Author: LansdayLarry
Title: Of Death; Of Life; Of Change
Chapter: One
Chapter Name: Of Nightmares and Daydreams.
Disclamer: I do not own Naruto; Kishimoto Masashi does. I do not gain any money by doing this. I do not have permission from Kishimoto Masashi to write this. This was done for the fun of it.
Birth, life, and death -- each took place on the hidden side of a leaf. By: Toni Morrison
A thirteen year old girl in a white kimono sat in a room enveloped in darkness.
There was some light in the room; a small candle was burning on a writing desk. On that same desk sat two envelopes. One with the word Konohagakure which with no doubt was meant for the Village Hidden in the Leafs, the other one was for Uchiha Sasuke. Only the girl knew what each of the envelopes really held, but by the look on her face and the tanto in her hand, anyone with a half a mind would have thought that they where suicide letters.
The darkness the teen sat in was of her soul.
Upon looking around the room you would call the owner of the room a book worm and a narcissist. Piles upon piles of papers and books stood on the floor and desk, but they where so organized that they almost blended with the smooth grain work on wall. The floor was cleaned to the point that glare reflected the small amount of light. The bed was made with perfection. Its sheets folded and pressed. The only chair in the room was placed under the desk. The room was cleaned like the person cared to leave this world with out leaving a mess.
The candle light took the shine of the walls and floor to full effect bringing light to the far corners of the room. As the flaming wick flickered the girl in the room let out a small sigh. She thought, 'How did I end up here? Never in a hundred years did I think I would be doing this!' Looking down to her hands she saw the candle light flicker off the metal blade.
'Heh, maybe Naruto was right.'
Flashback
Naruto yelled, "Don't go! You don't know what that Snake-teme is capable of. He will mess with your mind."
"How dare you call Lord Orochimaru a bastard you're going to die here! You brat!" a man with white hair and a pale complexion yelled out.
End flashback
"I wonder if he used that to beat Kimimaro in such a short amount of time or if he had help." Not really talking to anyone the girl just wanted to hear a voice. Even her own surprisingly calm voice for what she was considering doing.
Again she thought about her friends, the "Rookie 9" as the officials of Konoha called them. She was weak, not physically or mentally weak. She was weak with her bonds. A weak good for nothing friend, she abandoned her only friends to follow the man she had a crush on. No crush was too weak of a word. She loved him; at least that's what it felt like. After less than four months her words on that day, the day she left, where meaningless.
Flashback
"I LOVE you so much. If you stay with me, I'll make sure you don't regret it! Every day will be fun. We'll definitely be happy. I'll do anything for you. Please Sasuke, please. Just… Take me with you, I'll follow you anywhere. I'll follow you into the darkness. I'll stay out of you way. I'll Help you in anyway I can just don't leave with out me. Please Sasuke, please." Her tears stopped flowing her red puffy eyes seemed to harden. "Sasuke, anything. I'll go anywhere for you. I love you with all my heart. Please let me follow you."
"You really are annoying," said a raven haired boy. "You have 15 minutes to get your gear. I'm not slowing down for you. You can meet me at the gate. "
"I have every thing I need here. Sasuke all I need is you, nothing else matters." The girl started walking after the raven haired boy.
"Hn." He started off toward the west gate.
End Flashback
She realized it was never love; lust was the only thing she felt. After that realization she never saw the raven haired boy in the same light. She tried to love him; she only hurt her self with foolish dreams.
The hand that was in her lap raised slowly, up past her stomach, to cut there would be a slow painful death. Just like the slow and painful journey that brought her to Otogakure
Flashback
"If you fall behind we leave you behind, Orochimaru-sama said nothing about bringing extra baggage along." Said Kidomaru
"You better keep up bitch I'm not fucking babysitting." Said Tayuya
"Tayuya watch you language, and its Sasuke's call he's our leader." Said Jirobo
"Is she coming to then?" Sakon asked. "As long as she keeps up and doesn't cause any trouble. I don't care.
"Hn, if you can keep up I don't care." Came Sasuke's cold voice.
End Flashback
'I have never kept a pace like that before it took all of my chakra to keep up with them, and Kimimaro was even faster than the other four.' The memory of the pain in her legs reminded her of all the sacrifices she had made.
