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Chapter 2
The Three Tags
Akari woke at first light. For a moment she stayed under the blanket, staring at the ceiling.
Then she remembered.
Six-thirty.
Training Ground Seventeen.
She threw the blanket off. Her cream-colored tunic was folded over the back of the chair where she had left it. Her kunai pouch was packed. Her canteen was full. She dressed quickly, checked herself with a small mirror, and worked her hair into a loose braid. Her hitai-ate went around her neck.
Last came the ration pouch. Akari sat on her floor mat and opened it.
A small handful of dried persimmon.
Some roasted soybeans.
A strip of dried seaweed, folded twice.
She ate the persimmon first. It was sweet. She chewed slowly. Then, she tipped the soybeans into her palm. One rolled off and landed beside her foot. Akari picked it up and ate that one too. The seaweed was a little stale. Reina had told her to eat before she came. Akari had. When she finished, she folded the empty pouch and tucked it into the side of her pack.
* * *
Renji was already at Training Ground Seventeen. Akari spotted him before she reached the clearing. He stood just outside a white circle painted into the dirt, both hands wrapped around the straps of his pack.
He looked toward the path when she came through the trees. “Hi.”
“Hi.”
Akari stopped beside him and looked around. The training ground was bigger than she expected. Trees covered most of one side. A stream cut through the other, shallow in some places and hidden behind reeds in others. Beyond it, the ground rose into a broken slope of stone and scrub.
No Reina.
No Kazuki.
Akari looked at Renji. “How long have you been here?”
“Not long.”
“How long?”
Renji reached into his pouch and pulled out a small pocket watch. “Twenty-eight minutes.”
Akari stared at him. “Why?”
“I didn’t want to be late.”
“We’re really early.”
“I know.”
He put the watch away. By the time Kazuki finally came jogging into the clearing, Renji had checked his watch three more times.
Kazuki slowed when he saw them. “What?”
“Nothing.”
Kazuki looked from him to Akari. “Why does he look like that?”
“He thought you were going to be late.”
“I wasn’t.”
“You almost were,” Renji said.
“But I wasn’t.”
A voice behind them said, “Good. You’re all here.”
All three turned. Reina stood beside the painted circle. None of them had heard her arrive.
“There are three wooden tags somewhere in this training ground. One is in the rocky section. One is around the stream. One is in the woods. You have until noon to bring all three back here. Once a tag is inside this circle, it is secure."
Kazuki looked at Reina suspiciously. “What about you?”
“Interfering.”
“How?”
“You’ll find out.”
Kazuki grinned. “So we can fight you.”
“You can try.”
Reina folded her arms. “Begin.”
Kazuki ran.
Akari blinked. “Hey!”
She ran after him. Behind her, Renji said, “Wait, shouldn’t we—”
Kazuki was already halfway to the rocky slope. Akari was close behind. Renji looked at Reina. Then at the two of them. His shoulders dropped. He ran after them.
* * *
The first tag was easy to find. Kazuki reached the bottom of the rocky slope first. Akari ran beside him. Renji arrived a few seconds later, breathing harder than either of them. The tag hung from a short stake on a stone shelf about thirty meters ahead. Reina stood beside it.
Kazuki smiled.
“No,” Renji said.
“What?”
“She’s standing right next to it.”
“So?”
“She wants you to attack her.”
Kazuki looked back toward Reina. “Okay.”
Kazuki moved. Akari followed. Renji groaned and reluctantly ran after them.
Kazuki was already making hand signs.
“Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!”
Flame rolled across the stone. Reina disappeared in a burst of water. Kazuki stopped. Akari nearly ran into him. Water slapped across the rock where Reina had been.
“A clone,” Renji said behind them.
Kazuki looked around. “Where’s the real one?”
Renji pointed past him. “The tag.”
Kazuki looked. The tag was still hanging from the stake. “Oh.”
Another Reina stepped out from behind an outcrop. Kazuki immediately turned toward her. Renji glared at him.
“The tag.”
Kazuki was already moving. Akari grinned and went with him.
“The tag!”
The clone lunged. Akari ducked beneath its arm and snapped two hand signs.
