Stormfall (An AU Naruto Quest)

"It's a lovely day for a picnic," Momoka's mother said with a smile.

"We even had the good fortune for the rain to die down," Momoka's father agreed. "It looks like our luck is really turning around after all," he said, sighing in contentment, before looking up at Momoka, who was riding on his shoulders.

Momoka was not listening, instead batting at the fireflies that gave Hotarubara its name. Her father laughed and set her down on the damp ground, letting her chase them down freely in the grass. She hadn't yet demonstrated any capacity to manipulate chakra, but as both her parents were ninja, the odds were high and they were hopeful.

Her mother spread the blanket and began to pull things out of the basket. Momoka took notice of the food and hurriedly waddled back over, forgetting all about the fireflies.

" 'icnic! 'icnic!"

Her mother laughed, and agreed. "Yes, a picnic, dear. Do you know why?"

Momoka thought long and hard, before replying, " 'icnic!"

Her father smirked. "Leave her be. She doesn't know what a chūnin is, much less what a promotion is."

Her mother shook her head in disagreement. "She won't learn if we don't explain things."

Her father nodded, stooping down. "Your dad got a reward for trying real hard. You know all about that, don't you?"

"Reward?" Momoka said, expectantly. She held out her hands.

Her mother laughed again. "Now you've done it."

Her dad smiled and pulled a sweet from the basket, putting it in her hands. "Why not? Today's a day for celebration."

---

Momoka stood in the yard of her home in Hidden Rain, tossing (blunted) shuriken at stuffed dolls she didn't like. Her head perked up when she noticed a group of chūnin in uniform approaching the house, though it was hard to make out features at this distance.

"Daddy!" she cried, causing a few of them to exchange looks.

After a brief discussion, one of them broke away from the others, making her way to Momoka while the others approached the house.

"Hi there! I'm Kimiko. You must be Momoka. I've heard so much about you."

"Um. Okay," she said, shy.

"You're learning how to throw shuriken, huh?"

"Mmhmm. Mama says I have chakras."

"I see, I see. That's very impressive for someone so young. How old are you now?"

"This much!" Momoka said, holding out eight fingers.

"Wow!" Kimiko brushed a hair out of her face, glancing at her comrades at the doorway of Momoka's house. She looked back at Momoka. "Hey, if you want, I can show you a thing or two about throwing shuriken?"

"Okay!" Momoka agreed, following Kimiko's instructions. She did not see when her mother answered the door, and began to cry.

---

Momoka came home from another grueling day at the academy, but graduation was closing in soon, at least.

She peeked around, but it seemed her mother was still away on a mission, so she shrugged, and started cooking herself some dinner.

She finished her meal and set out the leftovers for her mother to eat later in the evening, reclining on a sofa and opening one of her favorite books.

She sat up upon hearing a knock.

The chūnin standing before her glanced over to the kitchen, where dozens of plates sat uneaten and rotting, before steeling himself and breaking the bad news.

---

Graduation came, and it went. Many of her classmates went out to celebrate with their Clans, or families, or friends. Momoka didn't have those, so she walked away instead. And just… kept walking.

The gates were understaffed, as many of the patrol ninja were secretly attending the graduation ceremony. No one noticed as she left, not even sure where she was walking to.

The road became less and less pristine, becoming a simple dirt road, which branched and weaved in many directions. She walked until nightfall. She stood stock still until the moon rose high enough for her to continue her trek to nowhere.

She found herself in sparse woods, illuminated by moonlight. The beauty of the scene startled her out of her stupor, and her back slumped against a tree, sobbing.

She couldn't stop crying for hours, even when her actual tears ran dry. The aching would not disappear.

The earth rumbled softly, steadily. Her vision swam in the pale light, resolving a massive shape amongst the wooded background. She reached for her shuriken, and… let it go. The massive shape continued lumbering her way.

A bear. An absolutely massive bear, easily ten feet tall and twenty feet long, horned, claws the length of her arm. It sniffed a bit as it neared, sizing her up.

It may as well be death incarnate.

The bear peered at her for several moments. And then it continued lumbering through the woods, uninterested.

The cycle of life and death. Passionless. Impartial. Mechanical. There was no cruelty. It simply was the way of things.

When the morning came, she made her way back to the village.

---

Thunk. Bullseye. Thunk. Bullseye. Thunk. Bullseye.

Momoka walked over to the targets to retrieve her kunai, hearing a deep voice call out behind her. "Impressive."

Momoka looked over, seeing an absolutely massive man nodding in appreciation of her skill.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, pulling the kunai out of the targets.

"I was coming here to practice, but it seems the training grounds are claimed already."

"S'okay. I'm nearly done here."

"You know, you've been here the last four times I've come to these training grounds."

She paused.

