Disclaimer: Naruto isn't mine
To everyone who was actually reading this, I'm really sorry... I never wanted to abandon this story, but for the longest time, I just didn't know what to do with it. I had other things to write and take care of, so there was no motivation or time to update this one.
But, I've come to a compromise - I'm going to finish this story, but it will have a smaller scope than what I had originally envisioned (looking at ~200k -250k words right now). So, there you have it. Let's just hope I don't lose motivation to continue writing this again.
Onto this chapter...
This story is rated M for several reasons, so keep in mind that there may be some mature content, explicit descriptions, violence, and things of the like. All, hopefully, in good taste, but they are there.
Second, it has been a while since I last updated or read the previous two chapters, so if I have some inconsistencies, kindly point them out to me so I can fix them.
A final note: I will mention that the characters in this story will be slightly different than canon. I really don't like the way Kishimoto developed some of them, so I'm changing them a little. (In the cases of Konan and Nagato, he didn't really develop them at all so I have a lot of freedom there).
"Speech"
Thoughts
Kirigakure - Mist
A red haired man looked up at the falling rain and drew his cloak in about him. A simple, dark cloak, unadorned, and a straw hat to cover his face - in particular, his eyes. Of course, he had cast a simple genjutsu that would alter his appearance slightly, one that was practically unnoticeable if one was not looking specifically for it. Instead of his more signature red, his hair appeared to be black, and instead of purple ringed eyes, they merely were oddly colored irises. Nothing out of the ordinary.
The raining skies gave way to deepening mist, and he knew that he was nearing his destination. But as he continued walking, his stomach rumbled slightly and he knew that he should stop to maintain his strength - having freshly restored his body, it still required nourishment to completely heal.
He saw a nearby diner and went inside, ordered some tea, and sat down, looking down at his hands.
War was in the air.
The five great nations always seemed to be fighting. The smallest thing, the tiniest reason they could find was enough of an excuse to fight, and with Akatsuki facilitating that this time, it looked as if it were going to be worse than ever. No, he reminded himself. Akatsuki did not facilitate it. Madara did. That was what opened my eyes... he frowned, leaning back.
War. He knew, firsthand, what war was like. He, Konan, and Yahiko were among those who had borne the brunt of it, the worst of the atrocities that had afflicted Amegakure. There was no way he could ever forget what war was like. So was it truly right that he was here, in Kirigakure, chasing after Madara, when his country was on the verge of being torn in two? What he had left behind...
Everything he had left behind in Amegakure, his people, his country... Konan. All in danger, without him there to protect them. And suddenly, his brows furrowed, the faint lines of cold anger overtaking his face. The thought of Konan, his angel, the only friend had left... the thought of her getting hurt...
He was a relatively patient person, actually. Not deeply emotional like Konan was, not quick to temper, nor acting impulsively. Few things made him angry. But the thought of her getting hurt? It infuriated him to no end. Anyone, anything that would harm her, he would destroy. Obliterate utterly. There would be no mercy for those who made moves to harm her.
And then he relaxed slightly. Of course, she is not weak. I should not underestimate her either.
She was his guardian angel, as much as the angel of the whole of Amegakure. As much as she felt compelled to protect him, he felt compelled to protect her. By now, it had become something instinctive, risking his own life to protect her from danger, not because she was precious to him, even though she was, but just because. It was something that felt as natural as breathing - he no longer needed to even think about it. They, each other, were all that they had left. Two kindred spirits in the wretched, war torn world.
He looked up as someone sat next to him - a tall, blue haired man with an eyepatch over his right eye and a forehead protector with the Kirigakure symbol on it. He ordered some tea as well, then turned to look outside at the falling rain in silence.
Their drinks arrived shortly and they looked at each other, Nagato through the paper veil of his straw hat, and then turned back to their tea.
"Itadakimasu," the blue haired man said quietly, and took a sip of his tea. "What brings you to Kirigakure, traveler?"
Nagato was silent for a while, contemplating that question, and it was evident, for the other man did not press him for an answer.
"These are troubled times," he said finally.
"Agreed," came the quiet reply. "So it is refuge you seek."
Nagato did not reply to that one, merely sipping his tea quietly.
"Kirigakure is not involved in this one," the red haired man said suddenly. "At least not on the surface."
Now it was the other man's turn to be quiet.
"No, not on the surface, we aren't," he said darkly. "Some in the village would not have us stand idly by, however."
"What is to be Kirigakure's role in this war? Are you to be mere bystanders to this endless destruction?"
"Our reputation prevents us from being mediators of peace. Though, it gives us an advantage when other nations tear each other apart. We are weak enough as it is already, in comparison. From a moral standpoint, however..."
"... it is not right at all."
"Indeed. Morals, however, do not rule this shinobi world... If they did, we wouldn't have all these problems."
Yahiko would not be dead. Nagato continued sipping his tea quietly, mulling over everything he knew about Kirigakure. He knew, of course, that Madara had manipulated the previous Mizukage into instilling a reign of terror over the people, he also knew that Kisame had met the Uchiha while he was still in Kirigakure and had grown fiercely loyal to him - that was why it was no surprise that he had left when Madara and Akatsuki had had their breach. He also knew that the rest of the seven swordsmen of the mist came from there, obviously, although the recently deceased generation had not seemed to leave any extremely powerful heirs to their art. They also had a tradition of persecuting those with kekkei genkai during times of peace, but that tradition was dying with the new Mizukage, he heard.
But nothing he could remember was particularly useful to him. Nothing would tell him where to find Madara, and despite his ability to detect other sources of chakra, it was not perfect, not to the degree that the Byakugan could see chakra, at least. Certainly, the Rinnegan had that trait, but he simply hadn't trained it, or figured out how to use it properly. He would have to rely on his instincts and his own sense of Madara's corrupting influence.