“Wind Style: Air Hammer!”
The air in her palm compressed, and then lurched forward in a tight burst. A battering ram of wind slammed into the clone. It burst into water, spreading a fine mist through the air.
Renji pointed harder. “Akari.”
She looked at him. Then at the stake. “Oh!”
She ran over and tore the tag free. “Got it!”
Something moved above them.
Renji looked up. “Akari!”
She looked. Another clone dropped from the rocky slope.
Renji’s hands flashed through four seals before he slapped his palms into the ground.
“Earth Style: Earth Wall!”
Stone and packed earth surged out of the slope between Akari and the clone. The clone hit the wall with one foot, pushed off, and vaulted over it. Renji pointed downhill. “Run!”
They ran.
Kazuki took the lead. Akari held the tag. Renji ran close behind.
A kunai hit the dirt beside them. Renji jumped. Kazuki threw a kunai back over his shoulder.
“Don’t do that!”
“What?”
“We’re behind you!”
Kazuki glanced back. “Oh.”
They made it to the circle. Akari tossed the tag inside. “One down!”
Kazuki smiled. Renji sighed.
* * *
The stream tag took longer to find. They found it tied to a low branch on the opposite bank. The stream there was wide enough to be annoying and shallow enough that it didn’t have to be.
Kazuki looked at it. “I can jump that.”
Renji looked at the water. “You could walk.”
Kazuki turned. “That’s boring.”
“It’s water.”
Kazuki backed up. Akari grinned. Renji looked at her. “Don’t encourage him.”
“I’m not.”
Kazuki ran.
He jumped, and for one glorious second, it looked like he was going to make it.
A Water Clone stepped from behind the tree and hit him in the chest with a stream of water. Kazuki dropped into the creek. Akari snorted. Renji snickered.
Kazuki sat up. His hair was plastered flat against his forehead. He pointed at the clone. “That was cheap!”
Akari was still laughing.
Kazuki looked at her. “Go ahead.”
“What?”
“Your turn.”
Akari stopped laughing. She looked at the stream. Then at the tag. Then at the clone. Akari’s hands moved through the seals. The first was clean. She fumbled the second, corrected it, then forced the third into place.
Wind curled around her feet.
“Wind Style: Slipstream!”
The air behind her launched her forward. The bank dropped out from under her sandals, and the stream tore beneath her, water splitting in her wake.
Then the clone stepped into her path.
Akari twisted away from it. She avoided its reaching hand, and her fingers swept past the branch, missing the tag. She was going too fast to stop and too fast to steer. One foot caught the bank, and the rest of her momentum carried her face first into the mud.
Kazuki burst out laughing.
The clone moved between Akari and the tag. Akari scrambled to her feet, wiping mud from her face. Kazuki climbed out of the stream. Renji looked at the clone. Then at the ground beneath it. His hands moved through a series of seals.
“Earth Style: Earth Snare.”
The earth closed around the clone’s ankles. The clone looked down. Renji looked at the two of them.
Akari ran for the tag.
Kazuki rushed straight at the clone. It brought one hand up, and a jet of water struck him square in the chest. Kazuki flew backward and landed in the stream again.
Akari slipped past. The clone turned toward her. The earth around its ankles cracked.
Akari jumped, and the air beneath her feet curled. She caught the branch and tore the tag free. “Got it!”
Kazuki splashed out of the stream.
The clone tore one foot free.
Kazuki planted his feet. His hands moved through four seals.
“Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!”
Flame rushed across the stream. The clone brought one hand up. A wave erupted from the water between them and collided with the fire. The fire hissed out as the wave swept through it. Kazuki was washed away several meters downstream before he managed to sit up again. “Stop doing that!”
The clone pulled its other foot free and turned toward Akari. Akari’s hands were already moving.
“Wind Style: Air Hammer!”
The clone jerked backward as the blast struck it square in the chest. It burst apart into water.
Kazuki stood, still dripping. Renji pursed his lips, trying not to laugh. Kazuki pointed at him. “Shut up.”
* * *
By the time they reached the woods, the morning had warmed. Akari’s stomach felt empty again. Two tags sat inside the starting circle. One left.
