Chapter I

I Of the Storm, Am Makaze

Team Kakashi had been traveling back to Konoha after the completion of what was meant to be an unimportant delivery mission to Lightning Country. The quickest route back home to Konoha was along the Daiouro, or "The Great highway", a remarkably wide stone-paved road that cut through the mountainous forest of mammoth sized trees between the two countries. Since the highway had a tendency to become very traffic-ridden at midday, Kakashi and his Genin had begun their journey at the crack of dawn, and had spent the greater part of that uneventful morning walking.

"Ah shit…" Sasuke muttered with displeasure "There's another one coming up…" Farther down the hillside, the four of them could see a small red building with a flag bearing the cloud emblem floating lightly atop the structure's pointy roof, pitched off at the left side of the road. There had been plenty others exactly like them: check out points spaced out along the length of the road.

"Language, Sasuke…" Kakashi scolded.

"…Sorry…" Sasuke muttered with irritation.

"Ok guys" Kakashi sighed. "You know the drill, have your ID ready to be checked, and have your bags opened when we get there. The more cooperative we are, the faster this will go."

"Kakashi-Sensei you said that last time… We did everything you said we should and yet we were still there for fifteen minutes getting asked stupid questions." Naruto complained "Height, age, hair color! Can't a guy just tell those things when they're looking at us! That's so stupid!" He shouted.

"Maybe they are that stupid…" Sakura grumbled.

"I know that doing this is like pulling teeth for you guys, but you are going to have to control yourself; it'll only get worse if you can't—"

"How come we can't just skip the road and go through those trees, nobody will notice; we'd get home much faster" Naruto suggested.

"Can't, laws prohibit it." Kakashi explained impatiently.

"Why are they so uptight about the security? Why don't they just have these tolls at the border instead of the road?" Sakura asked inquisitively. "Nobody else runs things like this."

"Dunno, though I can wager a guess or two. Number one is that we're Konoha ninja. Our reputation world wide and our own personal 'relationship' with the Lightning country government might tempt security to place even more-than-usual scrutiny."

"But why?" Naruto asked "What do they have against us?"

"I'm not going to give a history lesson, so I'll condense it to this: If the Lightning country had been winning that war several years ago, they wouldn't have offered or accepted a peace treaty. They were forced into accepting it; and that might have hurt their ego. More likely, is that they simply have old habits of distrusting other nations because of the war. It's a natural feeling." Kakashi finished his statement with a shrug as he removed his bag from his back and opened it up.

"You can't carry more than one weapon, and it can't be over three and a half kilograms in weight. The speed limit keeps people at a walking pace. You can't have more than five thousand Ryos on your possession while outside of residential areas. And worst of all, you can't even bring certain foods, medicines, or even makeup into the country." Sakura lamented as she remembered that she was forced to come on this mission without putting any makeup on. "These measures are extreme…"

"Extremely annoying." Sasuke grumbled bitterly as he rubbed his near empty weapons pouch.

"I know I know… I've come here a few times since the peace treaty and it's always been this way; except the road was still in construction. That meant not only did you have to suffer from security measures but you also had to murder your feet just to get around given the topography of this region. This is the reason I recommended that I go alone on this mission; I knew it was going to bore you kids to death. Wasn't it Naruto who demanded that the three of you come along?"

Sakura and Sasuke shot contemptuous glares at their teammate.

"What? I thought it would be fun."

The two of them grumbled. He blushed and turned away, muttering in embarrassment.

"Idiot…" Sasuke thought to himself as he pulled his bag off his back.

"Let's not discuss this anymore now." Kakashi told the group. "IDs out everyone?"

"Kakashi-sensei look!" Sakura pointed at the toll station. The door at the back had swung open and a pair of Cloud ninja's ran out, sprinting in their direction. One of them had a short sword, and the other was wielding a small crossbow.

"This is the first time I've seen them abandon their posts. They look hostile." Said Sakura nervously

"If they're going to attack, every second counts. But I attacked first but falsely, I'll only put us in more danger…" Kakashi kept his calm, but his thoughts raced.

"Are they going to attack?" Naruto asked as he got into a defensive stance.

"Team, stay where you are; I'll take care of this. Don't do anything unless it's absolutely necessary." Kakashi didn't turn for a response; when his tone was grave, his students would listen; and understanding between him and his students that was easily learned and never forgotten. He kept his Kunai under his sleeve and remained alert, but he wasn't going to risk making the wrong move. Kakashi took a few steps forward to distance himself from his students.