"Corruption," he said softly. "Our world reeks of it."
"You certainly are right when you say that, friend."
"But what can we do about it?"
"We sit back and hope for the better... that is what I would tell an ordinary man. But you seem different. You are no ordinary shinobi, are you?"
"Perhaps I am. Perhaps I am not?"
The other man shrugged. "It matters. To one such as you, who seems to be different, I say this. We must be the catalysts of change. We must do something. But I know not what."
"If we knew, we would not be living in such times. When those we care for are in perpetual danger."
"True. I wish I could say that I have thought about it more, but I have not. Too caught up in this game we call life."
"I was the same way once... though I was more delusional than just caught up in the throes of life. I was lucky to have someone open my eyes for me."
"A good friend?"
Nagato smiled very faintly. "I don't know if I can just call her that. I owe my life to her. My... everything to her."
"A guardian angel."
"Indeed. A very accurate description."
The blue haired man smiled as well. "It is good that you have such friends. In this time, we rarely have people we can still trust, let alone put our whole faith into. Especially not women."
Nagato finished his tea and stood. "I will agree with you. But perhaps there is still hope."
"I dare not. It is like wishing for the impossible. But we fight nonetheless."
"You sound like my comrade. But I understand. I wish you the best of luck in your endeavors. Perhaps we shall meet again some day."
"Perhaps. Until then, farewell."
It was snowing heavily again when Konan woke up. She opened her eyes slightly, then closed them again, wanting nothing more than to go back to sleep. Darkness claimed her for a moment, enveloping her in its warm embrace, but then it was gone and her eyes opened once more. She gave off a soft sigh, slid out of her blankets, and stared at the dark sky. She felt a chill run down her back and gathered her robe around her, but then let it fall back, feeling the cold seep into her, numbing the pain in her body. Through the veils of snow, she could see the stars in the sky that formed a ripple pattern around a central cluster of them. Nagato...
But then she tore herself away with a shudder. She wasn't stupid. She knew exactly why he had left her, and it worried her that he was tracking Madara by himself. Strong as he was... Madara had all seven of their bijuu, and he was Madara for God's sake, and... honestly, she was furious with herself for being so useless to him, for being sick when she was most needed by everyone, for being stupid and showing pieces of her heart to a girl that she didn't even know, for still being hung up over Yahiko's death and not being able to move on.
She had tried to forget, as she always had. There was no use in dwelling on the past, there was no use trying to change something that had already happened, to try to fight the unchangeable, to... everything. Her mouth twitched slightly. She sat, facing her windows, arms locked around her shins, burying her head in her thighs. For a moment, she was tempted to throw herself out the window and let herself die, if not from the fall, then the freezing cold, the pristine snow of Amegakure, giving herself to the ice that had already take over her soul and would merely finish off her body... Konan sighed. She had to stop losing control of her emotions. What use was it thinking that way?
Pushing open the doors to her room, she went to her bathroom again for a nice long soak in hot water. Discarding the white robe, she stepped into a steaming pool of clear liquid and closed her eyes, feeling the tense muscles in her body relax. Now, if only I could get my mind to rest as well... But she could not. There was too much to think about. Too much to worry about, too many possibilities to contemplate. Too many courses of action to consider, too much to do, and not enough strength to do it. Here she was, laying uselessly about in the water, while war raged all about, ravaging her country. How could she possibly not think about that? No, there could be no mental rest at all.
Whatever, it's fine. She cleared her mind of all thoughts and felt only the comfort of the hot steam around her, the warm water, the pleasant fragrance of the bath crystals that she had put in, her own scent, which was weird, since she should have gotten used to it over the years already, but her body still seemed like something unfamiliar to her, something strange, foreign. Normally she didn't smell at all, neither good nor bad, just an invisible presence in motion, sound, often in sight, blended in with her paper techniques, and in smell, for she often just gave off a scent of fresh paper. Here, though, there was a different sensation that hit the nerves in her nose, a slight musk...
A slight tinge of red tinted her cheeks and she sunk into the water, submerged completely. Her sense of touch, the water flowing over her smooth skin, through her hair, causing the cerulean strands to float about as if they were tiny snakes, flowing over her sensitive areas elsewhere...
She emerged from the water and sat on the side of the basin, feet dipped in the water, legs spread. And then she blushed again, finding that position somewhat... unnatural. She pressed her thighs together, and out of pure instinct, made the mist around her denser. Not that there was anyone to see her, but...
She wasn't even sure why she did such things. Perhaps it was the fact that her emotions were often so unrestrained, out of her control, and the fact that she was so heavily influence by the sensations around her. Maybe it was because of that, that she was the one who was more easily aroused out of the pair, and also far more self conscious. And somewhat prudish.
Out of pure instinct, the mist grew yet denser around her... why was she so uncomfortable with her own body anyway? She knew she gave off the appearance of being placid, calm, or if not that, cold and unfeeling. A stoic facade that belied the chaotic feelings that tore through her body. No, not tranquil at all. She was always tense, and always nervous, everything what she didn't seem to be. Not that serene angel that she was supposed to be, but a chaotic, fallen one.
She ran her fingers through her tangled blue hair, now forming a curtain around her shoulders, slightly longer than it normally was since it was out of its messy bun. Sometimes she wore her hair free, but then she couldn't wear a flower with it, so more often than not she gathered it into a bun and was content with it like that.
She loved flowers. Wasn't that obvious? Anyone who knew her knew that she loved flowers, mostly for their intricate petal designs, the complex layers of leaves, tissues, stems, not so much for the vibrant colors that they had because she didn't really like bright colors. Her mouth curved downward.
