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Umineko had long been the black sheep of his family. He was the one without a kekkai. The weakling. The wet log on the fireplace. Useless. Uminkeo tried to make up for his weakness by through training. Learning to be precise, logical, skilled at combat and stealth, able to disappear into whatever role the mission required.
Yet, as his sister was always reminding him, that wasn’t enough. He was still runt of the litter, and no training could make up for that. He could strive his entire life and he would never be more than the weakling of their family. He was starting to doubt that he could even be a worthwhile ninja. Then, he heard the whispers.
It first happened when he was passing some ninja in a hallway.
“You hear about the rookie that made it into the double digit squads?”
“The one with the wind kekkai?”
“No. The civilian.”
Umineko’s brow raised. Civilian?
“Oh yeah. Him. How’d he get into a squad that high with no kekkai? Is he some prominent family’s secret bastard or something?”
“No, Yodaka doesn’t have any ninja blood. He got that high just by being that good at combat.”
“Come on. Everyone knows you need a powerful kekkai to go near the top.”
“Barely in the double digits isn’t close to the top.”
“Fair enough. But even that shouldn’t be possible.”
“I know. I’m starting to wonder if-”
They disappeared around a corner, leaving Umineko to ponder their words. Yodaka. He’d heard the name once or twice, but never paid it any mind. He was too focused on either his own training or learning about the prominent nina families. Nevertheless, he resolved to keep his ears open.
The more he heard of this Yodaka, either from overheard conversations or his own research, the more curious he became. Yodaka was a member of Umineko’s age cohort, but had no kekkai listed. He wasn’t related to a ninja family, not even a minor one. He’d been born as a civilian of all things. And yet, he continued to rise through the ranks (and squads), surpassing people who’d been immersed in the ninja life since before they could walk.
“I met Yodaka once,” one ninja from Squad 40 said.
“Really? What’s he like?” said someone from a similarly ranked squad.
“To be honest? He’s not much of anything. Doesn’t speak except when spoken to. Doesn’t show emotion. He’s just…there. Though he is a shit actor. He can pretend to be a bystander well enough, but he couldn’t fake a persona to save his life.
“Then why’s he in squad 33?” another said. “He has no kekkai, no family. You’d think someone without those would have to be perfect in pretty much everything else to get that far.”
Umineko’s fists clenched.
“Normally you’d be right, but Yodaka’s a monster in combat,” the Squad 40 ninja said. “We were on a search and destroy op in a weapons facility with his squad. A group of fugitive ninja attacked and we had to fight them. I was bailing one of my squadmates out when another came right at us. This guy had a strong kekkai. In fact, I thought I’d have to take him myself. But then, out of nowhere, Yodaka kicked him in the face and laid him flat in less than a minute.”
“Seriously?!”
“Yeah. And then he just moved on to the next target like he’d barely swatted a fly.”
“Holy shit.”
Umineko’s eyes widened. He was able to overcome someone with a strong kekkai using only his own skill? That was…incredible. To become that good at combat…
Umineko tried to imagine this mysterious ninja. He pictured someone cool and confident, always knowing what to do, and able to rationally weigh his options, all while possessing the willpower and focus to master all forms of combat. A warrior of pure discipline. A near perfect ninja.
A fire flared in Umineko’s belly. He was going to keep rising, no matter what challenges lay before him, until he was worthy to stand by Yodaka’s side.
So, as Yodaka’s star continued to rise, Umineko continued to follow. He became a master of hiding in plain sight. He made an effort to always understand and keep in mind his mission priorities. No glory seeking, no timidity masked as caution. Only the mission mattered. Unfortunately, Umineko’s combat proficiency remained merely “above average”, and several ninja in their cohort remained above him, including one called Hibari and, of course, Yodaka himself. Nevertheless, Umineko was still fully capable of holding his own against some ninja in the upper double digits.
And yet, as much as Umineko followed, Yodaka was always out of reach. After a while, Umineko started to wonder if he would ever be worthy to of standing beside that ninja, who’s mere existence had done so much for him…
Squad 9’s Operator poured over the endless stream of ninja dossiers. This was his most difficult, most thankless, most impossible job yet. Finding a squad for Yodaka.
When Op was first assigned to Yodaka, it seemed like it would be easy. Yodaka was a talented ninja, worked well with other squads, and followed orders without making any sort of fuss. However, within Op’s first few exchanges with him, it quickly became very clear that the reason others saw him as easy to work with was because they’d used him as a glorified attack dog.
He’d be given brief orders, sent to the most dangerous parts of the mission, and had any hints of injuries, fatigue, or illness ignored. Then once it was done, he’d be left to his own devices until it was time to do it all again. Honestly, it was no wonder Yodaka had been able to move between squads so easily. He’d practically been on his own already.
This was the reason for the unique circumstances of the assignment. For instance, despite technically managing a squad, the only ninja Op actually had was Yodaka himself. Not that Op was complaining. After all, this allowed him to give Yodaka his full attention, instead of splitting it between him, three other ninja, and their families too.
During this time, Op worked on molding Yodaka into a more realized person. He spoke to him often, and tried to learn more about him. This allowed Op to learn many things about Yodaka others had missed, such his biggest weakness: Crippling social anxiety.
