The next day rolled around as normal; Tsuna and Takeda may have been the heirs to their Clans but another of Hiruzen Sarutobi's requirements was more ironclad; The former Mafia were permitted to stay as Clans in the Village on condition that their next in line for succession and their future comrades from other clans had to be properly schooled and taught.
The fabled "Mafia Heirs" were capable of learning in class with the lowest scorers being Tsuna and Takeda; Both of them seemed to be slow on the uptake when it came to studying the Village's history, though their differences in using Chakra meant that the village's Jutsu was either difficult or not possible to learn, even if they could get the handsigns right but the two seemed to succeed in different parts at a higher rate in different aspects.
Tsuna was uncannily good at discerning disguises, concealment and Genjutsu, while Takeda scored points in Ninjutsu as a theory in the highest degree and tied second with Sasuke Uchiha in terms of Taijutsu. The only thing that the two shared was that when push came to shove, they both boasted an incredibly strong Flame when they chose to use it.
"Why did the teachers have to yell like that?" Tsuna mumbled as he had been lectured once again on getting the lowest scores in their year alongside Takeda, he had wanted to avoid going into the Mafia life but even the Academy wasn't easy on either of them. "And all because I couldn't do that Clone Jutsu thing…I practiced the handsigns and everything."
Takeda sighed as he nursed a similar frustration; He had no issues with the physical side of learning in the Academy but his focus and efforts always left him when it came to learning from a book or when Iruka dragged on. "Well…Remember what Mammon told us? We can't use Genjutsu but if we train ourselves enough then we can learn how to properly use Mist Flames to do something similar by making illusions."
"Easy for you to say…You've got that thing that you can do with the Flames." Tsuna admitted as he felt a little put out by this. "I can only use the Sky Flame but you've got access to all six."
Takeda grimaced a little, this wasn't the first time that he had to have this discussion explained to him about his "condition" but it still hurt that one of his best friends was holding it against him even though he wasn't any different now. "Tsuna…" He sighed as he then kicked a pebble out of the way. "You heard what Grandpa Nine said when he told us that we were starting training…Everyone who has the Sky Flames is capable of using all six other flames but you can make a stronger Sky Flame that I can…And Shiori is still trying to figure out what Flame she can use."
"Yeah…" Tsuna nodded as he turned a corner to head towards the compound. "But I just wish that the others can give us a break every once in a while…Squalo keeps pushing us and i-" He started to complain but then stopped when he saw a shadow in the corner of his eye before making his way deeper into the compound.
The only problem with this was that said shadow was not merely a trick of the setting sun, instead it was a rather ominous looking black figure watching the two from a tree before disappearing again. "It's time…"
The funerals that took place after what would later be called the most heinous massacre of multiple clans in the Leaf's history; "The Itachi Genocide", cementing Itachi's departure from the Hidden Leaf and placing him as an S-Rank Rogue Ninja with an emphasis on dead over alive.
Each ceremony gave a stark contrast with their mourners and who respected the Hokage's wishes to sympathise with both surviving children regardless of their clan or their origins.
Sasuke's loss of his clan was responded with the vast number of not just Clan Heads and prominent members of each family but each one also managed to lay a gift and flowers at their shrine in the centre of the Uchiha Compound. Their words of deep respect and sympathies rang in the young boy's ears but unfortunately for them; The young boy was silent and lacked a want for anything bar the desire to find the object of his vengeance.
The only other person who could truly sympathise with the Uchiha orphan was Takeda Yoshida; The last remaining Mafioso in Konohagakure and depending on the person you asked, they would say his circumstances differed each time.
Those that wanted to be respectful to the young boy stated that Takeda was lucky enough to escape with his life to go find the Hokage and alert him despite what had happened.
Those few kind words were very quickly overshadowed by those who saw him solely as his heritage in the Mafia, their skepticism in if he could be trusted and those that still held their grudges against the Mafia Clans for not saving the Fourth Hokage and his family. Their view was that he had been merely overlooked because of his inability to perform Jutsu and all around unimpressive talents, saying that it was an act of mercy on Itachi's part to spare such a sad, sad existence.