She remembered when she had first met Yahiko. In the lands surrounding Amegakure, back then, some of them had not been ravaged by industry or war, and so there were still plains and flower fields in some places, although in her childhood they were already dwindling in number. But it had been one day when she had been wandering aimlessly, not knowing or caring where she had been going, that she had seen him walking toward her through the tall field of flowers.
It had been raining. It always was in Amegakure, but that day, she remembered, the rain had just been a light drizzle and she felt oddly complacent in it, calm enough to ignore the fact that she was cold, starving, homeless, friendless... she had been calm enough to repress all the pain and merely take in the tranquility of the the rain that belied the violent war around her.
He had approached her, and with a single glance, surmised what had happened. Maybe not the specifics, but he instantly knew that she was in the same situation that he was. Only, there was a dulled look to her eyes that spoke of barely repressed depression and of the purposelessness of her existence, and he had noticed that too.
Yahiko had always had a way with words, but the secret to his incredible empathy was his ability to communicate even without them. She remembered that distinctly. He had reached a hand out slowly, as to not startle her, and simply held it out to her, like some god, there to save her from the listlessness and torment wrought by war. A savior, to endow her life with meaning, but what had truly been incredible was the freedom of the gesture. An offering, to give her a choice, to follow him if she wished, or even to let him slip away if that was what she desired. Not forcing her to follow him, but merely an offer of friendship.
He had been willful, but not forceful, strong, but not oppressive. His strength, when she had touched him, did not overwhelm her, but merely lent quietly to her own, kindling that fire in her that was her own fire, not one that he had given to her. A wondrous ability. To give her her own will that was entirely independent of his own.
She had slipped her hand into his own and been surprised when he had held her, softly, but firmly, not like she was some porcelain doll that could be broken easily, but like she was another person, another equal, just as strong as he was. He was not underestimating her; he was treating her on even terms with himself. And she had loved that.
Wordlessly, she had followed him, and wordlessly, stopped when he did, to look at the sky, and the colored flowers waving in the wind around them. Dulled, greyed in the rain, but there had been one that stood out to his eyes and he had knelt and plucked it gently from the stem, holding it out to her.
A flower of the purest white, like ivory. And the first words he had said to her.
"For you."
She had loved flowers ever since then.
And abruptly, she knew that she was holding back tears, all sense of arousal forgotten in the throes of memory. Yahiko was gone. And there was nothing that could bring him back. Nothing that could bring back his soft touches and perceptive eyes.
The compassionate touch that she remembered, when she had first been wounded and he had put a hand on her. There had been a small sense of surprise - she had gasped, not used to being touched, the sensations that came with it. And when he had pressed into her tense body, soothing the strain away from her muscles, there had been an unfamiliar sense of relaxation that she had never felt before. That had soon changed to a heat, pulsing within her body, stimulated by the rhythm of his hands pushing at her... she remembered feeling her abdomen clench, not strained like it usually was, but in a way that almost felt good...
She had started sweating. She knew she was sweating now, in the humid air from the steam of the bath. Her hand moved over her own slick, smooth skin, to her neck, the neck... pale and vulnerable, where she could feel her lifeblood flowing through her body, heatedly, now that she was excited... down a bit, to her ribs, slightly protruding between her breasts and beneath them. and then up over her chest... she secretly wished they were bigger, though she didn't know why. It wasn't like anyone was going to see her or anything, and nobody really thought of her in that way... only Yahiko ever had. But sometimes Nagato was there to satisfy her urges.
She blushed.
Oddly, she was usually the submissive one once it started, though she tended to be the one to initiate such things. For some reason, he didn't seem to have needs like she did, though he respected hers and made allowances for her. Odd, since he was the male, but then he had grown so detached from his emotions over the years that she never was quite sure what he felt. But she knew he loved her, just as Yahiko had. Yes, she could imagine his hands gliding over her body, replacing her own, pressing and pitching at all of her secret areas that produced that still unfamiliar, but incredible sense of pleasure mixed with pain...
Over the buds on her chest, no longer soft, her breath grew slightly harsher as she felt the sensations run through her.
Down over her stomach - she used to have a piercing on her navel as well, but she got rid of that with the labret, once Pein had returned to being Nagato. Over her legs... sometimes they felt weak, like they wouldn't be able to carry her any longer. But then she was reminded of Yahiko, and Nagato, and she felt her strength return, and she could hold her self steady.
Then up again, brushing through the dark hair...
She also used to have a piercing there... some people might have thought her crazy for that, but it really didn't hurt that much. Though, she got rid of that one as well.
She felt like it was a bit lewd, doing what she did, and she clenched her legs together, revealing nothing of her parts except the fine, dark, tangled curls that extended to just below her waistline. It definitely was a bit odd. A supposedly perfect angel, pure, incorruptible. Who would have thought that she would be so perverted? But then she shrugged. She had needs. She didn't know if other women did such things but... well, what they didn't know wouldn't hurt them. And what did she care of their opinions anyway?
Her hand moved more furiously than before, and she felt the sensations build up within her. Sometimes it took a while, sometimes it didn't. It depended on how much she needed it. And with Nagato gone right now...
She felt like she was overly needy sometimes, but at least she could satisfy it herself.
She stifled one noise, but not the second, and soon her breathing came out in ragged gasps. How long it had been, she didn't know. One minute? Two? Probably less, but it certainly felt like it had been a while.
Her hand clenched up slightly from the furious movements and she paused for a moment, sighing lightly.
Damn it all.
Amegakure - Border
Three figures passed silently by patch of dead, grey trees toward a column of smoke in the distance. There were the sounds of fighting in the distance, far to the left, probably where the Konoha shinobi were meeting the Iwa shinobi in battle, and the trail of destruction left smoking across the land told them that they had fought all through this area, destroying everything in their paths.
They paused, and the silver haired man with a mask covering the lower half of his face put a hand to the ground, feeling faint tremors running through his arm.
