Forbidden
Chapter 6: A Thousand Masks
Koomahana
Edited as of May 9, 2018.
Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine; you want the real stuff get off this site
Thoughts
Demon speak (Kurama talking)
Paragraphs are flashbacks
…
…
Sasuke awoke with a start, his eyes popping open as he snapped into a sitting position. He was not in his apartment, he wasn't even in a bed, he didn't remember where he was. A whimper from his left had him turning to look at the tiny ball on the single bed in the room, a tangle of copper knots stuck out from a sheet of navy. That's right, now he remembered, they were practicing the transformation of Naruto's fake girls. They were also practicing in said blonde's apartment. Blinking to clear his sight, Sasuke looked around the small messy apartment, there was no blonde inside. In fact, the only people in the apartment were Takara and himself, meaning Naruto was missing.
"Where the h—" just then the apartment door opened and in walked a cheerfully humming Tsubasa, with numerous bags dangling from her arms.
"Hmm-huh? Ah, you're awake, took you long enough bastard." The cheerful girl grinned cheekily at him. Yup, that was Naruto. He was the only one to call Sasuke a 'bastard' to his face and not think twice about it. Tsubasa closed the door with her foot before carefully moving her multitude of bags onto the counter, revealing her new attire. She wore a simple layered kimono of white, pink and crimson; each layer was slightly shorter then next, leaving the final layer of crimson to be the shortest layer and the one without sleeves. Around her waist was a tight obi with purple butterflies floating on silver winds and a golden string decorated with little blue and purple beads.
"…Dube, how'd you pay for that? That looks like its 40 thousand yen easily." Sasuke asked, looking at the expensive outfit with wide eyes.
"huh? I only spent twelve thousand yen today on food," Tsubasa replied in confusion, her head tilted to the side as her round face scrunched in confusion.
"I meant the outfit!" Sasuke barked
"oh! Do you like it?!" she gushed excitedly. "Yuzuki-Baa-chan got it for me! Her daughter works in the dress shop she got it from, so Yuzuki-Baa-chan got a seventy-five percent discount!"
"Quite acting like that Naruto, you're creeping me out." Sasuke growled suddenly. "it's bad enough you look like a girl but can't at least act like a boy?"
"No not at all." Tsubasa replied courtly, all excitement gone as she stared at him with serious violet eyes. Leaning against the counter, Tsubasa crossed her pink sheathed arms and glared at Sasuke pointedly. "Since you clearly didn't notice it yet, I can't go out into the village as myself. If I do I can't afford anything more than a few bowels of Ramen at Ichiraku and that's only because the old man gives me a huge discount. The last time I went shopping as myself I was only able to get one set of clothes that was four times my size and even then, I was only permitted that because the shop keeper said it was either that or nothing."
"Why didn't you go to a different store?" Sasuke asked, as if that option was an obvious choice.
"I went to every clothing shop in the village! All four hundred of them!" Tsubasa snapped at him, her face twisting into a snarl. "The shop keeper who offered me those clothes was going out of business! It's the only reason I was even able to buy those clothes!"
"Tch, aren't you being a little over dramatic? Surly you didn't go to all four hundred stores," Sasuke crouched at him.
"yeah, I did, and I did as my true self. You want to know what happened? A hundred of them said no brats aloud. Two hundred of them were suddenly closed for the day. Fifty-five of them suddenly no longer had discounts and forty-five of them either threw me out of the store or denied me entrance!"
"tch, I don't believe you," Sasuke rumbled lowly. "It sounds an awful lot like you're whining for attention. Oh, look at me, the blonde idiot no one wants around, poor me."
"Isn't that the pot calling the kettle black?" Tsubasa asked, her face smoothing out as she stared at her feet. "besides… sounds like you really don't know…"
"Don't know what?" Sasuke asked, growing exasperated with the blonde.
"I'm the 'demon brat'," Tsubasa told him, staring at her feet with a lost expression. "As 'Naruto Uzumaki' I can't even buy fruit or vegetables, not even rotten ones. As 'Tsubasa', I can get fruit, veggies, clothes, weapons, books, paper… I can afford all of my school supplies without having to dig through the trash to get it…"
"…if everything is so unfair for you, why didn't you go to the Hokage about it? Or ask Iruka-sensei or Nao-san to buy the items for you?" Sasuke asked.
"He couldn't," the two teammates jumped at the soft voice. Slowly Takara pushed herself up from the bed, Naruto's navy quilt spilling around her waist in rivets of dark water.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean brat?" Sasuke asked, staring at the wild haired six-year-old.