Their sentiments were equally as genuine as rather than the lavish gifts of flowers and sentiments that had been granted to Sasuke, were instead downsized to mere single flowers and the obligatory words of funerary passings by the Clan Heads and them alone.
No one was there to offer Takeda a hand to take or a shoulder to lean on…No one was willing to shed their tears for him and no one was willing to even be seen praying at the stone monument that served as the headstone for the clans as a whole.
The only person willing to do so openly was Hiruzen Sarutobi, watching quietly and remaining staunch in paying his respects for the loss of several clans in one night, he couldn't afford to play favourites as Hokage but he also couldn't stomach the idea of letting a boy sit alone in his grief like this. "Takeda, I think it's time that we get you home…You'll catch a cold if you stay out here." The Third Hokage tried to coax the boy as he had noticed that the boy had been sat outside at the monument for hours and hadn't said a single word.
Takeda didn't even move an inch as his eyes lifelessly watched the stone glint in the light of the sun, silently etching each person's name into his mind to remember them from the teachers that cracked the whip to get him and his friends to learn, the kids from other allied clans that befriended Tsuna and welcomed him in their group when they trained together…But nothing hurt him more than having to see the names of his mother, father and younger sister scrawled at the bottom.
"I know that it's difficult now…But if I know your father and the others who stood alongside him, they wouldn't want you to sit here and waste away while you have your whole life to live." The Third Hokage tried to reason with him before placing a hand on the young boy's shoulder, though again...He was responded to with silence.
"I can promise you that you will be looked after until you are of age to become the official Clan Head, you'll be granted the full custody of the shared clan compound and you'll be able to receive the rest of your inheritance when you earn your ninja headband…" Hiruzen Sarutobi felt disheartened when the boy still remained silent in spite of his attempts to reassure him.
"I'm gonna…" Takeda simply said in an almost monotone voice before getting up and looking up at the Third Hokage. "I'll get my headband, then I'll plan on getting as strong as I can and learn everything I can." He vowed with a determined look on his face that replaced the dead look in his eyes.
"Good, you may have your roots in the Mafia but you are still one of Konoha's clans…I look forward to seeing how you rise up to this challenge." Hiruzen smiled softly as he took a small envelope out of his sleeve and handed it to Takeda before letting him walk home. "Fight back, Takeda Yoshida…The others may chide you about your origins and what people say they did here, I know that someone like you can rise above that."
There was always a slight issue when it came to small villages and it's grievances; People within the Hidden Leaf held on to that resentment regarding the Mafia Clans that had been unable to prevent the loss of the Fourth Hokage and his family, even after years of the Third Hokage assuring everyone that it was no one specific group's fault that ended in the tragedy.
Even after nearly every Mafia Clan had been wiped out, that bitterness towards one young boy got passed down to THEIR kids, culminating in a rather frequent occurrence with not just the Hokage but a number of the teachers at the Academy.
"Takeda, this is becoming some seriously concerning behaviour." Hiruzen Sarutobi remarked as he blew out some smoke from his pipe; This hadn't been the first time that he had to say this but it still rang true after five years.
The now 12 year old Takeda looked like he had been dragged through a busy street once he was sat in front of the Hokage; His brown hair was ruffled from his encounter and amber eyes that would've made him stand out if one of them hadn't been swollen shut, bruises and scratches seemed to cover the bare spots of his skin as he wore a plain looking dark green sleeveless hoodie and black pants along with close toed dark shoes.
"Well, it's a shame that I'm the only one who's called in to be scolded when I'm the one who's had a rock thrown at my face." Takeda pointed out in a rather brusque tone as he pointed to the swollen eye that nearly everyone couldn't ignore.
"Yoshida, we've kept telling you in class time after time: Fighting is not the answer to everything." A tall man with a scar across the bridge of his nose lectured him as he was constantly the one who had to reprimand Takeda for this ongoing trend. "Surely you would've realized it by now that you're the future head of a Clan, it'll reflect poorly on you if you take a swing every time that you have a problem with someone."
