Chapter 5 - Bullies

The next morning Ryouko woke up to ruckus. Dressing quickly, Ryouko rolled out of bed and grabbed his sword. Whatever was going on in the Hokage’s office sure sounded like a fight. Ryouko associated the Third Hokage with comfort and safety, and he wasn’t going to allow his safety net to be hurt. Ryouko ran as fast as his little legs could carry him to the Hokage’s office. Then he went into stealth mode. It’s true that those who eavesdrop seldom hear good of themselves. Ryouko pressed himself against the wall outside the Hokage’s office, straining his ears to listen to the conversation inside.

-

“It’s intolerable! To allow that samurai peasant to live here! Sir, it’s unheard of!”

“That’s right! He’s an enemy! And you’re letting him sleep in your own house! At least put him under a watch!”

The Third Hokage raised his hand for silence. Even if he was older, he still had a commanding presence about him. If that wasn’t enough, Lord Hokage was already respected among his people, and for good reason.

“I will hear no more of this. The boy is no threat. As I recall, it was all of you who choose to engage him in battle. Any injuries you suffered were well deserved. Now, you will drop this subject, and you will not speak of it again.”

-

Little Ryouko had heard enough. He decided to venture outside again today, this time to just explore the village and the surrounding areas. In a strange surge of wanting to protect his heritage, Ryouko had decided to wear his hakama and gi, at least until he started school. He saw no reason to conform- that was the easy way out. It was certainly no way for a warrior to act. So even if it was easier to just dress like a ninja, Ryouko was going to dress the part of a samurai. He was what he was, after all.

Walking around town hadn’t gotten much easier. The glares were still there. However, Ryouko had found favor with the Uchiha family. After assisting one of them and likely saving a life in the process, Ryouko had wound up in a fight he wasn’t going to win. But the fight he put up allowed the Uchiha police force time to find the commotion and get involved. Ryouko hadn’t been spoken to by the patriarch of the family, but his favored son, Itachi, had gone out of his way to compliment Ryouko. Not that Ryouko knew, but that was a big deal. All he knew was that he had done the right thing, and that’s what mattered to him at the end of the day.

Favor with the Uchiha clan meant that others would follow their example. At first, when Ryouko found this out, he was happy. People liked him! But gradually, he had come to understand that these people weren’t thinking- just following the example of the Leaf’s premier family. But that was fine with Ryouko- he’d earned acceptance as a warrior in his hometown; he’d do the same here.

“WAAAHHHH!”

Ryouko’s head snapped in the direction of the scream. Three little boys were beating on a smaller boy and his big sister.

“You dog freaks! Why don’tcha get your stupid canines to help you?!”

“Oh, bite me! Better yet…CHOMP!”

“Ow! dog bit me!” SMACK! The girl hit the ground.

Ryouko tore over, jamming the butt end of his sword into the boy’s midsection.

“Hitting a female is wrong, especially when it’s not an equal fight. There are three of you and only two of them. That one is barely old enough to fight. Now that I’m here, I will be your opponent.”

The three older boys laughed and made comments. Ryouko’s gaze never wavered. He glared at the bullies, but spoke nicely over his shoulder.

“Are you two alright?”

Kiba and his sister, Hana, were okay. But they couldn’t quite say it to the strange guy helping them. Kiba was scared, and Hana was wondering who the hell this guy was. But a helper was a helper, no matter what he looked like.

Apparently, no response didn’t matter to Little Ryouko. He knew they were alright (combat experience taught him to look for wounds, and he had found none on his way over. Any major wound wouldn’t have been amiss to his trained eye) despite hearing no response to his query.

“You three are bullies. If you so wish, you can bully this one, who will remain nameless.” Ryouko put an arm up over his eyes and nose. “Go ahead. Whatever abuse you had planned for them you may inflict on me without question.”

“Lookit this guy! He’s just gonna let us hit him?! Fine, don’t use your sword! Just hold still and we’ll leave the other two alone!”

The first fist hit Ryouko’s stomach, followed quickly by a foot. He let himself fall, and more feet and fists followed. This was nothing compared to what Ryouko had met on the battlefield, so he didn’t utter a sound.

“Hey! What’s this?! Back the hell off!”

A black-haired boy, maybe two years younger than Ryouko, had come to the edge of the playground. He carried himself like an adult.