"Uzumaki-san knew he couldn't ask help from the only adults who look at him." Takara answered, turning to look at Sasuke with somber jade eyes. "Think about it Uchiha-san. The Hokage is a busy man, a whole village follows his lead, hundreds of thousands of lives rest in his hands. Uzumaki-san couldn't go to the Hokage because he's busy keeping the village running, the Hokage just can't walk into a store and order them to let Uzumaki-san shop there. No matter who he is, not even the Hokage can change people's hearts nor can he force business to sell items they don't want to sell."
"Okay so what about Iruka-sensei or Nao-san? They dot on him obsessively." Sasuke countered.
"Iruka-sensei can't show favoritism, he's a teacher. In that aspect he's much the same as our Hokage." Takara replied. "Nao-san oversees hundreds of children, she spends all of her money on the supplies she needs for her office at the academy and on her off days she's at the hospital. Her level of free time is limited to the few hours she spends on sleep."
"I still don't see how neither of them could help out Naruto if they even had one moment to spare on him." Sasuke huffed. "It sounds like you're making excuses for them."
"You're an idiot," Takara sighed. "Uzumaki-san didn't ask them for help because they're precious people to him. He didn't want to become a burden." Sasuke turned away from Takara, he refused to see the fact of the younger girl's words; so, he 'tsk'ed at her and glared out the balcony window.
"Regardless of your opinions, we all have to tell Sato-san 'thank you' for helping me get all the supplies for breakfast." Tsubasa huffed as she lifted off the counter and started to take everything out of the bags.
"um, our sensei said not to eat anything for breakfast," Takara reminded her teammates.
"Uh, in case you forgot Takara-chan, none of us ate last night." Tsubasa reminded her with a tone of disinterest. "I don't know about you guys, but I didn't eat lunch either. So, I'm starving and there's no way I'm doing any kind of test on a day and half empty stomach." Before Takara could reply there was a soft knock on the apartment door.
"Come in!" Tsubasa called without thinking it through.
"Tsubasa-chan, its me," a young woman with light brown hair and soft doe-eyes entered, dressed in a navy yukata and a long white apron. "huh? Your friends are still here?"
"Ah Yuko-chan!" Tsubasa grinned widely at the older woman, she hurriedly put down the sack of carrots and hurried to the woman, reaching out to wrap her arms around the woman. "Long time no see! You're finally back from your mission?"
"Of course," Yuko chuckled. "and I brought you what you asked of me, as well as a few other things."
"Still here?" Takara questioned as she crawled to the edge of the bed and peaked around the wall to look at the woman. "Were you here last night too?"
"yes, I came home to the sound of Tsubasa-chan screaming. I arrived here just as the manager was chuckling and leaving the room." Yuko agreed and quickly explained, a gentle smile on her face. "Ah that reminds Tsubasa-chan, why didn't you tell me you knew Hatake-san?"
"Hatake-san?" the three teammates question dumbly.
"yes, your Jonin instructor, Kakashi Hatake." Yuko smiled. "Did you know he was once an Anbu-captin, the Hokage's personal guard for visits outside the village and the number one batcher of the village?"
"no, nope, not a clue." Tsubasa replied, her face draining of color. "do you know anything else about him?"
"yes, Hatake-san is notoriously late for every meeting he's ever been asked to attend." Yuko chuckled. "he's so bad that he has to be told that a meeting is told two hours before its actual start time. But this way he's actually on time!" Yuko's smile widened, laughter dancing in her bright eyes.
"so, say he starts the meeting and claims its seven in the morning," Takara said slowly, stepping down from the bed and staring at the brunet curiously. "and says not to eat breakfast too…"
"Eat breakfast, show up at nine, practice your academy forms till noon when he arrives to give you his test." Yuko grinned mischievously at Takara. "don't tell him I gave away the secret to his test. I'll end up having move out for my own safety."
"We won't say a word Yuko-chan!" Tsubasa nearly shouted, her eyes bugging out comically. "thank you for the tip!" the woman just laughed, her shoulders shaking with the movement.
"Huh Yuko-chan you're back?" everyone turned to see the manager standing in the doorway, his face contorted in bewilderment and a clipboard in hand.
"ah, Hashimoto-san, you're up early." Yuko smiled at the man.
"it's only five," Hashimoto grunted as he stepped in, his dark eyes swiveling towards Tsubasa questioningly. "You brats still need help with that game you're playing?"
