After a few long minutes of running across the Hidden Leaf Village via rooftop hopping, Naruto was beginning to think Hinata had already gone home for the day. It was to be expected, though, as the sun had already begun setting.
Naruto sighed to himself as he knew he would have more than enough time to talk to Hinata the next day. He couldn't help but feel bad as he had been back in the village for a few days now and hadn't once thought about seeing her.
And then, there was the situation with what he and Haku talked about that happened just a few minutes earlier. Now, he didn't know how to feel. He was conflicted about his feelings towards Sakura. He liked his teammate for the longest time but, now, it was like he could actually feel all of those thoughts and emotions fading away. He didn't know what to think anymore but, for some reason, he also felt like Hinata could help.
Naruto raised his eyebrows when he heard a small commotion further down the path. He hadn't noticed as he unconsciously began walking through the park. Looking down the path, he saw what appeared to be a person being dragged by their arm. Running up to get a closer look, Naruto's eyes widened when he saw it was Hinata being pulled along by an older man. He seemed to be a member of the girl's clan based on the pale color of his eyes.
"Hey, what's goin' on?"
Both Hinata and the man stopped and looked over at Naruto as they only now noticed him.
"Why're you draggin' Hinata like that?"
The man let go of Hinata, said teen looking down at the ground in embarrassment at being caught in such a situation.
"I apologize for making a scene. I did not know anyone was around. Rest assured, this was just a small accident. Now, Lady Hinata has somewhere to be. We must be going."
"B-But, Ko..."
The man, Ko, gave Hinata a stern look. He leaned in to whisper to her so as to not let Naruto overhear them.
"You know this is an important night, Lady Hinata. We cannot have you arriving late. And... I believe it would be in your best interest to not associate with that... boy."
"I... I-I understand."
Ko nodded.
Neither of the two Hyuga Clan members noticed as Naruto held his head down. His hearing was far sharper than most knew. Unfortunately, what he overhears isn't always something he is glad to know.
"Hey, what's your problem with me, huh?!"
Ko and Hinata turned to look at him, the former raising an eyebrow as he stared at the blonde teen.
"If you've got somethin' to say about me, spit it out!"
Ko stared at him for a moment longer before shaking his head.
"We do not have time for this. Lady Hinata, we need to go."
Ko sighed as he began walking off, assuming she would follow. When he heard no footsteps besides his own, he stopped and turned back. His eyes narrowed when he saw Hinata approach Naruto.
"I-I'm sorry, N-Naruto. W-We can talk a-as much as you l-like, tomorrow. I-I have somewhere t-to be."
Naruto nodded in surprise.
"Oh, uh, alright. Well, sorry for... holdin' you up, I guess. I'll see you tomorrow, Hinata. Be safe."
Hinata smiled and nodded with a slight blush. Naruto returned the gesture with a wide smile of his own as he waved and walked off. Ko sighed as Hinata waved before finally following after him. He thought for a few seconds about what he had seen as they walked. After some time, he finally formulated his words.
"Lady Hinata."
Hinata looked up at her caretaker.
"While I... do not have jurisdiction over who you choose to befriend, please be careful about who you interact with."
Hinata put her head down slightly.
"I-I will."
Ko stared at her for a second before shaking his head and refocusing on the path. While he had his reservations about Naruto, most of that stemming from what he had witnessed during the attack of the Nine-Tailed Fox, he couldn't deny his surprise when he saw the kindness in the blonde genin's eyes while the teen spoke to Hinata. For her safety, he wasn't intent on giving Naruto the benefit of the doubt. At least, not yet.
X
Adrik stared across the village from the top of a random building. He kept waking up at the dead of night because of the nightmares. They grew more vivid every night. It started with him laying on the ground, his arms mangled and blood pooling underneath him. Over time, he was able to hear the distinct sound of lightning crackling nearby. The only thing he saw before he woke up panting was a giant, glowing ball of solid blue lightning radiating sparks in every direction while surrounded by miniature clouds.
Adrik didn't bother looking over as he felt Anko approach, once again being able to find him. She silently walked over and sat next to him. The two stared out at the village under the stars for a few minutes, neither speaking. Anko glanced at Adrik, already knowing the teen wouldn't bring it up unless prompted.
"... So, what is it this time?"
"... Lightning."
Anko gave a small nod. She noticed as he glanced down at his arms for a few seconds before looking back up to stare at the night sky.
"How did it go this time?"
Adrik shrugged slightly.
"Same as last night."
Anko nodded again.
"The lightning. It's not... actively hurting you... is it?"
Adrik shook his head.
"It just floats there. That's as far as I can see before I wake up."