Up past her liver, there would only be serious injury, and she would not want to live after tonight. 'No after seeing Sasuke turn his back on his friends for power, then turn that power on Naruto, no he has no friends not even Naruto and not even me. He just wants power, that's what I am trying to escape from and I wish I saw it sooner.' The teen concluded.
Past her lungs, yes that would cause death, but pain as well the feeling of the oxygen leaving her body was to terrifying of a concept to think about because she had almost drowned in the Valley of the End. 'He saved me then, but I know he wouldn't do it again.' She sadly remembered the out come of that fight between rivals.
Past her heart, it was already broken, but it has been that way for almost a year now.
Flashback
"All I need is power. All I have is hate there is no room for love. I can't Love you nor do I want to." Sasuke's voice hissed as he brought his hand over his head.
A loud crack could be heard down the main hall of Otogakure.
End Flashback
She continued up past her neck line and up to her cheek, she placed her calloused hand on her soft chin and rounded cheek. For her age she was already stunning, but there was more in her eyes, those bright green orbs, she seemed to smile.
"With that slap, you broke my heart and my jaw. It wasn't a hard hit, but I was still weak." Again not talking to anyone she dropped her hand back to her lap and this time raised the tanto to her heart.
At first she was afraid, not of death. Her sensei over the last year showed her death was mercy. After a few months of "training" with cadavers, he started training her medical skills on live patients. She was forced to do many things that she never could have done.
Flashback
She killed her first live patient while trying to remove a kunai fragment that has been lodged into his thigh for 3 years. No this man was not in pain from it, nor was he wanting it removed. He was one of her sensei's "Practice dummies." She killed the man because of her carelessness, she allowed the blood in his leg to be tainted with rust from the fragment, that rust made it to his heart, and cut the inside of the precious muscle. He screamed for what felt like hours as his blood slowly lost its pressure and his heart pumped blood into his body cavity. Kabuto said to her, "My dear those where the best screams I have heard in a long time." With a grin on his face he turned around and told the guard to get another one. As the silver haired medic turned to face the girl again, "My my this is the perfect chance to show you the Shikon no Jutsu (Dead Soul Technique)."
End flashback
She had killed more after that, but none of them felt the pain her first did, she made sure of that. Mostly she killed them as a favor, once she killed out of hate. Death was a friend of hers and she was far more conformable with the grim reaper than her own sensei.
No this girl embraced death, but pain, she was a ninja pain of injury wasn't what she feared, but the type of pain that was bought by a slow death she feared that more than anything.
Being the ever diligent learner she wanted to know the difference between the two types of pain. She raised the tanto to her face and slowly cut a line down the side of her cheek, form the edge of her ear to the curl of her lip. 'So this is the pain that I inflicted on others.' She wished that this would end sooner; she wanted to meet the grim reaper and pay her debts. 'Even at this point, I still sicken my self.'
She took the tanto and brought it back to her heart. "Well once I leave there's no coming back, even if I did I'm too far into this to quit now." She closed her eyes and pulled the tanto back to her maximum reach. In the brief second it took, she saw red then black.
The body stooped over, still kneeling, pink hair flowed freely, her hiate-ate (forehead protector) fell and hit the ground with a clang. The blood seeped over her white kimono and flowed down covering her lower half with red stains. The candle in the corner flickered off the leaf engraved into the metal of the hitae-ate (forehead protector) and then hissed out of existence.
A shadow in the hall closed the door and placed a seal upon it saying "Do not Disturb." The figure wasn't an idiot, but knew the girl took every precaution not to be disturbed when she was studying and although the seal did nothing no one willingly went into that room when it was up. The figured formed a Boar seal and uttered "Kai" as to release a justu.
The figure walked down the hall toward the one exit of the building, passing a silver haired young man on his way in the opposite direction. The figure bowed to the man and continued on.
Upon reaching the exit the figure's dark skin came into sight. He was six foot five, shaven bald and carrying a large double bladed sword. He walked into the last doorway before reaching the stairs to leave the underground complex. The large man asked the guard behind the desk, "Any Missions for me, or am I just as useless as Princess?"
"None, Haruko-san., you are free to train or take anything up your self as long as it doesn't get in Lord Orochimaru's way." The guard responded in a bored tone.
