Early Morning Risers

The breeze was crisp and cool, the villagers had yet to be awoken for the day and yet Kizoku was out of bed and ready to go. It had been weeks since he had graduated from the Academy and the young Kitai wanted nothing more than to receive his team assignments. From what he had been told, there wasn't an influx of available jounin as there had been in previous years, but he felt as if that was a lie. But who knows, could everything really be a lie told just to keep Kizoku in the dark? The crimson haired genin walked out of his house early that morning and sighed a sigh of relief at the fact that the sun had yet to break the horizon. It was dark, yet a certain light washed over the entire village. With his hands shoved into his pants pockets, the crimson haired male took a walk to nowhere. Many things went through the cerulean-eyed male's mind during his walk, but one thing kept appearing in his thoughts; His parents and their murder. Kizoku had been off at the academy that day taking his exams. After answering the final question and completing his final bunshin he was given his Konoha hitai-ate. His elder brother Kishi looked on proudly and watched as his little brother walked out with a large smile on his face. But their happiness was short-lived, for when they returned home they were met with nothing but death and despair. The two found their parents dead on the floor, nothing to show but their faces white and still.

The scene still played fresh in his mind, and tears started to roll down the genin's face. He was glad that it was too early for many of the villagers to be awake, but he still quickly hid the tears. He wondered how his snowy-haired brother was doing. It had seemed a long while since he had become a Missing Ninja, but it was still had been only a few weeks. Kizoku never really understood his brother, he found him lusting for something more than practicing what their father had preached. But the only thing that his brother and Kizoku agreed on was that their parent's murder must be avenged. Yes Kizoku looked up to his older brother, even copying his fighting style and clothes, but that still didn't mean that he and his brother were close. And now that Kishi was gone? There was almost no chance for the two to bond and the genin often wondered if that was better for the two, if there was no chance for them to bond. Then the pain that they shared wouldn't be felt as much if they didn't bond correct? Cerulean eyes darted around the village, looking for a place for their master to rest, and soon those eyes lay upon one large fixture in the distance; the Hokage Monument. Kizoku looked at the faces, the only one that seemed to be smiling a goofy grin was that of the Rokudaime Hokage, the famed Naruto Uzumaki. The genin often wondered about the Hokage, and why so many people had almost forgotten about him. But it wasn't Kizoku's place to judge.

However the face that Kizoku finally chose to sit upon was that of the Yondaime Hokage, Minato Namikaze. This had to be the crimson haired male's favorite Hokage, but he honestly had no idea why. Was it because they shared the same cerulean eyes? Was it the fact that the Namikaze was one of the strongest men to ever live? The genin would have to dive more into his village's history, for even if he got high marks in the Academy, it didn't mean that he knew every single piece of Konohagakure's history. In fact, was there anyone who knew more than past the civil wars over two centuries ago? The archives were closer to Kizoku today than they were before, but right now was not the time to stumble into them. The sun suddenly broke over the horizon, filling the village with a small glimmer of light, changing the sky's colors from a dusky blue to fabulous shades of purple and gold. A breeze brushed through Kizoku's hair, almost caressing it in a way. A lone tear was shed, for the genin felt it as a sign from his deceased mother who used to do the same thing just weeks ago. But soon the tears were wiped away and Kizoku sat in silence, staring out at the village below him. It wasn't long before the early risers were up and starting to set up their shops, two small children could also be seen running around the village before their day at the Academy would start. Kizoku smiled, for the village was at peace, but was it really?

Sui walked along the border of the konoha gates with her hands trailing along the walls and an unatural smile across her face and her regular attire on. It was very early in the morning but she liked to be up before anyone else. It gave her time to sit and relax and enjoy the quiet and peaceful nature of Konoha in the morning. After walking for about 20 minutes she approached the hokage monument and noticed her friend Kizoku sitting atop the head of Minato Namikaze, the 4th hokage of the leaf. So she silently made her way up and tip toed behind Kizoku as she then screamed

"BOO! What are you doing up so early Kizoku?"

