Kuroyami Chronicles

Kizuato

(Scar)

Chapter 1

Trouble

I dwell with a strangely aching heart
In that vanished abode there far apart
On that disused and forgotten road

Robert Frost "Ghost House."

XOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOXOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOX

Dark eyes full of wishful thinking watched the horizon as splashes of color streaked across the top of the trees to the west. Not his eyes, hers. He stepped from the shadows of the doorway, revealing his presence. For a moment there was silence as the twilight time stole upon the land. He waited patiently for the conversation that would inevitably follow. Finally, he heard the softly spoken words…

"Have you ever wanted something so bad that just the thought of not having it was unbearable?"

The girl turned, and for once she showed courage enough to meet his gaze. Since they had been in her village, living in her home, she had only talked to him in a hushed sort of tone, always averting her eyes to the ground, or raising them to the sky as if in awe of the blue expanse. Her sudden boldness almost surprised him, but he didn't show it.

Instead he answered. "Yes. There was something once."

"What was it?" She inquired, drawing her legs beneath her, switching her full attention on him.

He felt uncomfortable. He hated to talk about himself, about anything in his past. It was really nobody's business, but it would be rude to say something like that to this girl who had only showed him kindness and compassion. She had even dressed the wound that still ached across his arm. Still - -

"It wouldn't interest you." He answered, hoping that she would drop the subject and take his word for it.

"How do you know until you tell me?" Her lips curved up gently into a soft smile, her eyes even softer, hopeful.

"Trust me." He said. "Why don't you tell me what it is that you want?"

She looked down, the smile not quite disappearing, but not quite as strong as it was before. "It wouldn't interest you." She retorted.

"Touché." He sighed. "Its getting dark, and if we're just going to shoot each other down we might as well go inside to do it." He smiled a smile of his own. She nodded and he reached down a gloved hand to help her to her feet. As he pulled her up she fell against him, her palms spread over his chest to steady herself.

Her eyes darkened with nervousness, unsure about this closeness. She was young, some would have said too young to acknowledge a reason for this to be awkward, but he didn't. She was much more mature than her village considered her. Of course, that was because she hid her intelligence, her true nature, from them behind her smiles and childish antics.

He had seen through her right away.

Worst thing was, she had realized that.

"I'm sorry." She apologized.

"That's okay. Everybody falls sometimes."

"Well, then I guess I'm lucky to have someone like you to stop me from falling on my face." Her prize-winning smile was back again, but this time there was a touch of something else. It wasn't dangerous, but he didn't welcome it either.

Without another word she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his for just a moment. It was quick, nothing more than just a friendly gesture; however, it left him feeling even more uncomfortable. "Thanks." She added.

"For?"

A sudden, sharp pain shot through his stomach. Instinctively he shoved her away, lowering his eyes to the now bleeding injury in his abdomen. Tentatively his placed his hands against the wound, and when he pulled them away his fingers were covered in crimson. "Why?" Barely a whisper. He looked up. This time he repeated his question louder. "Why?"

Kakashi's eyes snapped open, his hands flying to his stomach to check for a stab-wound that wasn't there. His gaze swept around the room, nearly expecting to see a specter hovering there, but again there was nothing. With a deep sigh he sat up. He leaned his head against one hand and closed his eyes. Damned nightmare. He'd had the same dream for the past three nights. It had evolved and continued each night, but it was always the same theme. Betrayal.

"Master Kakashi?" A voice inquired from outside the door. It was Honsuzu, the owner of the establishment, and the latest client of Team 7. She was a very sweet woman. She worried a lot, especially about the four Ninjas that were supposed to be protecting her and her hotel from the Highwaymen who'd been periodically robbing the place and wreaking havoc across the surrounding countryside. "Are you all right?"

"Yes." He answered. It was a lie. He didn't know how he felt. Confused maybe.

The door opened and the woman stepped inside. "I hope I'm not intruding, but I was so concerned. It sounded like you were having a nightmare." She was wringing her hands in front of her.

"I was, but I'm fine now." He admitted. She knew something was wrong, he might as well fess up to the minimum. Lying about that would do nothing but insult her intelligence.

"Which kind was it, memories or imagination?"

"Memories mixed with madness. Someone I once knew." He answered quietly, directing his gaze out the window to the bright moon.

"Then I'll ask nothing more about it." Honsuzu said, respecting his privacy. "Unless of course you want to talk."

"There's no reason to impose on you."

"It's not imposing."

There was silence for a few minutes before he said, "I just don't understand. What causes one to dream of someone they haven't seen in years?"

"Maybe that person is thinking about you. My father always told me that when you dreamt about someone, or suddenly began thinking about that person for no reason, that they were thinking of you." The manager offered.

"That's impossible."

"Why?"

"Because this person is dead." He said flatly. He was quite certain in that statement.