“I’ll ask again: What are you doing? Hitting a guy that won’t hit back? I watched the whole thing. You’re lucky that this guy is noble enough to not fight back. I’m not quite the same way…”

“Oh shoot, it’s Sasuke Uchiha! I’m outta here!”
“Me, too!”
“Wait for me!”

The three bullies took off. Sasuke bent down and offered Ryouko a hand up.

“You hurt?”

Ryouko shook his head, even smiling a little. “No, I’m fine. Are the other two okay?”

Hana and Kiba Inuzuka had gotten up and were walking slowly over. Hana was two years older than Ryouko, and Kiba was two years younger. Hana didn’t lack spunk- if she hadn’t had her little brother with her, she would have kicked the crap out of those guys. But their parents had warned her about fighting with Kiba watching.

“Thanks for the help. Ballsy move, new guy,” Hana commented. As an apprentice vet, she always had bandaged with her. Reaching into her pack, she yanked off a length and reached for Ryouko. Ryouko recoiled, not sure what was going on.

“What the hell’s your problem? She’s helping you. Hold still,” Sasuke said, eyeing Ryouko curiously. Ryouko bowed and apologized.

“I’m sorry. It’s an old habit.” After that, Ryouko stood still and let Hana tie a length around his bleeding forehead. He had gotten cut on a rock on the way down, but that was the only wound that bled. His nose, thankfully, had escaped being broken.

“There. Don’t take that off for a while. That cut was pretty deep. Anyway, I’m Hana Inuzuka, and that’s my brother, Kiba.”

“I’m Sasuke Uchiha,” Sasuke added.

“Ryouko. Sorry, I don’t have a surname, or I’d gladly tell you. Thank you for your help, Sasuke. And you, Hana, have my thanks for patching me up. I kind of wish you had been helping me on the battlefield.”

“THERE HE IS!”

Ryouko faced the new sound, groaning inwardly. The three bullies were back, and they were towing a sensei with them. Not just any sensei- that bully chunin from before.

“He did it, Mizuki-sensei! And Uchiha, too!”

“It seems we have a fight, Uchiha-san. Please leave the sensei to me, as he and I have business worth finishing.”

Sasuke grinned. “Fine by me. And don’t call me that. ‘Sasuke’ is fine. Let’s finish this!”

In a matter of seconds, the three boys had ran off again. They didn’t want to piss off anyone with the name ‘Uchiha’. Ryouko had the pleasure of facing Mizuki.

“Alright, you little punk! This time, I’ll finish you! Then I’ll tell everyone just what you really are! You’ll see!”

Little Ryouko’s eyes narrowed. His pupils became smaller. His mouth straightened, and his gaze hardened. He was back on the battlefield.

-

“Some child won’t stop us! This village is in our way, and we’re taking it!”

“This village isn’t yours! You won’t touch it! Ryouko, get ready!”

“Kishootsu-sensei, on your right!” Ryouko called out, brandishing his sword at the other opponents.

“Heh. Leave it to me. Though I’ll leave most of this fight to you, Ryouko-kun. I’m afraid I’d be bullying these men. Your sword is worth more than their entire army!”

CRACK!

Ryouko saw his sensei’s arm become a mass of blood. He looked toward the sound, seeing something strange. It wasn’t a sword, but it spit out a projectile. It wasn’t an arrow…so what was it?

(Note: It’s difficult to describe, but the weapon is not a gun. It operates similar to one, but it shoots hot pieces of coal, rather than bullets. Call it a crude rifle with a spring-action trigger, I guess. It doesn’t have a name to my knowledge)

Ryouko’s mind instantly put together what the weapon was. It had hit his sensei, therefore it would be destroyed. It’s user was still focused on Kishootsu-sensei, so that meant…

-

“Heh. These prideful fools! This is easy!”

The hammer was about to come down again, ending the opponents life. PING!

A sword had stopped the firing process. The blade was jammed between the hammer and the spring that would fire the metal. Slowly, the user looked to the owner of the blade. He saw THE scariest boy ever. The light from the glowing embers danced on his face, making the picture that much more menacing.

“Cowardly bastard. Attacking from a distance of thirty arrow lengths with no chance of retaliation. You don’t deserve to live…”

Ryouko’s foot broke the crude weapon in two. Seconds later, his sword broke his opponents face.

“…but neither do I deserve to kill you. You’ll live. I won’t make you my first kill.”



