Prologue – The Wait is Over
It was cold, dark and ever so lonely. All she wanted was someone to be there for her, but instead she was ridiculed for the way looked, the way she spoke, the way she behaved. Shunned and only spoken to when the people around her wanted something to laugh at, she became violent and suicidal.
At only fifteen years old, the foreign girl wanted to die, that is until she was met by the most dark of angels…
Today…
Orochimaru looked down at her, his newest plaything. She truly was something to behold, graceful and deadly…
She'd come to him a few years ago, begging for someone to care about who she was, not what she looked like. And now she used that to her advantage. Her body had filled out, and now she was a woman, she gathered information for her master, using her body to charm her prey into an exotic last embrace.
Lexi she was called, and she had just reached her nineteenth birthday, today was the day for her hardest mission yet.
Infiltrating the Hidden Leaf Village.
Lexi had been prepared for this mission for years; she was sound in body and mind, and just reckless enough to not ask why.
Orochimaru smiled… he wondered for a moment what she would do if she new the truth behind how she had come to be in this place… she might try to kill him, not that she would succeed, but it would be interesting to watch.
Walking out of the door to the hidden base, Lexi discarded her sound headband and ninja tools on one of the many tables in the room.
They were mostly cluttered with dead animals being pickled in jars, and the occasional human organ. Lexi often wondered where the organs had come from, and got the sinking feeling that she would meet a worse fate should she betray her master.
Dressed in civilian clothes, and with her long copper hair covered, she looked decidedly ordinary, except the eyes. She was too different for her own good. And ever so secretive, anyone who'd seen her face had ended up dead, so no one would know what she looked like. She was efficient, to the point, and, even better, a wonderful actress.
With a few secrets of her own.
She knew. She knew what Orochimaru had done. He'd killed her parent's and forced the village's in the area to be wary of those who looked different, some of the villagers had even tried to kill her.
It was how she'd grown up, and how she knew what her master had done. She'd seen him doing it, killing her parents. Up the hill behind the camp they had made, in the dim moonlight, she'd watched her parents die, seen the snake-man leave the tent with blood on his hands, and she'd never wept for them. You don't weep if you have to be composed enough to get revenge.
And now was the time… the perfect time to extract herself from Orochimaru's cold grasp.
She was going to betray him, and he was sending her to do it.
The Hidden Leaf Village… that is where it would all begin.
Chapter 1 – Beg Me for the End
Lexi walked sullenly down the dusty empty road, contemplating how she would complete her task. Should she just hand herself into the guards? No, they'd just arrest her and lock her away.
She'd have to prove herself to the Hokage in order to win the village's trust. Only then would she reveal herself to them, spilling all the information she had to them.
Yes, that would be the best plan… but to pull it off… she'd need all the ninja skills she had for this. Her very being was to be tested, may God have mercy on her soul.
xXx
The Hidden Leaf Village loomed up in front of her. Tall, proud and defiant, ever strong and ever together. The people were good folks; they worked together for a better future for the children of the village, making their lives brighter. The will of fire it was called, it was a good way to believe, but not something Lexi thought she could relate to.
The gates were open, warm and welcoming, a nice change from entering Orochimaru's hideouts. The guards looked briefly at her papers, prepared by herself so there would be no detail left out, no stone unturned, it was perfectly sound. Just the way she liked it most. They handed the papers back to her and waved her through, making a note of her arrival in the register on the desk next to the entrance.
That was it, she was in!
She made her way towards the western edge of the village, where her cover had been set up for months.
Four and a half months ago, an elderly couple had passed away, they had six children, who'd had many more children, and Lexi was acting as one of them, sent to look after her grandparent's home. She'd done her research well.
The younger generations had either died in the line of battle as ninja, or moved to far off lands. So one coming home would be no big deal, and it offered her the perfect way to enter the village unsuspected.
She reached the house without event, not bothering to look about much, she couldn't allow herself to get involved. It was paramount to her mission that she remained apart from the world as much as possible.
The building was tall and quaint at the same time. The paint wasn't pealing, and the garden was tidy… someone had been looking after it.