"Can I help you?" Kakashi asked tentatively. There was no response.

As the Two cloud ninja approached conversation range they slowed down to less than walking speed and split up on Kakashi's left and right. One of the ninja was wearing a radio headset and appeared to be listening to it intently with an almost terrified look upon his face. The other had his crossbow aimed at Kakashi as he walked around, eyeing him cautiously. Kakashi remained silent and still with the Kunai still hidden in his sleeve.

"What do you!—" Naruto was about to demand an explanation but was cut off by Sasuke's elbow shoved deliberately into his chest. The three of them then remained silent and waited nervously as the Cloud ninja's wary observation continued. The two of them finally got behind Team seven and rejoined, then whispered a few inaudible words to each other. As soon as they finished they jumped into the thick of the forest and disappeared.

"What was that all about…?" Naruto asked in confusion.

"By the way, Naruto, that stance you showed off was completely flawed." Said Sasuke

"Was not!" Naruto retorted angrily

"Was too; it looked like a pose or something that you copied out of a comic book." He retorted, smirking patronizingly.

"Well, let's look at the bright side," Said Sakura as she sighed in relief. "We won't have to go through inspection. Right Kakashi-sensei?"

"Oh? Yes, right." The sensei replied absent mindedly. He wasn't listening to a word his students were saying. "I've never seen Border Patrol act like that before, ever… What reason could they possibly have for—" Something strange caught Kakashi's attention. He stopped and closed his eyes.

"Kakashi-sensei, what's going on?" Naruto asked. Kakashi raised his right hand, signaling silence. The three of them watched their Sensei apprehensively.

With his eyes closed both Kakashi's sense of hearing and touch strengthened, and the sounds and motions he had noticed became clearer. He could hear branches cracking and moaning under pressure and their release, and he could feel the pounding of feet moving through the dirt and gravel.

"It's too rhythmic to be wind or animals… It could only be people, large numbers of people. It doesn't sound like a fight has broken out, yet."

Kakashi could hear the subtle vibrations of dozens, if not, hundreds of humans running in the distance. The sounds were too distant, too numerous, and far to varied to interpret any sort of pattern, but he could hear them.

He started to consider the possibilities, but he realized now was not the time for deep thought. Something big was happening in the Lightning Country, a mobilization of mass proportion. It seemed unlikely to him that he or his students or even Konoha were involved in any way, as the agents who had just passed them obviously knew where they were from and otherwise would have stopped them. Nevertheless, they had to leave as quickly and quietly as possible.

"It is unlikely with their level of training, Naruto, Sakura, or even Sasuke will take notice of those sounds, it would probably be better to keep them ignorant of, for now at least, if it also keeps them relatively calm." Kakashi thought to himself. With his eyes closed he noticed something else, something different. The air pressure had changed suddenly, something his students could probably notice.

"Oh… just wonderful." Kakashi mumbled. "Guys, it's going to rain soon, and it's going to rain hard. We had better pick up the pace."

"Why? I don't see any clouds." Naruto replied skeptically.

"I can feel air pressure changes. Plus, I just remembered that the sky was red this morning, you guys remember don't you?" Kakashi lied, but made his tone sound intimidating as to ensure they wouldn't question him. Sakura, Sasuke and Naruto mumbled to themselves.

"I don't recall a red sky this morning—" Sasuke muttered. "But he's right, I can feel it too."

"Then you're mistaken. You remember the saying I told you?" Kakashi asked parentally

"Red skies at morning, Ninja's take warning." The three of them muttered discordantly.

"Let's go. These storms gain strength quickly."

"Isn't it illegal to run?" Sakura asked

"Don't worry about that now." There was a sense of urgency in his voice, and he did not look behind him to see that they were following his lead.

"Even at this pace," Kakashi thought "It will still take several hours. We can't stop for anything until we cross the border into the next neutral buffer state; we're not safe until then."

While they were running, a few rain drops began to fall on Sakura's shoulder.

"Kakashi-Sensei, you were right, it is raining." Sakura sighed "This can't be good for my hair…"

Naruto and Sasuke held out their hands as a light drizzle fell upon them.

Kakashi looked up at the sky through what little was not hidden between the trees and could see the dark thick grey of storm clouds. In a very short span of time The sky had grown markedly dimmer. "A thunderstorm… But at this hour of the day?"

"Like I said, it's going to get heavier very quickly; we need to move faster" Kakashi picked up the running pace.