"Then I will be gone for three days." The man seen as Haruko responded with a small amount of venom. "If the lord needs me to pamper Princess, I will be in Tea country finding a little relaxment." He continued to walk out the door and headed up the stairs out into Rice country.
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"Sakura-Chan!!!!" A young man screamed out as he bolted up right from his sleeping bag. The blonde haired man cursed as his sleep addled brain became fully awake. He only had this particular dream once or twice a year, but the chilling reality of it never allowed him to fall back asleep. As always this brought thoughts of other friends and mentors.
It has been five years since Sakura's suicide.
Naruto took it the hardest of the entire rookie nine and Team Gai.
Ino, Tenten, and Hinata were depressed for months after, they were all close friends but being the few kunoichi in Konoha they had a special connection. Lee went into a training frenzy and was in the hospital for weeks at a time do to physical exhaustion. Shino and Kiba withdrew even more from their friends. Shikamaru and Choji were the least effected because of their little contact with the pink haired girl, but they supported Ino and Sakura's mother the most. Neji didn't know Sakura very well either but he was there to support Hinata and Tenten.
All of them suffered, none of them were able to do the simplest of missions for months. Tsunade was even forced to do some D ranked missions while they where in this state of depression. She could tell the jonins where in similar states, but because they were able to hide their emotions they where able to do there jobs, but they where lackluster jobs. Kakashi, Gai, Asuma, and Kurenai did their missions with abnormal complications and decreased speed.
Naruto did something completely unexpected. He ran. Konoha hasn't been his home for five long years. The only reason he wasn't a missing-nin was because he left a message with the current Godaime Hokage. It was a simple message, it read:
I'm training.
Don't follow.
Don't send anyone.
Don't look for me.
I'll return. I promise.
I never break my promises.
Uzumaki Naruto: The Next Hokage
"Eh, Kyuubi do you think we should head back to Konoha?" The blonde man asked into the woods. Naruto waited for a response. None came. "Kyuubi I know you're there I can sense you. So answer me already!"
"You know Kit if you yell like that your going to attract more hunter-nins." A man in his late twenties dropped down from a tree. He was tall and lanky with wild blood red hair pulled back into a high tail. He was wearing a black cloak that covered a standard black jonin uniform. Kyuubi wore no hitae-ate (forehead protector) but his most distinguishing item would be the black and red nodachi on his back.
It was over five feet long. For anyone else it would be unwieldy. Unlike Kisame's Samehada (Sharkskin)and Zabuza's Head Cleaving Sword, his was sheathed. It was too long to pull completely from the sheath with out help. But even so the last person to laugh at the uselessness of the sword is still lying in the ditch, on an old country road, cut in half vertically.
"You know Kit; I told you three years that you should return. But I believe your own words where; 'I need to be stronger. Even if I could beat that Snake-teme while merged I won't be able to protect my precious people from those that are stronger. I will train until I am able to beat him by my self.'" Kyuubi sat down near the camp fire that the blonde was sleeping next to. "You could probably take on Itachi if you had to; you are one of the stronger shinobi that I have heard about. Even when we spar I have to try. Otherwise you could destroy this body."
"Kyuubi. I know I'm strong. It's just… It's… What if I can't protect those few people that I love? What if the same thing that happened to Sakura happens to another of my friends?" Naruto was just getting up from his sleeping bag and walking over to the fire. "And since I'm getting this out of my system: what are my friends going to say and do when they find out the truth? I highly doubt that I can hide my real form from them while fighting. Holding ninety percent of my chakra back just doesn't work. Hell Kyuubi I have become the worse nightmare of all of those people that hated me for containing you. I've become a demon-lord."
"Kit. First of all you're no demon-lord. Hell if you're a demon, I'm a saint. When we merged you gained my memories not my past. You have killed three people. None of them in cold blood, I have killed millions; a lot of them just for fun." Dislocating his shoulder Kyuubi drew his sword and pointed the tip of it at the blonde's throat. "And you only become Lord over me when you can finally take Katta-tenma (Evil spirit/ Demon cutter) from my hands." This got an audible gulp from Naruto.
"Second of all, Kit, you made friends with some pretty intelligent people. Especially that white eyed girl." With that Naruto's face matched the color of Kyuubi's hair. "You're really concerned of how she's going to react more than anyone else aren't you, Kit?" An odd softness entered Kyuubi's voice as he placed his sword back in its sheath.