"Iruka, that's quite enough." The Third would talk him down as he looked to the Chunin and his charge of a student. "I'd have thought that solidarity in circumstances would've allowed him and Sasuke Uchiha to make friends…Or at least make some people a little sympathetic towards the boy." He thought to himself as he took note of the other kids' names.
"Maybe cut him some slack…Kids fight all the time." The other Chunin alongside Iruka mentioned as he shrugged his shoulders. "This at least proves that Takeda's taking his Taijutsu training more seriously than the other kids…I mean, it's not a style we taught but it's effective."
"Mizuki, it's precisely because this happens all the time that this is a problem!" Iruka snapped as he felt the frustration build. "Still, regardless of who started it, he needs to be punished."
Takeda grit his teeth before he stared up at Iruka with an outraged frustration; "WHAT?! But I wasn't the one who started it, that's completely unfair!"
"Regardless, you still caused a fight to break out to the point that other Chunin had to step in and intervene, that alone causes trouble for other people." Iruka remained determined on the matter; He did know that Takeda was not normally one to start fights but he did have the habit of escalating an argument into a full on brawl…Intentionally or not.
"He does make a good point, have the other boys do cleanup on the Hokage Statue for a couple of weeks and Takeda can spend the same amount of time cleaning up the classrooms at the Academy after lessons are over." The Third Hokage decided to dole out the punishment details but then noticed that Takeda was about to protest. "And before you mention it, Yoshida…You are still being punished because you escalated…Defending yourself is one thing but I will not tolerate future Ninja devolving into street fighting hooligans."
Lessons after that were rather tense but awkward once Takeda showed back up at the Academy for the afternoon; It took a quick trip to a Medic Ninja to fix him up but that still didn't change the fact that now there were two boys in the class that drew attention from the other kids.
Sasuke's band of followers were always the loudest and the proudest to fight over "their Man"; The girls would practically break down into ferocious catfights just to try sitting next to their golden boy. The guys on the other hand were jealous of Sasuke's popularity and often tried to emulate the same level of intensity and brooding charm that Sasuke could effortlessly pull off, however most of the times came off as trying too hard.
Takeda on the other hand was more complicated with students in class; Guys would rather call him a scumbag for being labelled Mafia but they also wouldn't dare say it to his face since he was one of the class's top fighters next to Sasuke. The girls however had him painted as a problem child; Often gossiping about how he was nothing but trouble and how he'd get into fights for people that looked at him wrong. Though at the same time there were some girls who had odd fantasies about him being the bad boy that they'd date to upset their parents and in some cases: Some even admitted about finding him cute and those girls were normally questioned on their taste, though neither Sasuke or Takeda weren't exactly ones to care about gossip.
The only exception being the Hyuuga heiress Hinata; While she often sat with the girls, the aptly nicknamed "Ice Queen" was hardly involved in their efforts to claim Sasuke or insult Takeda since she mostly sported that same dignified, quiet look that most of the Hyuuga did, however unbeknownst to anyone who bothered to look under her exterior, she respected Takeda's perseverance for not bowing under everyone's words yet at the same time, there was a part of her that did genuinely have sympathy for him and for Sasuke.
"Alright everyone, today you'll be taking the tests to become Genin…This'll consist of knowing your Jutsu theories which'll be quizzed for each of you and Taijutsu practice followed by a randomised final subject." Iruka listed off as he looked over to everyone, sighing internally when he saw that Takeda's attitude barely changed since he left the Hokage's office. "You'll be a part of this too Yoshida, so make sure you actually put in the effort." He added sternly.
"What's even the point, they're just gonna fail me…The fact that I can't actually do Jutsu like everyone else is just a convenient excuse." Takeda thought to himself as he sat straight but his eyes looked to the small tear of paper that had been placed on his desk before he got there which simply said one thing.
"Just drop out already, thug."
It wasn't the first time that he had gotten comments like that and just like the other times that he did, he balled up the paper and threw it in the trash. "Yoshida, your turn!" Iruka said as he turned to face the boy. "Detail each Element with their strengths and their weaknesses…Starting with Fire."