"Couldn't we just move through the trees," Sakura suggested "to avoid getting—"

"No, we have to stay on the road." Kakashi interrupted. "And please keep quiet." Sasuke gave Kakashi a skeptical glance.

"What's so important about staying on the road, I wonder…" He thought to himself.

Within a matter of minutes, it was raining in buckets. Flashes of light filled the sky and the crack of thunder roared through the forest air, shaking the ground with it. Sakura was heavily frightened and covered her ears as she ran, keeping her head down. Kakashi ignored the weather and a remained apprehensively vigilant. Naruto and Sasuke followed, not saying a word as Kakashi had ordered, but were heavily discomforted by the ever more tumultuous volleys of rain which had by now completely drenched their clothing. Finally, as the minutes running passed into hours, the surroundings become more level and less mountainous, the rain, however, continued.

"We're almost at the border to the next country…" Kakashi thought. And at last, a large sign with the Cloud village emblem could be seen through the thick curtain of precipitation. Next to the sign was a fairly sizeable wooden cottage. There looked like what appeared to be smoke coming out from the structure's chimney, and light shown dimly from the cottage window.

"I've seen that building before." Sakura thought to herself, feeling a deep sense of relief "That's the border headquarters that the Cloud Village owns; we passed it on our way here."

The dark silhouette of female stepped outside of the cottage into the rain with a lantern in her right hand. Her shouts could not be heard over the thunder, but she made heavy beckoning gestures with her left hand. Kakashi said nothing but turned and gave a nod of approval to his students, and they hastily entered the cottage. Once inside the stranger shut the door behind them.

"Sit d-down, all of you." The woman said with a wavering voice "Once…Once you're rested I'll uh— tell you what you need to know." Turning her head and body to the four of them, team seven could finally see their host in the light. She was short and slender, not young, but not very mature looking either; perhaps in her early to mid thirties. She had medium length faded red hair, and nobody could get a very good look at her eyes though; the glare from the lantern reflected too heavily off the wire-rimmed glasses that she was wearing. Finally, she was wearing unusually casual clothing compared to other Cloud ninja that team seven had seen, all of whom thus far wore the traditional grey and blue uniforms. If she didn't have the standard Cloud protector wrapped around her arm she could have easily been taken as a civilian.

The interior of the cottage was basically empty. Aside from the entrance there were only two doors, and both of them were shut. The main room that four of them were in had only a table with some old wooden chairs, a book case, and a fireplace.

As the three Genin sat down at the table, panting from exhaustion. The woman gestured Kakashi towards the corner of the room, away from his students, and the two spoke quietly to one another. Naruto and Sakura were preoccupied with drying themselves off whilst Sasuke observed the conversation between Kakashi and the woman, but the pounding of the rain outside and the frequent crashes of thunder made their conversation completely inaudible.

"Thanks for letting us come in here." Said Kakashi as he moved back towards the center of the room; the conversation apparently over. The female ninja made a friendly but brief smile in response.

"This place doesn't look very much like a headquarters." Said Sakura, looking around and observing the room's poor condition

"It isn't really, it's just called that. Our border patrol comes here every now and then when the whether gets bad, or when they need to rest." The woman replied.

"Where do those two doors go?" Naruto asked as he pointed to the two doors at the other end of the room

"I'm going to get to the point; as I really shouldn't be letting you in here." She said, ignoring Naruto's question "I'll let you stay until the storm starts to die out. It's been quite awhile and these storms can't last more than a few hours." She moved towards one of cottage's windows and peered through the water covered glass pane distressfully.

"Is this the reason you're called the lightning country," Sakura asked. "Because of these storms?"

"Depending on the legend you read about, yes our lightning storms that come east from the sea are sometimes credited for our country's name. Regardless, once I let you go, you must leave the country immediately, and it would be best if you returned straight to Konoha." She turned around and moved back towards Kakashi.

"Any particular reason why?" Sasuke asked. The woman shook her head and shrugged, leaving Sasuke unsure as to whether she was didn't know or didn't want to say.

"By the way, we never got the name of our… most gracious host." Sakura noted in the most polite way she could think of at the time, then finally came out with it. "What is your name anyway?"

"It's Hasume, Hasume Ta—" She stopped herself. "Hasume"

"We understand. And we thank you again for your hospitality, Hasume." Kakashi replied. He held out a handshake of gratitude to the stranger, but Hasume didn't move.