"I'm sorry." Honsuzu replied, her hand fluttering to her mouth. She apparently felt like she had inadvertently struck a subject she shouldn't have.

"I'm not." And he said nothing more of the dream.

OOO

Elsewhere…

The past is like a ghost. It haunts our steps as we move through life, and like an angry wraith refuses to let go until it is faced and avenged. The past lives inside like a possessing spirit, sometimes enriching, sometimes poisoning our souls. No one knew this more than Kuroyami Shiori. Her past was a roadmap of scars and still-bleeding wounds; most created from her own mistakes and inexperience.

For a long time she had managed to ignore those failures, no matter how painful, and continue to walk on. Unfortunately the path in which she'd built herself had began to crumble, and although she wasn't ready to turn back and face her tormenting spirits she would have to. The mere thought of being face to face with her greatest mistake ever was enough to bring the old despair back to the surface.

"Sensei?"

Shiori closed the book she'd been staring at for the past hour and raised her violet eyes to the figure in the doorway. "Yes, Yukiku?" She inquired, the worry immediately melting from her face and replacing itself with her usual jovial façade.

Miyuki Yukiku was her first, and most surprising, student. At thirteen she was the oldest of Shiori's two charges; however, it was easy to forget her young age. Yukiku was very quiet, but could be very outgoing if you could pull it out of her. Mostly, she trained. "I'm worried about Kamui." She said.

Shiori had never wanted to be an instructor, in fact she'd wanted to move away from anything Shinobi related, but after meeting Yukiku she'd realized that even as she tried to run, she couldn't hide from all that she had once been or desired to be. Yet, the biggest factor in her aversion to teaching lay not in the teachings themselves but in the responsibility. It was that kind of responsibility that had led her to her momentous decision to turn back to her past.

"Me, too." Shiori replied softly. "Me, too."

"We're leaving here tomorrow, aren't we?" Yukiku inquired.

"Yes." Shiori answered.

"What if Kamui shows up looking for us and we've gone?" Yukiku asked uncertainly.

"He won't." Shiori said. She couldn't bring herself to tell Yukiku why she was sure of this fact.

For a moment Yukiku looked like she was going to question her teacher's words, but decided against it. "All right, then." She agreed. "We'll leave at dawn?"

"No, midnight."

"Midnight? Why so early?" Yukiku cried. "What aren't you telling me? What about Kamui?"

"Yukiku! I'm not keeping anything from you. Stop being ridiculous. Do I need a reason for the things I do?" Shiori asked. "Don't worry about it. As for Kamui, I'll leave a note with the proprietor of this place. That way if he comes here then he'll know where to go next. Happy?"

"Oh, yes, my heart swells with joy." Sarcasm was a living entity. "I'll get ready. You hungry?"

"Famished. I've got to do something first. I'll meet you downstairs in the dining room."

"Alright." She smiled and turned to leave. "But don't take too long or I'll eat your share, too, alright?"

"Oh, woe is me. You'd let me starve?" She blinked innocently at the younger girl then grinned.

Her own reply was an impish smirk. "Well, it's the least I can do for you, Sensei. After all you've done for me I at least owe you that much."

"How lucky I am then. Be on your way."

"Fine. Fine." She bowed to her sensei and long time friend. "But, seriously, don't take too long." She left the room quietly and headed downstairs.

Once her student was gone Shiori pulled her traveling bag to her side. After listening for one short moment to make sure she was really alone she dug through its contents and retrieved two items. The first was a clear crystal on a string, the second was a map. She spread the map out on the floor and concentrated as she held the crystal above it.

Soon the crystal seemed drawn to one point, landing on a dot in the upper corner. It was a city about fifty to sixty miles away. It was a long distance, but if her crystal was right about who was there, worth the journey... With a satisfied smile she packed up her things once again and departed.

OOO

A Couple Days Later…

"This is boring!"

The pristine silence of the morning was broken by the sharp and distinct sound of a whining boy. Uzumaki Naruto. Without a word Master Kakashi turned and directed his attention to the young man. Naruto's statement was true, however…

"Naruto." Kakashi barked. "Our task is not to state the obvious, but to protect this stretch of countryside from Erimori's marauders. Now, if you don't mind: do your job." The last three words were punctuated to emphasize the order. Not even waiting to see the boy-ninja's reaction, the older Shinobi quickened his pace and walked ahead.

"Sheesh!" Naruto said, "what's his problem?"

The three students fell back a little.

"He was up all night." Sakura replied, annoyed at Naruto's denseness. Obviously something was wrong, and that something was bothering their teacher. She just wished he'd tell them what it was. Dark circles had appeared under his eyes, and he had become so pale over the last week. It seemed something was draining the energy right out of him.

"Again!" Naruto groaned.

"That's what she said, stupid." Sasuke bit at him.