"It's your entire fault you know that? You had to give me the memories of all times she looked at me, all the times she reacted differently around me, and every single time she said 'Naruto-kun' and cheered me on softly. And with the change that my mind and body went through how could I not see it. And how am I supposed to tell her I never noticed her before. I've changed so much these last five years Kyuubi, hell I wouldn't be surprised if no one would even recognized me anymore!" Naruto was now yelling in kyuubi's face. Something the fox really didn't care for.
"Kit. Yes you've changed, you're an adult, you're more mature, you're stronger, and you're even smarter. You look a lot like your father. And you are one of the few humans that Inari-sama has respect for. On a more surprising note your one of the two humans I have respect for. Now will you please sit down so we can eat, I got some fish for breakfast." This seemed to bring the blonde out of his morning haze.
After some breakfast the odd duo got ready for their day. But Naruto always had a knack for knowing exactly what Kyuubi didn't want to talk about. "Eh Kyuubi, did you really mean what you said? About respecting me?"
"Not at all Kit, I was just getting you out of your depression. Besides what reason do I have for respecting a child who stood up to the strongest demon by demanding him to pay rent?" Although this Naruto would pick up on his meaning, it was always fun reminding him of his stupidness before their merger.
"Thanks Kyuubi."
"Kit, I think it is time we head back. Inari-sama wants you to be back to Konoha by the end of the year. That gives you two months to train on the road before we have to be there and if I remember correctly her birthday is toward the end of December as well." The red haired man watched closely for the boy's reaction. A bit of unconfidence and a small blush was what the demon fox saw. And he sighed.
Although Kyuubi made sure Naruto knew what merging would do to the both of them. The results were a lot different than expected. After the battle that took place in the Valley of the End, Kyuubi brought an unconscious Naruto before him in the seal.
Flashback
The dark and dankness of the sewer like seal seemed to make talking to the fox all that more enjoyable for the blonde. Of course this didn't work both ways. Kyuubi was getting extremely sick of the blonde brat yelling in his face. When the final nerve was struck (something about placing Kyuubi in a pink dress if he ever got out of the seal) Kyuubi final snapped at the blonde boy.
"Will you just shut the fuck up for a minute!? Is that to much to ask of you pathetic humans?" This got an audible gulp from Naruto. "To answer one of your very annoying questions, I only gave you ten percent of my full power to you because anymore would have killed you and unless you wanted to die and break your precious promises." 'Not to mention I really don't feel like dieing just yet.' Kyuubi added mentally to himself.
This seemed to shut the blonde up nicely. "Now for the reason I brought you here. I have a deal that you may be interested in."
"Why would you offer me a deal?" Naruto asked cautiously, "And what would I get out of a deal with you," he added in after thought. It seemed that the boy was getting smarter. Not very fast mind you but it was showing.
"How does this sound Gaki, I'll give you thirty percent of my chakra when ever you want. And make it so you don't die from chakra overload. That's about three of my tails. And you allow me to take the pleasure in killing anyone that forces you to use more than that amount-"
"NO!" The blonde really did know how to annoy the greatest of the demons. He just hated when someone interrupted his speeches, almost as much as he hated loud kids. If he ever met the Yondaime in the afterlife it would be the shortest meetings in existence and only one of them would walk away from it. And yet the boy continued, "I won't let you take over my body. EVER!"
"Gaki. You do realize that if I tried, if I put my all into it. I could take control of you completely and permanently." Just the thought of that seemed to place the blonde ninja back into a haze. Kyuubi continued his lecture. "This seal has one flaw in it. It converts my Chakra into human chakra but it's still my chakra. And I can control it in any form. Do you understand Gaki?" 'Although it is extremely hard to control it but he doesn't need to know that.' Thought the fox to himself.
"Well it doesn't matter. Just listen and listen well. What I am offering is a deal. You will gain power; I will gain some freedom from this cell. I know you don't want power for your self; you want it to protect your friends. So save me the speech, I have heard it too many times to count.
"What I am suggesting is a merger between a human and a demon, namely you and me. Now before you start getting annoying again, we are partially merged as is. What I'm offering is to complete the merger that this seal has started. I will no longer be me and you will no longer be you. But instead we will be one being combined. A bit of basic math here Gaki a number over zero plus another number over zero equals more than the individuals numbers.