The Five of them waited out the storm as it continued to downpour. Hasume spent the rest of the time looking out of the window with the same worried look on her face, and Kakashi was standing next to her, whispering a few words in her ear. Sakura was still at the table, trying to fix her hair with the only tool she had brought, her hands. Naruto had moved towards the fireplace and was drying himself off. And Sasuke had moved to one of the room's corners to distance himself, staring at the wall agitatedly. After a few minutes the rainfall weakened, the thunder stopped, and the sound of birds chirping resumed. Just before Kakashi walked out the door Hasume gave him an unexpected hug.

"A-alright Gang." Kakashi said uncomfortably as he slowly pried himself away. "It's time we head out." He headed out the door and his students followed… Hasume waved meekly goodbye but stood there saying nothing as they left.

"Kakashi Sensei," Sakura called out as they continued running. "What were you and… Miss Hasume talking about?"

"It's personal stuff… She wanted someone to talk to. I'm not going to betray her trust and tell you guys, I'm sure you can understand that."

"Yes, of course; I didn't know that's all," Sakura replied apologetically "She did seem awfully upset."

"Her husband had been called out, and she was told to stay at that cottage. She didn't say why… Terrible really, they were a newly wedded couple too. I hope it turns out alright for them…She wasn't very articulate… She had said something about… their sons." He shook his head and broke the thought from his mind; he had more pressing matters to deal with.

"I have another question." Said Sasuke "It's obvious we weren't running from rain. What is it, exactly, that you realized was going on in the Lightning country that he had to get out of the border. And why"

"I'll tell you when we get home." Kakashi replied

"Why can't you say it now?" Sasuke asked

"It would interfere with the safety of the mission. I'd tell you if I thought it would make a positive difference. Just trust me for now." Sasuke sighed and there was no further discussion.

The group had been running for over an hour and they had already passed the official border into the neutral zone long before. They were no longer running along the Daiouro, which ended at the Lightning Country's boundaries; it was now a dirt road. By now the storm clouds had passed and the sun was shining overhead yet again. "We're going to stop here for a few minutes." Kakashi announced

"Why here?" Naruto asked confusedly. "We're in the middle of nowhere, and I can still keep running."

"I know you can." Kakashi smiled humorously. "We stopped because of that." He pointed at a decrepit outhouse that was located at the side of the road.

"What's so special about that?" Sakura asked

"Nature calls." Kakashi replied casually.

"Uggh! Yuck!" The Sakura and Naruto remarked in disgust "You're kidding right?"

"What? I've been holding it in for hours. And since it's been raining… well… I don't want to think I wet my pants, or think that I didn't." There was not an ounce of sarcasm in Kakashi's voice.

"KAKASHI-SENSEI!" The three Genin called out "YOU'RE DISGUSTING!"

"Just wait here, I'll be out in a minute." Kakashi replied politely as he stepped inside the foul chamber.

"Our Sensei is a nut-case." Naruto muttered as he, Sakura, and Sasuke paced around a nearby tree. A warm and unusual breeze passed through Sakura's body.

"Sakura-San." A voice called out. It sounded like a whisper, yet rung like an echo in her ear.

"Who said that?" Sakura asked as she looked back and forth frantically.

"Said what, Sakura-Chan?" Naruto asked confusedly.

"That would be me, 'who said that'. Over here." There was a figure, pretty tall, wrapped in a grey cloak with a leather bandolier strewn across his shoulder, and with his back leaned against a tree some distance away from Sakura.

At the distance between the two of them, it wouldn't have been possible to tell from sight that the figure was a "He", especially given that "He" was covered from head to toe in the cloak, face included. It was, however, the masculine tenor of his voice that lead Sakura to assume this person was in fact a "He", whoever "He" was. But it did take a few seconds for Sakura to tie the man's voice to the man himself; it was, after all, a whispering voice; and he was certainly not within whispering distance, and even more so since he wasn't even looking at her. He appeared to be looking down at a shiny object that he was twirling between his fingers; it looked like some sort of blue colored knife, a Kunai perhaps. Given the distance, she couldn't see its particular shape clearly enough, but she could tell, if it was a Kunai of some sort, that it was an odd looking one, the hit looked thicker than usual and the blade looked longer and wider.

"I require your assistance, Sakura-San." Said the man.

"Assistance? For what?" Sakura asked aloud.

"Sakura, who the hell are you talking to?" Sasuke stared at her, bemusedly.