"How do things look over there?"
A moment later, a bird seemingly made out of ink descended from the sky and a dark haired boy caught it on a scroll. "We're driving them back."
Kakashi nodded. "Then we're not needed. We should head over there and see if there are any survivors," he pointed to the large column of black dust rising into the air.
"Wait, but Kakashi-sensei-"
"What, Naruto?"
"We should be over there fighting with the rest of them! It's not fair! Lee's team gets to see all the action-"
"Naruto," Kakashi sighed. "This isn't a game."
"I know it isn't!"
"Then be quiet and listen."
"But-"
"Naruto," Kakashi said exasperatedly. "War is not just a battle. Protecting your country and its people are also important parts of it. Our job is to make sure this area is secure, and if Sai says that our friends can handle themselves, then we have to trust them."
Naruto scowled, folding his arms over his chest. "Fine. But what does this have to do with going over there?"
"You'll see when we get there."
There was a pile of mutilated, charred bodies outside of a burnt village. From the sizes of the limbs, it was clear that both women and children had been burned alike, and the random scorched articles laying around seemed to suggest that they were mostly just innocent villagers who had been caught in the fighting. Not shinobi, they had never stood a chance and now they were all dead.
Naruto's eyes widened and he stood there, staring at the grotesque sight, frozen wordlessly in place. Kakashi gave it a sad glance and even Sai's eyes glimmered slightly as they passed by, but they did not stop. Naruto turned, shock registered clearly on his face.
"How can you two be so calm about this?!"
Kakashi paused, turning slightly. "This is war, Naruto. Get used to it. It only gets worse."
"But-"
The silver haired man sighed, his voice taking on a hard edge. "Naruto. Grow up. You can't save everyone. As a shinobi, you have to get used to these things happening and help the people you can. That means, the ones still alive. Do you understand?"
Naruto stopped for a moment, then his eyes hardened as he realized what Kakashi meant. He nodded briskly and the three of them split, looking through the scorched buildings for any survivors.
They found many more bodies. What enraged him even more was the fact that many of the women were completely naked, and it was clear what had been done to them before they had died. And what was more disturbing was the fact that it might not have just been the Iwa shinobi that had done it. But he fought down an outburst of rage, remembering what Kakashi had said - this was war, and he was supposed to expect it.
Actually no, had it just been that, he would have still screamed with anger. But he remembered that these people were beyond his help, and that he should save his energy for the ones that might still be alive.
Still alive...
Suddenly he heard a faint cry from underneath a pile of rubble and rushed over, peering between a bunch of blackened beams of wood.
"H-help... me... please... help... me..."
"Hold on! I'll get you out of there in a second!" Naruto began pushing beams of wood aside, grunting as he strained his muscles, bearing the heavy weight of the charred lumber.
After another moment, there was a pair of hands beside his own, helping him, and he turned slightly, surprised to find that Sai was the one there, working just as determinedly as he was to remove the rubble. A minute or two later, it was gone and they found a little boy there, curled up in a small crevice, his face black with soot. Naruto stretched a hand out and felt the weak fingers interlock with his own. And pulling up, the little boy was free.
"It's okay, you're safe now," he said reassuringly, but then stopped as the kid suddenly began crying. "What's wrong?"
"M-mommy and d-daddy-"
Instantly, Naruto's eyes hardened and he looked down sadly at the ground. There was a hand on his shoulder and he looked up.
"I'll take it from here, Naruto. Keep looking for survivors."
Naruto nodded and ran off, leaving Kakashi alone with the child. The silver haired man knelt, looking the crying kid in the eyes.
"Do you have anywhere to go?" he asked quietly.
He shook his head, wiping his eyes. And then began coughing violently, nearly collapsing to the ground before Kakashi caught him. One grey eye narrowed as he saw blood on the kid's hand and as the child looked up at him, frightened, he sighed.
"You don't have any family? Or friends?"
"I'm... alone..."
He shook his head sadly. "I'm sorry. There's nothing left for you then. You'll just suffer if I leave you." He raised a hand, which began glowing slightly with chakra. "I'll try to make this as painless as possible."
The boy bowed his head, knowing, and accepting what was coming, but even still, Kakashi could not help but look away as he pressed his hand to the child's head.
There were no other survivors.
Sometimes, he had to wonder if it was merciful. Was it wrong to lay to rest a soul that no longer had any purpose or will to live?
Not everyone was strong. He felt inclined to remember those three orphans that Jiraiya had once told him about, those three who had struggled and struggled and struggled, even when they had lost everything except their lives. The spirit it took to continue fighting, or perhaps the stubbornness, it was a rare thing, and not everyone had that. Not everyone wanted to keep fighting. Sometimes, after suffering too much, many people just wanted to let go.
Was it wrong of him to deny that?
Sai might have understood, he knew, but Naruto definitely would not. That was why he hadn't told the young man, who was still naive and clung to his ideals passionately. But then again, he had not seen how atrocious war truly could be. This was just one, small village. He had not, and could not have realized that everyone was affected, and in this country especially, almost all of the villages suffered just like this one had.
Truly, it was not the dead who suffered, but the living, and his pity went out to those who still lived, who continued to struggle through the war torn world, hoping that their lives would somehow, in some way, get better. Maybe they would be granted some reprieve. But inevitably, that never happened. Not with the great nations fighting around them for their own selfish gains, ignoring the suffering of the little nations between them.
But then, he had little control over that. Kakashi turned away.
In the end, it had only been a small thing he could do. Only the smallest things he could ever do.
A pair of crimson eyes opened.
Their owner, a lithe, young man with dark, bluish hair, stood, looking apathetically out at the falling snow. He displayed nothing on his face, no emotion at all, save for a perpetual scowl that he seemed to always fall back to.