"And you're sure that's it? No extra details that weren't there last time? That's the full picture?"
Adrik nodded.
"Well, can you tell me what the lightning looks like?"
Adrik didn't respond for a few seconds. Anko put a hand on his shoulder when she saw him shaking slightly.
"Hey, just tell me the first thing you noticed. We'll start from there."
Adrik nodded after a second. He took a deep breath before speaking.
"It's blue."
Anko nodded.
"What kind of blue? Like an almost white kind of blue? Maybe a light teal?"
Adrik shook his head.
"Blue like the ocean, with a pure white center."
Anko nodded again.
"Now, what did it look like?"
Adrik took some time to think before responding.
"... It... It was just an orb."
"How large?"
Adrik shrugged.
"Larger than a person. Like a small boulder."
Anko nodded.
"Can you tell me anything else about it?"
Adrik's breath came out shaky as he took a moment to respond.
"Sparks. Lots of sparks and... dark clouds."
Anko nodded once more before dropping the subject of the lightning. She patted the teen lightly on the shoulder.
"Alright. That's more than enough. You did good."
Anko let go of Adrik's shoulder and gave the teen a few seconds to control himself.
"... Do you think you can go home now?"
Adrik looked down for a second before nodding silently. Both he and Anko stood up.
"I... I think I'm gonna go do some extra training..."
Anko pulled out a watch from her trenchcoat pocket and gave a small nod.
"It's barely past midnight. Just don't work yourself too hard. I know you don't need much sleep, but still."
Adrik nodded before turning to head back to his apartment.
"If you need a good place to train, head to Training Ground Forty-Four sometime."
By the time Adrik turned around, Anko was gone, leaving him unable to see the devilish grin that formed on her face.
X
Adrik looked around as he had been waiting for a few minutes at this point. With how early he was told to be there, he assumed the team he was supposed to meet would be there as well.
"Hello! May I ask what your name is?"
Adrik flinched slightly before turning around. What met him was a teen about a year older than him with shiny black hair in the most bowl cut of all bowlcuts with large eyes and equally large eyebrows. He wore all green spandex with dark-ish orange leg warmers. Adrik was surprised to see the teen before him had similar arm wrappings to him.
"Are you alright, friend?"
Adrik shook his head before putting his hand out to shake.
"Yeah, you just... surprised me a little bit. I'm Adrik."
The teen smiled widely.
"Ah, my apologies. My name is Rock Lee! Once again, I am sorry for startling you. That was not my intention."
Adrik was surprised by the firm handshake he received from the teen. It almost felt like his hand was being crushed.
"Don't worry about it. I'm more surprised I didn't sense you."
Adrik let go of the handshake as he put his attention back on his senses. From the signature of Rock Lee, he immediately understood why he couldn't sense the older teen at first. His chakra levels were a fair bit lower than even most civilian children.
"Ah, yes, I am told I am often hard to trace by most sensory techniques aside from the Byakugan. That is due to my condition."
Adrik tilted his head slightly.
"Condition?"
The older teen nodded with a slight frown.
"I am unable to to access my chakra fully. In turn, that also means my chakra levels are forever stuck at a level even academy students scoff at. The only positive is that I can still walk on walls and on the surface of water, with some effort."
The older teen hunched over with his head down in sadness. As Adrik went to pat his shoulder, he shot back up with a determined frown.
"That is why I must train myself to become a master of taijutsu! I will work twice as hard as everyone else to become just as capable as them, if not more so!"
Adrik was about to respond when a carbon copy of Rock Lee burst from the bushes wearing a jonin vest. The only difference Adrik could see was that the man's eyes were more narrow and he lacked the arm wrappings.
"It is good to see the brightness of your youth shining so early, Lee! Even at the crack of dawn, you do not let your flames die down!"
The man posed proudly with a manly tear falling from his eye. Lee bowed deeply.
"And it is with your training that my flames continue to be stoked, Guy Sensei!"
Before Adrik knew what was happening, the teen and his jonin sensei began hugging with prideful tears falling down their cheeks. The sun rising off in the distance made what he was witnessing all the worse. He turned away to rub at his eyes from the pain.
"Hm? Who might you be, my youthful comrade?"
Adrik blinked a few times before turning back. Luckily, whatever demonic creation the jonin and his student had conjured seemed to have disappeared.
"Uh... Ad-"
"No, wait! Don't tell me... You're that new genin that Lord Hokage told me about! If I am remembering correctly, you wish to join us on training over the weekends, am I correct?"
Adrik barely got a chance to nod before the jonin shouted his excitement.
"Lee, is this not wonderful?! Another youthful young man wishes to learn under me! I couldn't be more proud!"