Takeda sighed before remembering what he read; "Fire Style is strong against Wind Style to the point of being the most in sync with it and even amplified if someone uses a Wind Jutsu and a Fire Jutsu in tandem to make the fire bigger." He said without even changing his expression, "However Fire Style is mostly weak against Water Style since water extinguishes fire."
Iruka nodded and then ticked against Takeda's name but he ultimately wanted to test the boy rather than letting him coast on an easy answer. "Okay, what about Wind?"
"Strong against Lightning but weak against Fire but it can also bolster Water Jutsu if used properly." Takeda said equally as quickly, hating that fact that Iruka was clearly taking the chance to single him out if he made a mistake, or at least he thought he was.
"Well…He's certainly been studying…Or he's just getting lucky with his answers, if he gave more details or put in the effort then he could easily match Sakura in terms of grade…" Iruka thought before rattling off the next question. "Okay, what about Lightning?"
"Strong against Earth but weak to Wind."
"And why exactly IS it weak to Earth?" Iruka asked, his own annoyance growing as he realised that Takeda was half-hearting his answers all the more.
"There's certain parts of Earth that can conduct electricity better so it can pierce easier…It's why no one who uses it wears metal or has piercings." Takeda grunted with a more snippy tone as he answered once more, not noticing that a lot of the kids were curious about how someone who was notoriously knowing for fighting in and out of school, was somehow smarter than he looked.
"Then try explainin-"
"Alright, Iruka…I think we can see that Takeda knows his Jutsu, let's try testing someone else for now." Mizuki said with the same levelheaded coolness that he kept in classes and decided to divert away from Takeda.
The others carried on and answered each of Iruka's questions, the unintentional motivation of proving that they were just as good or better than Takeda was fresh in their minds; Some wanted to make sure they earned their headbands but other seemed more interested in proving that Takeda was far from special. As a result, the top scorers in the academic side was Sakura Haruno, Shikamaru Nara and Sasuke Uchiha.
"Alrighty, next test is Taijutsu assessment." Mizuki announced as he walked everyone out to the field where they would conduct their training; "This is to make sure you've all kept up your Taijutsu drills; You'll be graded on ability, adaptability and on your general handling so don't worry about whether you win or not."
The kids were each partnered up and Takeda ended up getting paired with Kiba Inuzuka for his first spar when it was his turn; While both boys weren't exactly friends or enemies with each other, that didn't stop the Ninja Hound specialist from wanting to show off.
"Watch and learn, Yoshida! I'm gonna knock you into the dirt and show everyone that you're not as tough as the rumors say you are!" Kiba bragged as he ducked down into a low stance like a dog ready to pounce.
"You can brag once you do it." Takeda snarked as he raised his leg and brought his arms up into a kickboxers stance; His body swayed to the side once Kiba rushed forward and began swiping at him with open clawed hands.
Kiba had a lot more of a wild side when it came to fighting; His style consisted of non stop movements and when he moved with a swipe of his clawed hands, his next move after his punch got blocked was to swing his leg up and aim a kick right at Takeda's head. "Wide open!"
Takeda however already had his arms raised and blocked the high kick with his forearms before swinging his knee up to catch Kiba in the chest and knock him back with a swift elbow to the face. "Try putting more focus into hitting rather than flailing around." He pointed out as he then rushed forward to land a follow up series of quick jabs which managed to land but not all of them could.
"Singular Claw: Fang over Fang!" Kiba yelled out as he ducked into his low stance and pushed himself forward in a spiral with claws first.
"I thought this was a straight fight! Fine, then if that's how we're playing it…" Takeda thought before he adjusted himself to better prepare for what he was about to do next.
Kiba wasn't sure what happened in those brief moments; All he saw was a blur of orange in front of him and the next thing he knew, he was on his back and Takeda's fist was inches away from his face; "O-Okay, I give…" He called out hesitantly since he didn't want to see how far Takeda could be pushed after that.
After Mizuki called the match and let the others take over for their own testing; The people who got the top scores to no one's surprise were Sasuke, Takeda and Hinata.