As the genin sat in silence, many things rushed through his head. There was the fact that one day soon he and his fellow classmates would have to kill a shinobi willingly. It hadn't sunk in that everything Kizoku had done in his life now lead up to the fact that he was now a murderer by choice and occupation. He couldn't just back out of his shinobi duties, that was probably against the law. That, and he would be shunned for all eternity and so would the rest of his bloodline. The Kitai's weren't a major clan, nor did they hold any real power within village politics, but they were still proud and mighty. Their Kekkei Genkai was one that should be feared, but for now only lay in wait in the shadows. How would his clan be able to burst out of the low ranks and into fame if Kizoku messed it up by disgracing the name? The fact that one day, he would murder someone without any rhyme or reason except because one person had told him to do so made the crimson-haired genin uneasy. Kizoku leaned forward slightly and bowed his head, gripping his upper arms slightly at the though. But to kill someone, take a person away from their family? Was that really right? Was that truly what a shinobi should do just because one wronged the village? To put a child through the loss of losing their mother or father, just because of politics? To give a child that much pain, suffering, sorrow, was that truly the thing that the shinobi should do? Was it really right?

But Kizoku actually did understand what pain a family must go through with becoming shinobi. His parents, brutally murdered because of the life of being a ninja. The pain given to Kizoku would never die, not even when the person who killed his parents was gone and buried. Even if he brought vengeance himself! The scars were too deep to heal, and that was harsh coming from Kizoku who rarely hated anything to begin with. But in the early morning hours where Kizoku had all the time in the world to contemplate things, he could speak his mind to no one, and in return receive nothing but silence. Silence, that is what everything seemed to be like nowadays. When he returned home in the evening there was no one to greet him, when he woke up there was no one to sit with as he silently ate his morning breakfast. Maybe that was why the genin was awake so early in the morning today, maybe he just needed to get away from the silence at home, and in return listen to the noise of the outside world; silence. But soon not everything was silent and still, for a small chipmunk arose from the bushes and padded over to the silent genin. The cerulean-eyed boy smiled and stroked his finger across the mammal's head, earning a chip out of the friendly creature. Kizoku couldn't offer the creature any food as it seemed to be asking for, but at least he could give it compassion that was rarely seen in the shinobi of the village.

But soon, a large scream was heard behind Kizoku and the chipmunk scurried away, leaving the genin alone with whomever had made such a loud noise. The sudden outburst didn't startle Kizoku at all, in fact it rather annoyed him, but he soon realized who the culprit was. "Sui, you're going to wake the entire village if you don't shut up," Feng Sui, the pale genin who had graduated a year before Kizoku and yet still seemed to be one of the only ones in the academy that befriended the fourteen-year-old. The genin turned his head and his cerulean eyes met with hers, a soft smile was given along with a chuckle, echoing her question from before, "Now, what are you doing up this early? The sun has just barely broken the horizon," A soft breeze flowed through the area and caressed Kizoku's chin yet again, him turning once more to look over the village that he was now indebted in servitude to. "Honestly? I came up here to think, and to get away from the silence at home. It's eerie there, and it gets somewhat lonely living on your own. Nothing makes noise except for me, and that's the real scary part," The genin chuckled and propped his arms on his legs, resting his head upon them, "Funny, I come up here to trade silence for more silence," As the genin looked out to the horizon, he remembered his manners and motioned softly with his head for the ebony-haired female to sit next to him. What was more harmless than two friends enjoying the silence together in the early hours of the morning?

Spoiler:

Sui listened to Kizoku and giggled, Which was also a rare thing to hear or see. She then proceeded to sit down in a meditative stance once again and then took her katana and placed it at her side so it would jab her. She then stared at the Konoha borders. The forests, the citizens starting to awake and go to work. Today was peaceful. So peaceful that you could hear a pin drop and not be disturbed. This wasn't normal..... But Sui ignored it and sat as she smiled and replied
"Heh, Sorry. Just wanted to scare you. Well I'm up here because I just got bored from walking around the village like an idiot. Plus I felt it was time I told you something....." Sui had been keeping this a secret for the last 12 years. No one but the Kage and Sui knew.

