p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"emstrongA/N:/strong Greetings! This is an Inuzuka quick-fic. The prompt themes given to me were Inuzuka and Loyalty. This fic took a much darker turn then what I had originally intended, so readers beware. I may entertain the idea of making it an actual fic in the future, since I do like the idea of an Inuzuka Missing-Nin. I guess it would be considered a Oneshot? Never really written one of those before, leave your feedback in a review please! I do hope you enjoy it! Inspired by Sublimey's Project Hana, this oneshot will be turned into an actual fic in the near future./em/p
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p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"Her hand gripped tighter on the kunai handle. The blade was pressed flat against her arm, carefully positioned to keep from nicking the vein that pulsed with life. Sazuko forcefully controlled her breathing, her breath barely making a sound as it ghosted over her dry lips. Still, her heart beat erratically in her chest, loud like the drums of war echoing in her head. If she didn't know any better she would swear they could hear it. This damn organ that pumped life blood through her veins would betray her in the end. Of this Sazuko was sure. Golden hues glared maliciously down at the gathered council members below. Sazuko could feel her pupils contract into sharp points, as noise faded and sharped into clarity. White noise was pushed to the back of her mind as she focused her attention on the secret meeting taking place below her./p
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"The Inuzuka clan was prized for a multitude of things, their sense of smell being valued above all, but their sense of hearing came in at a close second. However the Inuzuka themselves valued much different attributes then the hidden villages. Sure they were excellent Trackers, and even better Hunters, the main branch's Heir was testament to that- but the Inuzuka clan valued Loyalty more. Loyalty to their clan, to their comrades and Hidden Village. Loyalty for an Inuzuka was as natural as a fish living in water. Loyalty ran in their very blood, just like the wild, un-tamable fire of their spirits made up their very souls. The bonds they made with their pack-mates reflected not only the Loyalty that ran in Inuzuka blood, but the very meaning of the word. They were pack, a family bond that transcended every meaning of the word soulmate. When you lost your bonded, a part of your heart died with you. The bond a clan member shared with their bonded ninken was one of the things that made an Inuzuka dangerous, it had the power to skew the sense of Loyalty indoctrinated into young ninja at the academy. That bond had the power to make an Inuzuka abandon a pack, a family, with no regard to their own well being, so long as their bonded was safe./p
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"For an Inuzuka, that bond was sacred, and all encompassing. Sazuko couldn't recall how many Inuzuka had gone insane when that bond had shattered, how many had thrown their lives away in quests of vengeance, for some fleeting hope that it would lessen the pain. At first, Sazuko had pitied those Inuzuka that had been brought before the clan council to decide their fate. So many had seemed like broken, hallow shells of their former selves, nothing left within them except for an undying inferno of rage. But now, she understood. Sazuko understood exactly how raw and empty, how broken and desolate life without her companion felt. Sazuko understood, and she hated the clan for not understanding. The Hidden Villages made children deadly weapons at a young age, but they didn't want to deal with the children they turned into tools once they broke. It was simply easier to discard them and leave the broken shells of what were once people, to pick up the shattered remains of their lives or to die, trapped in their own suffering./p
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"She could not forgive The Hidden Leaf, any more then she could forgive the Inuzuka for their callous treatment. After all, it was so easy to forget that ninja were people too, when children were churned out of the academy like rabbits. It was so easy to forget that the weapons of death were forged from human beings who had families and friends and emotions. But what bothered Sazuko the most, was the fact that everyone turned a blind eye to it, accepted it, like it didn't matter. Like they were little more then insects with short lifespans. That wasn't even taking into consideration the way Clan's themselves were run. While the Inuzuka clan was much more open, and lenient compared to clans like the Uchiha and the Hyuuga, there were still expectations and requirements. The Hidden Villages wanted stronger Ninja, and the best way to achieve that was to breed. Often the strongest male and female of a clan were expected to wed, usually through intermarrying to keep the bloodlines pure. But sometimes the weakest and strongest were paired together...something that did not always end well./p
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"Kunoichi were expected to retire early and produce offspring while male Shinobi were expected to continue missions and provide for the family. If marriage is not proposed then simply preforming their duty of procreation is generally accepted as well. While passing on ones genes, and potential kekkei genkai's was all well and good, Sazuko didn't appreciate the inequality that came with the duty she was expected to carry out. While it wasn't openly spoken about, it was socially expected for a Kunoichi to settle down before the age of twenty, since the average life expectancy for a Ninja was not a long one. Those who didn't adhere to societies unspoken laws were often ostracized, if not outright ridiculed. It was here that the lines of Loyalty were first blurred for Sazuko./p
