Author's Notes
Sorry it's been so long! New job, new city, had to move, then move again (yes, twice) etc – aka life in general. But I haven't given up on the story!
Chapter 3
Ino was having the worst day of her life. Just because she had difficulty a tiny bit of difficulty in some small kunoichi tasks, her father was considering waiting a whole year to enroll her in the Academy. Didn't he understand that this was her chance to be with Sasuke? She shook her seven-year-old head furiously. Parents.
So what if she couldn't hold a kunai? Or really mould chakra... or arrange flowers properly... she sulked. Or really even remember the rankings of shinobi. Gah, who was she kidding? She deserved it. She shouldn't have goofed off so much.
She shook her head. Opening her window, she stared at the beautiful full moon outside. It illuminated the starry sky so wonderfully. Sighing, she wished she were a bird so she could simply escape. By the time morning came, her father would have decided.
And there was nothing she could do.
Turning back to her bed, she wondered if she should just fall asleep. What was the point, anyway? Well, might as well close the window. But when she approached the window, there was a note pinned to the wall by a sharpened senbon.
Very ninja-like, Ino thought to herself. Gently pulling it off, she read it calmly.
'Ino-chan. How have you been? I hope you haven't forgotten me. Here's a trick for holding kunai. - Kitsune' On the bottom there was a small drawing of a kunai with a stick figure hand. It bulged out oddly for the fingers to illustrate better.
The handwriting seemed... almost like her own. Childish. Kiddy. And then Ino gasped as the memories came back. Kitsune-kun! Kitsune-kun, the mysterious ANBU Root recruit who her own father conceded must have been very skilled. Kitsune-kun, the one who had saved her back then. Ino smiled. All of a sudden, it didn't matter too much whether or not she was with Sasuke, or whether she went to the academy in such a hurry.
Perhaps it would all turn out okay. She closed her eyes and lay on her bed, still smiling as she fell into a wonderful sleep.
…
Okay, so the note wasn't the best. But Naruto didn't really know how to address her. Honestly, he didn't even know if she would remember him. From her reaction, he surmised she did. Definitely. And then there was this weird feeling he kept having around her. His stomach was on edge. Paying attention to every move she did.
She certainly was pretty.
He shook it off. He was ROOT. He didn't have time for this. And frankly, it didn't matter. If the girl was in mortal peril, he'd need to focus. Scouting her daily schedule yesterday didn't reveal too many recurring patterns. Frankly, she did whatever she wanted to. He frowned. Did normal people all live in such a... disorganized manner?
If she had a desire, she promptly asked her mother, who, in turn, would either respond to a yes or no at random. He shook his head. The decisions made next to no sense. The mother said she couldn't go with her father to work because it may be dangerous, and yet she allowed her daughter to go unaccompanied to a pink-haired girl's house. He frowned.
Why would she be less safe surrounding her own father than with a group of civilians? Especially if someone were after her...
"Normal" people confused Naruto to no end. Regardless, he had a mission to do. He turned his attention to the intel he had on the girl. She was about to join the Ninja Academy. If she joined, her routine would become far more regulated. There was a strong possibility of being successful in protecting her whilst going unnoticed. He'd have to pray that her father decided to let her enroll.
He sighed. This mission was far more trouble than it was worth. He was getting behind on his training regimen. No, he couldn't afford to think like that. After all, this was the culmination of everything he was being trained for. His first mission. He couldn't afford to fail.
…
"Well, what did you discover after a day of reconnaissance?"
"She has absolutely no pattern in her daily routine. It will be difficult to guard her. Each day is entirely random. She is currently sleeping – her father and mother, both adept ninja, are there with her. I doubt Iwa will attack now. Most likely when she is alone."
"A good analysis. But you are ignoring one possibility." Danzou replied.
Kitsune paused in thought. "She is already being attacked, then? Some sort of untraceable, slow poison?" There was a slight tension in his voice as he suggested this. If this were happening, he'd have to hurry. There wasn't enough time.
Danzou smirked. He was glad Naruto came to this conclusion all on his own. Certainly, he was flat out wrong this time. But that was because he was supposed to be. A good Ne agent always has a good sense a paranoia to sense things out of the ordinary, and the first thing for Naruto would be to make paranoid at all times. Always on the lookout.
"We have new intelligence."
The aquamarine orbs behind the mask were as wide as possible now. "You've located the shinobi..." he whispered.
The boy's instincts were good. Danzou turned over three pages. "Their profiles in the Bingo Book."