"But I hear you refuse to join a genin team, running your own genin-level missions. You understand how dangerous that is, yes?"

"Don't care." She paused. "There wasn't a sensei available anyways."

He frowned. "Yeah. It's always been a real problem getting enough instructors for all the genin teams."

"Yeah. Don't want to be dead weight, either. Better someone else get the spot." She studied his mannerisms. It was obvious where this was going. "You want me to join your genin team."

"Yes," he nodded, smiling at her observation.

She went back to throwing kunai. Bullseye. Bullseye. Bullseye. "You're a chūnin. Are you any good with thrown weapons?"

"No," he admitted.

"Earth ninjutsu? No one will share any with a middling genin like me."

"...I don't have Earth Release," he said, reluctantly. Could such an imposing man be… bashful?

"What can you teach me?"

"I hear you like to spend time in nature, scouting and mapping Rain. I know some tricks for navigation, observation…" he trailed off.

"The trees are pretty," she said, wistfully. "Maybe I should take another mission."

The large man frowned in defeat, and left. She would not speak to him again for months.

---

This time, he was here before her.

"Momoka-"

"Hello, large man."

"..."

"Ooo. The asters are blooming." She plucked one and put it in his massive hand, then walked past him.

"Momoka. May I teach you a technique?"

She looked back at him and shrugged.

The man grinned. "Observe. Earth Release: Earth Dive!" He sank into the ground, the displaced earth piling up as he swam around her. He popped himself back out, cursing as he pulled his massive frame out of the dirt.

She blinked in shock. "But you don't know Earth Release."

"I didn't know Earth Release," he corrected her. "You said no one would teach anything to a middling genin. Well, maybe they don't have as much of an issue teaching a middling chūnin instead."

She stared at him. "...what is your name?"

He smiled. "Kobayashi Jun."

---

Kobayashi-sensei gave Momoka the go-ahead to begin tracking the Lava Deer. She swiftly made her way to the top of a tree, looking for the local high ground. Two miles southeast, the peak of a great hill jutted out of the earth.

She plopped back to the forest floor and pointed. "Let's look for smoke and fire from the hill over there."

Kenzō nodded. He was easy enough to persuade in matters he was disinterested in, and he very clearly did not care about hunting down the Lava Deer. Shion, meanwhile, looked thoughtful. No doubt she was still trying to figure out how to one-up Kenzō later.

Whatever. Momoka did care about finding their quarry. So she would do her job.

They were moving on the ground for the moment to save on chakra, so Momoka gracefully strolled over the roots and damp moss of the forest floor, leading them up the incline.

The thick canopy above gradually gave way to a cloudy sky, occasional beams of sunlight trickling through. The local highlands of Rain stretched before them. The Three Wolf Mountain Range would be around 40 miles east, but they couldn't be seen from here. Only rolling hills covered in a temperate rainforest. The rare sun dappled tree twinkled like stars amongst the drizzles streaming down across the land, as if little spirits unto themselves-

"Er, Momoka?" Shion asked.

"Hmm?" Momoka hummed, coming out of her reverie.

"You've been staring for a while. Looks like there's some smoke and fire over that way," she said, pointing.

Ah, yes. A great scorch marred the beauty of the forests. Fire was natural for a forest - many of the trees here depended on it to reproduce, even - but it could still be sad too.

Were these great beasts which wielded such elemental fury natural? Perhaps. It wasn't fully understood why some animals ended up as mutants with the ability to use chakra, becoming chakra beasts that roamed the lands. If this process were natural, then they are a rightful part of nature too. But then, perhaps ninja were their natural predator.

"Nature will take its course, then," she affirmed, causing Shion and Kenzō to exchange a confused look. That happened quite a bit. It seemed that they thought she didn't notice - rather, she just didn't care to explain. "Let's head for the scorched region, I'll find clearer signs there."

Kobayashi-sensei cleared his throat.

"Oh, and be ready in case we run into them immediately, I guess."

---

Momoka had been tempted to use Living Roots to help examine the ground, but the technique would only last ten minutes, and they did not yet know how many enemies they faced. So she stuck with mundane means of observation, stooped on all fours and examining the charred ground, finally extinguished in the rain.

Kenzō had already been chastised twice for not staying alert in enemy territory, so he stood ramrod straight and tapped his foot impatiently. What a funny guy.

Shion was looking similarly bored, but was more inclined to stay on sensei's good side. Sensei, for his part, was actually helping to look for traces of their target. But while his general awareness greatly surpassed her own, this particular task was her forte more than his.

Finally, she found what she was looking for. The grass sagged just suspiciously enough… she pulled it aside, revealing divots in the soil. Hoof prints. Still warm, too, warmer even than the charred bits.

Kenzō perked up a bit. "A trail?"

Momoka nodded. "Mmm. Let's pull up more of this underbrush and see what we find."