"You have two
years to decide. You can talk to whom ever you wish about this deal.
And you can ask me questions about it but now its time for you to
rest. Gaki my power isn't something to play with. Be careful
otherwise it may kill you. "
With a flash of youki Kyuubi forced Naruto out of the seal, sending him back into unconsciousness.
End Flashback.
"You know Kyuubi I still want to know why you where so nice to me during and after that battle." Naruto now fully awake, fed, and completely out of his depressant haze that the nightmare had him in. Got up and started to clean up the campsite. "But I know you will never tell me. I know you're nicer to me now because you gained some humanity while I gained some demonic traits but you were your fuzzy demonic baby eating self back then."
"I did not eat babies… Only small annoying children like your self," Kyuubi retorted. "Besides if you're up to making jokes at this early in the morning then let's get started on your genjutsu training. I would prefer you to be able to get out of a basic genjutsu by the time we get back to Konoha." Kyuubi's idea of basic genjutsu just happened to be at the jonin skill level. They left the campsite and headed into the woods.
"Kyuubi, lets head back home tomorrow. I think that we are going to need some time to adjust. And I am dead sick of camping." Naruto stated in melancholy tone. He did really want to head home, but he didn't know what home would be like for the new him.
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A small laboratory in an undisclosed location.
"Nanashi-sama, Tazuna-sama is looking for you he said it was quite important," a young man in an open Hawaiian shirt and blue jeans walked up to a brown eyed brown haired girl. She was wearing form fitting blue medic wrap, standard black ninja pants and ankle high combat sandals. Over her attire she wore a bleach white lab coat with a red cross on the back.
"Arigato (Thank you) Jin-san, tell him I'll be up in ten minutes." Nanashi didn't look up from the test tube she was carefully scrutinizing. Holding the tube in one hand she was deftly writing on a paper tablet with a pen in the other. With out looking up again she spoke, "Jin-san IF I wanted someone to watch me over my shoulders I would invite people into my lab, now if you would please, SCRAM!" This caused the man to scurry back up the steps he came.
After placing the test tube back and finishing her notes Nanashi took off her lab coat and placed it on a coat rack. She took a navy blue over coat off the rack to replace the lab coat. It was cooler weather than she was use to. Five years wasn't long enough to adapt for someone use to the warm falls of fire country. She also picked up an unusually marked hatie-ate from the table near the door. Placing it on her left arm she headed out of the room and up the stairs. She took the time to lock and use chakra to seal the door at the top of the steps.
"Ohayo (good morning) Nanashi-chan," a musical voice called out to the brown eyed girl from another room in the house.
"Ohayo Tsunami, is it already morning?" Nanashi responded in a slight haze. She knew she had been working for a while but it only felt like a few hours had pasted since she started.
"Nanashi-chan it's almost eleven o'clock. Didn't you go to bed last night?" The musical voice called back with slight concern. She didn't feel or look a bit tired but from personal experience she knew that time flies when you're having fun. And oh boy she must have had a lot of fun last night. After dinner last night she went to work on a vaccine for a nasty virus that was going around Wave Country. She had almost been done with it when Jin told her that Tazuna was looking for her.
"I guess not, I thought it was still Thursday night." She responded so carelessly about the fact that she lost track of over half a day. Well then again she always did get her nose stuck in her work. "Is Tazuna-san at work?" Nanashi asked while she walked into the kitchen where a happy looking Tsunami stood making what appeared to be a lunch.
"I believe so dear," Said Tsunami, "Oh and Inari-kun wanted me to ask you if you would be up to going out to dinner tonight."
"I think so," said Nanashi, "I don't know what Tazuna-san wants but Jin-san was out of breath when he got here so I think it may be important. Anyways, tell Inari-kun I would be delighted."
"Will do Sa-Nanashi-chan."
This brought a sigh out of the brown haired girl. "Thank you, I'll see you for lunch Tsunami."
With that the girl left the place she called home and headed to her work. She was partners with Tazuna in a company he made, after the completion of the Great Naruto Bridge Tazuna & Family Incorporated became famous in the construction business. Nothing to fancy at first but after some small town fixer ups and there home town becoming a small city, business boomed.