Missing nins? Low level, no doubt. But missing nonetheless. Kitsune didn't bother grabbing the pages on the table. It didn't matter who they were. It didn't matter what techniques they were using. He would burn them alive. This emotion... the anger he was feeling. He was seething.
Interesting. Danzou wasn't going to stop Naruto. Not this time. If this is what it took for the Rinnegan to manifest itself, then so be it. "You'll find them at the edge of the Great Falls."
That was all it took before a golden flash disappeared.
"Take the prisoners there before Kitsune arrives." Danzou whispered with a dangerous silence.
…
Uchiha Itachi was faced with a decision that very few in history have ever faced. Oddly enough, it wasn't difficult for him to choose. He had never been particularly attached to many of the people in his life. Nevertheless, one had to pause before taking choices of such magnitude.
Discarding everything. Slipping away. Perhaps it was a process that had already begun. Sighing, he asked one more time in an exasperated voice. "There is absolutely no other way?"
Sarutobi shook his head with a great solemnness. "I am so very, very sorry, Itachi-kun."
"Very well." The ANBU captain in him came out now. "I will contact the rumored Rinnegan user as well. It will be good to start a long term relation..."
The Sandaime nodded. "As for Danzou, how are his plans coming along?"
"He has young Uzumaki-sama under his spell for now. It will take some time to break it. He has a strange friendship kindling for the Yamanaka heiress. Give me ten months and I can place him in your custody."
"Quite an ambitious plan, considering the timetable we have for your clan as well as the Akatsuki predicament."
Itachi shook his head. "My duty is to the village. If I could do more, I would. Fortunately, the two missions overlap quite a bit. I believe my leaving will help him understand."
Sarutobi nodded. "I trust your judgement. Should you fail, we may have to crack a harder whip."
The Uchiha's raven locks shook. "That would be an ugly option indeed."
Yes, memory seals were never pretty. They often had damaging effects on cognition, sometimes altered personalities, and even inhibited certain emotions. If Naruto had gotten particularly attached to Danzou, it would be difficult to get him out of the man's grasp. No doubt they'd have to send a squad of ANBU. Sighing, the old Hokage decided it would be best to pray Itachi succeeded.
…
The man had forgotten his name long ago. He was simply known by Danzou-sama as number 567. He'd been trained with all the Ne principles. And for the first time, he'd be putting them to use. He winced as his blindfolds were taken off for the first time in months. He was outside. Looking around, he saw three of his compatriots. Numbers 392, 480 and 113.
The mission description was simple. Kill an inside traitor by the name of Kitsune. He would be wearing a fox mask. They had good intel indicating he was likely to camp out in the waterfalls. Nodding to his teammates, they all took covers in separate bushes. All except for him. He stayed out in the open to lure him.
The most important thing was gauging Kitsune's abilities. Precious little was known about Kitsune; Danzou himself had told 567 that the man was a missing ninja from Kiri. Elemental affinity, unknown. Strengths, unknown. Any information they could get on him would be valuable. And if he had to die for Kitsune to reveal his jutsus, so be it.
113 was camouflaged in a bush. He and his compatriots had made sure to keep their chakra levels suppressed to prevent detection. Still, they couldn't detect anything. He looked up at the sun. Nearly noon. Intelligence had said the missing ninja would be here any moment.
567 turned to face the bush 113 was hidden in, smiling as if to say Kitsune would be too scared to show his face. Suddenly, a hand emerged from his chest and, smile still etched on his face, 567's body fell face first into the mud revealing the murderer standing behind him.
Kitsune held the heart in his hand for a moment before crushing it. The dead organ landed next to 567's body with a fatal thud. The missing ninja turned to examine his blood stained hand for a moment.
113's body froze. That speed was unheard of. There was no warning, no chakra buildup. No tell at all. It was almost like the Yondaime himself was here.
...
Slow, calm breaths, relishing the air that flowed through his lungs. Any remorse Naruto initially felt was gone along with the hesitation. This was personal, and he was enjoying it. The fear in the man's eyes, his muffled screams. The second one was sloppy. He just grazed the carotid artery, and the neck began to spurt blood like a fountain, covering him in a sea of red. The white mask was no doubt drenched in blood along with his clothes. He looked around. Intelligence had said there were only four, but he sensed a fifth one.
This one was better. A lot better. The others had been Chuunin, some upper level Chuunin. Naruto was almost excited. He would be the one with the information. He'd have to secure this one alive if there was ever hope of ensuring Ino's safety. His eyes narrowed. A challenge, then. Calming himself, he closed his eyes and took deep, slow breaths. There.