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"The second time the lines of Loyalty blurred, came after her twenty-fifth birthday. At the time, Sazuko had thought little of it, but looking back she should have paid more attention. The Missions became harder, assassination missions became more common and frequent. Sazuko had lost count of how many times she and her partner had barely emerged from a mission by the skin of their teeth. Sazuko couldn't recall how many injuries she had treated, how many times she had been dragged back from the brink of death only to be thrown right back into the fray. And for what? Loyalty? Where was Loyalty when they had been surrounded by Mist Hunter-Nin, on a simple scroll retrieval mission? Where was Loyalty when they had fought tooth and nail to escape the Suna Anbu that had been waiting for them in the dead of night? Where was Loyalty when they had hid for their lives after an assassination attempt was botched and the information was leaked? Where was Loyalty when she was branded as a traitor to her village for failing that mission?/p
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"Loyalty screamed when it was tortured and interrogated. Loyalty wept when they broke her bonded's mind, trying to find evidence that didn't exist. Loyalty shattered when she was made to relive the moments of the mission over, and over again, until they were satisfied she was innocent and she was left a shattered, broken wreck. But most of all- Loyalty died, a cold and broken death when she buried emhim/em. Sazuko's Loyalty for her village and clan turned to ash when they finally cleared her name and released her back into the world, broken and alone. In hindsight, Sazuko suspected they just needed someone to take the blame, and what better target then an unmarried Inuzuka Kunoichi to do it./p
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"Sazuko's fingers brushed over the metal headband tied to her upper arm, the deep gouge split the Hidden Leaf's symbol clean through and by the end of the night, would mark her as a Missing-Nin. If the Hidden Village wanted a traitor borne of hatred and revenge, they had certainly created one. Who was she to deny them what they so desperately wanted?/p
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"The council meeting was currently underway below her, the Anbu guards were stationed around the circular room, paying no attention to the rafters high above. It was nothing for her to sneak into the meeting and hide among the shadows, using an obsolete mask that once projected her rank. It was nothing for her to erase her chakra and keep it coiled deep inside of her body until her coils hissed in pain. Her target coughed deeply into his hand, an elderly, robust man who sat on Konoha's council as the head of Trade. His graying hair was pulled back into a low ponytail and his rich green robes strained to contain his fat belly. He was just another face to her. An unfortunate casualty of her self-declared war. The muscles in Sazuko's legs tensed as she readied herself to strike. The current Hokage, Minato had yet to arrive to the meeting, and was currently running late. No sooner had the thought crossed Sazuko's mind, the double doors opened, casting shadows along the walls from the lamplight. Sazuko picked that exact moment to move, launching herself off the rafters, she tucked her body into a roll before twisting, her arm outstretched, and she flung the Kuni at her target. The black blade pinned the man to his chair by his throat. Crimson red seeped from the hilt as her feet crashed through one of the large, rectangular windows. Falling glass followed her decent as Anbu sprung into action to give chase, finally aware that something was not right. The moment her feet found purchase, she was off, dashing over rooftops and power poles, towards the Konoha Gates and out into the forest./p
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"They really should have expected this. They should have killed her when they had the chance. When they had kept her captive in TI for months, instead of giving her mind time to heal, to recover. The distant sound of alarm bells rang in her ears as she unleashed her chakra, weaving an irregular path through the high branches of the trees. She flew through the air, like a living breeze. The Anbu chased her to Konoha's perimeter, before doubling back to secure their Hokage. Sazuko had no doubt they would hunt her to the ends of the elemental nations, but she couldn't bring herself to care. They had taken her partner from her, they had slapped her emLoyalty/em in the face and spit on her emhonor/em. It was fitting she should return the favor. And what better way to do that, then to strike out at the Hokage's council right before him, as if saying em"Look what you have wrought upon yourselves! You have created this monster, now you will deal with it!"/em/p