She walked up to the old porch door and pulled out the key. It was a faint gold to match the handle, rubbed smooth with wear and age, and slightly blackened in places where the paint had been smoothed off. It fitted the lock and turned with ease, making a low click as the bar slid back.
She pushed the door inwards, noting the silence as it swung, the hinges had been oiled…
Who had been in this house?
"Hello?" Cried a voice behind her, from the wrought iron gate, "Welcome to the neighbourhood!"
Lexi turned, a smile crossing her face as she greeted her new neighbour.
The woman had pink hair tied back in a low ponytail, vivid green eyes, and a miniature version of herself at her side. The child was about eleven or twelve years old, and was dressed like a ninja in training. Probably still an Academy student.
Lexi waved and walked back down the path to talk to the woman.
"Hello there! I'm Lexi, Hikaru and Kana's granddaughter. I've come to look after the house since they… um, passed on… But it looks like I don't have much work to do! Someone's been good to me and kept it looking wonderful!"
"My condolences for your loss Lexi. I'm Akako Haruno, and this is my daughter Sakura. We've been the one's looking after the house. Your grandparents were so good and kind, I thought it was the best thing I could do for their memory."
"Thank you Haruno-san, I hope I can repay you for your hard work. Perhaps I can bake you my Ultimate Chocolate Cake?"
Sakura's eyes lit up at the mention of chocolate, and Akako smiled brightly.
Lexi grinned, she had made a friend already, and her infiltration was going as planned!
xXx
Sakura answered the door when Lexi knocked, and grinned at the sight before her. She ran through the house to get her mother, exclaiming about the size of the cake waiting for them.
Akako waved Lexi into the kitchen, who set the cake on the table there.
"Well I did promise you a thank you cake!" she laughed.
Sakura pulled out some plates but paused when she heard the door go again.
"I'll get it!" she called to her mother as she ran past, still clutching the plates.
"Mom! It's my teacher! He wants to talk to you!"
"Well tell him to come in then! He can have some of Lexi's cake too!"
Iruka Umino walked into the kitchen followed by the girl who was smiling away to herself. He greeted Akako first, then noticed Lexi standing near the sink.
"Um, hello. I'm Iruka Umino, a teacher at the ninja Academy. Pleased to meet you."
"The pleasure's all mine! I've never met a real ninja before! I'm Lexi by the way,"
She grinned and shook Iruka's hand, assessing him all the while, "I just moved in across the street."
"Yes, Haruno-san mentioned you earlier. I'm glad someone will be there; it is such a lovely house. From what I can tell anyway. I've never been inside…"
Lexi smiled and widened her eyes slightly as she had an idea.
"Why don't you come over for dinner tomorrow night then, Haruno-san and Sakura-chan too! Hell, why not invite the street, it's been a while since I had a party, and I want to get stuck into the community right away!"
They all agreed it was a great idea, and Lexi excused herself so that the teacher could talk to Haruno-san in private, it not being her place to pry.
xXx
The following morning brought new surprises to Lexi, when she found flowers on her doorstep, with a card that read:
'Hope to see you tonight,
From X'
Was this a joke, or was someone admitting to liking her? Nevertheless, she smiled and put them in the vase in the hall, so that everyone who came into the house would see them.
She began baking cakes and buns, the kitchen windows flung wide open so the scent would waft into the street.
She heard the shuffling of feet outside the window not long afterwards, and sighed knowingly.
Some child was going for the pies she had set to cool on the sill.
She moved swiftly and plucked the boy through the window.
"Just what do you think you're up to? Stealing, hmm?"
"N… n… no mam! I'm sorry! I'll never do it again! I promise!"
"You should be in school! You go to the Academy right? Who's your sensei?"
"Iruka-san!"
"Well I know Iruka-san, so we are heading down there right away, do you hear? What's your name boy?"
"Yes miss, I'm Choji miss!"
"Well Choji, I'll take those pies in and then I'm personally going to take you back to the Academy. Sit in that chair at the table."
The terrified boy sat obediently and stared at his toes like they were the only things that could save him.
Lexi closed the windows and put the pies in the fridge with the jellies then made sure the oven was off. She took off her apron and held her hand out to the boy. He got up and took it immediately, not willing to disobey her.
They walked out the door and Lexi locked it behind her. They started down the street towards the Academy when Lexi pulled to a halt.