"There's a man over there, can't you see him?" Sakura pointed at the tree.

"Sakura-Chan, I don't see anything." Naruto replied. "Just a tree." Sasuke just shook his head and resumed staring at the ground. Sakura rubbed her eyes vigorously, but the man's image did not disappear.

"Am I seeing things? Is this a genjutsu?" She slowly moved her hands into a dispelling sign.

"You are seeing me, in a sense at least. And yes, this is an illusion, again in a sense; I lack the time to explain.

"He can… read my mind?" She thought to herself as she continued staring at the tree where the man stood.

"That is a negative way of putting it. But yes, I can 'read' your mind, or, at least your thoughts; just like you can read mine." The man lifted his head ever so slightly, revealing only his mouth and chin. "Notice that my lips are not moving?"

"But… How? It's one thing to trick a person, but to read their mind is another thing entirely." Said Sakura aloud.

"Call it genjutsu, telepathy, or whatever you will, that is not my concern, and like I said I don't have the adequate time to—" The man paused mid-speech, then continued but with something completely different " But notice how your two associates are standing there, looking at you and asking themselves why you are acting so… well… see for yourself." He stood up straight and folded his arms, but his head was still bowed downward and none of his face could be seen. Sakura looked back at Sasuke and Naruto who were both looking back at her.

"Sakura-Chan, are you alright?" Naruto asked.

"I…" She didn't know what to tell the blonde.

"I advise you to start by lowering your hands, and then tell him that it's nothing, and that your eyes were merely playing tricks on you before."

But they were playing tricks on her now, she thought to herself.

"Then are you not telling him the truth?" The man asked to her unspoken thought with a chuckle.

"I—I'm sorry. I thought I saw something. It must be my eyes; playing tricks on me that is." Sakura said to Naruto, lowering her hands.

"Now," Said the man "to save you from any more potential embarrassment, we can talk from now on in thought rather than in speech. I can hear every word."

"You mean… Like this?" She sounded out the words to be spoken in her mind; it was kind of an odd thing for her to do, at least deliberately for the sake of talking to someone else who apparently doesn't even exist.

"Yes." He paused. "Now, I need you to come over here, by this tree." Sakura stirred at first but then stood still.

"Why should I trust you? You've got a weapon in your hand after all. I don't know who, or what, you are, where you came from—" She kept her thoughts about this man as just that, thoughts; being conscious of the fact that Naruto and, more importantly, Sasuke, didn't see what she was seeing and couldn't understand.

"This thing?" He asked, waving the blade in his fingers. "You can have it if it makes you feel more comfortable." He held out the hand holding the object and, at shoulder's length, let go, letting it fall and lodge itself in the mud and grass.

"That's not the point" Sakura replied. "The point is, in case you hadn't noticed, is that you are a total stranger who appears out of nowhere and can apparently read people's minds. And a sane person isn't just going to listen to someone like that, or, at least, they shouldn't." Admittedly, Sakura did not feel the least bit nervous. In fact, there was something incredibly calming about the way he spoke, almost hypnotic; but she knew the bizarre circumstances surrounding his "appearance" should be treated with distrust, and yet she couldn't bring herself to feel that way.

"No, you should not, I am aware." The man replied. "For what it is worth, I promise you it will make sense soon enough. But I still require your assistance… Please" He turned around and walked around to the other side of the large tree, now out of Sakura's view.

"'It' will make sense? What will make sense?" Sakura asked. There was no response.From her point of view, the man's tone had sounded pleading, almost desperate, and her curiosity couldn't be contained very much longer. Sakura took one step forward, then another, eventually she found herself walking towards the tree.

"Sakura-Chan where are you going?" Naruto asked

"I just want to see something…"

"Can I come?"

"No, just stay here for a second, don't worry about me." Sakura replied in a surprisingly polite manner. Sasuke gave her a short glance.

"What's gotten into her?" He wondered.He shook his head, scorning the thought of concerning himself even slightly with Sakura's emotions.

As she approached the tree, a blue glitter of light coming from the ground hit her face. Looking down she could see a blade; the very same one that the mystery man had been holding and dropped earlier. It must have been, Sakura thought, as it did appear in the exact same place where he'd dropped it.

She bent down and picked it up, then wiped is clean of any mud and dirt.

