Cursed Saint

19 - Family

One month.

It had been one month since their return. Nearly that long since the Suna team left after a discussion with the Hokage. That long since their lives had returned to normal.

And a month of Team Ten growing closer in one of the funniest of ways possible – trying to beat up the two Sarutobi males.

One of the things gained from their mission was the realization that everyone needed to train. There were two versions of their training. The first was an individualized training session where the group would spare – or argue. It just depended on which came first. Ino and Shikamaru could either be fighting with fists or with words depending on the mood of the day.

The other type of training was the one occurring that day.

Ryu took a deep breath, making sure to focus on the chakra built up around his feet. Ever since they got back, Ryu had made it his personal mission to grow better at walking on trees. To help him, Asuma had insisted Ryu teach the other members how to do it. Apparently teaching others what one knew could help their knowledge. Instead it just greatly irked and motivated him when the others on the team could walk on trees nearly perfectly after a few days. Now he could run perfectly up a tree and hold a single position along the surface for nearly ten minutes.

For now he wouldn't have to stay still for that long. All he needed was for Asuma to give the whistle that would signal their time to attack.

It was cloudy, Ryu noted. The shadows stretched long against the ground. This would not play in their advantage. Considering this was training, that may be a good thing. Except that during battles there wouldn't always be shadows. Ryu pursed his lips, contemplating whether or not the environment was currently a good thing.

It was a minor detail, yet Ryu's boredom allowed it to dominate his mind to the point he nearly missed Asuma's whistle. Ryu jerked to attention, one of his hands twitching toward his kunai pouch. The boy took a deep breath before straightening out of his crouch position. While raising, Ryu spun on his heel so he was facing the sky rather than the grass. Ryu jogged up to the branch that would have his new position and stepped out onto it.

Before the tree was one of the clearings in the small training ground they had been assigned. Ryu's eyes narrowed. Only two out of his three team-mates had walked out from the cover of the tree. His eyes scanned the edges, before finally flickering in Asuma's direction. Shikamaru had no way of knowing where they were, but not knowing where he was didn't set well with Ryu.

There had been directions at the beginning of the battle to act as if they had no idea what Team Ten's jutsus were. It was harder said than done, but two Asumas were shooting from the trees toward the genin. He had used the shadow clone jutsu so the numbers were even and each student had the chance to fulfill their respective parts.

Ryu bit his lip. If he knew nothing about Shikamaru, would he truly rush forward to battle? Even an oblivious genin would have to think that it was suspicious when there were missing team members. There would definitely be warning bells for those higher ranked.

With a sigh, Ryu shook his head. There was no time to think about this. He needed to help Asuma. He tensed in preparation to launch, but his legs refused to move when he tried. His eyes narrowed. With a grunt, he attempted to jerk his body forward. There was still nothing. It was as if he was unable to move.

Ryu winced a moment before he heard a snort behind him, finally realizing just what had happened. "Shadow possession jutsu success."

"Hey there, Shikamaru," Ryu sighed.

He could just imagine the smirk on the other boy's face as he replied, "Hello, Ryu."

Knowing there was nothing he could do now – his chakra control was improving, but he still couldn't expel Shikamaru's jutsu – Ryu sagged in defeat and watched the rest of the battle progress. Even if he was captured by his "enemy," Ryu couldn't help the grin that formed as the month of training truly paid off.