A Shard Among Leaves: A Lesson In The Proper Use of Available Resources (Patreon)

[A Lesson In The Proper Use of Available Resources]

Naruto stretched his arms high above his head. “Man, I’m beat! I could really go for something to eat right now, right, you guys?”

He was answered by a hand coming across the back of his head and flinched, turning a pout on Sakura who glared at him. “If you try to take anything from Tsunami-san’s pantry, we’re gonna have problems, Naruto.”

Sasuke clicked his tongue. His own face was dirty and soaked with sweat, but he was smirking. “You wouldn’t be this tired if you didn’t try making it a competition.”

Naruto turned and glared at his teammate. “You really think you’re all that, don’t you, bastard?”

Sasuke’s smirk widened before he turned his gaze forward and kept walking. Naruto growled at his cocky attitude but before he could knock the look off of his face, Sakura stepped between them with a weary sigh.

“Please. I’m too tired to deal with this right now.” She pushed Naruto back a step, and even gave Sasuke an annoyed look. “We’re almost bac so save it for training tomorrow.”

Naruto grumbled under his breath but backed off, shoving his hands into his pockets. The three of them trudged along the dirt path leading toward Tazuna’s house, cranky and tired..

The moment the house came into view, Naruto’s exhaustion seemed to evaporate. His face lit up and he surged forward, leaving Sakura and Sasuke behind as he sprinted the remaining distance.

“Hey, Kakashi-sensei! We’re done with training! Get your lazy butt down here!”

“Is there any particular reason you’re shouting at the top of your lungs?”

“GAH!”

Sakura and Sasuke hurried towards the house at their his shout. They burst through the door, weapons drawn, only to pause at the scene before then.

Naruto was on the ground, one hand in front of his face as he cowered away from... a little kid wearing a box? Sasuke and Sakura shared a look, before Sasuke nodded towards the girl. Sakura notices. She was wearing a Konoha headband, which meant she was an ally.

Sakura sighed and lowered her kunai. “Naruto, what are you doing?”

Naruto pointed. “S-She just showed up out of nowhere!”

“I was standing in the doorway when I felt you coming. I stepped behind the door when you barged in.” She tilted her head. “You did not notice me?”

Naruto’s face turned red and he sputtered. Sakura sighed. “Naruto’s not the most observant.”

“And yet he’s a ninja? Our forces are more padded than I realized.”

“Oi!”

“What are you doing here?” Sasuke asked as Naruto sputtered.

The girl turned to him. He couldn’t read her face underneath her goggles, but her voice was almost flat. “I have been assigned by the Hokage as reinforcement for Team Seven’s current mission.”

“Reinforcement?” Sakura echoed, “But you’re just a kid?”

“Hirari here is a Chunin.” They all turned as Kakashi appeared at the entrance to the kitchen, watching them with amusement. “Remember what I told you; appearances can be deceiving. There are kids your age that are stronger than me. She’s not one of them, but she’s still a pretty good ninja in the ways that don’t involve actually holding a conversation.”

While Hirari stared at Kakashi, wondering whether or not she’d just been insulted, Naruto’s mouth opened and closed several times, his brain visibly struggling to process the information. He looked from Kakashi to Hirari and back again, as if expecting one of them to crack and admit it was a joke.

“Are you serious?” he asked, pointing at the girl. “Her? She’s tiny, though!”

“You aren’t much taller yourself, Naruto.” Kakashi commented.

Hirari stared at his hand, then at him. “Height is not a determinant of rank.”

“But you’re–! There’s no way you’re older than like ten, right?”

“I am fourteen.”

“She’s older than me?” Sakura muttered in surprise, while Sasuke finally put his kunai away.

Just then, Tsunami rounded the corner of the kitchen, staring in surprise at the scene before her. “Oh, you’re back! Could one of you do me a favor and help me chop the vegetables? We’re having stew for dinner and I have my hands full washing dishes.”

Hirari turned toward Tsunami. “I can assist with the vegetables.”

Tsunami blinked, then smiled hesitantly. “Oh, that’s very kind of you, but you don’t have to—”

“If it helps,” Hirari interrupted, “I will endeavor to keep my insects away from the meal as I can tell they make you uncomfortable.”

