The Uchiha Incident: Chapter 4

Use Your Head

After every rain came the sun and shine did it brightly as Taku found herself grinning once more. The days of being cooped up in a classroom while listening to mind numbing lessons were finally over because today was Taijutsu day! Finally, she could stretch her legs and have a bit of fun.

Much like in Konoha, the Kumo Academy sported a large training ground though this one was built on the side of the mountains. While flat and featureless, with only benches decorating the grounds, there was far more space here than their cramped classrooms. The safety features however could use some work.

With only hand rails, and fairly thin and weathered ones at that, to stop them from falling to their deaths down the sheer drop, Taku felt quite uneasy practicing. Still, not even that could dampen her spirit much less those of her fellow classmates as they sparred; Under strict supervision of course.

Now this is how a ninja should train. While the classroom might build up the foundations, it was in the field where they apply it to practice. There were simply lessons that can't be taught in the classroom like how to pace oneself as well as how to deal with bodily pain. It was just a shame that it's only a few hours a week.

After this, they'll be back to their boring old classes. Of course, there were those that believed otherwise. "Come on Taku," Ami chuckled as she stood opposite of Taku, hands wrapped and eyes burning with determination, "Our classes aren't that boring."

Had she been thinking out loud? No matter. "I stand by what I said," She shrugged as she stood her ground. Nothing was going to change her opinion on this matter. Where else could she beat people and release all her pent upped frustrations while also putting into practice what she had learned in the classroom?

Speaking off, she leaned back and dodged a telegraphed kick, feeling Ami's feet sail by mere inches from her face. "You really should stop with the flare," She lectured her friend with a smile. There was style, and then there was wasting precious energy.

"Oh come on!" Her friend whined as Taku skipped back while her friend stumbled, "You had your eyes closed!" It was almost too easy to goad the girl to attack, something which Taku had to beat that habit out of her.

"What can I say?" She shrugged as her lips quirked up to a playful smile, "I'm just that good."

Pouting back, the girl launched herself at her with almost reckless abandon, throwing kicks and punches with barely any rhyme or reason. With her hands on her back, Taku dodge, ducking and weaving under the blows. As determined as the girl was, she was quickly wearing herself out.

"Being stronger is good and all," She scolded as the blonde cocked back her fist, "But it's no good if you don't use your head with it!"

Screaming, the girl threw everything she had on that one strike, something that Taku invited with open arms. Planting her feet on the ground, she smiled, hands flying as she struck the girl's hand aside. "Wah!?" Eyes wide, the girl careened to the side, over extended and her guard now open.

Shifting her weight, she struck once more, legs flying up toward her partner. The girl didn't even have time to blink as her stomach met Taku's sheen, "Oof!" With one strike, the match ended as the girl dropped to her knees, clutching her bruised stomach.

Wheezing, the girl bent over as Taku patted her comfortingly while making a mental note to hold back even more. As she helped the girl back to her feat, she explained, "See? You keep throwing punches trying to break through my guard, but all you did was over extend."

"How can I break your guard if I don't attack?" Her friend argued as she wiped the stray tear from her cheeks.

Raising a brow, Taku asked, "Have you considered not attacking?" Seeing the look of bewilderment in the girl's eyes, Taku sighed as she grabbed her arm. "You have longer limbs," She reminded her, waving the girl's limbs against the top of her head, "You think it's fun coming at someone bigger than I am?"

Cheeks red, the girl looked away. "I might have gotten too excited, but I had to do something!" She replied, still fiery as ever, "What if we need to capture our target? Wouldn't sitting back just allow them to run away?

She nodded, agreeing to her point. As the girl recovered and they got back to their positions, she admitted, "Ok, there are times when you have to be proactive, but that doesn't mean you keep repeating the same solution hoping it'll solve it this time."

Frowning, Ami launched herself once more at her, but this time, her attacks were more measured, striking just out of range. Force to defend, Taku smiled, "Of course, you could have also tied me up, but you have to take advantage of the opening!" As the girl threw another punch, Taku reached out, grabbing the girl's arm.

As the girl pulled back, Taku slipped inside her guard, hooking her leg before pulling it from under her. "Woah!" Tripping, the girl fell backward, but not before Taku caught her.

"Another try?" She teased, making the girl fume. Now red faced, Ami got back to her feet, eager to go again. This time however, the girl stood her ground, waiting for her.

Chuckling, Taku got into the offensive, weathering the attacks that Ami threw at her. "You could have even baited me to block up high," Taku panted, as Ami loaded up another kick,"And then attack down low-!" She offered as she blocked low only to find Ami's heel up her face.

Taking the shot, Taku gritted her teeth. Tumbling across the ground before she kicked herself back up to her feet. Grinning from ear to ears, she laughed, "There you go, now you're getting it!" The kick was quite the painful surprise, but a welcomed one. The girl was finally thinking.