In the distance, there was the sound of fighting, and in the opposite direction, the sounds of screams. The smell of burning wood reached his nose and he grimaced slightly, drawing a katana from his waist.
A flash across the land, he moved north swiftly and soon came in sight of a large circle of houses, burning in the rain, many of them half sunk into what seemed to be pools of quicksand. His eyes narrowed.
Konoha saboteurs. They must've thought that Iwa had a base of operations in this village. But these are just innocent people.
Innocent... the word rang through his mind and his eyes narrowed, very slightly. Yes. Innocent. Innocent people that could easily be thrown into this hell of a world by forces outside of their control. He understood that too well. The helpless, who could not defend themselves, who could not protect what mattered to them. Who were not strong enough to stand up by themselves.
His eyes held no pity, but there was a cold, burning light in them, a barely restrained rage at those who had done this thing to those who were not even involved in this war...
Actually, if he wanted to admit it to himself, his rage was not restrained at all. He just happened to show it differently.
He saw a pair of Iwa shinobi enter a house and a moment later, there were screams from inside. He entered silently behind them, watching as the two men began to threaten the people inside, interrogating them by the looks of it. But as he approached, they looked up, sensing him behind them, and looked at him warily.
"Who are you?"
"Leave. Before I kill you."
One of them snorted. "I could say the same to you, kid-"
Suddenly, he gave off a choking nose as Sasuke drove his katana into his throat, and his partner gaped in surprised. In a single, swift movement, the blade turned and lopped the other man's head off. A moment later, both of them fell to the ground lifelessly, and Sasuke turned a cold glare onto the frightened family cowering in the corner.
Wordlessly, he sheathed his katana and left. But as he stepped outside, he found himself surrounded by maybe half a dozen shinobi, all staring at him threateningly.
"As I thought. It's Uchiha Sasuke."
The blue haired boy said nothing and unsheathed his katana, watching them carefully. And then his eyes widened as he felt the ground beneath him creeping up his legs, holding him in place.
The Iwa shinobi snickered and threw a hail of shuriken at him, watching as they rammed into his body, sending him down toward the ground...
"A substitution!"
Sasuke appeared behind one of them, felling him instantly, then disappeared again.
"He's fast! Be on guard- ack!" Another one down.
Their gazes turned up as Sasuke landed smoothly on top of a nearby house, eyes glimmering darkly. He sheathed his sword, and suddenly, the air began to grow dense with chakra.
Around him, several blasts of earth shattered the already burnt buildings, but he dodged easily and there was a flash of light through the air, tearing through earth, flesh, muscle, and bone alike, as two more of the Iwa shinobi were felled.
The remaining two stared at Sasuke, wide eyed, before turning and running, but he merely drew his katana and was in front of them in a heartbeat, looking at them coldly, mercilessly.
"No - please!"
Pathetic. A swift sweep severed both of them in two, and he let the rain wash the blood off of his blade before sheathing it again. After a moment, he knelt, rummaging through their pouches, looking for something.
He caught sight of an ID and glanced at it briefly. Just chunin. No wonder they were so weak. They were probably just raiding this village for supplies.
Sasuke stood again, looking back slightly, sensing many pairs of eyes staring at him from the doorways, many fearful, terrified eyes, though some of them seemed a little grateful... he turned.
He couldn't care less about the ones that remained, not after he had eliminated the scum. All that remained were the pathetic worms, who were too weak to lift themselves out of their misery with their own strength, and instead relied on others to protect them. He walked away.
Yes, he knew he hated the scum that could only prey on those weaker than them, but he did not care at all about those who would only wallow in their misery and wait for salvation. There was never any use in waiting. Everything in action, no matter what that action would be. Purging the filth from the world. Exacting his vengeance on the one who had torn his life apart.
Only after that action was done, only then, maybe he could sit back and observe for a bit.
From the ground, many walls of earth rose up, blocking a torrent of fire that scorched across the land, but the fire spread out as it hit the earthen walls, spreading out behind them and forcing the remaining Iwa shinobi back. The Konoha line advanced, breaking through the walls and pursued rapidly, spewing out fire everywhere, not realizing that they were near a civilian area and burning both enemy shinobi and innocent people alike.
No, they probably did not suspect that the shabby, nearly broken down houses near them were actually inhabited, or perhaps they just didn't care. Too intent on eliminating the threat right in front of them to notice that they were passing through several rows of shabby homes.
Fire spread again, scorching everything in its path, and several more Iwa shinobi fell. There were panicked cries from all about, and the sound of "retreat!" rang out from the fleeing ninja. But then there a figure in a green jumpsuit appeared behind them and with a ferocious kick, sent several of them flying back.
"Konoha dai-senpuu!" Gai kicked again, and as a few more of them rush past him, he held up his hand, signalling them to stop the pursuit.
"Gai-sensei!"
"Lee," the jonin turned, looking back at the village.
"Gai-sensei, shouldn't we-"
"No. We need to round up as many prisoners as we can and clean up the mess we made here," Gai looked at the flames on the roofs of the buildings, an unnaturally serious expression on his face.
"Hai-" Lee turned, but suddenly there was an explosion nearby and one of the huts was blown straight out of the ground, a mist of blood rising into the air.
Gai gritted his teeth and turned toward the sound, entering a fighting stance. A moment later, a hail of earthen missiles streamed out through the smoke, hammering into the buildings behind him with terrifying force. There were a few cries of pain - not everyone could dodge them, it seemed, but he could not afford to be worried about everyone else right now and instead focused on their foes.
He sped forward and sent a powerful kick toward one of the Iwa shinobi, but a cloud of dust rose around him and he was blinded momentarily. Out of instinct, he dodged a kunai, then several shuriken, retaliating with another blow, and this time he felt his leg make contact with something. But the dust around him grew denser and limited his senses even more.