The woods were thicker than they looked from the clearing. Cedar trunks crowded together, and low brush filled the spaces between them. After searching for a few minutes, Kazuki found a red cord tied around a cedar trunk. The wooden tag hung from it.
Akari smiled. “Finally.”
Renji glanced around. Kazuki started forward.
A Water Clone stepped around the trunk.
Kazuki smiled. “There you are.”
Another clone appeared to the left. Then one to the right.
Renji’s face went pale. “There are three.”
Kazuki cracked his knuckles. “Good.”
“No!”
The clones moved. Kazuki barely got his arms up before a punch crashed into his forearms. The blow knocked him backward.
The clone on the left went for Akari. She ducked beneath the first punch, but the next kick caught her in the shoulder and knocked her sideways into a cedar. The clone closed in for another strike.
Renji backed away from the third. It followed. He turned and ran.
Then he looked at Akari and stopped.
His hands moved. “Earth Style: Earth Wall!”
Stone surged up between Akari and the clone. The clone’s next kick struck the wall.
The third clone caught Renji from behind. It spun him around and drove a punch into his stomach. Renji slumped forward.
“Renji!”
Akari threw out her arm. A hard gust slammed the clone into the brush. Pain shot through her shoulder as the recoil hit.
Renji straightened and looked toward the cedar.
The tag was clear.
“Akari!”
She saw it.
The clone behind the wall jumped over the top.
Renji threw a kunai. The clone turned to knock it aside.
Akari ran for the tag.
The clone she had blasted into the brush came after her. Kazuki saw it. He broke away from his own opponent and tackled it to the ground. His clone immediately turned toward Akari.
Renji stepped into its path.
The clone drove an open palm into his chest. The breath went out of him. Renji flew back and hit the dirt.
Akari reached the cedar. Her fingers caught the red cord. She yanked.
“Got it!”
She looked back. Renji was still down. She caught his wrist and pulled him up. He stumbled against her, his breathing ragged.
Kazuki scrambled to his feet. “Run!”
They ran.
Branches snapped behind them. The clones were coming after them.
A kunai struck the dirt a step in front of Akari. She jerked left and nearly ran into Renji. Another buried itself in a cedar beside Kazuki’s shoulder.
Akari pushed through a patch of brush. Renji stayed close beside her. Kazuki ran behind them. Footsteps closed in from the left. A clone burst through the brush ahead of them.
Akari skidded to a stop. Dirt sprayed around her sandals.
Another clone moved between the trees on their right. The third came up behind them. Kazuki, Akari, and Renji backed toward one another.
Dry needles and dead leaves covered the ground beneath the cedars. Low brush crowded the spaces between the trunks. Kazuki looked at the dried foliage and smiled.
Renji saw it. “No.”
Kazuki brought his hands together and moved through six seals. He drew a breath deep enough to lift his shoulders.
“Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Jutsu!”
A fireball the size of his head burst from his mouth into the brush ahead of them, then another tore into the dry leaves to their right, then two more behind them. Akari felt the heat sweep past her cheek.
The leaves caught immediately. Fire flared between the team and the clones.
The clones stopped.
Kazuki grinned. “See?”
Renji stared at the flames. He had nothing to say.
The clone ahead of them ran straight into the nearest patch of fire. Its body collapsed into water, splashing the burning leaves and brush. Steam rolled between the cedars. The flames shrank. Kazuki’s grin disappeared.
Akari looked at the dying fire. Then at Kazuki. Her eyes lit up. Renji’s head snapped toward her.
“Wait, no, don’t—”
Akari swept both hands toward the flames, and wind rushed past her. It tore through the brush and into the fire. The flames bent away from them. Then, they roared.
Fire surged across the dry needles, climbed the side of a cedar, and rolled into the lower branches. Heat washed over them.
Akari’s eyes went wide. She squealed and clapped her hands. “I made it bigger!”
Kazuki watched the flames climb. He gave a slow, appreciative nod. “Nice.”
Burning needles blew from the cedar into another patch of dry brush. Fire caught there too.
Akari looked up. The fire had reached several nearby cedars.
Her smile disappeared. “Oh.”