"I'm the host of the nine tails......." Sui then looked away. She had heard what happened to jinchuriki after people found out. They were teased and bullied. And she thought the same would happen to her. Which is why she did all this meditation. So she could repress her anger and not lash out with her bijuu.

Hearing the ebony-haired female chuckle was almost music to the genin's ears. It put him at peace for a moment and a soft smile crossed his face. Just as Sui noticed, there was a silence in the village that seemed to be out of place. Even though it was early, there was usually some noise going on, but not even the birds were chirping that morning. Maybe this was a sign for things to come? No, that was crazy to think like that. Everything was peaceful for a reason, and even in the silence something had to be gained out of it. At least Kizoku didn't have to listen to the annoying academy students who thought they were all that and a bowl of ramen. True that he was only just out of the academy for a few weeks, and he really shouldn't have a right to talk about it, but he meant the ones who had just started. The little ones who shouted everyday that they were going to be the next Hokage until reality set in a semester into the schooling. But soon enough, those children would be up and rearing to go off on their quest to be the greatest ninja that ever lived. And yet, one day they would be faced with the dreadful reality that Kizoku was finally understanding. Not everyone lived, and yet everyone would die because of this occupation. Whether by sword on Ninjutsu, all ninja were fated to die in the heat of battle. But was Kizoku really ready to experience this? Was he really ready to become a full-fledged ninja just like his parents were?

But yet, Kizoku kept hid mind off of his parents and nudged Sui whilst chuckling. "You thought you could scare me? Come on Sui, I thought you'd be smarter than that! No one scares Kizoku Kitai!" Well, no one except for his parent's murderer. Once he found the identity of his parent's murderer it would scare him to no end. Of course Kishi would probably take care of it, but the genin still felt a responsibility that he should be involved in delivering punishment to the man or women who killed his parents. And when Sui mentioned that she felt like an idiot walking around the village alone, Kizoku shook his head and motioned over the village below. "No one is an idiot Sui, a lot of people who live here in the village must walk its streets alone. Trust me, you have no reason to feel like an idiot; there's a lot more people still asleep that could be qualified more as idiots," However, Sui soon said something that made Kizoku intrigued, she said it was time for him to know something. The male genin paused for a moment and shook his head slightly, "Don't worry Sui, you can always tell me anything," What was she about to tell him? Was she secretly older than everyone thought her to be? Did she have a super secret and powerful Ninjutsu that she wanted Kizoku to learn as well? The possibilities were endless, but one thing was for sure, Kizoku could never of guessed what came next out of the latter's mouth.

"Well that escalated quickly," So Sui was the host of the nine tails, the host of the Kyuubi no Yoko. There were rumors that the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki lay protected in the Hidden Leaf for years, just as their Rokudaime Hokage, Naruto Uzumaki, wanted. But to know the host of this large beast, Kizoku had to be somewhat jealous. "T-That's so cool! Can you talk to it? The Kyuubi that is?" He was like a little kid in the candy shop, asking all these questions as curiosity formed around in his head. Unlimited power, that was what most lusted for with a biju, but what Kizoku was jealous of was the fact that Sui had so much responsibility to uphold, that's what Kizoku wanted. Many jinchuuriki were ridiculed because of the fact that they held a biju inside of them, many were even threatened daily with death. But Kizoku didn't see why, there was nothing that they did wrong. It wasn't like it was their choice to be thrust such great responsibility unto them. The crimson-haired genin smiled and he nodded softly, "Don't worry Sui, your secret's safe with me. And if anyone gives you any trouble? Just send them to me so I can teach them a lesson," It was what the cerulean-eyed genin truly meant, if anyone was going to hurt his friend he would personally deal with them. Jinchuuriki or not, no one was allowed to hurt a Konoha Shinobi, and if anyone did Kizoku would be there to bring justice to all.

