Thoughts or flashbacks

Chapter 5

I continued to face the memorial stone, absentmindedly tracing the engravings of the names of friends that I had lost. The footsteps became louder and closer, eventually stopping about ten feet from me. I slowly turned towards the unknown person until I saw who it was.

I turned to see Kotetsu. He grinned sheepishly at me as though he did not know what to say. I, as it seemed I was going to be for awhile, was the first to talk. "Hey, Kotetsu... kun."

He continued to look at me as though seeing a ghost. He finally seemed to register that I had spoken, and responded nervously, "Hey, Kai-chan… How are you?"

I smiled at him. "I am good. I am… starting to… um… start training again."

He nodded. "That's good… Well I need to get back to work before Izumo comes looking for me." He started to walk away until suddenly he seemed to remember something. He turned and said to me, more confidently, "You should come visit me at the Main Gate. That is if 'They' will let you."

I smiled at him and replied laughing at him, "I will. I don't think 'They' would really care as long as I stay in the village."

He walked away and left me with a silly smile on my face. I turned back to the stone and found Hana's name. She was the medic of our squad and was killed while trying to heal one of our comrades on the field; her death coupled with Itachi's defection left me the last member of our team left. As soon as I spotted her name, I started to talk to her.

"Hey, Hana, its funny how encounters like that can make things seem normal; it just makes me miss him so much more though. I want to forget everything that happened and be normal. I can almost feel you smacking me on the head for not running after him; and yes I know he's still crazy for me. I know that you and sensei, who probably thinks I'm a complete fool, are watching all this. I miss you guys." I then heard Kakashi's subordinates coming. "Well I need to go. Talk the gods into being nice to me today. I love you Hana, take care of everything up there and I will try my best done here."

With that I left, feeling a sense of happiness in return of this strange routine. I turned, sighing that I was out of cigarettes, as the kids came closer and I saw that the Kyuubi-child and the Uchiha were arguing while the girl tried to defend the Uchiha brat. They came up and they seemed to jump out of their skin when they saw that I was here; most likely accustomed to Kakashi's unpunctuality. I waved and smiled at them, forgetting that I was in my 'Battle-Gear'.

The demon vessel, Naruto, was the first to speak; obnoxiously asking, "Kai-sempai, what's with your clothes?"

The petal-haired girl, Sakura, smacked him on the head before I could answer; saying, "Idiot, why would you ask that?"

Naruto replied, defensively, that he was just wondering and Sakura simmered down; all the while that this was happening, the Uchiha, Sasuke, just glared at me.

I stood awkwardly for a moment trying to figure out what to say. Finally I decided to let them know what we were doing today. "Well; Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke; today we will be sparring." The group's reactions were funny; Naruto cheered and automatically challenged Sasuke, who just grunted, and Sakura groaned in frustration. I then added, to break up the confusion, "Sorry Naruto, but I already have everything planned. You all will fight against me to see who can last the longest. The rules are no jutsu; excluding shadow clones and substitutions; weapons are allowed, and the rounds will be five minutes."

As I finished and told them to prepare, I took out the clock from yesterday and started to set the times. After about fifteen minutes I untied the sword sheaths from my back. I laid them down by the memorial stone and started to walk over to the stretching Genin. "All right, Sasuke you're up first."

The Uchiha stood up. His Sharingan was activated and I tried to avoid looking straight into them. We walked to the clearing and took up my low fighting stance; ready to pounce. I motioned for him to strike first. He moved quickly and I had to move quickly to block his punch/kick combo. Gripping his leg and arm I span around and sending him flying towards a nearby tree. He hit the tree with a thud and disappeared in a puff of smoke leaving behind a pile of stones.

Using the meager tracking skills I had picked up throughout my years in ANBU, I picked up his chakra signature somewhere in a bunch of trees south of me. I then sent a group of shadow clones that were all but annihilated, 3 out of the 25 survived. The three survivors attacked Sasuke, who quickly dispatched the clones. I then jumped down on him, pinned him to the branch by sitting on him, and then, as the 5 minute mark sounded, I smirked and 'poof'-ed away.

I looked down at the Uchiha from my new position on the branch and laughed before using the Body Flicker Technique to go back to the others.

The rest of the 'sparring' went without a hitch. Naruto lasted just under five minutes, mainly due to his shadow clones. Sakura lasted only a minute before I just ended the fight with a small, seemingly harmless genjutsu of Sasuke rejecting her.

As the Genin left the training grounds, I sighed and took one of the scrolls I had packed away out and summoned one of my ninken, a dog named Haru. A large Mastiff, which was taller than I was, appeared from the smoke and eagerly started to lick my face a good three times. Dripping in drool I patted the dog as he started to lecture me.

"Hey, pup, you don't need to worry us like that. Momo was worried to death, the poor thing. And then the two pups that were given to you right before you left, Toji and Toki, were so distraught they attempted to get summoned by your brother in an attempt to find you…" Haru went on and on sounding more and more like a father, and I as the teenager I was, tuned him out. Haru had been my father's ninken and was my first summon after I signed the contract. The older dog treated me like his pups. He was also the strongest of the four ninja hounds I was given by the Dog Lords. Tuning back in to his lecture as he finished, Haru asked, "So where were you? Kakashi's troop told us you were injured, but could not say more."

I looked to the old dog and smiled weakly, "I went after Itachi. I failed."

The old dog growled a low growl that he used not in anger but in disappointment usually at my stupidity. "Why, pup?"

"He was my best friend. How could I let him leave? He would not have done what he did a whim! He hated killing," and then in a smaller voice, barely above a whisper, "I had hoped that it was all a lie…" I then broke down into tears, feeling putting his head on my shoulder to comfort me.

Thanks for reading :) This was kinda a hard chapter to write so I hope you like. Yes I am moving on with the "Kai Mystery" so just bare with me for a little while longer and I'll let you on to the secret.

and thanks to Dark universe for Commenting :)