Naruto rushed after the shinobi, but the presence didn't retreat. Close and closer Naruto pushed forward, but the chakra signature stayed its ground. Finally, Naruto landed right in front and feinted an uppercut – stopping when his fist was mere hairs from the enemy's face. The figure hadn't moved an inch.
Out of sheer curiosity, Naruto backed away to get a better look at this fifth individual. He wore an ANBU mask, but Naruto instinctively knew he was not Ne. No, this was one of the Hokage's ANBU officers. He stood his ground almost lazily, yet staring intensely at Naruto. Somehow, Naruto knew there was more to behind those blazing red eyes than just the paralyzing killer intent he was experiencing.
Uchiha...
He had, of course, heard of the famous Sharingan and the dangers it could pose on the battlefield. Ne was mostly focused as a defense based organization to protect the villagers from anything Danzou-sama thought was a threat, and so they had yet to discuss internal Konoha secrets. But Naruto had been itching for a real challenge, so he'd spent many hours trying to develop his own strategies. It was obvious, really. If ninjutsu could be copied and genjutsu could be broken, he had only one thing left to rely on. Fuuinjutsu.
But the ANBU evidently had other plans. Strangely enough, the man darted away, hopping from tree to tree. After several minutes Naruto realized the pace wasn't nearly fast enough to be an escape. He's leading me somewhere. They stopped at a small clearing and Naruto's stomach sank. It couldn't be.
Ino was tied against a tree, unconscious. Itachi pulled out a dagger.
Naruto bolted into action. He knew, instinctively what had to be done. Hundreds of hours of practice flew out of his mind and where Ne's creed once existed as a solid testament, stood nothing; none of that mattered. A single, focused objective existed in his being: protect Ino.
His heart commanded, and his body followed. The ANBU's body was suddenly pushed away by a mysterious force, and Naruto seamlessly placed himself in front of Ino. The mysterious shinobi launched one of the largest Katon-fireballs Naruto had ever seen, but his body knew what to do. In a miraculous move, he simply placed his hand out and dissapated the chakra. And in that moment, he could see the truth behind everything.
Looking at the nunekin, he saw not a body but a glowing mass of chakra. A deep breath later, Naruto's hand was gripping the top of the shinobi's head. Closing his eyes, he pulled at the mass of chakra he felt beneath the skull, ripping it from the coils. And in that instant, he was immersed in foreign, alien thoughts.
Save Uzumaki-sama, he heard echo throughout his brain. Teach him... The echo was louder, almost deafeningly so. Unsure of what trap this was, he pulled out the chakra completely, knowing it would kill the man instantly.
But in that moment the world faded away. Ino, along with the clearing and the strange shinobi disappeared, and a familiar feeling of wooziness returned to Naruto. Genjutsu. Ino was never in any harm. Naruto had never stood a chance against this ANBU. He was caught in the illusion from the moment he made eye contact. It was unlike any illusion he had experienced before; no tell-tale signs, no chakra signature changes. A perfect replication of reality. Looking around, he found himself sitting on the forest floor in an almost meditative posture.
"Think on what you have learned, Naruto-kun."
The words were spoken without malice or arrogance, as if an old, trusted friend were advising him. The man knew his former name, and he was very, very good. Immediately afterwards, the man disappeared.
Realizing that he had been holding his breath, Naruto exhaled, suddenly feeling exhausted. He didn't bother to follow the ANBU.
…
Naruto ignored the knocks on the door. By now there was no doubt his parents would have heard that he stormed into his room without even bothering to report to Danzou. Danzou, mysteriously enough, hadn't even bothered to get the mission status. It was obvious the entire thing had been a setup. Using Naruto's... fondness for Ino, Danzou had staged the entire thing. Which meant he had killed those people for no reason.
Naruto had been locked in his room for nearly a week now, and for good reason. His world was crumbling beneath him. Ne had always been the bedrock of his life. He never had a reason to question Danzou or even disagree with the man, with everything he'd done for Kitsune. Killing off Uzumaki Naruto was the best thing that ever happened to him.
There was another set of knocks on the door – this one markedly louder and more frustrated than the preceding ones, but Naruto shrugged them off, too.