The work went swiftly with four people helping. Shion and Kenzō didn't even complain, grateful for something to do.

Momoka studied the tracks, the slight variations in size.

"Hard to say for sure, but… looks like a buck and a few does? Maybe four of them? I don't see any tracks for fawns…" she trailed off.

Sensei placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "You did good."

She nodded again. "The tracks wind that way… it would take a long time to keep uncovering more, but we should be able to spot their glow from afar…"

Kenzō had a pensive look. "Any chance we could hear them if we're getting close? They have calls, right?"

Kobayashi-sensei replied, "Might be tough to make out through the sound of the rain, even light rain. Odds are good we'd see them before we hear them. Hmm, but perhaps we could imitate their calls to bait them…"

"What about the fires?" Shion asked.

"The more recently ignited ones would be closer our target, before the rain managed to put them out," Momoka responded, thoughtful.

Sensei nodded. "I'll lead from here, but I will leave the tactics to you three as part of your training."

The trio exchanged looks with each other, then began to brainstorm.

---

Kenzō jammed the last sharpened stick into the ground of their little ambush site, and nodded to the others. "Okay, be right back," he said, before pulling up his dark colored mask, to better blend in with the forest. Soon he was out of sight, headed for twinkling lights they only occasionally caught glimpses of through the woods.

Now Momoka was the one left feeling antsy, hiding behind the improvised barrier. She was the better surveyor of the environment, but she admittedly hadn't worked on her stealth skills much for a scout. So it would be up to Kenzō to see about the best route to herd them into a trap. Momoka simply had to trust he knew what he was doing. And she did trust him at least in that capacity.

She glanced at Shion, who had a stormy, yet eager expression. She was still simmering from her bout with Kenzō earlier, but was clearly waiting with anticipation. There may have even been a hint of worry for their teammate in there… but no fear for herself.

Momoka could not deny feeling safer having Shion with her. Both of Momoka's teammates may be overconfident at times, but there was an inner strength to them that Momoka still didn't quite understand yet.

Momoka pondered over this, if she was really better off with them. She had originally asked not to be put in the typical three man squad. There were other routes of service available for Rain shinobi besides the standard three man squad. A one-on-one apprenticeship with a more specialized discipline, the scout corps, ANBU… generally these were steps one might work towards later in their career (and no self respecting ANBU captain would accept a genin anyways), but which could be pursued right out of the gate if you were focused on showing your worth. Shion's ill-fated apprenticeships were proof of that… Truly, Momoka had enjoyed building up her repertoire of scouting and mapping missions, traveling the Land of Rain. But she was only building on the parts of herself she already knew. Now, she had the chance to grow into something else. Something more.

Somehow she had caught the attention of Kobayashi-sensei and ended up here. Amongst teammates that did not really understand her. They tolerated her, at least, which would suffice for now. She would learn from them what she could and find her own way.

She turned her mind back to the goal at hand. It could take Kenzō hours to observe their prey, depending on their behavior and how careful he needed to be.

And yet, not long after Kenzō had left them, Kobayashi-sensei tensed at her side, almost immediately followed by what was unmistakably the detonation of an explosive tag.

"Eyes forward!" he called out. Fires began to flare as she saw Kenzō zipping back towards them with his Vacuum Step technique, globs of lava following close behind. He was just short of them, not quite fast enough to twist out of the way of an incoming ball of magma-

Kobayashi-sensei Substituted himself with Kenzō and curled up in a blur, the projectile whizzing by and igniting a tree behind them. Her sensei was already on his feet again as more molten balls of earth barreled towards Kenzō. Not if she had something to say about it.

Her hands moved automatically. Tiger. Snake. "Earth Release: Multiple Earth Wall," Momoka intoned, touching a hand to the earth. A slab of granite jutted up between Kenzō and the projectile, giving him just enough time to roll away as the lava splashed over the wall and began to melt it.

"Occupied farmstead ahead. Two does fleeing toward it," Kenzō said, breathlessly, already flashing through hand signs. "Wind Release: Gale Edge."

A massive buck that shone like the sun burst through the trees ahead, barreling towards them, followed quickly by two other does. "Targets inbound. Handle them. I'll catch the strays before they reach the civilians," Kobayashi-sensei answered quickly, zipping away with his own Vacuum Step.

Kenzō drew his swords, a nearly-invisible aura of wind wrapping around them from his technique. Shion grinned. "Water Release: Water Whip!" Momoka, for her part, drew shuriken, and prepared for the havoc.

She left the stronger foe to her companions, quickly tossing a shuriken towards a doe, lodging the shuriken in its head. Not deep enough to kill, it seemed, as it pressed onwards. And then the buck was upon them, all rage and elemental fury.