"Strange" She thought as she held it in her hands "It certainly looks a bit like a throwing knife, though the blade portion is a little long. The color looks strange, especially in this light; I've never seen any steel that color of blue before, and it's obviously not painted on. And the hilt…" The strangest part of the weapon was that it didn't seem to have one. Down the base of the blade there was a short stub of metal positioned off awkwardly at an angle which would have made it too unwieldy to hold without cutting one's hand.

"It looks like the end was broken off from the hilt." She realized. But looking back at the ground Sakura couldn't find any other pieces to the blade. Then something rather odd, yet obvious, occurred to her as she looked back upon the piece of metal in her hands, "If he wasn't really there, how did he drop something that clearly is?" She pinched her hand lightly with the weapon to be sure it was in fact real, and indeed it was.

"Incredible," She muttered to herself. "I've got to show this to—"

"N-nuh…" At that moment her ears picked up a feint whimpering, it sounded as though as though it was coming from behind the tree.

"Um… Whoever you are? Is that… you?" She whispered allowed. The murmuring, however, sounded nothing like the voice she had heard before; it didn't ring ear like the other one did. In fact she was almost certain it wasn't from the same man. But who else could it be? But Sakura didn't move.

"N-n, No I…Ugh…" And there it was again. The words were hard to make out; they would grow loud and then taper off suddenly.

Slowly Sakura edged forward until she was touching the bark of the tree.

"I-I didn't… N-No please…"

Gathering her courage together Sakura stepped back and then made her way around the tree. She couldn't help but shriek and drop the blade in her hand as she laid eyes upon what it was that had been making those noises; A Boy, roughly Sakura's age, lay slipping in and out of unconsciousness and twitching on the ground. He had gauntly pale skin that was otherwise covered in bruises, egg-shell white colored hair, and was wearing what appeared to be the remnants of a traditional Cloud Village Shinobi jacket and pants, which had been torn, bloodied, and charred in several areas. His forehead protector, which lay untied on his lap, bent and twisted so oddly that one could barely make out the cloud emblem on it.

"My— What happened?" She whispered to herself.

"I'm s-sorry." The boy muttered. He didn't appear to be aware of Sakura's presence; he was talking with his eyes closed, and whatever or whoever he was talking to it certainly wasn't her.

"I have to apologize." Sakura heard the mystery man's voice again, but looking all around her she could find no sight of him anywhere. "I did the best job I could bringing him here. Please, be kind to him. He is, how do I say, "Broken". Take him with you, bring him to—"

"Sakura-Chan!" Shouted Naruto a he ran toward her "I heard you—" But he stopped talking when he too saw the boy, his jaw dropped slightly and was speechless for a few moments "What happened?" He then asked with an impassioned curiosity.

"I don't know!" She replied defensively. "I came over and found him sleeping here."

"Sleeping? That's the understatement of the century!" Naruto pointed at the kid. "Look at him!"

"Look" Said Sakura "Whatever happened; we should inform Kakashi Sensei. He'll know what to do."

"Interesting…" Sasuke had since walked toward where the two of them were standing and now all three of them were looking down at the unconscious child. "Those burns on his clothing: they are very peculiar."

"Peculiar? How?" Naruto asked "They look pretty normal to me."

"How does someone burn their clothes like that without the slightest hint of it on their skin?" Sasuke asked "Look at him, not even first degree burns, only bruises. Explain that to me."

"Maybe he put those clothes on after they had gotten burned for some other reason…" Said Naruto

"You've got to be kidding me…" Sasuke muttered

"Well then what do you think?" Naruto retorted defensively.

"I don't know." Sasuke replied. "…That's what bothers me."

"We could just ask him." Naruto suggested. Sasuke opened his mouth to speak, but then snapped it shut and scowled; realizing how silly it was to have neglected something so obvious.

"Something up guys?— Wha… oh… " Kakashi had walked over and saw what the others were looking at. "What do we have here?"

"Sakura found this kid." Sasuke explained.

"This doesn't look good…" Kakashi said as he knelt down examining the kid closer, checking his arm for a pulse. "Well he's alive, if you couldn't tell already. It looks like he's endured a lot of bleeding, but it's stopped now. That's good news at least." He reexamined the boy's cloths, something bothered him about it. "Strange, he's covered in blood, top to bottom, but I don't see any wounds on him." He thought.

"Sakura, you still haven't t told us how you knew he was here." Sasuke commented.

"Well… that's the thing. You would call me crazy if I tried to tell you." Sakura muttered to herself insecurely.

"Try me." Said Kakashi "Trust me; I'm sure I've heard stranger stories."

"Alright…" Sakura sighed and explained briefly what had happened.