"naw, we got it!" Tsubasa answered quickly, "thanks tho!"
"oh, that's right!" Yuko said suddenly, startling everyone as she clapped her hands together. "Tsubasa-chan!" Yuko smiled at the shorter blonde, "You damn brat!" Tsubasa yelped as Yuko smashed a fist into her platinum blond head, forcing Naruto to release the transformation technique as he crashed face first into the wooden floor.
"Don't you know that constant usage of a henge can get you in serious trouble?! Do you want to be sent to prison?!" Yuko towered over Naruto threateningly, her hands on her hips and her hair raised with her furious temper.
"Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Yuko-ch-chan!" Naruto whimpered, scrambling back from the brunet with tears in his blue eyes as he clutched at his throbbing head. "Y-Y-Y-You k-knew?!"
"Of course, I knew you idiot! I'm a kunoichi!" Yuko barked at him. "Who do you think has been diverting Anbu's attention the past three damn years?! Now that I know who you are exactly," Yuko's shoulder's slumped as she took a steady breath, her face smoothing out into a gentle smile, "promise me that you won't use that henge in the building, okay?"
"bu-but!"
"Everyone already knows sweetheart," everyone turned to look at the entrance again, seeing nothing but two old women and very tiered looking Kunochi dressed in Anbu gear.
"Just who are you saying diverted the Anbu teams again Yuko?" the female Anbu questioned, her amber eyes were rimmed in thick dark lines. "I recall running for my life not you." Yuko just laughed at her, one hand raised to scratch at the back of her head nervously.
"Sweetheart didn't you find it strange that the only other occupants of this apartment are old women and Kunoichi?" one of the old women asked, her dancing black eyes locked on Naruto. "we're the ones who've known it was you from the beginning."
"it also helps that your manager went and sought us out," the other old woman cackled.
"Oi! You promised!" the manager barked at them.
"Now who made a promise about you going to lord Hokage and asking him to search out old maids of the village and friendly Kunoichi to move into his apartment, so he doesn't have to worry about vandalism on his grounds?" the previous old woman asked, not looking remorseful as Hashimoto groaned loudly. "Surly I would not make such a silly promise."
"Nor I," Said the other old woman.
"promises, promises?" Yuko held a finger to her chin and looked towards the roof thoughtfully
"I sure as hell didn't promise jack," the tiered Kunoichi yawned.
"Nope, I don't recall any promises to the manager either!" Yuko grinned. "especially nothing about buying Naruto-kun groceries while he was at school!"
"Ga! Yuko!" Hashimoto shouted, his face tinting pink. The kunoichis and grandmothers just laughed at him.
"Manager," Naruto murmured, staring at Hashimoto with watery eyes. "Thank you old man!" Naruto launched himself at the brunet, who did nothing but snap his arms into the air and then look down on Naruto with an expression of awkward bewilderment.
"So, Naruto was exaggerating," Sasuke murmured. "There were people there to take care of him."
"We weren't allowed to be there as well as we should've been," Yuko said as she looked down on Sasuke. "Not everything is as it first appears Uchiha-san," Yuko silently noted Sasuke's twitch at the formal use of his name. "Just because we were there for him, doing what we could, it doesn't mean that everyone was there for him. There are still people in this village, who wish him harm."
"Yuko!" the other Kunoichi barked, her voice sharp like a blade as it rang in everyone's ears.
"…I know Asuka-chan," Yuko sighed heavily.
"That's enough sad talk children, now let's get your breakfast started!" one of the grandma's grinned, her mouth missing several teeth which only denoted her truly old age.
"Ikeda-baa-chan," Naruto whimpered, staring at the old woman with over flowing eyes.
"Now, now, if we don't hurry it'll be time for you to leave for your final test." The other grandma smiled gently.
"Now hold on a minute, there isn't nearly enough room for all of us in here," Yuko frowned at the single closet-like room. "Why don't we all go down to the foyer? There's the open kitchen and family table, not to mention all the best seasonings that Asuka-chan always brings home from every mission she takes!"
"hey, you promised not to say anything!" Asuka barked at Yuko.
"Oh, that was you Asuka-chan?" Grandma Ikeda questioned
"My that's awfully sweet of you dear heart," the other grinned cheekily at her. "Guess your heart isn't made of ice after all."
"If my heart were made of Ice I'd have burned this place down when I was asked to live in it." Asuka grouched. "Anyways I'm too tired to dine with ya. I'm going to bed. Yuko I'm locking the door, make sure to knock correctly this time."