Kenzō met it head on, only to twist out of the way, tripping it up with his hook swords and raking gashes in its side. It bellowed and spun around madly, attempting to ram him with its horns. As it writhed around, many of the sharpened sticks jammed into the ground lodged and snapped, and the buck grunted in pain. Fire began to flare up around them, sputtering out in the rain.

The other doe ran in, attempting to gang up on Kenzō, only to get slashed across the flank by a whip of water, stumbling. Shion slid under the confused doe, and her whip became a spear, flashing into the neck of the buck as its horns locked with Kenzō's swords.

The buck seized up in an instant, sinking to the ground slowly.

Momoka's shuriken flashed, neutralizing the doe Shion had slid past before it could charge her down. Before its body had even hit the floor, Kenzō leapt over it, straight at the doe who still had a shuriken lodged in the skull. His swords caught it around the throat, and he slammed it into the forest floor, even as the Wind Release technique wrapped around his swords ignited and burned his hands. He cursed, dropping the weapons once it was clear their foes had stopped moving, shaking his hands and blowing on them.

A flash of pandemonium, of putting their lives on the line. Kenzō nearly getting melted into a puddle if she hadn't shielded him with Multiple Earth Wall. Shion ducking under flesh made of molten earth. It was over already. And despite it all, here was Kenzō shaking his hands like he'd picked up a hot pan. A moment later, Momoka began laughing at him. Shion began to chuckle as well.

He muttered some obscenity and pushed his hands into cooling mud. Shion had mercy on him, taking a look at his hands with medical chakra. "...thanks," he managed, further astounding Momoka. "Both of you. That was a clutch MEW back there."

"Momoka was pretty cool, huh?" Shion agreed.

Momoka blushed. "We all had some… fancy moves, I think."

Sensei had returned, having already dispatched the deer that were fleeing. "Excellent work, everyone," he said, smiling. "But the work isn't done yet."

"More deer?!" Shion complained.

Sensei shrugged. "Probably not. But we need to confirm it with the locals. Never forget, we do missions for clients, not just for ourselves."

Kenzō managed to avoid rolling his eyes until Kobayashi-sensei looked the other direction. Apt, given that they actually were doing this for free.

They trailed behind him as he strolled up to the farmhouse.

A short man and his wife answered the door, relief and fear both evident on their faces. "Honored shinobi, we are grateful," they said, with a deep bow, clearly waiting for the massive man to start making demands of them in exchange for saving their lives.

"It was our pleasure," he reassured them, visibly surprising them both. "I'm here to ask if we eliminated the entire herd, or if there's more of them roaming around. Whatever you know would be of great help to us."

"O-of course, sir. We have not seen signs or heard of any other of these beasts around, though these came through just today. Perhaps more could be following?"

Momoka shook her head. "Unlikely. The bucks are highly aggressive and territorial. I'd expect another herd to steer clear of following their trail."

"Ah. Wonderful news! Perhaps the traces of these beasts will deter the others, then."


"...the others?" Kobayashi-sensei asked.

Kenzō groaned, and Shion flicked him in the ear.

"Sarubetsu has had a bit of an… infestation lately." Upon seeing their blank expressions, the man clarified. "Sarubetsu is a local town of several hundred, within a few miles of here. We go in for the market every now and again, but the road hasn't been safe for travel. Spider wasps buzz around, blocking the way for anyone who wants to keep their insides inside their bodies. They've been massacring the local livestock. I hear their venom has even contaminated the water supplies. Dozens have become bedridden over the past few weeks, drinking from the town wells."


A note of concern flashed through Momoka.

Sensei asked for a few other details and directions before bidding the farmers farewell, who gave them a sack of rice in appreciation. As they began to walk away, Momoka flagged down Kobayashi-sensei, who looked at her.

"Sensei… I'm not overly familiar with these spider wasp beasts, but… so far as I know, their venom is not toxic when ingested. It is meant to be injected directly into the blood."

He took that in, concern growing on his face. "Mmm. So if it wasn't the spider wasps, perhaps it was some other beast or natural phenomenon. Or…"

Shion and Kenzō paled.

"Or, it could be enemy ninja," she finished.

---

It is now early afternoon. Your sensei is adamant about investigating the village, carefully. If enemies of Rain are indeed running amok, this is something the Tower should know about. This will likely mean dealing with the spider wasps too, before you can do any real investigative work. But you are welcome to discuss with him how you want to approach potentially investigating for signs of ninja or what your group should be doing if they are encountered, though he may not agree with every idea.

Here are some ideas to get you started:

[X] Clear out the spider wasps, then start asking the townspeople if they've seen anything strange recently.

[X] Try to bait the spider wasps away from the village, and then start looking for clues around town.

[X] Observe the town from afar, and see who enters and exits.

Write-ins are accepted. Voting will close on Friday, Dec. 27th, at 5PM CST.