"Indeed, Guy Sensei! I knew that it would only be a matter of time before your youthful ways captured the hearts and minds of those like me!"
As Adrik was hit by a second wave of the demonic creation, he couldn't help but feel like he had made a mistake.
X
"Now, I know what Lord Hokage told me about you is only the tip of the iceberg! Today, we will be testing just what you are made of!"
Adrik nodded to the jonin, who he had learned is named Might Guy.
"To start off, I want you to have a little spar with Lee."
The teen in question looked back at his sensei with surprise.
"Are you sure, Guy Sensei?"
Guy nodded with his ever present smirk.
"Indeed. Not to worry, I will call the match if it gets too out of hand. Other than that, feel free to go wild, Lee!"
Lee stared at the jonin for a second before nodding with a fiery determination in his eyes. He looked back at Adrik and the two moved into position across from each other.
"The rules of this spar are anything goes! The match ends when I say so, no sooner nor later!"
The two genin nodded as they got into their respective stances. Guy put his hand up before swinging it down.
"Begin!"
Adrik was surprised at the speed Lee came at him with. He narrowly ducked the kick aimed for his side before sending a kick of his own straight up, which Lee dodged. Lee rushed back in with a right hook quickly followed by a left hook. Adrik blocked both attacks with his forearms, though he was pushed back a fair bit. He couldn't help but notice how hard the older teen hit him.
Adrik rolled to the side to avoid an axe kick before striking back with a spinning backhand. Lee deflected it with his arm before kicking Adrik in the side. His eyes widened slightly as he was hit in his side by a similar attack. The two genin jumped back a short distance.
Adrik stared at his opponent for a moment longer before deciding that he would need to go on the offensive. He sprinted forward as low to the ground as he could get. He reached Lee and sent a left knee upwards as he jumped. The older teen blocked the attack with his right forearm and had to move his left arm to defend from the elbow from above. Lee's eyes widened once again when Adrik brought his other leg up and kicked him in his jaw.
Before Lee could recover from being staggered, Adrik dropped to the ground and got behind him. He sent an elbow at the older teen's back which was met with a kick. After holding the clash for a few seconds, they both grunted and jumped back.
Lee's eyes narrowed as he saw wisps of black smoke rising from Adrik. He ran forward and slammed a fist down. Adrik blocked it with his forearms once again and felt as his muscles and bones strained to take the impact. Even so, he mustered the strength to fling Lee back, which he noted was incredibly difficult.
Lee came running back in with a knee that Adrik deflected before sending a punch at his collarbone. It was blocked and Lee grabbed Adrik's outstretched arm. Before the teen could pull himself away, he caught a knee to the stomach that made him double over in pain. He then took a kick to the face that sent him flying back, impacting with a tree at the edge of the clearing and kicking up dust.
Both Lee and Guy had their eyes narrowed on the dust cloud to try and see through it. After a few seconds of it clearing away, they saw Adrik getting up from the remains of a tree. He wiped at his mouth and looked down. He saw a few drops of blood on his wrappings and frowned before looking back up. Without looking away from his opponent, he called out to Guy.
"You said anything goes, right?"
"Indeed. I advise against using anything lethal, if that is what you intend on using."
Adrik shook his head slightly. Lee and Guy watched as the teen's forearms and lower legs were enveloped in a layer of solid ash that went over his skin, or in this case, his wrappings. They were surprised as this was a presumably never-before-seen technique.
"Cinder Armor!"
As Adrik called out his technique, he rushed at Lee. He was surprised when his younger opponent became noticeably faster than before, and, based on the punch that he blocked, stronger as well.
Adrik shifted his punch into a shoulder tackle that sent Lee skidding back slightly. He spun into a heel kick that was once again blocked before he kicked himself away. The moment he landed, he jumped to the left and rushed in again. As Lee turned to face him, he ducked and shifted to the right. He got close and sent an elbow into Lee's ribs, staggering him. Adrik didn't let up as he propelled himself upwards slightly and slammed an axe kick into Lee's shoulder. The older teen managed to catch it before it could do too much damage, though. He threw Adrik away by his ankle, to which the teen landed in a crouch.
As Adrik was waiting to see what Lee would do next, he was confused. The older teen was unwrapping the white bandages on his arms.
"Lee! That is enough! I declare this fight over!"
Lee looked over at Guy in surprise, Adrik doing much the same. The layer of ash coating his arms and legs faded after a moment.
"Guy Sensei? But why-"
"-I know I said anything goes, but I believe it would be best if you do not use that move. Not to mention I feel I have seen enough of Adrik's taijutsu to get a clear picture of it, which was my main intention."