"Hey!" Naruto shouted, raising his fists at the thirteen year old, "I'm not stupid, you're the one-"

"ENOUGH!" Kakashi spun around, but at the same moment that word left his lips another sound zinged through the air. He turned his head to look at a tree on the side of the road. Stuck there in the bark was a bolt from a crossbow, and hanging from it was the sign of Erimori, gangster, white-collar thief, and winner of more bastard of the year awards than anyone could count. His gangs of hoodlums were just as bad, and even more ruthless.

"Watch out!"

The four Shinobi immediately took a defensive position, forming a semi-circular pattern. Their eyes roamed the surrounding area, but it was almost pointless. The archer who left the bolt quivering in the tree's trunk rose up in the skyline, making himself easily visible.

"Careful," warned Kakashi. His students all nodded slightly, keeping their movements to a minimal. "This is most likely a trap, so stay on guard." Again the three nodded.

As the marksman made his way down the hill, a small commotion, barely visible, occurred in the forest around them. Indeed, it was a trap. Five grinning bandits, most of them missing teeth and sporting their fair share of scars, emerged from the woods. Weapons were in plain sight; swords, chains, and shurikens. And all of the Shinobi kept the archer in mind. He would need to be taken care of first.

"Leave the farthest to me," came Kakashi's soft command. "The rest of you know what to do. Try to leave one of them alive. Maybe we can get some information out of him."

"Right!" Naruto broke into a wicked grin as he prepared to create doppelgangers of himself. "Piece of cake."

In a flurry of movement Kakashi was gone, vanishing in a cloud of dust. Angered the bandits rushed the children. Their last mistake. Sasuke withdrew a shuriken from his pouch and successfully knocked off the first bandit, the point burying itself deep into the highwayman's throat. Naruto, successfully creating three copies of himself, moved in on the farthest bandit in the rear. As one copy tripped the bandit the other two moved in with powerful kicks that crushed the man's head. Sakura had already moved inside the guard of one man, gutting him cleanly with a single strike.

Kakashi watched as the three worked together to bring down one of the last two bandits and had to smile. They were learning what teamwork truly was. As they approached the final bandit, the man now showing signs of fear, an arrow embedded itself into the man's forehead, neatly ending the man's life. Expecting a second wave of bandits, Kakashi made his way back to his students with all due haste.

OOO

Kuroyami Shiori couldn't help herself as she instinctively raised her bow and fitted it with an arrow from the quiver on her back. Without hesitation she drew back the string then let it fly, hitting the last guy straight in the head. He went down like a rock.

"Are you sure that was a good idea?" asked Yukiku.

Shiori lowered her bow and sighed with a slight shake of her head. "I don't know, but at least it's taken care of. Come." Clicking to her horse the two of them started down the knoll to meet with the four Shinobi who watched them curiously. She could feel the nervousness welling up inside of her. So many years had past, and now only a few yards separated her from her past.

OOO

Kakashi raised his gaze to the top of the nearby hill just in time to see two darkly-clad figures on horseback start their way down. He frowned as he saw that one of them carried a bow, the same bow that launched the arrow that had killed the bandit now at his feet. Damn. Now they were never going to get any information.

"Who are they?" Sakura asked, biting her lip worriedly.

"Do you think its more of Erimori's goons?" Naruto wondered, the excitement still present in his voice from the adrenaline that was coursing through him from the fight.

"No." Kakashi said, never taking his eyes off the two figures. "Stay here." He stepped toward them as they halted just feet away. They were both wearing cloaks with hoods and masks across the face, indicating that they, too, were some kind of Ninja. He got the distinct impression that, unlike Kakashi and team 7, these two were not quite accepted.

The first was small, an apprentice, perhaps. The second, if she - - for this person looked too slender to be a he - - had been standing on the ground would have probably been a half foot shorter than Kakashi. "Who are you? What is the meaning of this?" He demanded.

"Is that anyway to greet an old acquaintance?"

That voice…

He knew that voice from somewhere. It tickled at the back of his mind, made him feel extremely uncomfortable and uncertain. He knew exactly who this was, but how? It wasn't possible, it couldn't… Ridiculous. Yet, as the taller figure revealed herself, pushing the hood from her head and yanking the mask from her face, he was struck with the impossible.

"You!"

This is a story I've posted before, but didn't like. I took it down, but I'm putting it back up now. It was originally a story that I was writing with a friend of mine whose screen-name on here is Damitra. But she's forgotten about it and so I shall continue without her. I have another chapter complete, but I'll wait to see how Chapter 1 is taken before posting chapter 2.

-Kazekage

P.S. And for those of you who are reading my Sphinx story, no worries, I will be writing another chapter, soon, but I've got two papers in my classes due so it won't be for a little while. Have patience. Thank you for the support.