"Use your head! Shake it up." She encouraged the girl while the blonde beamed. Throwing herself at her, the two clashed fist.

-x-x-x-

It took them a couple of rounds, but finally, Ami conceded defeat as she tapped out. "Damn it, how are you this good!" She huffed out of breath as she laid there on the ground, panting and sweating from their little fight, "I should be the one teaching you, not the other way around."

"I practice," Taku replied, hands on her knees and bent over, "A lot." As the youngest in the class, she was always at the disadvantage. She had to work harder than anyone else if she didn't want to get beaten. "Or killed by that man," A voice from the dark corner of her mind whispered.

Frowning, she pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind as she walked over to her friend. "I think I need to lay down a bit," Her blonde wheezed as she covered her eyes, "Wake me up when classes are over, ok?"

"Nope," Grabbing the girl by the collar, Taku pulled her back to her feet, "We need to get you hydrated." Taku kicked herself for having pushed the girl too far and cursing at how stubborn the girl was for trying to keep up. The girl was starting to feel a bit hot to the touch. "This is not a competition you dumbass."

"M'kay," The girl mumbled weakly as she fought against her grip, but Taku held firm. As charming as the girl's stubbornness was, it was going to bite her in the ass one day, Taku swore. The girl just simply doesn't know when to give up.

Still, the damage was done. Dragging her over to their teacher, she called out, "Hey Teach!"

Turning, the bandaged up man grimaced. "Will it kill you to call me Sensei?" Zed was not only their home room teacher, but also their teacher in Taijutsu. While Taku knew that man must be quite the ninja to stand toe to toe with A, the man simply looked overwhelmed. He was the only one in the field right now.

Still, credit where credit was due as the man quickly pulled out a bottle from his back pocket. "Worked herself to exhaustion?" He asked with a wry smile as he pressed the lips of the drink to Ami's lips, something which the girl eagerly downed, "Thought as much."

As Taku raised her brow, the man explained, "Just some water with honey and salt. Always have some on me because you kids always go overboard during free sparring sessions."

Taku snorted as they got her friend to sit down along with the rest of the class . It would take her a bit, but Ami quickly came back to her senses, shaky, but now well. Tapping his foot and crossing his arms across his chest, their teacher scolded, "So what did we learn?"

"Don't go overboard…" Ami mumbled as she sat there, staring at her lap.

"Didn't I teach you how the Third Raikage died from exhaustion?" The man grumbled as Taku felt his glare as well. She should have stopped sooner. Shaking his head, the man sighed, "Damn kids think they're invincible."

Patting her on the head, the man walked back off towards the class, "Watch her and the rest on the bench while I stop your other classmates from killing themselves will ya? I swear this crop is rowdier than the last one."

"Hey, isn't this supposed to be your job?" She grumbled as she suddenly found herself saddled with babysitting the other kids.

"Eh, we're a bit understaffed right now," The man shrugged as he looked back and flashed her a teasing smile, "Besides, it's not like you can't handle a bunch of kids right?"
Shaking her fist at the man, Taku sighed, shoulders sagging. "I swear I will murder you in your sleep," She promised, glaring at her teacher's retreating form.

"You can try," The man laughed, unrepentant as ever before he moved, pulling two kids apart. "Oy! What did I say about kunai?" He shouted, reminding the two sheepish students, "Pointy bits away from the eyes!"

Grumbling, Taku sat down, realizing there was no way out of this. Oh she didn't mind watching over her classmates as most of them were just napping, but she didn't like how she was saddled with responsibility. Just because she wasn't like the kids doesn't mean she has to act like the eldest! She was the youngest in the class for crying out loud.

Making the most out of her situation, she cradled her friend's head on her lap while she watched the class from the sideline. Just like in the leaf, there were standouts. Kumo was pretty big in bloodline so it wasn't a surprise that she had classmates just like her.

While some were quite subtle like the fiery red hair who kept glancing at her as she inched toward the benches, others were quite overt. Seeing the horned oni like girl swaying as she weaved through attacks was quite impressive and much like the yokai from myth, the girl looked plastered. That loopy grin and those flushed cheeks were hard to miss.

Why a girl like her was allowed to drink was beyond her, but she kept her mouth shut. Her musing, however, would be cut short as she felt Ami stir and lean against her touch, "Taku's hands feel so cold~"

"Feeling better?" She asked, smiling at the blonde.

"Taku really is the best," She replied, grinning back at her, "When we grow up, I'll take you as my bride." Her answer was quickly met with a flick on the nose.

"Ow!" Grabbing her nose, Ami glared at her, "What was that for?"

"That's for being lewd," Taku huffed, cheeks rosy from embarrassment. This girl, she swore. If she weren't close friends, she might have just bucked her off, but she let it pass for now. The girl was simply being silly.