By the time that it had all concluded, there was the last test that everyone seemed to feel more nervous about since it was a random pick. "Okay, your last test will be on…The Clone Jutsu and the Transformation Jutsu."
There were a few cheers, a few groans in annoyance and more than a number of side glances at Takeda who as far as they knew. Couldn't use Jutsu, though whether they were looks of pity or satisfaction that the supposed thug of Konoha's academy would be knocked down a peg.
"Alright, first up, Shino Aburame." Iruka said as he checked off the list; It was alphabetical from A-Z which meant that Yoshida was the very last on the list, it was good from his standpoint because otherwise the others would call it favouritism but it did nothing to trim down the numbers of condescending looks that they shot at Takeda.
Each person came forward and showed off their Clone Jutsu; Some came out strong with it and some unfortunately weren't.
Sasuke naturally cleared everyone's by not only making a Clone Jutsu but also by transforming it into Iruka, earning him some extra marks for the merits. "Let's see you top that one, you two bit crook…"
"Alright, Next is Yoshida to finish off." Iruka said as he gestured for Takeda to step forward.
Once Takeda was front and centre, he placed a ring on his finger and decided to try it his way since him trying to do a Genjutsu on his own was out of the question. He closed his eyes and tried to focus on the lesson that Mammon had taught him and Tsuna about Illusions.
"Remember this lesson well, you two…Creating from nothing into something, turning something into nothing; bewildering the enemy, so making the famiglia untouchable. That is the way of our Illusions…That is the Way of the Mist Flames."
With a quirk snap of his finger; An indigo flame quickly sparked across the top of the ring and lit up across his body as Takeda raised his ringed hand up, making that indigo flame dance and then he suddenly vanished in the flames.
A lot of the students watched as Takeda slowly split into two and in place of the second stood another Iruka with a clipboard and sporting a similar looking scowl to the real Iruka's face.
Iruka noted the results down but had a rather indignant comment at the bottom. "Alright, go back to your seats and I'll tally up everyone's scores with Mizuki." He stated before heading out of the door to meet with Mizuki, leaving the students to unpack everything.
"So, Sasuke's definitely gonna win hands down…" One of the girls said with no degree of uncertainty as the gaggle quickly formed and clamoured to try and be next to Sasuke now that the teachers were gone.
"Please, of course the number one Uchiha in our class is gonna get this." One of the guys scoffed as they sat in the row behind Sasuke but this didn't elicit much of an input since he was drowned out.
Takeda on the other hand was just happy that he wasn't the target of attention this time, mostly because everyone was more eager to suck up to Sasuke who looked like he could care less, it still gave him a modicum of confusion as to why. "I seriously don't get the appeal, he's even more of a loner than I am…Is it the hair? The acting like everyone is dirt on his shoe or just the fact that he's Uchiha?" He mused to himself but shrugged it off as stupid question.
"Alright, class…Looks like most of you are going home with a Ninja headband so step on up when I call your name then you can head on home." Mizuki broke the silence once he and Iruka returned back into the room with a stack of papers and a box of what looked like the Ninja headbands. "When Iruka calls out your name, step on up and get your headband…Once you get your headbands; Keep that focus and drive because now you are Ninja."
After class was the time that Takeda had to uphold his punishment and clean the classrooms; This was already enough of a reason to have a sour mood but he was also one of the few who didn't get a headband so he ended up being the target of whispers about lack of talent or just the typical mumblings from the parents.
"Make sure you reorganise the books too, not everyone puts the back in the same way." Iruka mentioned as he watched Takeda to make sure he was keeping his word.
"Already done…" Takeda grumbled as he pushed the broom across the floor as he swept up dried ink scratchings and the nasty mix of food crumbs and dog hair. "Not like anyone from my old class is gonna come back anyway."
"Takeda, You can't give up on getting your headband now…Sure you failed but that just means you have to try harder for next time." Iruka pointed out; He had noticed the frustration on the boy's attitude but he had to keep being the teacher. "Your fighting skills puts your grade high but you need to score high for both your physical and academic grades in terms of Jutsu...That means putting more effort in to your studying and answering questions properly."