"Gai-sensei!"
He heard Neji's voice from his right and jumped up, knowing what was coming. A second later, a powerful blast of chakra thundered past where he had just been, striking a man straight in the chest, sending him flying back, but as Neji gathered energy for another blast, an earthen shell surrounded him and trapped him. Lee rushed to break the shell, but then someone blocked his path, and they began to trade blows, fairly evenly - the other man seemed to be a taijutsu expert as well.
Another explosion rang in the northern edge of the village and a shower of earthen pellets rained down with tremendous speed, cutting through clothes and flesh like butter, and several shinobi fell to the ground, paralyzed with the pain of shredded muscles.
And a third explosion, and he knew that they were being surrounded.
Gai gritted his teeth, withdrawing from the dust and running back.
"Retreat!" He yelled out, waving for everyone to fall back. "Retreat!" he repeated.
A fourth explosion, this one above them from the rooftops, and shards of sharp rock pelted the ground, splattering blood everywhere as more and more people fell, both Iwa and Konoha shinobi alike. His brows furrowed. They don't seem to care who they're targeting! All they want to do is eliminate us, even at the cost of their own men!
"Fall back!" He shouted again, hoping that everyone could hear him, then retreated swiftly from the village, eyes darting around as several others joined him after a couple minutes.
Lee, Ten Ten, Neji, Azuma, Kaiba... he said their names in his head, counting those that remained, and closed his eyes. Only a third of us survived. We advanced too far.
"Gai-sensei."
"They brought reinforcements," he muttered. "We went out too far."
One final explosion tore the village apart, and the skies turned briefly red - crimson, bloody sanguine - for a moment, then all was still. Gai gritted his teeth.
"And we should not have fought in a neutral village. We dragged civilians into our fight-"
"It could not be helped," Neji replied, though there was a hint of gloom in his voice.
"Yeah, Gai-sensei, you only led us where you thought-"
He shook his head. "In war, it is not a matter of what you thought was right. Mistakes cannot be made more than once. There are too many lives at stake."
"Gai-sensei..."
"Lee," he turned slightly, then sighed. "We must be serious here. We cannot afford to make bad decisions."
"Hai."
In the rain, they retreated in silence, and as the forested border of Konoha drew near again, they paused and spread out, once again resuming their silent watch over the area, guarding the front against their enemies' onslaught, which no doubt was going to come soon.
Screams rose into the air in the distance, and another cloud of smoke filled the sky. Gai turned away. How many innocent people are going to be victims of this war? - but that thought was pushed from his mind quickly enough as dozens of shadowy figures darted into the ground, tunneling toward the forest border. And as they reached it, popped out of the ground, looking about warily for a moment before they were set upon by the Konoha shinobi.
And the fighting continued.
"No! What are you doing! Get away from me-"
"Now, miss, I'm just asking for a bit of food-"
"We have nothing!"
"Liar," a third voice growled, and there was the distinct sound of something breaking. "See? What's this?" there was the sound of a dull thud - he must've kicked something, and then a cry of pain. "Stupid bitch. Lying to me-"
"Oh please," the woman began crying. "Please, I need that to feed my kids- that's all we have..." her voice trailed off and she began crying harder as something else broke.
"Liar," he repeated. "I'll bet you have more than this."
Naruto rushed over toward the sound and burst into the house - if it could even be called a house - and everyone turned to look at him. His eyes hardened as he took in the sight.
A woman, in a corner, with three children cowering behind her, was slumped on the ground, and two shinobi stood above her. There were the shattered shards of a couple containers on the ground, and in another couple, he could see a bit of rice, some dried vegetables - no more. And then back to the shinobi and he was shocked when he saw that their headbands had the leaf symbol on them... Konoha shinobi!
He didn't recognize them. Granted, the village was large and there were also many people from other places in the land of fire allied with Konoha, and thus authorized to wear the Konoha symbol, but it still shocked him that people from his own village would try to harass innocent people like that.
His eyes narrowed. "What are you two doing?! Leave these people alone! They have nothing to do-"
"None of your business."
"It is my business," Naruto said darkly, advancing forward. "You're trying to hurt innocent people-"
"Stay out of it, demon brat," one of them growled, pushing him back, eyeing the containers filled with food.
Naruto shoved him back, baring his teeth. "Stay away from them. I won't ask again."
"Stay away, or what? You can't do anything-"
"I'll fucking beat you to a pulp-"
"Bring it, then." One of them turned and threw a punch, but missed, and earned a solid fist to his gut as Naruto retaliated.
His partner's face darkened and he grabbed a nearby pot, swinging it at Naruto, but missing as well, it hit the ground and shattered. Naruto dodged another blow, then countering, kneed the man in the stomach. He drew his own kunai as the other one pulled out a pair of knives, but then stopped.
"Enough, Naruto," a new voice sounded behind them and everyone turned.
"Kaka-sensei-"
The silver haired man held up his hand, then looked at the two shinobi. "Care to explain what you're doing?"
The two men looked at each other grimly, remaining silent for a moment. Kakashi raised an eyebrow.
"These people are hoarding food at refuse to share it-"
Kakashi turned to look at the woman and the little bit of rice and vegetables she had left in the couple small containers. "Doesn't look that way to me. Looks like they're trying to not starve to death."
"That's-"
"The truth, and you know it."
There was a tense silence for a moment. And then one of them looked at Kakashi angrily. "Yeah? And what are you gonna do about it?"
He folded his arms over his chest. "It's not a matter of what I'm going to do. But I could report this to Tsunade and I know that she doesn't tolerate these types of things."
"Danzo wouldn't just allow her to do whatever she wanted."