"Your little friends can join us before I go to their parents for a little chat!"
Shikamaru and Kiba stepped out from their hiding places and cursed their bad luck.
xXx
Iruka was startled by the knocking on the class door in the middle of his history lesson. He was still fuming about loosing some of his students and the anger showed in the frown on his face. He called none too kindly for whoever it was to enter, and dropped his jaw in shock when he saw who was there.
"Lexi-san…? I - I'm sorry, I thought you were someone else."
"No harm done, in fact, I might be able to repair some damage."
She pushed the three boys into the class room ahead of her. Then crossed her arms and tutted at them.
"I believe these are your students Iruka-san? I found them lurking outside my kitchen with the intent to well, remove some freshly baked apple pies."
"I'm so sorry Lexi-san! The will be punished accordingly."
"No it's alright; I think they might have learned their lesson now. But if I ever see you boys outside of class when you shouldn't be again, you know what will happen?"
They nodded, answering in unison;
"Yes Miss Lexi."
They then returned to their seats. Iruka looked over to the young woman with appreciation, his gaze caught hers and she smiled at him.
"I trust you're still coming tonight? You can bring some friends if you want, the more the merrier, right?"
Iruka just nodded and watched her leave.
He now had the problem of getting the students to stop chanting;
"Iruka and Lexi, up a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"
xXx
Laughter and talked filled the dusky air, lanterns were being lit and the barbeque was still going.
Lexi brought out more cakes and pies, balancing them on her arms with care. Both ninja and civilian had turned up to the party, young and old. She hadn't seen Iruka-san yet, but he could be anywhere in the throng of people.
She suspected he was the one who had sent the flowers, but couldn't confirm it until she saw him.
Placing the plates and trays on the table in the back garden she sighed and looked around for him again.
He'd seemed nice. Much nicer than the guys she was used to, like Orochimaru and Kabuto. They only wanted her to serve, to bend to their will, and more so in Kabuto's case, become a test subject for horrific experiments.
She spotted some dark hair in a spiky ponytail across the garden, and headed towards it with a tray of drinks, some large sake bottles pinned between her elbows and her torso.
She smiled at the group of ninja, judging them all to be Chunin and Jounin.
"Sake anyone?" she smiled.
The men seemed happy to take care of the drinking by themselves, but as she turned to look for the hair she had spotted earlier, Iruka appeared before her.
"Oh! I was just looking for you. I was beginning to think you weren't coming."
"Ah sorry, I had some last minute marking to do… forgive me?"
"It's no problem, don't worry yourself. So you bring anybody?"
"Just a couple of friends, Kotetsu and Izumo from the Mission Desk, they said they were on guard duty at the gate when you arrived, and Kakashi, Asuma and Guy, they're the Jounin trying to drink each other under the table."
He pointed out each person as he spoke of them, and laughed at the chaos in the corner. Which to his surprise, Lexi headed straight towards.
"Excuse me guys, you mind stopping that? There are children around and you should be setting a better example! If you can't control yourselves, leave!"
The trio paused, looking like children being scolded by their mothers, then looked at each other before straightening and brushing themselves off.
The surrounding ninja laughed and chuckled to themselves, it wasn't every day they saw someone get shouted at by a civilian.
Iruka placed his hand on Lexi's shoulder;
"Nicely done, you should be a teacher with a voice like that!"
Lexi smiled coyly and turned to look him in the eye.
"But I'm sure you could teach me many more things… sensei…"
Iruka visibly came to a halt, a blush spreading across his cheeks from the scar above his nose. She smiled and leaned forward, then whispered in his ear;
"Thank you for the flowers."
Iruka blinked. How did she figure that one out? She must have recognised his handwriting from the black board that morning.
"N- No problem." He stuttered.
xXx
The night was coming to a close. The families had gone home to put their children to bed and only the totally incapacitated were left to be carried home by their friends.
Kakashi and Guy were leaning on each other, Asuma was sitting on the grass near them, he was swaying slightly, a sake bottle still clutched in his hand.
Lexi shook her head at them, waving Iruka over to her.
"They can't walk home like this… help me move them to the spare rooms?"
