coincidentally, it was the same shop he got his current ninja attire from. A girl walked out from the back room upon hearing the door to the shop open and close.
"Oh, hey. Adrik, right? Need to stock up on some more kunai?"
The girl was a genin like him, though slightly older, with her brown hair up in two buns that made it look like she had two small, round ears on the top of her head.
Adrik shook his head.
"I'm here to get a training weapon."
The girl's eyes sparkled slightly as she grinned.
"Is that so? Well, then, it's your lucky day! I happen to be a weapons expert in training, so I can help you find whatever you're looking for."
Adrik nodded with slight surprise at her enthusiasm. She walked out from behind the counter and looked him up and down. She walked around him to inspect him further.
"I... don't think I ever got your name."
Without looking up, she answered him.
"It's Tenten. Tenten Higarashi. This shop is family owned, hence the name on the sign out there."
Adrik nodded.
"Well, Tenten, can I ask what you're doing? It's kinda weird."
The girl, Tenten, stood up with an embarrassed blush.
"Oh, sorry. I was just inspecting your build to try and figure out what kind of weapon would suit you."
Adrik raised an eyebrow.
"My build?"
Tenten nodded as she lifted his arm up slightly.
"Everyone has these physical subtleties that indicates how they fight, but you're a hard one to figure out. You're muscular but lithe, which is a pretty common build for both shinobi and kunoichi. But, something tells me you're a lot more acrobatically... inclined? Is that the word?"
Adrik shrugged.
"That makes sense. I mean, a lot of people would probably pull all kinds of muscles trying to fight like I do. At least, that's what my senseis tell me."
Tenten nodded.
"So you make movements that would otherwise lead to injury on the regular. Most weapons would impair how you fight. That narrows it down to the small stuff. C'mon."
Tenten grabbed Adrik by the arm and dragged him to a small section of the shop. They stood in front of a few shelves that held many different kinds of daggers.
"These are all the small bladed weapons that we sell. Or would you be more of a brass knuckle kind of guy?"
Adrik shook his head.
"No, this is good. Thanks."
Tenten nodded with a small grin.
"No problem. I'll be at the counter if you need anything."
Adrik nodded as Tenten walked off. He grabbed a pair of daggers at random and held them in his hands. He flipped them into a reverse grip to see how they felt before putting them back. He went on to test several more, though none of them would feel quite right. He thought about trying something similar to Asuma's chakra blades but those didn't seem to fit him either. Tenten eventually came back over after she felt Adrik was taking too long to find something.
"Can't find anything good?"
Adrik nodded as he set down the last pair of daggers back on the shelf. Tenten thought for a second before she tapped him on the shoulder.
"Follow me. I think we might have something in the back. No promises, though."
Adrik nodded and followed his fellow genin to the back of the shop.
X
Tenten pulled a small box off of a dusty shelf. She dusted it off before setting it on a nearby table. Adrik watched as she opened the box to reveal two daggers. They weren't much different from the others besides the fact that they were overall smaller by a few centimeters. The straight blades were a metallic black with sharp edges. The tips of the blades curved like the tip of a katana. They had no handle guards and the handles were wrapped in a dark red material. At the bottom of each handle was a ring like on a kunai. The shiny material of the daggers had cracks running through it, though they didn't seem to affect anything about the daggers other than their appearance.
"We have all sorts of weapons back here that nobody wants to buy. I think this is our only pair of daggers, though."
Adrik nodded as he picked up the daggers. He could immediately tell that they fit him better than any others. He flipped them into a reverse grip and nodded as they felt just right. Both he and Tenten looked up as a large, brown haired man with a smithing apron stepped through the back door. He saw Adrik holding the daggers and his eyes widened.
"Hey, hey, put those down!"
Adrik panicked slightly and dropped the daggers back into the box. The man quickly walked over and put the cover back on the box. He looked back over at Adrik and put a hand on his shoulder.
"You alright, kid? You didn't hold them for too long, did you? You didn't lose too much chakra?"
Tenten tapped the man on the shoulder.
"Hey, dad, is everything alright?"
The man, Tenten's father, looked over at his daughter and nodded as he let go of Adrik.
"Yeah, sorry. I just panicked when I saw this kid holding those daggers."
Adrik looked between the two with slight concern.
"Why? What's wrong with them?"
The man sighed and scratched the back of his head.
"They sap your chakra when you hold them. Some guy put seals on them a long time ago so nobody could wield them but him. They're back here because nobody could even touch them without their chakra being drained pretty badly."
The man looked back down at the box as he went to go put it back on the shelf. That was when he got a good look at Adrik.
"Hey, aren't you that new genin kid?"
Adrik shrugged.
"Depends on what you mean."
The man chuckled slightly and nodded.
"Right. Well, I've heard the rumors going around. You're the genin without chakra, right?"
This time, Adrik nodded. Tenten raised her eyebrows.
"Without chakra? What are you talking about?"
Adrik turned to her as he answered.
"I don't have any chakra. Not a single drop."
The man nodded and looked down at the box. He looked back up at Adrik for a second before seemingly coming to a decision. If Tenten was surprised at Adrik's lack of chakra, she was absolutely blown away when her dad handed the box back to the teen.
"Sorry for freaking out. I guess I was just too worried someone got their hands on these that I didn't recognize you. If it's true that you don't have any chakra, I think you might be able to use these."
Adrik took the box before looking back up at the man.
"Are you sure?"
The man chuckled.
"Well, it was fine when you held them earlier. I see no problem. Besides, they'd just collect more dust back here. Might as well make 'em useful."
Adrik nodded before reaching into his pocket.
"How much will that be?"
The man shook his head.
"Free. Just promise me you'll use 'em well."
Adrik looked back up with surprise before nodding with a small grin.
"Well, I need to learn how to use them first, but yeah. I promise."
The man nodded with a smile.
"Good. Now, you have yourself a good day. I still need to take my break."
Adrik nodded as he headed back out to the front of the store. He walked out with his tiny grin remaining.
"... You probably should've at least gotten a little bit of money from that, dad."
The man couldn't help but nod with a sigh at his daughter's remark.
"Well, nothing we can do now. I just hope his sensei knows how to train him."
Tenten nodded along as she and her dad walked back out to the front of the shop.