Kakashi's eyes flashed briefly. So they're on that side. No wonder. Danzo trains his shinobi to take what they need whenever they need it, if it's necessary to get the mission done. I suppose they're applying that rule here.
"Alright," he raised a hand, looking at them calmly as he began to gather chakra. A faint, chirping sound filled the room as the chakra began to crackle, turning into lightning, and the two other men paled a little. "We can fight if that's the way you want to do it."
They glanced at each other. Kakashi let the raikri grow, putting even more chakra into it, and then the shinobi both turned to leave, glaring at Kakashi. "Fine. We'll do things your way."
The silver haired man looked at them warily, making sure that they did what they said, then as they left, Kakashi let the chakra fade, and turned toward Naruto. He looked at the mix of anger and disappointment on his student's face and sighed. "Naruto..."
He looked at the ground. "I... I didn't think the people from our village would be like that. I know you said that the other villages do all these things, but I thought-"
"In war, no side is innocent. None of the great nations are, anyway..." he turned back toward the woman. "You need to learn this. Not everyone is like you."
"I know that, but..."
"So what did you expect? The shinobi villages, especially ours, is two faced. The people that work under Danzo-"
"But Sai isn't like that! He's-"
"Better. He's also not like most of the scum that Danzo recruits. Naruto, try to understand. There will always be people like that. All we can do is what we can to stop it," Kakashi walked over to the woman and knelt. "Are you okay? Do you need any help?"
The woman rubbed her eyes. "Please, please just leave... we don't want any more trouble... take whatever you want, just don't hurt my kids, please..."
Kakashi sighed, rubbing his head. "Lady, we're not here to hurt you. We want to help."
"We don't want your help!" she screamed, panicked. "You already took my husband from me! Please don't take my kids too-"
"We didn't do anything like that..." Naruto began to reply, but Kakashi glanced at him and he stopped.
"I'll have someone bring some food here. Is that okay?" And he got up, backing away, trying to seem as non threatening as possible. "We're leaving now. You don't need to worry about us. We're just trying to help you."
Abruptly, the woman began crying again. "We don't want your help... we're fine..."
"Um, sorry to say, but it doesn't look that way-"
"Usually an angel comes to protect us," one of the kids behind her piped up over his mother's crying. "The angel."
"Angel?"
He nodded. "The angel. She looks normal when you first see her, but then she can grow a pair of big wings and -" his eyes lit up a little, "it's pretty awesome. For a girl."
"And where is she?"
"Dunno, I haven't seen her in a while."
Kakashi nodded briefly. "Well, I'll have someone bring some food anyway." He turned. "Come on, Naruto. They don't want us here."
Naruto frowned. Kakashi gave him an exasperated look. "Naruto, they don't want our help. We've already been enough of a nuisance. Let's go."
The blonde sighed, and casting a glance back at the woman, followed his sensei out the door, back into the falling snow.
"Konan-san?"
The blue haired woman's eyes flashed momentarily at the honorific, but if it irritated her, she gave no indication of it.
"Sakura," she replied tonelessly, and continued staring out of the window.
The pink haired girl paused by the doorway, slightly put off by the woman's cold tone. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness in Konan's room, she began to make out the outlines of shapes - the furnishings, the paintings on the walls, the outline of the woman sitting on the ground, in the small pool of light streaming through the window...
She seemed so small, oddly enough; she was not very tall, and the way the white robe curved about her body accentuated the fact that she was quite slender, very thin, almost too thin to be a shinobi. The way her hair flowed about her shoulders, the odd posture, with her arms around her knees, bunched up to her chest, she almost looked like a girl, just a young girl. A girl, helpless and lost, utterly alone with the war raging about her.
Her greyed, misty pair of blue eyes stared out at the snow drifting listlessly down from the sky, each one a soul, floating around aimlessly, without purpose, tossed around by the wind, sometimes storming, sometimes just wandering. Floating, alone, wandering, carried on winds of war, some blackened with dark soot, pure white invariably greyed, or reddened by splashes of blood; invariably, the white was colored and the pristine clarity of the snowdrift was colored.
Shards of ice, like crystals, glistening in the sky, shattering as they hit the ground, souls destroyed, trampled over by the march of the shinobi above them, soldiers bred to destroy, to conquer in the name of their country. Delicate spirits, disintegrating, no more, but ever did the sky pour out more snow, and ever was there more to destroy. Ever more to protect.
She did not turn as Sakura approached behind her, though she glanced back very slightly as the girl reached a hand out to touch her shoulder. Sakura paused, sensing the other woman's body relax slightly as she withdrew her hand.
Sighing softly, Sakura sat beside Konan, looking from her impassive, smooth face, to the drifting snow, then back again... her eyes seemed so lifeless beneath the dark lashes, half lidded and dulled, so grey, so misted. Lost in memory, or maybe lost in thought. She was tempted to wave a hand in front of Konan's face, but she got the sense that the other woman was perfectly aware of her presence, but simply did not care. Definitely did not want to be bothered.
So cold, so stoic, but there was some sort of odd tension in her body that belied tranquility. Yes, she was never quite peaceful. There was nothing to be peaceful about.
Maybe, if there was no war, if the clouds of blood were erased from the blackened skies, if there was no longer any hatred, or stupidity, or sheer destruction, then maybe that tension in her body could be released. Maybe if Yahiko was still there...
But he was just another shard of ice in the end. Crushed, by that machine of war that plagues our world, destroyed, along with all his hopes and dreams. But never defeated. Never broken. Not like we were. We fell so low, so far from that dream. We were the instigators of pain. We sought vengeance for the wrongs that had been dealt to us. We were never able to rise above it, not like Yahiko was.
Fallen. Falling souls, like the snow drifting down from the sky. Stained by rains of blood, by the soot of war. We are not pure. We fell prey to the hatred that caused all this pain. We have to work to redeem ourselves. Nagato and I...