They worked together to get Guy into the first room, basically just dropping him onto the mattress and leaving him there. Kakashi was another deal altogether.
He was walking, but just barely. He kept wanting to go into the kitchen instead of up the stairs, and they ended up dragging him backwards, and throwing him into the same room as Guy. They closed the door and looked at Asuma, pondering how to shift him into the second room.
"I think we could just drag him…? But these stairs may give him bruises…"
"I'll just carry him, it's no problem."
And he did. Iruka lifted the semi-conscious man over his shoulder and plonked him down in the bedroom, then pulled the covers over him before leaving.
The pair sat down on the sofa with a sigh. Their arms brushing slightly, but neither cared enough to move. They were too exhausted.
xXx
Iruka opened his eyes slowly, his head pounding and his back aching. Did he really have that much to drink last night?
Something smelt sweet… warm… and soft. But what could it be?
He cast his chocolate gaze downwards and noticed the head on his chest, the delicate hand holding onto the fabric near his shoulder.
Lexi.
She stirred and moaned softly as she woke, looking up into Iruka's eyes directly. Surprised she launched herself backwards, landing on her ass on the floor, shock quite apparent on her face.
"Well if I'd known I was that hideous I would have gone home…" Iruka laughed jokingly. But Lexi didn't seem to get the joke.
"You're not hideous, you gorgeous-"
She stopped her self, both hands clapped over her mouth, eyes as wide as they could be, and a strong blush forming across her normally pale cheeks.
Iruka also blushed; he looked at the floor for a moment, and then went over to the young woman.
"I think you're beautiful…"
His words cut into her. That was the first time anyone had ever called her beautiful. She couldn't help but feel the soft rush in her chest as she blushed even more, it spreading down her neck.
They were interrupted by two loud screams from upstairs.
Kakashi and Guy had obviously just woken up.
Smiling the pair on the floor stood and made their way to the bottom of the stairs. Only to meet Asuma on the way.
"Ah… Kurenai's gonna kill me… I wanna go home…"
"Iruka-san can sort you out. But you're not going anywhere without breakfast. Come sit in the kitchen and I'll get you some bacon and eggs."
She led the teetering man through the door and pushed him into a chair.
"Iruka-san? Can you go check on the others? Tell them I'm making breakfast, and that if they don't get down here pronto, it'll be all gone."
The brunette nodded and turned to the stairs.
He admired the little balcony on the way up, and turned right to go to the first bedroom where his two friends were arguing over something.
He paused outside the door to listen.
"You're the village pervert! How do I know you weren't trying to molest me in my sleep?"
"Why the hell would I want to molest you, you look like a caterpillar from a bad trip!"
"How dare you insult my outfit! It is of the highest grade fabric, the colour of Konoha, our great village; and the Spirit of Youth imbues every fibre!"
It was at this point Iruka decided to intervene. Opening the door carefully and giving them his best 'teacher's glare'.
They paused.
Kakashi was being held by the fabric of his shirt, a foot off the ground, whilst Guy's eyebrows were even bushier than normal, and his hair too. Something told Iruka that static electricity might have been involved in that one.
"What the hell are you two doing? Lexi and I put you in here because you were too drunk to get home without a catheter, out of the goodness of her heart, and this is how you repay her kindness? I am ashamed of you both. She is down there, slaving in the kitchen, to make you breakfast. And you resort to fighting?"
The men looked at each other, Guy placed Kakashi on his feet, whilst the Copy Nin, flattened the Green Beast's hair with his hands.
"You get yourselves organised and get down those stairs now. You will apologise for your rudeness and thank Lexi for letting you stay in the first place. Understand?"
Both men nodded. When Iruka got into one of his rants, there was no stopping him, you either went along with it or left the room covered in chalk dust and bruises.
xXx
After the three Jounin had been sent home, Iruka felt so incredibly glad it was the weekend. No school! His thoughts were a little childish yes, but certainly welcome.
He wouldn't have to deal with those pests for two days now, he could relax.
He might even get to spend time with Lexi…
She was certainly something different, exotic and ever such a nice young woman too. He liked her a lot.
Iruka finished cleaning up his apartment and set to work doing his laundry. The sun outside slanted through the window at just the wrong angle, and he was blinded for a moment, meaning that he missed the falcon launching itself away from his window sill.