"I made the perfect replication of you and a clone, didn't I?" Takeda fired back as he felt that annoyance grow; "Everything was there down to the clipboard!"
"But you still had those indigo flames coming off of your duplicate's shoulders and wrist…Plus you didn't form the handsigns that make up the Jutsu, Rule Number 1 of Transformation Jutsu is that you need to make it indistinguishable from what you're trying to copy." Iruka responded with a raised finger. "Once you follow the fundamentals then you can make it as a Ninja."
"I could make an army of identical versions of you and you'd still fail me at this rate!" Takeda finally snapped and yelled at Iruka before he sighed and returned to sweeping. "It doesn't matter now…Just another wait until the next time I get a fail."
Iruka felt his indignant mood drop a little when he realized that this wasn't the big inspiration that he hoped for, he knew that he had to not play favourites but seeing Takeda like this drummed on his sympathy and even more so when he realized how harsh he had been talking with or without the boy around. "Takeda…When you finished up here, how about I take you for something to eat."
This brought Takeda's attention but that quickly gave way to skepticism. "Why?" He asked as he pushed the bowl of swept up garbage into a trash bin. "What happened to me being punished?"
"Because I figured you could use a little pick me up after today." Iruka said honestly as he headed out of the door; "You know Ichiraku? Finish up here then go there, I'll save a bowl for you."
The promise of food was not surprisingly a more welcoming motivation than the speech that Iruka would normally give him as Takeda managed to finish in good time, Once he cleaned out the last classroom, he began his walk out towards the string of restaurants. "At least if Iruka's around, I might not get sneered at or insulted directly…" He thought to himself but then saw something that caught his eye, ruining what would've been a good mood on his way to a meal.
A figure was jumping from rooftop to rooftop and clutching onto what looked like a large scroll that was as big as their torso. Though it seemed like a fairly normal occurrence for a ninja to traverse via the rooftops, the oddest part was that the direction they were heading in was towards the Uchiha Compound.
But anyone who had cared enough to see past that would know that another abode existed in that area; One that had rocks thrown in the window on every anniversary for the death of the Hokage, for the death of his wife and for his son. That same group of houses that held the once gossiped and most well known band of Ninja Clans in the Leaf yet this was not for respectful reasons.
The Sawada Clan, The Varia Clan, The Yoshida Clan and the Vongola Clan all sat their homes in a town-like block as a show of solidarity in their situation, however it was because of that desire for staying together that made what happened to them all the more tragic. That and the yearly attempts at vandalising the homes for both their "Failings" and for their origins.
The silence that permeated the deathly quiet was broken by the sound of sandals grinding against the dirt and the slow breathing of the figure that stepped into this domain; The trespasser quickly scanned the crests that adorned the doorframe of each house like they were looking for the right place and finally stopped at the one they were searching for. "Perfect…"
However while they were still reviled in the Leaf, they were still the Mafia; As soon as the door swung open and the trespasser stepped in for what it was that they planned to do, there was a split second between the creak of the floorboards plus the razor thin wire under the mat that the unwanted guest had stepped on…Followed by the rapidfire sounds of kunai being launched from the walls.
The figure made a split second Substitution for them to swap places with a log and land outside. "The place is booby trapped?!" They thought as they then rushed back through the door, thinking that the place had run out of it's defenses.
That was then proven false by the large plume of orange flames that lit up which revealed the figure that had started the attempt to infiltrate; It was a very haggard looking Iruka who had moved the giant scroll to hang from his back, he had managed to jump back far enough to be out of range but it was still jarring to witness. "What kind of defenses does this place have?!"
"Iruka?" Takeda's voice was heard as he made himself known from a street corner; His face painted with a mix of confusion, shock and hurt as he saw the man that had previously tried to mend the broken bridge between them. "What are you doing here?"
"Yoshida? You're back here early…I thought you were still at school." Iruka quizzed him as he got to his feet, trying to play things cool when he saw the young man standing in front of him.
"I…I was on my way but then I saw someone coming here…But why are you here?" Takeda asked as he was confused by everything; "And what's with the scroll anyway?"