Tsunami paused, then her smile became a little bit more genuine. “Well, alright then. Just be careful with the knife; it’s very sharp.”

“I’ll be fine.”

Hirari followed the woman into the kitchen, leaving Team Seven staring after her. The silence lingered, before they slowly turned to look at their sensei who was smiling obliviously, staring into a little green book that he’d pulled out of nowhere.

Sakura was the first to speak, a disturbed expression on her face, “Sensei, what did she mean by insects in our food?”

“Hm?” Kakashi looked up. “Oh, our little chunin there is an Aburame. Insects are her specialty.” He turned his eyes back down to his book, flipping a page. “She gave Tsunami quite the fright earlier. The poor woman isn’t used to seeing tens of thousands of bugs crawl into her walls, I suppose.”

Sakura and Naruto shuddered and darted towards the center of the room and even Sasuke eyed the walls with some suspicion. Kakashi chuckled at his genins’ reactions. “Don’t worry. They’re just getting rid of a little pest problem. On the bright side, you won’t have to deal with bedbugs anymore.”

“...We had bed bugs?” Sakura asked faintly.

The next morning, Kakashi gathered his students behind Tazuna’s house for an extra special event. There was a nice little clearing in the woods, surrounded by trees with a lake nearby. It was perfect for training, or in this case, a friendly sparring match to get into fighting shape.

Kakashi’s team stood at one end of the clearing in a loose triangle. Naruto was leading the pack, having bullied his way there by simply being him, while Sakura and Sasuke flanked him on either side. None of them looked too sure of themselves or what was going on, which Kakashi supposed made sense given their opponent.

He turned his eyes to Hirari, standing in the shadow of some trees. She seemed to blend into the shadows thanks to her small form and the hunch she had deliberately given herself. Unlike his team, she was standing loosely, with her arms by her sides as she stared across the clearing at her soon to-be-opponents. She looked like she wasn’t taking this seriously, but Kakashi could tell with a glance that that wasn’t true. He honestly wasn’t sure this kid was even capable of half-assing things.

He clapped his hands, smiling behind his mask. “Alright, let’s get this little match underway, shall we?”

“Are you sure about this, Kakashi-sensei?” Naruto scratched the back of his head, glancing between his teacher and the small Aburame. “I mean, there’s three of us and only one of her.”

“I fail to see how that’s relevant.” Hirari’s voice carried across the clearing, flat and unhurried. “Numbers only go so far to bridge the gap between two vastly different skillsets.”

Sasuke bristled, his dark eyes narrowing as they locked onto the smaller girl. “You think you’re better than us?”

Hirari paused, going still for a long moment. After around ten seconds, she became animated again, simply shaking her head. “I think it’s best I refrain from answering that question.”

Sasuke’s jaw tightened, a muscle jumping beneath his skin. His hand twitched toward his kunai holster, a motion so small that most people wouldn’t have noticed. Sakura and Naruto certainly didn’t but Kakashi did. Hirari did as well, if the minute shift of her weight onto her back foot was anything to go by.

“Alright, alright.” Kakashi stepped up before things could escalate “This is just a friendly little bout, nothing to worry about. Think of it as a learning opportunity.”

“Learning opportunity,” Naruto chuckled sinisterly, cracking his knuckles. “Right. I’ll learn her a thing or two, dattebayo!”

“That’s...” Sakura started, before shaking her head. She turned to Kakashi, unease written plainly on her face. “Sensei, even if she’s a Chunin, there are three of us. What if we hurt her?”

Kakashi’s eye curved in a smile. “Somehow, I don’t think that’s going to be the problem.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Naruto demanded.

“It means…” Kakashi paused, “That you can begin.”

The moment the syllables left his lips, Naruto held his hands up, fingers performing a familiar hand sign.

“Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!”

Naruto’s chakra flared, and the clearing erupted in a massive cloud of smoke as dozens of copies of the boisterous blond were conjured out of thin air and way too much chakra. The clones whooped and hollered, shaking their fists and stamping their feet, a wall of orange and blond surging toward the single small figure at the other end of the clearing.

Kakashi sighed, “Oh Naruto...”

Hirari didn’t move as the wave of clones crashed into her small frame, dragging her to the ground and forcing her under the lot of them. They piled on top of one another, each one scrambling for purchase over the other as they buried the chunin under their combined weight.