The bird of prey flitted leisurely back home; it scrambled through the open window of the bedroom on the top floor and then soared down the two flights of stairs to the living area. It looked around for its contract bearer, and saw her in the back garden, practicing flips and other taijutsu.
The majestic bird went to her shoulder, stopping her from continuing with her training.
"Lexi, you shouldn't practice outside. You could be seen." Said Takumo into the woman's ear.
"Ah, but we've never practiced in the sunlight before… it's so much nicer!"
"I have the information you wanted. The teacher's address. Though why you would want to know such a thing I'll never understand."
"It's for the infiltration. You know we can't talk about this out here. Let's get inside and make sure no one hears what comes out of that ruddy great beak of yours!"
The pair went into the kitchen and Lexi drew the blinds then performed a sound-sealing jutsu on the room, so that no one could hear anything they said.
"What do you know Takumo?"
"The teacher lives six blocks away, next to a large wooden bridge over the river. Is apartment number is 16. He's cleaning his apartment at the moment. There's a dango shop opposite, it would be easy to bump into him there as it seems to be quite popular."
"Thanks Takumo, is there anything you need when I go out?"
"Perhaps a new perch, the other one you gave me is getting too crowded by the red kites that live next door."
"I'll get right on it. See you later!"
There was a small puff of smoke and the falcon vanished. Lexi released the jutsu holding the room and headed upstairs to get changed. She found out some traditional kimonos and wondered which to wear.
Settling on the pale blue one with tiny silver flowers sewn into all the hems, she dressed herself and tied the darker blue obi on tight to show off her tiny waist.
She picked up a little wooden basket and put her purse and a few other essentials in there. She closed the lid, and went to buy some dango.
xXx
Kakashi and Guy eventually ventured outside and made their way towards Iruka's place. They still felt ill, but both knew that they couldn't be moping about, Guy had a mission to do and Kakashi had Icha Icha to read somewhere secret.
It just so happened that they spotted a beautiful young woman at the dango shop near Iruka's place. She was wearing a blue kimono and had a basket on one arm, with the wide sleeves pulled back to avoid getting dirt on them. And then they saw her hair. Long copper strands fell in gentle ringlets down the centre of her back, a silver comb keeping the art in place.
Then they saw her face and turned away.
"Kakashi, Guy? Is that you two?"
Damn thought Kakashi, just who they didn't need to see today.
Guy turned back and blurted out stuff about youth and spirit to Lexi, complimenting her on her kimono, telling her she was a 'fine woman', and other wise making a fool of himself.
Kakashi tried not to look at her… he had a 'thing' for girls in kimonos, and this was doing way too many dangerous things in his brain. The images…!
Nevertheless he couldn't just ignore the woman who had hosted them so well and taken care of them when they couldn't take care of themselves.
"Hello Lexi-chan, we weren't expecting to see you here. What brings you to the dango shop?"
"Just some general shopping and I'm not the best at making dango, so I have to buy it…" She laughed with ease, lilting and soft, "You wouldn't happen to know where I can find a fruit stall? I still don't know where everything is and I think I'm rather lost…"
"Do not worry! Kakashi here will guide you to where ever you need to go! Just don't let him ruin the innocence of your youth! Keep your spirits up and happiness will be yours! Alas I cannot take you for I have a mission-"
"Thank you Guy! I appreciate your concerns about what Kakashi might do to my innocence, but trust me… there's not much that I haven't tried in the way of innocence lost." She laughed as Guy blushed and hurried off to the mission office.
Kakashi and Lexi stood watching him run away in silence.
"So…?" Mumbled Kakashi.
"So… the market?"
"Ah yes, this way."
Kakashi gestured towards the direction of the market and they made their way towards it conversation at nil.
Iruka watched them go on their way and gritted his teeth at the scene. Lexi and Kakashi? Together? Could it be possible? But he thought she liked him. She was entitled to go out with anyone she wanted to, and she hadn't exactly said that she did like him. He also hadn't asked her on a date, so how was she to know how he felt?