"Oh this? I had…" Iruka then looked to the house and adjusted the scroll on his back; "I was going to hide this as part of an extra curricular test of your's." He explained and picked up speed on his talking. "I know that you failed your test but this is a little extra step that can help you get your headband…All you have to do is hide this for the night and if you can last until the Academy opens up tomorrow without getting caught by staff or students, you'll for sure get your headband."
"But…Why not just tell me that back at school…Or at least be honest instead of the whole restaurant thing?" Takeda kept trying to quiz as he noticed something didn't feel right.
"Yoshida, can you just be quiet and listen to your teacher for once? I'm giving you another chance to do something worthwhile and you keep spouting off like this." Iruka said as he started getting annoyed at the constant pestering. "The fact that you're being given a second chance at all after everything you've done and messed up is a miracle…Now take this scroll, stop acting like a thug and hide it!"
Takeda's expression shifted to an angered one as he then threw a kunai at Iruka who quickly moved but got it stuck in his shoulder, though the boy's own look changed to an alarmed expression when a shuriken lodged it's way into his arm. "I-I know what that scroll is…So why don't you tell me what you're really doing with it and why you're using Iruka's face."
The confronted and injured Iruka blinked for a moment before he vanished in a puff of smoke, only to have Mizuki leaning against the wall after taking the kunai out. "So you knew? You've been a smart little brat but I didn't think you could see through something like this…That brat Sawada could've guessed from the start."
Takeda smirked as he grabbed his own injured arm before he too puffed into smoke to show the real Iruka standing in front of him. "Rather tasteless to speak ill of a fallen clan, Mizuki…So I'll ask again, what was your plan here?" Iruka asked him as he kept a cautious watch around him.
"Isn't it obvious?" Mizuki asked as he decided to stall; "The fact that you of all people don't see why is shocking…When the Demon Fox attacked and killed everyone on that night, the sealing Jutsu that could put the Kyuubi into a killable body by the Fourth Hokage was put in this sealed away scroll."
Iruka watched cautiously but then found himself struggling to understand; "Wait, why try to claim the scroll? With the Fox Demon gone and no longer alive then you'll have no reason to use it." He pointed out as he tried to figure out the logic.
"Think about it!" Mizuki said as he pointed to the Yoshida household. "This little thug has more potential if what I've heard about the Clans were true…If I seal that brat's Flame Melding powers into the Scroll and then hand it over to the Council…Or to someone willing to pay enough then we could be sitting on a goldmine!"
"This is low…Even for you." Iruka said as he was shocked that his fellow Chunin would go to such lengths.
"Well, my plan was to pin this all on you if I got caught…But since you were dumb enough to stick up for that waste of skin, I've got to silence you now before you blab…And that is something I can easily pin on the kid." Mizuki mentioned as he then grabbed another kunai but then felt something was off when a heat started growing near him, it took the Chunin a split second for him to roll away as a jet of orange flame burst out from the window.
"You've picked a bad day for a home visit, Mizuki." Takeda said with an expression that looked like it was carved from stone, his ring glittering with orange flames as he remained on the defensive.
"So you WERE here, Takeda…Perfect timing because I've managed to draw Iruka out from where he was hiding, turns out he had a plan t-" Mizuki started to try spinning this but was stopped by the sudden flare of fire from Takeda's ring.
"Do you think I'm an idiot?" Takeda asked as he kept his gaze on Mizuki, his expression never changing and his ring still danced with the flames of his technique. "I heard it all…"
"Then I have no reason to lie." Mizuki said as he pointed to Iruka; "Did you ever wonder why no one ever bothered to get close to you…OR try to give you a chance to show your worth?"
"Mizuki, what are you doing?" Iruka tried to stop him; "That's something the decree told us not to talk about!"
"Ah yes, the very decree that the Third Hokage passed down that was told to everyone in the village…" Mizuki smirked as he kept his gaze on Takeda. "Everyone but your clan!"
Takeda's eyes narrowed at this revelation but didn't say anything, giving Mizuki the chance to continue.