Seriously, if Yodaka was given the choice between making small talk at a social event and being tortured, he’d first ask if it was a trick question. Upon being told it wasn’t, he’d fall on his knees and desperately beg for the torture. He was the epitome of shyness, willing to hide on rooftops, run up walls, or leap into near certain death to avoid a single awkward conversation.
This of course made him near incapable of performing infiltration missions, not helped by his inability to pretend to be anyone that wasn’t, well, himself. A civilian version of himself maybe, but himself all the same. Additionally, despite his prowess in direct combat, Yodaka could barely juggle more than one task at a time, and often froze up without Op’s help. In short, he was mostly useless at anything that wasn’t combat.
With that said, he was amazing at combat. Op had lost count of the times he’d seen Yodaka take down enemies that would give trouble to ninja with twice his experience and a kekkai. Yodaka could dash through the shadows without making a sound, move faster than most eyes could see, and dent steel without breaking a sweat. These skills had carried him through multiple hostage rescues, search and destroy missions, and raids, all with Op providing valuable guidance over the comms.
Working with him was the most rewarding yet aggravating assignment yet. Op had come to actually enjoy it. And yet, the entire job had just changed. They had a new mission. Guarding a girl, Aoi Mukai. This was a job that Yodaka could not handle alone.
Op liked Yodaka, but he knew that Yodaka’s chances of interacting with that girl for more than half a conversation (specifically her half) were slim to none. So, he needed additional ninja. Ones who would fill out Mukai’s social circle while Yodaka hung back as the muscle.
This however led to another problem: Finding a team for Yodaka. Yodaka was both highly skilled (enough to be on a single digit squad), but had no ties to any of the families. This posed some problems.
Ninja families were notorious for both their pride, and their protectiveness toward their aces. If their golden child was killed or crippled, they would look for anyone to blame, and then do everything in their power to make said scapegoats’ lives a living nightmare. Operators knew this. Medics knew this. And both prioritized accordingly.
Usually this was allowed (or ignored) since the prominent families usually produced the best ninja. But in Yodaka’s case, it had often meant he’d be last to receive treatment in his squad even when he was the most injured. However, with Yodaka, the reaction was different.
The higher-ups felt that Yodaka was too powerful to be sacrificed on the altar of petty house politics. It was why he was moved to a solo squad to begin with. And now it meant Op was forbidden from choosing anyone whose political ties were too strong. Which was most of their best ninja.
In other words, Op had to pick three ninja who were both talented enough to justify being on Yodaka’s squad, but also had little to no political clout to speak of. And all three had to be roughly Yodaka’s age. The mission had barely started, and Op had almost had as many headaches as he’d get from guiding Yodaka through a social function.
Op decided to start by focusing on finding ninja to make up for Yodaka’s weaknesses. Yodaka was an unparalleled prodigy in combat, but this mission required navigating the social space. So, that was what Op searched for. Ninja to act as Mukai’s best friend, boyfriend, and possible clubmate, keeping close to the assignment while Yodaka hung back to watch for threats. If a combat situation arose, they only had to be good enough to last until Yodaka arrived, and then support him if needed.
Who knows, with time I might even be able to slip Yodaka into their group as a tag-along. He could use the practice.
After much searching, Op had found two promising candidates.
Hibari, a talented ninja in their age cohort. Hot tempered and aggressive, but competent at taking on a different persona (even if her acting was a bit overdone). She would be a good match as Mukai’s best friend. She’d been overlooked by the higher level squads due to her fugitive ninja family, but their loss was Op’s gain.
After that was Suzume. In terms of acting, she was almost as bad as Yodaka. Her vain and flirtatious personality shone through in every interaction, regardless of context. Yet, she was outgoing and able to socialize easily. Plus as a girl, she could be in all of Mukai’s clubs when Hibari was not available. Finally, she had a kekkai and knew how to use it. She would be a powerful addition to their team. I’d thank her family for disowning her, but that would be insensitive.
That just left one spot. Preferably a boy who could act as Mukai’s boyfriend. Also someone more composed, to counter the others’ strong personalities. Op poured over the records looking for the right ninja. He had a few candidates, but nothing surefire. But Op refused to give Yodaka anything less than the best, so he kept looking.
As he pulled up the next file, Op sat a bit straighter.
Umineko.
Member of a prominent family yes, but also the black sheep due to his lack of a kekkai. Op would probably have to clear it with his superiors, but they would probably agree. After all, everything else about this ninja was exactly what Op wanted. A good actor, a clear-headed strategist, and able to keep his head in stressful situations. Granted, he had few great talents like the others, but also no real weaknesses. In essence, he was highly skilled, and very dependable. A near perfect all-around ninja.
Op sent the word. They’d found their final member. Squad 9 could be formed in earnest.
Op sighed fondly. Yodaka is going to freak out, isn’t he?
OMAKES
Hibari and Umineko’s first impression of Yodaka:
Umineko and Hibari: So that’s Yodaka? Incredible! He’s doing such a great job of imitating a neurotic wreck!
Yodaka: *doesn’t notice because he’s too busy being a neurotic wreck*
Entertainingly Wrong
Umineko: Incredible! Yodaka managed to figure out the exact persona that would cause the assignment to gravitate to him! He must be even better than I thought!
Op: …Right. Let’s go with that.