He was jealous… and had to stop Kakashi from stealing her away.
xXx
Kabuto was waiting in the mission office; he and his teammates were off to help some older people with rebuilding the old folk's home. Such a tedious task, he was worth so much more than that. But in order to go along with his master's plan, he would have to pretend a little while longer. Guy-sensei entered dynamically and sauntered up to the desk where Genma and Raido were working today.
He talked to them animatedly about the beautiful woman who had stolen his heart and whose heart was being stolen by Kakashi at this very moment.
Genma laughed at the lycra-clad fool and gave Guy his mission. The bushy-browed man promptly left and Kabuto wondered for a moment who the woman was, when he remembered that Lexi, another of Orochimaru's servants was in the process of infiltrating the village.
By the looks of things she was making good progress, already getting close to Konoha's strongest Jounin.
He would be sending his report to his master tonight; he would let him know of his other servant's achievements.
xXx
Kakashi smiled through his mask at the young woman walking next to him, she had already filled her basket with everything she could possibly need, and now she wanted to repay him for his kindness by taking him to lunch. He took her to the Korean Barbeque restaurant that was nearby and came across Inoichi, Ibiki and Anko at one of the tables.
He didn't want them to interfere with what he had going here, whatever that was, and tried to get Lexi to sit at a table nearer the back of the room before they were noticed.
Unfortunately, Anko was onto them almost immediately, pulling them both over to sit with her. Lexi found herself next to Ibiki and opposite Anko, she appeared a little nervous. And rightly so. She knew that Ibiki and Inoichi were the best interrogators Konoha had to offer, and she was having lunch with them.
They didn't seem to notice her discomfort though, and if they did, they put it down to her being the only civilian at the table. Anko stared at her, then leaned forward and put her elbow on the table, offering her hand to the woman.
Lexi raised her eyebrows and rose to the challenge, placing her elbow on the table and taking Anko's hand.
"On 3?" Queried the ninja.
Lexi simply smiled and took a firmer grip.
"3…
2…
1…
GO!"
The pair pushed against each other and the three men watched in amazement at the scene unfolding before them.
Anko was slowly winning, pushing Lexi's hand back; it was barely an inch from the table top when Lexi renewed her pressure. Anko's eyes widened at the sudden strength of the civilian girl.
She fought for dominance, the two going back and forth between the winning and loosing scales.
When the serving girl came over to ask what they wanted, Anko told her to come back later in a snarl. Lexi stopped her and ordered for everyone, she even smiled so sweetly like she wasn't exerting herself at all and that pissed off Anko even more.
It went on like this until the food arrived and Lexi grinned at the ninja before slamming Anko's hand onto the hard wood.
Anko sat back in shock. No one had ever beaten her at arm-wrestling.
They ate in silence for a few moments, and then Inoichi piped up about his daughter Ino.
The conversation seemed to flow easier after that and everyone was laughing and joking together. Once they had finished, Lexi went to pay for everyone and they shot her down. They refused to let her pay for anything, even her own portion. She blushed and left with Kakashi a few moments later, Anko then returned to a sulk and Inoichi and Ibiki just gave each other a 'look' whilst shrugging.
xXx
"Ow… that's sooooo sore…" Lexi moaned round the corner from the restaurant.
"Well taking on Anko in anything isn't the smartest thing to do, especially poker…"
"Perhaps you should have told me that sooner?"
"Perhaps." Kakashi laughed.
Then he held out his hand to see her arm. He examined it carefully, and judged that she would be fine.
"Just be careful next time then. Anko was pretty pissed at you; she might get a bit… awkward around you now, so watch out okay?"
"I can take care of myself Kakashi, I was taught self defence by my father, I'm not a ninja, but if I was I bet I'd be at Chunin level already!" she giggled.
Kakashi smiled back, unaware of the pair of eyes watching them from a distance.
Iruka's frown deepened. He couldn't hear what they were saying, but by the looks of things they were getting on well. They'd been shopping together, gone to lunch together, and now they were holding hands!
He would find out what was going on, Lexi shouldn't be exposed to that pervert. She was innocent and sweet, she liked cooking and looking after people, no way in hell was she interested in the contents of those perv-books like the Copy Nin!
(AN: Disclaimer - I do not own Naruto (there would be way more Yaoi in it if I did... lol) chapter 2 is nearly done woop!)