But now, at nearly eight years of age, those words the old man had spoken about sacrifice and doing what was necessary were beginning to crystalize. Fuzzy concepts were beginning to materialize into an overarching, harsh reality: Naruto was still very much alive. As much as he'd pretend otherwise, shreds of the old self were still clinging inside of him. The truth was he'd had one foot out the door the entire time at Ne. Always smirking at the lessons, always secretly holding onto his feelings. Naruto was certain Danzou was aware of this, but for whatever reason, the man was more lenient on Naruto than most initiates. In actuality, Uzumaki Naruto wasn't dead. Just buried.
And for that, if this had been a real mission, Ino Yamanaka would have paid the price. He knew intelligence was often faulty. How could he have missed the obvious signs? After tailing the girl for nearly a week, there were zero signs of any real danger. Danzou had, in a simple way, illustrated how blind he was when it came to the girl. He wasn't thorough like he normally was. And it struck Naruto to the core.
He wanted to be angry with Danzou – the man had lied, after all. Danzou played dirty. It may all be in his best intentions, and it may even sometimes be for the best, but he did whatever it took to get his way. And then there was the guilt. Naruto was an open, easily manipulatable book. And his connection with Ino would do nothing but put her in further jeopardy. Perhaps Sai was right after all. It was time he embraced the real Ne. No more emotions, no more connections. Only the task at hand. After all, if after everything Danzou-sama had done for him, he still wasn't happy – well, then that was his problem and not Danzou's.
Cursing himself, he remembered the horrible life he'd had outside of Ne. That was about to change. It was time to end it all. No more reservations. Ne gave him a family, a fresh start filled with love. It had given him shelter and food and clean clothes. Ne had given him strength and knowledge. Ne had given him a community. And all it asked in return was the last shreds that held Uzumaki Naruto.
Was that really such a steep price?
He paused momentarily to consider the mysterious ANBU – the ANBU who, despite what Danzou had said, knew his birth name. Recalling the man's words, he asked himself the same question. What had he learned from the fight? That his ties with the people he loved had made him weak. Naruto's resolve strengthened. It was time to cut them.
He heard the door opening. He turned to face who he knew to be an exasperated Ishida, but he was instead met with Danzou's stern visage.
"Danzou-sama," he bowed. "I am ready," Naruto offered without explanation.
From the ghost of a smile that haunted Danzou's lips, Naruto knew the commander understood.
"Then do what must be done."
…
The Academy was all that Ino could have hoped for and more. The embraced every lesson, eagerly ingesting the new information. Her dream to become a kunoichi had finally begun, and she'd be darned if she wasn't going to put all of herself into it.
Ino eagerly waited at the edge of the Academy playground. The sensei had been very impressed by her kunai skills, but she had been too flustered and selfish to admit who she really learned it from. A part of her didn't want to talk about Kitsune at all; she wanted to keep him to herself. The thought that he might be helping others in the same way terrified her, and she preferred to stick with her fantasy.
She heard the whistle that signaled that break was over, but she hid behind a tree instead, opting to not resume class. Today was special. Today was the day her Kitsune was coming to meet her once more. She'd been eager in anticipation for this day. Her father had told her that many early ANBU initiates take a vow of silence to protect the village, and instead they use sign language to communicate. Giddy with eagerness, she had been practicing sign and knew few enough words to make shoddy sentences.
Without warning, Kitsune arrived. The blonde hair behind the mask was unmistakable.
Shyly, she approached him. Hello Kitsune-kun.
Kitsune took a step back. Perhaps he was surprised that Ino had begun to learn sign.
Hello, Yamanaka-san.
She frowned. Something was wrong. I've been waiting for you.
We can no longer be friends. Good bye.
"W-Wait! Please!" She spoke in hushed urgency. Tears were falling. Why was he doing this? "I've been waiting for you for so long. Ever since that day, I haven't forgotten."
The sign was too complicated to read this time, but Ino distinctly caught the words 'fat' and 'pig' – words that she'd only looked up because a pink-haired girl at the Academy had made fun of her the day before. Words that she had intended on confiding in her closest, secret friend. Words that her secret friend had used against her.
In a fit of tears, a young Ino collapsed on the ground. She didn't notice the tear behind Kitsune's mask.
It would be the last time she would see the boy for nearly four years.
So I know that chapter was shorter than usual, but it was mainly my way of saying I haven't given up this story! Life has just been... life. :) I am doing my best, but it's hard to keep up sometimes. I'll try and update more frequently now though! Sorry for the long wait :( And what better way to express my sorrow than to end on a tragic chapter? :P
See you soon,
Haitorei ~