Kizoku Kitai wrote:

Hearing the ebony-haired female chuckle was almost music to the genin's ears. It put him at peace for a moment and a soft smile crossed his face. Just as Sui noticed, there was a silence in the village that seemed to be out of place. Even though it was early, there was usually some noise going on, but not even the birds were chirping that morning. Maybe this was a sign for things to come? No, that was crazy to think like that. Everything was peaceful for a reason, and even in the silence something had to be gained out of it. At least Kizoku didn't have to listen to the annoying academy students who thought they were all that and a bowl of ramen. True that he was only just out of the academy for a few weeks, and he really shouldn't have a right to talk about it, but he meant the ones who had just started. The little ones who shouted everyday that they were going to be the next Hokage until reality set in a semester into the schooling. But soon enough, those children would be up and rearing to go off on their quest to be the greatest ninja that ever lived. And yet, one day they would be faced with the dreadful reality that Kizoku was finally understanding. Not everyone lived, and yet everyone would die because of this occupation. Whether by sword on Ninjutsu, all ninja were fated to die in the heat of battle. But was Kizoku really ready to experience this? Was he really ready to become a full-fledged ninja just like his parents were?

But yet, Kizoku kept hid mind off of his parents and nudged Sui whilst chuckling. "You thought you could scare me? Come on Sui, I thought you'd be smarter than that! No one scares Kizoku Kitai!" Well, no one except for his parent's murderer. Once he found the identity of his parent's murderer it would scare him to no end. Of course Kishi would probably take care of it, but the genin still felt a responsibility that he should be involved in delivering punishment to the man or women who killed his parents. And when Sui mentioned that she felt like an idiot walking around the village alone, Kizoku shook his head and motioned over the village below. "No one is an idiot Sui, a lot of people who live here in the village must walk its streets alone. Trust me, you have no reason to feel like an idiot; there's a lot more people still asleep that could be qualified more as idiots," However, Sui soon said something that made Kizoku intrigued, she said it was time for him to know something. The male genin paused for a moment and shook his head slightly, "Don't worry Sui, you can always tell me anything," What was she about to tell him? Was she secretly older than everyone thought her to be? Did she have a super secret and powerful Ninjutsu that she wanted Kizoku to learn as well? The possibilities were endless, but one thing was for sure, Kizoku could never of guessed what came next out of the latter's mouth.

"Well that escalated quickly," So Sui was the host of the nine tails, the host of the Kyuubi no Yoko. There were rumors that the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki lay protected in the Hidden Leaf for years, just as their Rokudaime Hokage, Naruto Uzumaki, wanted. But to know the host of this large beast, Kizoku had to be somewhat jealous. "T-That's so cool! Can you talk to it? The Kyuubi that is?" He was like a little kid in the candy shop, asking all these questions as curiosity formed around in his head. Unlimited power, that was what most lusted for with a biju, but what Kizoku was jealous of was the fact that Sui had so much responsibility to uphold, that's what Kizoku wanted. Many jinchuuriki were ridiculed because of the fact that they held a biju inside of them, many were even threatened daily with death. But Kizoku didn't see why, there was nothing that they did wrong. It wasn't like it was their choice to be thrust such great responsibility unto them. The crimson-haired genin smiled and he nodded softly, "Don't worry Sui, your secret's safe with me. And if anyone gives you any trouble? Just send them to me so I can teach them a lesson," It was what the cerulean-eyed genin truly meant, if anyone was going to hurt his friend he would personally deal with them. Jinchuuriki or not, no one was allowed to hurt a Konoha Shinobi, and if anyone did Kizoku would be there to bring justice to all.

Sui giggled at Kizoku's remarks again and stood up as she backed away slowly, getting ready to show Kizoku what she could do.

"Nothing scares you eh? I think you'll reconsider once you see what I can do. And yes I can talk to him. Though in case you were wondering you can't unless you have a sharingan or a way to get into my concious"

Sui then stepped back and focused her bijuu chakra around her to form a 1 tailed bijuu cloak that resembled a fox. And the best part was, Sui was in control. She then dispersed the chakra and formed a regular Kyuubi tail behind her, without going into Version 1 state. She then smiled and sat back down, her tail gone.