"You said a man in a grey cloak?" Kakashi asked after Sakura had finished her story. "With a bandolier?"

"Yes!" Sakura replied

"You said he dropped a weapon of some sort, and then he told you he needed your help?"

"Yes exactly, he dropped a blade." Sakura replied. "I—Oh, when I found him I kind of freaked out and dropped it." She picked it up from the ground again and handed it to Kakashi. "This is the one."

"Do you think this man is real Kakashi-Sensei?" Naruto asked. "Sasuke and I didn't see him. He could have been a—"

"Of course he was real! How else could he have dropped something like that?" She snapped back, pointing to the blade.

Kakashi stood silently for awhile; he took a look at the blade, and then put it aside in his pouch. As usual, he kept most of his thoughts to himself. "This is troubling business…" He thought to himself as he looked at the road ahead, and then at the boy "We're in a neutral zone, but if we take him with us to have his injuries treated we may be accused of kidnapping which could bring us, and Konoha, more diplomatic trouble than he's worth, but if I tell the group we're just going to leave him I'll never hear the end of it." Admittedly Kakashi personally despised the idea of abandoning the innocent in a situation like this, and if the boy was one of his own he would never even think of contemplating it. But he was not, and, in a situation like this, Konoha's diplomatic security came first. "This man Sakura mentioned, he sounds very much like… But that's not possible, is it?"

He lightly tapped the boys shoulder. Suddenly his eyes shot open, they were a pale blue with pupils narrower and more slit-like than those of an average human. He looked around frantically at four strangers who were looming over him.

"W-who are you p-people?" He asked in a panicked and quavering tone of voice.

"My name is Hatake Kakashi, the girl in pink hair over there is Haruna Sakura, and these two boys are Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki, respectively." He gestured subtly to each of them, at which point he reached his arm out to help pull the boy off of the ground, but the boy didn't move.

"W-Where am I?" He was still shaking and apparently the introduction had not changed his anxiety.

"Try to relax a bit. By the looks of you, you've been through quite the ordeal." Said Kakashi.

"Oh man… What Happe— I…" The boy looked down at his clothing and his skin and shuddered. "What happened?"

"We were about to ask you the same thing…" Sasuke muttered.

Finally Sakura interjected. "We found you beat up like this. Come on, let me help you up." She smiled and lightly grabbed the boy's wrist and, with little resistance, he slowly and cautiously pulled himself off the ground. As she helped him up Kakashi noticed a thin black circle on the boy's forearm underneath his bruises. Finally the boy was standing on his own two legs.

"Sakura, you said that was your name?" The boy said, turning to Sakura.

"Yes, yes that's right."

"Thank you, Sakura-San" He gave a meek smile, but then lost balance and clutched the tree with his right hand for support.

"Are you sure you can stand? I mean… your legs—" Sakura walked closer, but the boy raised his other hand to halt her.

"I-I can stand…" He replied, slightly less nervous than before "My legs don't hurt. It's just my balance. I feel dizzy." His spoke a bit stronger and clearer now that he was, at least somewhat, standing up straight. There was something incredible mellow his voice now, and Sakura couldn't help but feel a sense of familiarity upon hearing it.

"So you don't know what happened?" Kakashi asked "Would you happen to know where your squad is?"

"…My squad…" He muttered the word to himself. There was a blank, almost incomprehensive look in his eyes.

"You're a Cloud Village Genin aren't you?" Naruto asked "So where are your teammates? You've been unconscious for a few minutes at least…"

"Your uniform, you are a Cloud Shinobi." Sasuke added. The boy looked down at his uniform and struggled to think.

"…I… I don't remember." He replied. He had a look upon his face as if he was trying to recall something, which quickly turned to a look of fear. "I don't remember anything…" He started shuddering again. "That's not right; that can't be right."

"You can't honestly expect us to believe that can you?" Sasuke asked. "Look, we're not your enemy and this isn't an interrogation. We're just trying to find out what happened to you and where your squad is so—"

"Well than what can you remember?" Naruto shouted, interrupting Sasuke.

Sakura flinched, recalling what the man had told her a few minutes before.

The boy said nothing.

"So you don't remember anything about yourself? Your family? Your friends? Your…" Sakura asked.

He boy shook his head, looking down at his feet.

"Please, be kind to him. He is, how do I say, "Broken"" Sakura snapped her fingers. "Amnesia!" She said aloud. "He has amnesia."