“Alright! We got her!” one of the clones shouted from somewhere in the pile.

“She ain’t going anywhere” another whooped, only to wince and smack the back of his neck.

Naruto grinned from the back, hands on his hips as he watched his clones celebrate. He turned back to his team, sniffing proudly. “See? That wasn’t so hard!”

His teammates didn’t even get the chance to respond to his question as several of his clones cried out, before poofing out of existence. One by one, they disappeared until nothing remained but a thick cloud of roiling smoke that rolled across the clearing like a grey sheet. Naruto turned, his eyes wide and mouth agape as he suddenly received dozens of memories at once.

A low buzzing broke through the silence that reigned over the clearing. It started low and steadily grew louder, climbing until it reached a droning pitch that set all of them on edge. The smoke began to clear, revealing a horrific sight.

Hirari was standing exactly where she had fallen, once again in a loose stance. From the soles of her shoes to the tips of her goggles, every visible inch of her body was sheathed in a writhing layer of black. Millions of insects crawled over her clothing, flowing over one another in constant, rippling waves. Her yellow goggles were the only thing visible beneath the living shell, two bright circles floating in a sea of bugs.

Sakura took a step back, her hand flying to her mouth. “Oh dear lord...”

Hirari tilted her head, regarding Naruto whose victorious grin had frozen on his face. “You seem to have an abundance of chakra, Naruto.” The insects on her face parted slightly around her mouth as she spoke. “But your methods of utilizing it leave much to be desired. Allow me to demonstrate the proper use of so much chakra.”

Hirari took a single step backwards, sliding into the shadow of the nearest tree. The moment the darkness fell over her, she seemed to ripple like a pond disturbed by a stone, and then she was gone. The insects dispersed in every direction, streaming into the grass and bark and every single crevice they could find, leaving nothing but empty air.

Naruto spun in a circle, eyes wide. “What the heck!? Where’d she—”

Naruto didn’t even have time to look up before two knees were driven into his back from above. His face slammed into the dirt, a mouthful of grass and soil choking his gasp as he was driven into the earth like a bug under a shoe.

Sasuke was already moving before Naruto hit the dirt. He had a kunai in his hand and he closed the distance in a moment, lashing out with the blade as he got close. The only thing it managed to cut through were a few insects as Hirari flowed backwards, her body slipping off of his teammate in a way that seemed almost unnatural. She glided above the grass, a cloak of insects writhing against her skin as she drifted out of reach.

Sasuke followed her with narrowed eyes. He threw his kunai ring-first in a move to draw her attention, then followed up with a quick jab towards her middle. She leaned away from the kunai and blocked the jab with her own hand. There wasn’t even an inch of give; she stopped him dead in his tracks with only a single hand.

Sasuke growled, twisting into a spinning kick that she ducked underneath. She released his hand though, which was what he had been aiming for. He leapt backwards, reaching into his tool pouch and hurling two bundles of shuriken at her with pinpoint precision.

They spun towards her as disks of black, before suddenly veering away in an almost comical fashion, falling to the ground around her impotently as if they’d been struck in mid-air. Sasuke growled, preparing to switch tactics, when the insects clinging to Hirari’s body suddenly rushed upwards, moving towards him in a wave.

He abandoned his attack immediately, leaping off of the ground with a burst of chakra and landing on a high branch several meters away. The tide of insects rolled underneath him, disappearing into the forest where it split apart and disappeared. Scowling, he turned his eyes back to his opponent, only to widen them as he saw three Hirari’s standing where there had once been one.

Clones!?

They kicked off in unison, darting towards him as he dropped back down to the ground, hands coming up as chakra swelled in his breast. Three hand signs later, that chakra heated alongside the air in his lungs and he pursed his lips, bringing a hand up to form a ring in front of his mouth,

“Fire Style—!”

A kunai suddenly sailed right past Sasuke’s face, slipping by him by mere inches. Sasuke watched it pass, his eyes widening at the sight of the sizzling paper bomb tied to the ring.

The tag sparked and ignited directly in between him and the clones. The explosion was loud, but the ground didn’t shake and there was no fireball. Ash and smoke billowed outward in a dirty grey blanket, swallowing the clones and stopping just short of Sasuke himself.