Although the majority of jobs Tazuna Inc. weren't real big, it was the quality. It was said that a small tsunami hit a coastal town where Tazuna Inc. build a civilian school, the school was the only building standing after the wave crashed. It's even said that some of the windows never fell out or broke. But no one could prove it one way or the other and the more windows that survived the more business boomed.
After two years a sullen small girl came to Tsunami's house looking for Tazuna. She had enough gull to ask for a job and well a job she got. She wasn't strong enough to do the lifting and physical aspect of the job, but she was able to heal the sore muscles and a few minor injuries that the workers got.
At first it wasn't anything spectacular. She had a small white tent with the hospital logo on it, in a far off corner of the work site. She saved an idiot who cut himself with the saw from bleeding to death, and a few workers who fell and broke a leg or two. Had them all back to work with in a few hours. Tazuna was happy with his investment in hiring her, she proved useful.
Her time, not healing idiot workers, was spent studying. She always had her nose in a book or her own notes. This girl was a ninja, but wasn't like any ninja they had ever encountered. She used a healing charka to heal major injuries but minor injuries she just used creams, pills and band-aids. Mind you that those creams, pills and band-aids work better than anything else any of the crew had ever used. She tried to avoid conflict when it arose but had a temper that would make any grown man shiver in fear.
She at times seemed as opposite from any normal shinobi, like water to sand. But there was a side of her that clearly showed the ability to kill. After about a year of her working at Tazuna Inc. no one would doubt her skills, but there was a new law in forced at the work site. "If you hit on the doctor, plan on finding another one for the injuries you will sustain." The first poor soul who didn't know this unwritten rule hobbled out the small tent with three broken ribs and a black eye, one elbow to the gut and one fist to the head.
After a couple of years and growing fame Tazuna got a letter from the Tsuchikage (Earth Shadow) of Iwagakure no Sato (Village Hidden among Rocks). The Kage wished to employ Tazuna and his company to build a large library. A very detailed design was included with the letter. Huge wasn't the word, gargantuan or monstrous may have worked. Tazuna was at a loss for words. This was one of the biggest buildings he had ever seen. He had a crew of twenty men and his daughter and her son along with Nanashi. They had worked together on every building so far. But twenty able bodied workers just wasn't going to be enough.
That's before he read the letter fully. The line:
"You will be helped by one hundred skilled workers from local construction firms and paid 120,000 Ryō per week to pay the crew."(1)
More or less ended any arguments that anyone would have on taking a year long trip to Iwagakure no Sato, normally Tazuna set his fee at 15,000 Ryō for twenty-two employees. (2) It took a few months of negotiations before a plan was set up. Soon there after an escort to Iwa met Tazuna's team on the Great Naruto Bridge and a week long journey started.
Eleven months two weeks and four days until the crew returned home to Wave Country. The time spent working on Iwa's elaborate library was hardly wasted. The entire crew made new friends and gained new experiences.
Nanashi found recognition as a healer after an incident with the Kage's son. She formed medic-nin alliance with Iwa. The Kage's daughter and she formed the Niiro Juujikei (Red Cross.) It was open to anyone who wanted to heal. The only requirements for it were to help anyone the best you could and to wear a red colored equal armed cross some where on your person. Nanashi wore hers as a Hitae-ate (Forehead Protector.)
After Iwa's library was done extreme amounts of jobs flowed into Tazuna Inc. Some jobs were too big or didn't pay enough. But the most surprising jobs were coming from Hidden Villages: Kiri (Mist), Ame, (Rain), Kumo (Cloud), Kusa (Grass), Suna (Sand), and even from Otogakure (Hidden in Sound). But there wasn't one from Konoha.
"Tazuna-san are you here?" Nanashi walked into a large building. Tazuna & family Incorporated's head quarters was a large mansion like building. Because of the sheer quantity of work that the construction company got and because of its out of the way location the company needed to be able to house large numbers of people comfortable.
Only one hundred and fifty rooms to search through. Luckily Nanashi knew exactly where to find her boss. The bar, Tazuna made sure his own business headquarters had a full bar on the first floor. The brown haired girl made her way to Shinobi's Paradise. Yes Tazuna called his own personal bar Shinobi Paradise... If you find that mildly disturbing then the eight foot tall poster of Sharingan Kakashi that adorned the bar side wall should make you leave the bar post haste. Speaking of the bar, he sat at it. "Tazuna-san as your bodyguard and family physician I don't approve of your drinking habits. Besides I thought you where cutting down. But from the three bottles sitting in front of you I think I can safely assume you haven't."