Ryouko flashed back to the present.
That was my last memory of sensei, before he killed himself! But I don’t remember my name, only sensei’s. Well, I can at least make Kishootsu-sensei proud. If only you could have run with me…you had so much left to teach me, so much left to give. It’s with great pride I wield the last blade you created!

Mizuki, typical of a bully, was trying to intimidate Ryouko. His chest was level with the top of Ryouko’s head. He gave Ryouko a bump with his stomach, then flicked his ear.

CRACK!

Ryouko shot his sheathed-sword upward, smacking Mizuki under the chin with the pommel of his sword. In the same motion, Ryouko drove his shoulder into Mizuki’s stomach, bending him over. An upward elbow broke Mizuki’s nose.

“If you had just struck, you would have over-powered me and won. It’s amazing to me that someone like you can survive in this world. I’ve come to respect Shinobi, and I will do all I can to earn their respect. But you disgrace all of us- Samurai and Ninja. We are all warriors, though not united. But we all have warrior’s pride, something you are lacking. Take my words to heart. If a ‘mere’ child defeated you, then reconsider your worth.”

Mizuki twitched. Heh!

POOF!

“Substitution? Is that what it looks like? Amazing! Now, where did he go?” Ryouko looked around, not seeing him anywhere.

“Above you!” Sasuke shouted, already moving himself. He had just learned this the other day; he hoped it worked. “Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!”

It was a weak flame, but it hit Mizuki enough to force him to shield his eyes. His bad luck that he had ticked off Sasuke Uchiha in the process. The shovel in his hands, which had become a weapon, was going to be used to bury the irritating little samurai’s body.

Little Ryouko dodged out of the way just in time, as the fireball that was Mizuki came crashing down. The shovel, however, clattered out of Mizuki’s hands and flew toward Hana and Kiba. Ryouko took off at top speed, just barely getting his back and sword in the way.

“Ah!” Even little Ryouko couldn’t handle that silently. The shovel glanced off his sword, saving Kiba and Hana, but had spun around and hit Ryouko in the back. A U-shaped burn appeared on Ryouko’s back. This pain was familiar.

-

“Come here, see how a sword is made. It may someday be your job, you know. Every master needs an apprentice. Though I’ve a lot to teach you before you’re ready for this, it won’t hurt you to know the process. Now, watch, little dragon, as the flame- watch out!”

The fire spit out a hot ember. Instinctively, Ryouko batted it away. It was too small to cause a fire, but the back of Ryouko’s hand had been burned.

“I guess fire can hurt even a dragon,” Ryouko commented mildly. Kishootsu-sensei breathed out a sigh of relief and exasperation.

“Never forget that fire is both friend and foe. A burn can be a life-long scar. But it will become your job to protect others from it. Do you understand?”

“Yes, sensei.”

“Good boy. Now, come, put your hand in the stream. It will dull the pain.”

Ryouko looked at his sensei fondly.

Kishootsu was a tall man, powerfully built. His eyes were set into a narrow gaze permanently from years on the battlefield, and his long hair was let loose on his back. It was the last thing many people saw: the swishing black hair, then the swishing sword.

Wearing a soot-black hakama and Gi, adorned with the a red kanji (reads ‘Kishootsu’, or ‘temper’) on the back, the tall man was imposing. His sword was nearly fifty inches long, making it large. But the strong arms wielding it could swing it with ease.

This man was all Ryouko aspired to be. Powerful, but with a kind heart. And then their was the knowledge.

-

Ryouko stayed upright, masking his pain. Hana knew better.

“Oh my God, that’s terrible! Hold still, okay? Kiba, go get some water!”

Kiba came running back with a bucket. Hana dumped in on Ryouko’s back.

“Kiba, go with Sasuke and get the police. No, Lord Hokage. He needs to know about that bully of a chunin! I’m going to treat this burn. Ryouko, this’ll sting a little, but it’ll help your burn.”

Ryouko now trusted the three, so he obeyed. To Ryouko, when someone fought at your side, they needed your trust, and you needed theirs. In this case, Ryouko was getting medical attention- something he wasn’t used to. Yet he had received it often since coming here. In a world where fighting was inevitable, Ryouko wasn’t bothered by the thought that ‘if there are injuries, there is fighting’. Instead, he came to another realization:

They’re good people. Strong, with good hearts. That’s how I judge a man…or woman’s…worth. Maybe we aren’t all so different after all.

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