"Oh, I understand! How wise of you, Guy Sensei!"
The jonin gave a thumbs up with a wide smile. Adrik could swear he saw the man's teeth sparkle as he did so. The jonin motioned for the two to come over to him.
"Lee, you did as good as ever. Keep working hard like always!"
Lee nodded with a proud smile.
"Yes, Guy Sensei! In fact, I will work twice as hard as I usually do!"
Guy nodded before looking back towards Adrik with an inspecting frown.
"Now, what to say... Hm... It is clear you have a unique style, my youthful new student. Tell me, how long have you been training with this style?"
Adrik shrugged.
"About a month and a half."
Guy nodded.
"So it is still in its early stages..."
Lee chimed in with his own comments.
"You did excellently for such a short time of developing your own taijutsu style! I admit, it was incredibly hard to predict your movements. Ordinarily, I would try to avoid attacks but you forced me to be much more defensive."
Guy nodded along. Adrik scratched the back of his head slightly.
"That's kind of the point. I try to make it as hard as possible to tell where I'm attacking from or how I'm attacking."
Guy nodded again.
"I see. Your movements are also a part of this tactic, then?"
Upon seeing Adrik nod, he continued.
"But your movements seem extremely strenuous. Not to mention how much energy you would waste. Your endurance must be incredible to fight like that for more than a few minutes."
Adrik nodded again.
"That's another part of it. Make movements nobody else would."
Guy nodded. Over the course of his questioning, his smile had slowly been growing larger and larger.
"Incredible! Have you given this fighting style a name, yet?"
Adrik shook his head.
"Then, allow me, the Hidden Leaf Village's Taijutsu Master, the Beautiful Blue Beast, Might Guy, to properly name your special taijutsu! I shall call it the 'Mad Hyena' Style!"
Adrik frowned slightly. He opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by Lee.
"That is an amazing name, Guy Sensei! What an honor it is to have your taijutsu named by the greatest Taijutsu Master of the Elemental Nations!"
Adrik looked between the smiling duo before sighing and deciding to go along with the name.
"Now that we have that settled, it is time I give you something, my new student!"
Adrik tilted his head slightly as Guy brought out a sealing scroll. He unsealed what was in it, revealing two strange looking objects.
"These are ankle weights. They have been amplified to weigh more than they appear capable of. Lee and I wear these all day every day, unless in the showers, and train with them off once a week to adjust to the weight being lifted. Luckily, they are not bulky and still allow for your usual movements. The only downside is you need chakra to release or reattach them. Even the slightest bit is enough, though."
Adrik looked at the weights before reaching down to try and pick them up. His eyes widened as he could barely even move them. Guy laughed heartily.
"Ah, not to worry! I can apply them for you."
Before Adrik could even blink, the weights were around his ankles, making him feel like he was lifting boulders every time he tried to take a step.
"You will get used to them soon! That is the lowest setting after all!"
Adrik looked down at the weights with shock. He crouched down after a few more seconds of staring.
"Oh, should I take them off for you?"
Adrik shook his head.
"No, I'm just inspecting them."
Guy raised a large eyebrow.
"Inspecting them? What for, may I ask?"
Adrik shrugged. After a few more seconds of looking, he found what he was searching for.
"So they're fuinjutsu?"
Guy nodded with his eyebrow still raised.
"Indeed. How did you know?"
"I wanna learn fuinjutsu. Even if I don't have chakra, I wanna find a way to use it myself, or at least understand it."
Guy's eyes narrowed slightly as he began to think over what the teen said.
"You don't have chakra? What do you mean?"
Adrik looked back up at Lee as he stood up.
"I don't have a drop of chakra in my system. Makes us pretty similar, now that I think about it."
"Then, what was that technique you used earlier?"
Adrik shrugged. He brought his hand up and out came a dense wisp of black, ember-filled smoke that dissipated when he closed his fist.
"It's my Element. It's my own power that I'm still figuring out how to use."
"I see! What an incredible power."
Guy looked up from the ground.
"Ah, it appears I was lost in thought. We are a little late to our training! Come, let us go forth, Lee, Adrik!"
The two genin looked over to their sensei.
"Yes, Guy Sensei!"
Adrik didn't know how to respond when he saw the jonin and his mini-me run off beyond the clearing. He sighed as all he could do was follow however well he could. He was a little worried, though. He didn't want to go to someone every time he needed to take his weights off, and he didn't want to take them off at the time time Guy and Lee took theirs off. No, the latter should not even be considered as an option, nor as a reality. If he was ever going to learn fuinjutsu, he needed to learn it fast, and maybe, he could figure out a way to use it without chakra...