A decoy, he realized, the chakra in his chest settling back into his coils as he darted backwards out of range. He couldn’t see anything through the smoke. His eyes strained against the grey curtain, searching for any hint of movement. The smoke was thick and acrid and a chemical taste clung to the back of his throat.

A disturbance in the air behind him had him whirling around, kunai in hand, only to find Sakura at his side. She had one hand fisted in the back of Naruto’s orange jacket and was dragging him to his feet, the blond still sputtering dirt and grass from his mouth.

“We can’t fight her one-on-one,” Sakura hissed, pulling Naruto upright. He wobbled on his feet, rubbing his sore back with one hand while wiping the mud from his face with the other.

Naruto spat out a clump of grass. “She’s kicking our butts!” he agreed.

Sasuke clenched his jaw. As much as it hurt to say... “You’re right; we can’t fight her alone. We need to go at her together.”

Sakura blinked, staring at Sasuke as if she’d expected more resistance. Naruto just cracked his knuckles and moved to stand beside Sasuke. Sakura wasn’t far behind him, taking up position to Sasuke’s left. Both of them seemed willing to let him take the lead on this one.

The smoke cleared, and all three of Hirari stood at the far end, exactly where they had been before the kunai had been thrown. She saw them standing together and tilted her head, seeming almost pleased.

“Good,” she said. “You can learn.”

She reached up, brushing a lock of black hair from in front of her goggles as her clones stepped up beside her. “Let’s continue.”

Kakashi watched from the sidelines as his team reformed, his little orange book nowhere in sight for once. He’d been observing the entire match with a lidded eye.

His team was doing better than he’d expected, honestly. They’d recognized the problem, adapted to it, and come together as a unit when it mattered. That Sakura had been the one to make the call was a welcome surprise---the fact that Sasuke of all people had listened to her, even moreso. The girl had a good head on her shoulders when she wasn’t fawning over the brooding Uchiha. Hopefully this would help her see that.

Kakashi angled his head as footsteps emerged from the woods behind him. “Finished your errand?”

Hirari strode from the forest in near-silence. Her clothes were slightly ruffled and one of her sleeves had been dyed crimson alongside the wraps on her hand, yet she clearly wasn’t injured.. He eyed them for a moment, wondering where the blood had come from.

“I have,” Hirari nodded. Coming to stand beside him as she watched the fight ensing in front of them. She tilted her head, confusion clear in her voice as she took in the three clones standing on the field. “Something has transpired in my absence? My clone should not have enough chakra to perform a clone technique of its own.”

Kakashi chuckled, not taking his eye off the field. “That would be Naruto’s fault. He made a couple of shadow clones and your kikaichu ended up well-fed.”

Hirari seemed to stare at him in surprise, before her head slowly turned back to the battlefield. “I see.”

She lifted a hand and a single insect fluttered down from the foliage to land on the digit. She twitched as she examined it, holding it close to her face. “His chakra is incredibly potent... This one is still practically full despite expending so much energy.”

“Yeah, that sounds like Naruto,” Kakashi chuckled.

Hirari hummed, eyes still fixed on the insect. It crawled from her fingertip onto the back of her hand, then disappeared beneath her sleeve. Kakashi glanced at her from the corner of his eye.

“So,” he said, casually. “Where’d you disappear to?”

On the field, one of the clones disappeared underneath a wave of fire. It was being held still by a number of Naruto’s own clones, but none of the chakra forming them could be reclaimed by Hirari as her kikaichu disintegrated under the heat of Sasuke’s jutsu. A smart tactic, assuming they even knew what they’d just done.

“I had an errand to run,” Hirari said after a moment.

Kakashi waited and when she didn’t elaborate, he sighed. “May I ask what this errand was?”

Hirari hummed. “I noticed that despite your recovery, you’ve failed to make any moves to deal with the missing nin who attacked you. They are stationed nearby, you know?”

“I knew that, yes.”

“Then I assume you also know who hired them.” Hirari’s goggles glowed in the flickering firelight as she glanced at Kakashi. “He is dead now, and the nin he contracted have been summarily bribed to abandon their contract. The mission should be able to proceed smoothly from now on.”

Kakashi nodded... and then paused. “Excuse me?”