Is there any redemption?
On broken wings, we try to fly, but an angel without wings is no more than a mortal, bound by all the laws of our world. Hatred, anger, vengeance. On broken wings, we try to soar, but those days are lost in memory, when our hopes were still whole, and pure... nothing can be redeemed while we are still fallen. Broken, but we must fly again. Flying without the wings that we once had...
A flake of snow, a crystal of ice, soaring eternally above the winds of war, cast in shades of black and crimson, corrupted, it must fight to be washed clean again, with nothing but a shade of grey at its surface, a reminder that if it should fall again, there will be no other chance. Even now, there may not be a second chance.
This world is unforgiving. We may fight for what we believe, but who will believe in us, after what we have done? How can we fight for this war to end, when we have only proven to be the instigators of it?
There is a dream, but it is so far out of reach...
Abruptly, her eyes shifted.
"Do you... hate me?" she whispered.
It was silent for a while. Sakura blinked, then realized that the question was aimed at her. "Why do you ask-"
"Do you?"
Sakura frowned. "I - well, you never did anything personally to me."
"The Akatsuki," Konan said quietly. "Do you... hate us as an organization?"
The pink haired girl's brows furrowed. "You tried to take Naruto from m- us. You killed all the monks at the fire temple. You-"
"I already know what we did," the woman's voice was soft, too soft. "Do you hate us for it?"
Sakura's eyes hardened. "How could I not?" but then the look on her face softened a little as she saw Konan's eyes shimmer. "But you didn't do it. As far as I know, you haven't done anything personally-"
"But by reputation..."
The girl nodded. "I would hate you."
Konan closed her eyes. It was awkwardly silent again, and the only sound in the room was the hum of the wind blowing outside. Konan breathed out deeply, pursing her lips together.
"Thank you for being honest."
Sakura looked at her oddly. "What?"
"For admitting that you-"
"I said if I had never seen you before, I would probably hate you. But now that I've met you... I don't know. There's something different. It's obvious that you're not just a bloodthirsty meathead like some of the other ones-"
"Hidan, Kakuzu."
"Yeah. Them. And Sasori-"
Konan closed her eyes. "A byproduct of the endless wars of this world. The pain of losing loved ones, of being ridiculed for being born different... it can twist a person into something it would not have become."
"Yeah, but, but... Naruto wasn't like that!"
"I do not know the boy, so I cannot say anything to that," Konan replied. "But your generation has not seen war before."
"... that's true, I suppose."
"You are here with me by circumstance. No matter how it happened..." she took a deep breath. "You will get to see what the effects of your great nations' wars are on us little countries. The blatant disregard for those smaller than you-"
"I had nothing to do-"
Konan smiled faintly, cynically. "Not you personally. But as you might have hated me out of reputation, we little countries hate the people of the great nations out of reputation as well. Not individuals, who had nothing to do with the decisions, and usually not with the atrocities of war, but as a whole... we cannot help but hate. Our people, our lives, our friends... they all disappear under the endless greed of the great nations, who will fight for the smallest reasons."
"I, that's-"
"Nagato said that once," the blue haired woman murmured. "I don't know for sure... I don't think I know anything for sure... but don't you think that the blatant disregard for our lives seems a little... cruel?"
"I... maybe. But you guys did that too-"
"And so you would have retribution."
"I-"
"If, say, we had killed your friend, Naruto. You would undoubtedly want revenge."
"I-" Sakura looked at the ground. "Yes."
"And so you would have killed someone, the ones responsible maybe, perhaps me. And I am precious to the leader of our organization..." she closed her eyes, brows furrowing very slightly at that thought, but it was gone in a moment. "I am precious to him. And if you were to kill me, I have no doubt that he would seek to destroy you all."
"So... a cycle of hatred."
"Another thing Nagato said," Konan muttered to herself. "Yes." She turned fully, looking at Sakura straight in the eyes. "When does it end?"
"I... well, it never does, does it?"
"Only one someone can overcome that hatred and make amends." When we can look past the barriers of generalizing another country's people and seek to make friends instead of enemies, that was what Yahiko had said. I wonder if that's true...
She wasn't good with words the way Nagato and Yahiko were; that was why she usually was the one in the back, silent, understanding what they said, but never able to voice those thoughts herself. In truth, even in her own mind, she was never certain. How could anyone be sure what was really the problem, and how to really solve it?
Everything was chaos. A mass of ineffable emotions and circumstantial situations, and all she could do was try to mold to each one, trying to do what she could to make peace. Do whatever she could, whatever seemed right. Not fighting for what might have been justice, but doing what would not make a new enemy, start a new war.
To do what she could; she knew she would have been tempted to kill Sakura on sight had it been even just a year ago. Bringing an enemy into the Akatsuki base, where she could learn all of their secrets, attack them at any moment, it was just too dangerous. And as a Konoha shinobi especially, belonging to that class who had killed her parents, Nagato's parents, Yahiko's parents... ruined their lives...
But that would belie the goal of peace. Yahiko's goal of peace.
And then she bit her lip. "This is all probably meaningless to you right now. You couldn't possibly understand-"
"That's... not true-"
"It's fine," Konan said softly. "When I feel a little stronger, we can go out and you will see a little of what we have experienced. And then you may be able to understand."
"Um... okay. But why does that matter?"
The first step to working toward peace is understanding. Yahiko's words rang through her mind.
In truth, she wasn't sure about that either. She could only do what seemed right for the moment. And even if it was showing one tiny, maybe insignificant other soul a little of what they had experienced, it seemed right. Just making one other person understand. Just one person who could be sympathetic. One person to help them bridge the distance between their countries. Just one, but it was a start.
"Just because," she replied quietly, and bowed her head.