"What do you think? That's as far as I can go for now. Farther then that and the old fart gets control. I also have a few other tricks up my sleeve if you would like to see?"

The genin watched as his friend started to slowly back away from him, and at first he thought he had scared her off. But once he heard her chuckles yet again his mind was put at ease. She talked about how that what she was about to do would make the genin reconsider everything he said about not being scared and he scoffed. "Come on Sui, I think I'll find it more cool than scary," She mentioned then something about the only way for him to talk to the Kyuubi was for him to have the Sharingan, the famed Copy-Wheel Eye that became extinct many centuries prior to that, or a way to enter her conscious. The crimson-haired genin shook his head and tsked at the female in front of him, "Did you not pay attention in history or something? You know the Sharingan went extinct during the Rokudaime Hokage's reign. As for a way to enter your conscious? I'd honestly rather not, I fear that this thing is going to eat me alive rather than want to talk to me even if you're in there with me," What came next was amazing, and Kizoku could feel a dark aura of chakra fill the area with every passing second. The female in front of him was controlling the Kyuubi's chakra well, she was in control and it seemed like nothing could go wrong. Soon the cloak seemingly faded away and left her with a chakra tail that resembled a fox's. He stared intently, trying to pick out things that might bring a Jinchuuriki to their downfall, but instantly stopped knowing that this was his friend, not foe.

Sui asked as she began to sit down, he chakra tail now dispersed into the air, what the genin thought about it. She commented on if she went further she wouldn't be in control anymore and that part scared Kizoku fully. One wrong move on a mission and Sui could put her whole team in danger just by having the Kyuubi be in control for only a second. Little did Kizoku know that he was looking at his future teammate right at this very moment, and he one day might be faced with the cruel reality that he had been conjuring up in his mind at that time. The genin placed his finger on his chin and thought for a moment before deciding on a fair answer. "I think it's cool Sui, but I do have to say, you shouldn't flaunt that around. I could feel that chakra that was given off, it was really dark and it made me feel horrible. I'm sure the jounin in the village have probably sensed it even though we're really far away. But that's just my thought at least," The teen was then asked if he wanted to see more tricks that the genin had up her sleeve, but he shook his head softly and closed his eyes for a moment, "Nah, maybe later Sui. Right now I think Ninjutsu should be the last thing on my mind," The genin had been thinking all night about what could possibly created out of his Chissoton Kekkei Genkai as a new Ninjutsu, but he was left stumped and finally fell asleep after attempting to construct a template all night.

Instead, Kizoku straightened up and pressed his fingers upon his Konoha hitai-ate, tracing the village symbol carefully and slowly. "Team selections are coming up soon aren't they? I heard that they might have to advance a class due to there not being enough genin. But that's only a rumor, I think that they're waiting for some of the jounin to return from some missions only to stick them with a team of genin," To be honest, the Kitai teen didn't really care who was on his team, so long as they didn't annoy him. And quite frankly, there were some kids in his academy class that he despised. Thankfully he wasn't labeled as a heartthrob to most, seeing as the heartthrob of his graduating class had dimples whilst he did not. If he had to deal with a bunch of girls chasing him around, then he wouldn't know what to do anymore. But for right now, the genin only had to look forward to team selections, and hopefully he was given a good team and a good jounin sensei. Kizoku wasn't going to be fond of his team if his sensei happened to be a lazy shinobi who barely did anything. He wanted to grow, he wanted to be strong enough that one day when he was faced with the opportunity he wasn't a coward and he could fight and win his life. He wanted to be able to go and help his brother in the task of tracking down their parent's murderer. But all-in-all, Kizoku wanted to have a purpose for being a ninja. He needed a reason to be who he was today.