"Don't assume every thing Nanashi-chan, it doesn't befit you to be wrong too many times." Tazuna said, "Besides they aren't for me, they're for you."
"You know I don't make a habit of drinking out of the bottle." Nanashi took a seat at the bar next to the surprisingly still fairly sober Tazuna. "So what did you want Oyabun (boss), I'm hoping you didn't just want me to join you for a drink."
"Well I guess you could help me. You see I'm having an issue with choosing what job to do next." He illustrated this by pulling out three letters. "I have one from Otogakure. It looks like they need concrete structure that some what resembles a prison. The pay is crap and the labor is all our own."
"When the word Otogakure came out of your mouth it was a no. Why did you even keep it?" Nanashi responded while singling for the bar tender. She ordered an ice tea with lemon.
"Heh and here I thought it was the best one. This next one was quite interesting. It looks like we are turning out to be more than a construction company. It wants us to hunt and assassinate the person known as the Niiro Juujikei Nanashi." The slightly drunk foreman started chuckling like a madman. "So would you like to kill your self or let the workers do it?"
"You're an ass you know that." Nanashi spat her words angrily at the red faced man. "What's the third and I swear on my grave that if it's another joke I'll kill you."
"To tell you the truth those last two where real. I received the Oto one last week and the assassination one about a year ago. I think the person who wanted you dead send the threat letter to the assassin and the assassination request to you. You got to feel some what sorry for the poor guy," Turning to face her, "At least a little right?"
"Not one bit."
"Your cold you know that?" Tazuna looked at her, just taking in the sight. "I swear ever since you mastered what-her-face's strength jutsu you have gotten colder. Where'd that happy go lucky girl I met all those years ago go?"
"She die. Long before you met me. That little naive girl died by her own hands. I am what rose from those ashes. Damn now I'm starting to sound like a sage. Now what's the third letter? I don't want to talk about my past." Nanashi just sighed. She knew Tazuna well enough to know that something was up. He knew how much she hated Oto.
"I haven't even opened it yet, figured you would like to open it." With that he gave her the third letter. By the look on her face and the wideness on her eyes he figured correctly. Picking up one the bottles he opened it and poured himself and her a nice full glass of Iwa sake.
"K-Kono-ha," She gasped. "Its been five damn years and no word. But now… But now…" Warm tears came to her eyes. "Tazuna-san, yes we will take the job. Yes I will meet with the Hokage. And thank you for the drinks; I'm going to need them."
"Don't be too late to dinner. I'll tell Tsunami-chan that you're going to miss lunch and I'll send Inari-kun to pick you up for dinner." Tazuna looked at the young woman as she chugged back the whole glass of sake. "And Nanashi-chan for once in your life take your own advice and don't over do it. We all know that the next few months are going to be hard on you. We are here for you. Inari-kun is here for you. Talk to us and use our shoulders." With that he got up and gave her a pat on the shoulders and headed out of the bar to set up a meeting with Konohagakure.
"Nanashi, Sakura-chan isn't dead she's just sleeping. Waiting for the right moment to come back and show every one how much she has improved." Tazuna said this under his breath but not quite out of ear shot of one slightly drunk brown haired girl.
Tazuna headed up to his office to prepare a nice long letter to Konohagakure.
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A/N.
Nanashi literally means Nameless. If you haven't figured it out Nanashi is Sakura.
I would like to ask any readers who made it through my first attempted at a fic a few questions.
About when did you figure out that Nanashi was Sakura if you did at all?
Did this story flow alright?
Did Kyuubi and Naruto's conversation over confuse you or did it give an alright base to the story?
If anyone is wondering why I didn't explain what Naruto looks like. He looks like his 15 year old self. This isn't what he really looks like that's why I didn't explain it. It will be explained at Konoha.
(1) At eight hour work days that's $25/per hour for one hundred and twenty three workers.
(2) About $17/per hour for Tazuna's normal 20-23 person crew.
I would be thankful for any constructive criticism and flames will be ignored. Please Read and Review. Thank you for taking your time to read this fic.
Next Time: Naruto and Kyuubi head