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"Dark brown hair flew freely over her shoulders as she made her escape into the night, the bright red Inuzuka clan markings, like brands on her face, burned in the wind. The silver metal of her headband glinting in the light as she broke through the trees, to double back around Konoha's forest before heading out towards River country. Eventually she would make her way into Wind Country before heading north to Rain. Sazuko swore she could hear the beautiful sound of jingling bells running along beside her./p
hr style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;" noshade="noshade" size="1" /
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"Her hand gripped tighter on the kunai handle. The blade was pressed flat against her arm, carefully positioned to keep from nicking the vein that pulsed with life. Sazuko forcefully controlled her breathing, her breath barely making a sound as it ghosted over her dry lips. Still, her heart beat erratically in her chest, loud like the drums of war echoing in her head. If she didn't know any better she would swear they could hear it. This damn organ that pumped life blood through her veins would betray her in the end. Of this Sazuko was sure. Golden hues glared maliciously down at the gathered council members below. Sazuko could feel her pupils contract into sharp points, as noise faded and sharped into clarity. White noise was pushed to the back of her mind as she focused her attention on the secret meeting taking place below her./p
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"The Inuzuka clan was prized for a multitude of things, their sense of smell being valued above all, but their sense of hearing came in at a close second. However the Inuzuka themselves valued much different attributes then the hidden villages. Sure they were excellent Trackers, and even better Hunters, the main branch's Heir was testament to that- but the Inuzuka clan valued Loyalty more. Loyalty to their clan, to their comrades and Hidden Village. Loyalty for an Inuzuka was as natural as a fish living in water. Loyalty ran in their very blood, just like the wild, un-tamable fire of their spirits made up their very souls. The bonds they made with their pack-mates reflected not only the Loyalty that ran in Inuzuka blood, but the very meaning of the word. They were pack, a family bond that transcended every meaning of the word soulmate. When you lost your bonded, a part of your heart died with you. The bond a clan member shared with their bonded ninken was one of the things that made an Inuzuka dangerous, it had the power to skew the sense of Loyalty indoctrinated into young ninja at the academy. That bond had the power to make an Inuzuka abandon a pack, a family, with no regard to their own well being, so long as their bonded was safe./p
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"For an Inuzuka, that bond was sacred, and all encompassing. Sazuko couldn't recall how many Inuzuka had gone insane when that bond had shattered, how many had thrown their lives away in quests of vengeance, for some fleeting hope that it would lessen the pain. At first, Sazuko had pitied those Inuzuka that had been brought before the clan council to decide their fate. So many had seemed like broken, hallow shells of their former selves, nothing left within them except for an undying inferno of rage. But now, she understood. Sazuko understood exactly how raw and empty, how broken and desolate life without her companion felt. Sazuko understood, and she hated the clan for not understanding. The Hidden Villages made children deadly weapons at a young age, but they didn't want to deal with the children they turned into tools once they broke. It was simply easier to discard them and leave the broken shells of what were once people, to pick up the shattered remains of their lives or to die, trapped in their own suffering./p
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"She could not forgive The Hidden Leaf, any more then she could forgive the Inuzuka for their callous treatment. After all, it was so easy to forget that ninja were people too, when children were churned out of the academy like rabbits. It was so easy to forget that the weapons of death were forged from human beings who had families and friends and emotions. But what bothered Sazuko the most, was the fact that everyone turned a blind eye to it, accepted it, like it didn't matter. Like they were little more then insects with short lifespans. That wasn't even taking into consideration the way Clan's themselves were run. While the Inuzuka clan was much more open, and lenient compared to clans like the Uchiha and the Hyuuga, there were still expectations and requirements. The Hidden Villages wanted stronger Ninja, and the best way to achieve that was to breed. Often the strongest male and female of a clan were expected to wed, usually through intermarrying to keep the bloodlines pure. But sometimes the weakest and strongest were paired together...something that did not always end well./p
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"Kunoichi were expected to retire early and produce offspring while male Shinobi were expected to continue missions and provide for the family. If marriage is not proposed then simply preforming their duty of procreation is generally accepted as well. While passing on ones genes, and potential kekkei genkai's was all well and good, Sazuko didn't appreciate the inequality that came with the duty she was expected to carry out. While it wasn't openly spoken about, it was socially expected for a Kunoichi to settle down before the age of twenty, since the average life expectancy for a Ninja was not a long one. Those who didn't adhere to societies unspoken laws were often ostracized, if not outright ridiculed. It was here that the lines of Loyalty were first blurred for Sazuko./p