"I am not lewd!" She shouted, latching on and rubbing her cheeks against her as if emphasizing her point, "My love for Taku is wholesome and pure." There really wasn't a dull moment around her.

"While I appreciate the attention," Taku chuckled as she peeled the sweaty girl off her, "Perhaps it's best that we do this after school." Glancing at the potted plant just standing by the side, she smiled, "After all, we have an audience."

"What!" Face turning red, Ami bolted up as she looked around, "Where?" As stealthy as the girl was however, she had some problems spotting what's in front of her. Maybe that's why they ran into each other back then.

Turning to the sweating plant, she pointed out, "Sensei might have been distracted, but I'm not and It's not like I'd tattle on someone for wanting to take a break."

It took a bit of coaxing, but the girl finally revealed herself much to Ami's surprise. Out from the puff of smoke came the girl with a fiery mane. This girl had been eyeing them for a while and now that she had a closer look, she found her adorable. Tall, gangly, and awkward, the girl reminded her of a certain fiery chicken from a game she used to play.

"I'm not taking a break…" The girl muttered, cheeks all red and her hair on fire; literally. Quite the visually impressive bloodline.
Pointing at her, Ami gasped, "You're stalking us!"

"N-no I am not!" The red head sputtered, hair blazing before she got it under control. Crossing her arms, she coughed, "I was just trying to work up the courage to ask Taku-chan a spar…"

That certainly got Taku's attention. Now why would a girl like her be interested in her? She distinctly remembers the girl not having even tried to talk to her. Perhaps she was just shy? Of course, Ami didn't see it that way as her cheeks puffed up.

"So you are stalking us!" Her friend shouted, catching the attention of the kids much to Taku's and the Red Head's horror. As the red head covered her face, Ami grabbed Taku and held her closely, "As if I'd allow my precious Taku-chan's attention to get hogged by someone from a clan!" Glaring at the girl, she hissed, "Now go away, this is a Non-Clan Ninja's only group."

Shaking her head, Taku delivered a quick bop to Ami's head. "Stop it," She scolded as Ami clutched her head and pouted, "You're being dumb." While they were kids, that doesn't excuse her for being a little shit, even if the red head was quite invasive.

After giving her friend a pat on the head, she turned to the girl and apologized, "Sorry about that. She's just being touchy, that's all." Thankfully for their sanity, their classmates turned back to the fight as things heated up, leaving them for now.

Grumbling, the red head glared at Ami before letting out a huff. "Given her upbringing, I can't exactly blame her." Almost immediately, Taku felt her head start to ache as the girl riled Ami up. Why are kids so dumb?

Walking up to the girl, Ami hissed, "Care to say that in my face, bitch?"

"You heard what I said," The girl replied with a smirk as the two started throwing insults at each other and Taku was all but helpless to stop these two idiots being themselves.

"God damn it," Taku hissed, fist cocked and ready to deliver punishment when she felt the hair in the back of head stand. Turning, she felt her blood run cold as saw the Oni's face twisted to a cruel smile as she cocked her fist. Without thinking, Taku bolted, eyes burning as she raced towards the Oni as she brought down her hand; Their teacher not far behind.

For a moment, their eyes met, the girl's eyes wide in surprise, before Taku struck. The girl careen off balance, stumbling face first to the ground before her fist struck the ground.

BOOM!

Panting, Taku stood there panting as she glared at the girl who was now elbow deep in the hard concrete ground. Blinking, the girl stared at her arm before pulling back as if nothing happened.
As their eyes met once more, the girl smiled and Taku felt anger bubble up in rage.

She didn't care if this girl might have seen her eyes as she couldn't believe what she just saw. The girl's partner, now all pale and trembling in their teacher's arm, was this close to dying. She had long accepted that death was just part of the business, but in a sparring session?

"Shuten-douji that was out of line!" Their teacher shouted as he held his student closely.

"Come on sensei," The psychotic little monster laughed, "If he couldn't take the punch then maybe he shouldn't have been a nin-!"

SLAP!

Looming over the girl, her sensei glared at the girl with the look of absolute fury. "To the office now," The man gritted out as the girl grabbed her cheek, eyes blank.

"You heard the man," Taku spat as the whole class stared at the lone girl.

Rage boiled behind those delicately painted eyes, before they glazed over with mirth. "Ok sensei~" The girl shrugged as she walked away, humming a jaunty tune. It seems that Konoha wasn't alone with their crazies.

As the rush of adrenaline crashed, she stumbled. "Taku-san, are you alright?" The redhead asked as she steadied her back to her feet.

"Yeah…" She muttered as the girl handed her over to Ami. As she glanced towards the retreating feature of the oni, Taku grimaced. It seems like she was in for some interesting times ahead.

A/N:

Took me way longer than I wanted. Sorry for the delay. Next up is Lawman and after that, a brief side quest on some commission involving Illya and Atalanta...