The two remaining clones moved. One ran into the fire on the right. The other charged into the flames behind them. Both collapsed into water.
Two heavy splashes struck the burning brush. Steam burst through the trees.
For a moment, the flames dropped. Then something cracked overhead. A burning branch broke loose. It hit the ground behind Renji and burst into sparks.
Kazuki looked toward the places where the clones had disappeared. “It worked.”
Renji turned toward him. “They stopped fighting us because the forest is on fire.”
“Exactly!”
“The forest is on fire!”
Smoke rolled between the cedars. Another branch cracked somewhere above them.
Renji looked at Akari. “We should go.”
Akari nodded. Kazuki was still watching the flames. Renji grabbed his sleeve.
* * *
They burst out of the woods, coughing and covered in soot. The starting circle was across the clearing. Reina stood beside it. Smoke climbed over the trees behind them. They sprinted across the clearing. Kazuki crossed first. Renji crossed second. Akari jumped into the circle and threw the last tag beside the other two.
Three tags. Three genin.
Akari threw both arms into the air. “We did it!”
Renji bent over, hands on his knees. Kazuki cheered. Reina looked at the three tags. Then at the smoking trees.
“You passed.”
Renji blinked. “We did?”
“You got the tags.”
Kazuki grinned. Reina looked at him. He stopped.
“We’re going to discuss the fire.”
A crack sounded from the woods. Reina turned. “Stay here.”
She disappeared into the trees. Somewhere inside, water crashed hard enough to shake leaves from the branches. Akari looked over. Massive waves began to wash over the trees. Steam rose above the canopy.
Kazuki whistled.
Akari smiled. “That’s so cool.”
By the time Reina returned, most of the fire was out. Her clothes were wet. Part of her hair had come loose. She stopped in front of them. Nobody spoke.
“Whose idea?”
Kazuki raised his hand. “The fire was mine.”
Akari raised hers too. “I made it bigger.”
Renji sighed. “I told them not to.”
“The fire was defensible,” Reina said.
Kazuki brightened.
“Making it bigger was not.”
Kazuki deflated.
Reina exhaled through her nose. “The woods were the first time you worked as a team. Start there next time.”
She glanced at Renji. “And listen to him. He has been right all morning.”
Renji’s ears went pink.
Kazuki looked at the ground and kicked a rock. “Are we in trouble?”
“Yes.”
Akari raised her hand. “Are we done?”
“Also yes.”
Reina looked at all three of them. “Eat.”
* * *
They moved into the shade near an unscorched tree. Kazuki opened a cloth-wrapped lunch and immediately started eating. Renji took out a small wooden box.
Akari drank from her canteen.
“Where’s yours?” Kazuki asked.
Akari looked at him. “My what?”
“Lunch.”
“I ate.”
“When?”
“This morning.”
Kazuki frowned. “That was breakfast.”
“Yeah.”
Renji stopped opening his box. “You don’t have anything else?”
Akari shrugged.
Kazuki looked at her pack. “You forgot it?”
“No.”
“Then where is it?”
Akari looked at the grass. “I ate it.”
Renji opened his lunch. Two onigiri sat inside beside sliced vegetables and a small piece of egg. He picked up an onigiri and held it out to her.
“Here.”
Akari looked at him. “What?”
“You can have it.”
“No.”
Renji extended his arm even further.
Akari looked at it. Her stomach growled. She took it. “Thanks.”
Renji nodded.
She bit into it. There was salted salmon inside. Akari’s eyes widened. “This is really good.”
Renji looked pleased. “My mom made them.”
Kazuki looked at his own lunch. Then at Akari. He tore one of his pieces of grilled chicken in half. “Here.”
Akari looked at it. “You too?”
“Renji made it weird.”
Renji frowned. “I didn’t make anything weird.”
“You started sharing.”
“That isn’t weird.”
“It was until you did it.”
Akari took the chicken. “Thanks.”
Kazuki nodded.
Reina sat a short distance away. She watched Akari eat too quickly, then deliberately slow herself down. The empty ration pouch was still tucked into the side of her pack.
Reina looked at it.
Then back at Akari.
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