"He's lying." Sasuke growled under his breath.

"Does that mean you don't even know your name?" Naruto asked curiously, not

"My name is Makaze." The boy's response was immediate, almost mechanical. For a few moments everyone was silent.

"Makaze?" Naruto scratched his head in confusion. "Never heard a name like that before, what does it—"

"Makaze…" Sakura muttered solemnly "It's a cursed word, It means 'Devils Storm': a title of reference to evil or a monster of evil." Naruto was consumed in thought at hearing this, and Sasuke could not contain his frustration with his team any longer. "But why would anyone have a name like that?"

"I can't believe you people actually believe him!" Sasuke shouted to the three of them. He then took a few steps forward, staring down "Makaze" face to face. "I'm tired of your nonsense. Quit lying! Makaze is not your real name, and even if it was you wouldn't remember because supposedly you're an Amnesiac, which is also obviously another lie. Tell me are all cloud ninja compulsive liars like you?" Sasuke asked, poking him in the chest, but with surprising vigor Makaze snatched Sasuke's wrist with his right hand and held it in the air, pulling him even closer.

"It's the TRUTH!" He yelled back indignantly. The two were locked together, eye to eye, and Sasuke froze up; the color flushed from his face. His eyes widened in fear and his jaw dropped.

"…M-Makaze, let Sasuke g—"

"Don't call me that!" Makaze interrupted, his right hand shaking "I'm not—" He didn't want to say it. "I'm not that kind of person! I don't know why I'm called— But I'm not!"

"No one things your evil, M— kid." Naruto took a few steps forward and attempted to reassure Makaze. He of all people knowing there was nothing funny about being labeled as evil.

"I-I can't… Change it. I can't change that name… I don't know why." Makaze's hand holding Sasuke's wrist stopped shaking and his arm fell slightly, but his grip remained.

"We are who we are not by our words but by our actions." Said Kakashi calmly "Let Sasuke go."

Makaze closed his eyes and sighed. He understood what Kakashi meant, and repealed his grip on Sasuke, who gasped and nearly keeled over upon the release, clutching his forehead with one hand and his wrist with the other.

"Are you alright Sasuke?" Kakashi asked

There was no response.

"Sasuke, I said are you alright." He said in a louder and more authoritative manner.

"… It's nothing." Sasuke replied, straightening himself up. "I'm— It's nothing. I'll be over there…" He grumbled "Waiting for you people to finish this… nonsense."

Kakashi turned back to Makaze.

"Can you do me a favor?" He asked Makaze

"Sure, what is it?" He replied meekly.

"The boy behind me with the blond hair is named 'Naruto Uzumaki'. Would you be able to say to me 'my name is Naruto Uzumaki'?"

"Why does he have to say that?" Naruto asked

"Just try it." Kakashi told the boy, ignoring Naruto's question.

"I'll… Try, I guess…" The Makaze responded.

"Good, go ahead." Kakashi smiled.

"My name is Na…" Makaze tried to form the words aloud, but something kept him from saying it. His face flustered and he sighed, then tried again. "My name is Nar…" Makaze clenched his fists tightly, attempting to say something that simply wasn't true.

"My name is… Makaze…" The last word came out in a mutter. Tears began to form in his eyes out of his own frustration; he turned his head away from the four Leaf Shinobi and placed his hands and his head on the tree. "Why can't I say it? Why? It's not fair I don't WANT to be called Makaze… I'm not evil. I swear I'm not evil."

"Relax; I think know what your… problem is. I am fairly certain it's curable." Kakashi remarked. "I'll be able to explain a bit better when we get home."

"Does that mean Makaze is coming with us?" Sakura asked

"…Yes. He is. You need to be taken back to a village with a proper hospital, but there's no way we can re-enter the lightning country now. For now, Konoha is our only option. Of course, the option is entirely up to you. Do you wish to come to Konoha with us?"

"Can you even trust me?" Makaze turned around and began wiping the tears from his eyes.

"That's something you'll have to decide." Kakashi explained. It took awhile for Makaze to finally understand, and when he did, he replied.

"So I'd be able to go to Konoha?"

"For a time… Yes, I suppose." Kakashi gave a small nod.

"I… Alright… you people seem nice enough. I'm sorry for being a… liability." Makaze responded.

"Not at all."

"Hey, Kakashi Sensei, if Makaze makes a better ninja than Sasuke can we kick him out of team seven?"

"Naruto…" Sakura mumbled angrily.