Sui kept staring out towards the konoha gates seeming nearly emotionless now. Having gone dead serious after hearing Kizoku’s remark about the Kyuubi

“I know Kizoku. I’ve heard of what happened to the former Hokage and how he nearly killed his teammates with the Kyuubi.”

Sui then put her finger to her chin and tapped it as she tried to remember about the team selections.

“Oh yeah, I guess they are. And that’s only a rumor. I doubt they would do that. Have you seen the current generation of Academy students? It’s not really the best of classes I’ll tell you that.”

Sui then poked Kizoku in the arm and started Giggling and cackling again.

“So, How’s your little girlfriend?”

Sui was just trying to tease and upset Kizoku right now. As she wanted to test something soon which involved her katana, chakra, nitrogen, and fighting.

As Sui went gravely serious Kizoku followed suit. She talked about how the former Hokage who was the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki had almost killed his teammates while using the tailed beast. The crimson-haired genin's worst fears were confirmed, if Sui lost control of the Kyuubi for one moment in time it could and most likely would spell disaster for whatever team she was placed on. The boy nodded and narrowed his eyes at the village where now even more people were starting to wake up. From this height Kizoku could see the older shinobi running around, a sensei awaiting his team, and a team awaiting their sensei. "It's better to be safe than sorry Sui, I don't think we need the jounin running up here and trying to arrest us for attacking the village," With that Kizoku brought out a small chuckle and imagined the highest ranking shinobi of the village scurrying up the Hokage's faces to find that their attackers were two lowly genin, fresh out of the academy. But the genin still felt a sense of nervousness now that he knew that his friend held such a high-powered beast inside of her. He thought back to their days at the academy, she had always done slightly better than him when it came to the strength tests, but he had better chakra control. Now everything made sense to Kizoku, everything made sense. However to keep a secret this big from everyone in the academy was something honorable in itself. Almost no one could keep a secret there.

The genin almost face-palmed when he heard Sui mention that the current generation of academy students weren't the best for a long shot. "Sui, I've only been out of the academy for a few weeks. That's sort of grouping me with them," Even though they were just out of the academy, Kizoku had to agree with Sui. The younger ones in the academy weren't the most skilled nor were they the most patient. There were quite a few times where Kizoku had to go corral some of the kids when they stormed off from not being able to do anything right. Even as sparring partners it seemed that Kizoku's generation was the better of the pack, seeing as for the most part they were the oldest of the groups. "But I have to agree with you, I think the teachers there are getting too old. They need fresh blood in there, someone young and able to actually teach. And maybe they should focus more on Ninjutsu training then history class," While history was crucial to the village and their youth, Kizoku really didn't see the point behind it. So what if there was a big war back in the day? Right now everyone needed to go and focus on trying to keep everything at peace and not trying to start a war. When it came to battle the jounin were usually the ones on the front lines, but Kizoku somehow felt that if a war broke out right now it would be him that would be the one sacrificed first.

Pushing all those thoughts to the side, the cerulean-eyed genin focused on the other question at hand. Sui teased him about a so called girlfriend that he supposedly had. His eyebrow arched and he chuckled softly, "Sui I don't have a girlfriend. I got beat out for class heartthrob you remember? Now I'm thankful that I don't happen to have any dimples," The boy could tell what Sui was getting to, he knew that she wanted to possibly train, but this morning wasn't a good day for it. Soon after speaking Kizoku's stomach started to rumble as hunger set in. It hit him that he hadn't of grabbed anything to eat that morning and to be honest he found this a way to escape the aspects of training. The genin stood up and placed his hand upon his friend's shoulder, "Although I'd love to stay and chat more Sui, I really have to go eat. Besides, I think I better get my lunch and dinner as well before all the angry hungover people get out of bed and start terrorizing the restaurants," A simple excuse that would actually make sense on a day like today, it had been an apparent large drinking night last night and many of the civilians had partied hard. A soft wave was given to the pale female as Kizoku started to walk off with nothing but food on his mind. Maybe now with a full stomach the Kitai member would be able to finish the blueprints for the technique that he had been working on all night. Maybe, just maybe.