"The decree was that we treat you like a member of the village in spite of everything." Mizuki sneered as he pointed to the ruins of the other houses. "But no one could ever forget how your family and the Clans who lived here: Let the beloved Fourth Hokage die along with his family! Enabled the Uchiha up until their dying breath an-"
Iruka then swung in to punch Mizuki with his stronger arm; "THAT'S ENOUGH!" He yelled as he pushed off and winced as he felt the pain come back. "Contrary to what you think, Mizuki…But Takeda holds as much blame in any of that as Sasuke does in the Uchiha's death!"
"I'm surprised you don't hate the little brat more, Iruka…After all, your family died in the Fox's attack and where were Konoha's "Helpful Allies" when people died by the hundreds?" Mizuki gloated as he wiped the blood from his mouth. "How long do you think it'll be before that thug over there decides that enough is enough and seeks vengeance on the village?"
"Because Takeda Yoshida is better than that! Even though he may not do things the way that we do…And he may not behave like a Shinobi, he is a Ninja of the Leaf Village and I am proud to teach a student like him." Iruka declared as he pulled the shuriken out and dropped it to the ground.
"Really? After all the shit you put him through? The berating, the harsh words and the other stuff that you do? Word of advice, thug…" Mizuki snarled as he turned to face Takeda; "You'd best watch your back around him…Because if you give him the chance, Iruka will turn on y-"
That sentence never got it's finish as Takeda finally drove his fist into Mizuki's cheek and sent him rolling to the ground. "I can handle all of that…" Takeda growled as he cracked his knuckles and the now indigo flames danced on his forehead as well as his ring. "You can call me a thug, insult me for my intelligence or for getting into fights, I won't care a bit…But when you start hurting my friends, standing in front of me becomes the worst place to be."
Mizuki was about to taunt him for such a bluff but then his own confidence began to shake when he saw a second Takeda appear beside him, followed by a third and a fourth until the entire square that they stood in was surrounded by multiple perfect copies of the Yoshida boy. "H-He can make this many copies? Just how much power does this brat hide from us?!"
"You said that my fighting style was effective, Mizuki…So now I'm gonna beat every detail of it into you with my Dying Will!" Takeda said with a smirk as he launched himself in first, the square of dilapidated houses echoed with the sounds of a beatdown and Mizuki's yells of pain.
By the time that the moon had fully come out, Mizuki was collapsed against a wall, beaten black and blue with a few teeth missing but he had also been tied up for Iruka to take in for his arrest.
"You could do all that but you couldn't take classes seriously?" Iruka asked Takeda in confusion as he was currently watching the boy using a yellow flame to help close up the wound on the Chunin's arm.
"I do…I just do better with actually doing stuff instead of just sitting behind a desk." Takeda pointed out as he watched the wound heal itself.
This Flame was bright yellow coloured, with almost white core with layers of yellow enveloping it and slowly expanding as it got further out and faint glimmers of light danced off of it. It was the Yoshida Clan's and the other Clans of the Mafia's greatest source of support: The Flames of the Sun.
"Takeda…I wanted to apologise…For well, pretty much everything." Iruka started to speak as he felt tired from the fighting and the sudden feeling of being drained of energy. "For my words to you, how harsh I've been as a teacher…It wasn't fair on you."
"You don't have to…If you just treated me with kiddy gloves then I would've started to slack off." Takeda admitted as he moved his hands away. "It would've made my teachers in the clan pretty annoyed if they saw that." He joked a little before he changed his expression to a serious one. "But I do have to ask you…Did you really mean those things back there?"
"I've been where you are, Takeda." Iruka admitted as he sat up; "Angry at everyone when my parents died and trying to make everyone pay attention to me even if it resorted to practical jokes in my case…" He said and then let out a deep sigh. "I just wanted to say; I do think you can be a credible Ninja…Even if you'd rather choose to be Mafia, I think you have what it takes." He confessed as he then reached his hands up and took his own headband off before placing it in front of Takeda.
"What…What is this?" Takeda could only ask, everything that Iruka said had thrown him for a loop but this was definitely not what he had expected.
"It's congratulations, Takeda…I'm saying that I think you're ready to take the next step and become a Genin."