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"The second time the lines of Loyalty blurred, came after her twenty-fifth birthday. At the time, Sazuko had thought little of it, but looking back she should have paid more attention. The Missions became harder, assassination missions became more common and frequent. Sazuko had lost count of how many times she and her partner had barely emerged from a mission by the skin of their teeth. Sazuko couldn't recall how many injuries she had treated, how many times she had been dragged back from the brink of death only to be thrown right back into the fray. And for what? Loyalty? Where was Loyalty when they had been surrounded by Mist Hunter-Nin, on a simple scroll retrieval mission? Where was Loyalty when they had fought tooth and nail to escape the Suna Anbu that had been waiting for them in the dead of night? Where was Loyalty when they had hid for their lives after an assassination attempt was botched and the information was leaked? Where was Loyalty when she was branded as a traitor to her village for failing that mission?/p
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"Loyalty screamed when it was tortured and interrogated. Loyalty wept when they broke her bonded's mind, trying to find evidence that didn't exist. Loyalty shattered when she was made to relive the moments of the mission over, and over again, until they were satisfied she was innocent and she was left a shattered, broken wreck. But most of all- Loyalty died, a cold and broken death when she buried emhim/em. Sazuko's Loyalty for her village and clan turned to ash when they finally cleared her name and released her back into the world, broken and alone. In hindsight, Sazuko suspected they just needed someone to take the blame, and what better target then an unmarried Inuzuka Kunoichi to do it./p
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"Sazuko's fingers brushed over the metal headband tied to her upper arm, the deep gouge split the Hidden Leaf's symbol clean through and by the end of the night, would mark her as a Missing-Nin. If the Hidden Village wanted a traitor borne of hatred and revenge, they had certainly created one. Who was she to deny them what they so desperately wanted?/p
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"The council meeting was currently underway below her, the Anbu guards were stationed around the circular room, paying no attention to the rafters high above. It was nothing for her to sneak into the meeting and hide among the shadows, using an obsolete mask that once projected her rank. It was nothing for her to erase her chakra and keep it coiled deep inside of her body until her coils hissed in pain. Her target coughed deeply into his hand, an elderly, robust man who sat on Konoha's council as the head of Trade. His graying hair was pulled back into a low ponytail and his rich green robes strained to contain his fat belly. He was just another face to her. An unfortunate casualty of her self-declared war. The muscles in Sazuko's legs tensed as she readied herself to strike. The current Hokage, Minato had yet to arrive to the meeting, and was currently running late. No sooner had the thought crossed Sazuko's mind, the double doors opened, casting shadows along the walls from the lamplight. Sazuko picked that exact moment to move, launching herself off the rafters, she tucked her body into a roll before twisting, her arm outstretched, and she flung the Kuni at her target. The black blade pinned the man to his chair by his throat. Crimson red seeped from the hilt as her feet crashed through one of the large, rectangular windows. Falling glass followed her decent as Anbu sprung into action to give chase, finally aware that something was not right. The moment her feet found purchase, she was off, dashing over rooftops and power poles, towards the Konoha Gates and out into the forest./p
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"They really should have expected this. They should have killed her when they had the chance. When they had kept her captive in TI for months, instead of giving her mind time to heal, to recover. The distant sound of alarm bells rang in her ears as she unleashed her chakra, weaving an irregular path through the high branches of the trees. She flew through the air, like a living breeze. The Anbu chased her to Konoha's perimeter, before doubling back to secure their Hokage. Sazuko had no doubt they would hunt her to the ends of the elemental nations, but she couldn't bring herself to care. They had taken her partner from her, they had slapped her emLoyalty/em in the face and spit on her emhonor/em. It was fitting she should return the favor. And what better way to do that, then to strike out at the Hokage's council right before him, as if saying em"Look what you have wrought upon yourselves! You have created this monster, now you will deal with it!"/em/p
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"Dark brown hair flew freely over her shoulders as she made her escape into the night, the bright red Inuzuka clan markings, like brands on her face, burned in the wind. The silver metal of her headband glinting in the light as she broke through the trees, to double back around Konoha's forest before heading out towards River country. Eventually she would make her way into Wind Country before heading north to Rain. Sazuko swore she could hear the beautiful sound of jingling bells running along beside her./p