"eye-eye captain!" Yuko mock-saluted the other Kunoichi, sticking out her tone and closing one eye while she was at it. Asuka glared at Yuko but turned and walked away silently, soon disappearing down the dark hall to the apartment she shared with Yuko.
"Koizumi-chan, won't you help me down the stairs?" grandma Ikeda asked, turning her soft black eyes towards Takara, who jumped back at the address from the older woman. Grandma Ikeda chuckled warmly, her dark eyes lighting up and sparkling. "Don't worry little one, I'm not afraid of you." Sasuke frowned at the words but watched as slowly Takara approached the old woman, staring at her in a mixture of awe and fear, as if she's never had anyone say those words to her. Grandma Ikeda took Takara's small gloved hand and walked together out of the room and down the dim hall. Soon Sasuke found himself being tugged along by the other grandmother, a wrinkly old hag who cheerfully declared her name to be 'Fujita'. She was fat, wrinkly, slow, short and had frizzy thin white hair that stuck up everywhere from her hazardous bun as if she was electrocuted. Like grandmother Ikeda, Grandma Fujita was dressed in an old Kimono of dull brown with bright white feathers curling through streams of gold around the edges. Grandma Ikeda was dressed in a navy Kimono with a white and black speckled fur trimming and edged in beautiful violet butterflies.
"let go of me," Sasuke grouched at Grandma Fujita but the cheerful old woman ignored him as she continued chattering away about what breakfast dishes she could make. Giving up, Sasuke allowed the old woman to tighten her meaty hand on his arm with every stiff step down the staircase. Soon the kitchen was busy with the grandma's and Yuko moving around cheerfully, soon they too were joined by the others of the apartment building. Not having any clue what to do in the kitchen, Hoshimoto and Sasuke were booted to sit and watch at the large table. Even though he was sitting at the table, forbidden entrance to the kitchen by Yuko, Hoshimoto still talked confidently with the residences who slowly trickled into the large room. There was Chihiro, a middle-aged woman who's first reaction to the moving bodies was to hunt down the pot of coffee and start a batch. Kotone and her twin Yuuna immanently went back upstairs to grab more supplies for the 'breakfast feast' that was apparently taking place. Aina came down to tell everyone to shut up before trying to go back to bed, only to be accidentally knocked out when Grandma Fujita smacked her in the head with a wooden spoon. Then Reina slowly retreated up the stairs as if praying that no one saw her come down. Mio came down the stairs, rubbed sleepily at her face then face planted the dining table without an ounce of remorse. Satomi came down with a little one on her hip, looking as exhausted as Asuka did earlier that morning.
"Hoshimoto-san," Sasuke called as he stared at the bustling bodies of the women moving from dining room to adjoined kitchen with practiced ease.
"Hmm? Yes Uchiha-san, what is it?" Hoshimoto asked, turning from his joke with Yuko to look at the young boy at his side.
"just what is this place?" Sasuke asked as he stared at a twig of a woman who stretched her body even further to reach a top shelf to grab a stack of dishes. "I feel like there's more to these women then just kind kunoichi and old women." Hoshimoto's smile stiffened on his face, confirming Sasuke's suspicion that there was more going on in the apartment building then just what his mind was slowly piecing together.
"I honestly don't know what you're talking about Uchiha-san," Hoshimoto tried to lie but it was as badly disguised as one of Naruto's old pranks.
"We're called Amehitoko." Mio suddenly spoke up, lifting her head to glare sleepily at Sasuke. "shut up and move on Mr. pureblood, untainted psychopath, hypocritical piece of—"
"Mio! Watch your mouth!" the woman as thin as broom barked, she walked out of the kitchen and delicately expanded her thin arms to distribute the plates in equal placements around the table. "There are children present!" as if to make a point Takara leaped into the air, grabbed a plate and twirled back down the floor. Sasuke was about to dismiss her actions until he realized that the pair of grandmas were clapping enthusiastically at her, then he realized she didn't just twirl down from her leap, but she had spun when she leaped into the air.
"Ah-ahahhahaha! Uh! Uchiha-san! Why don't we go for a walk outside?!" Hoshimoto's voice cracked as he hurriedly stood on his feet and gestured to the wide door leading outside. "We have a cute little—I mean a nice looking, large, garden to wonder through!"
"I don't like flowers," Sasuke blurted out at the man, making that stiff smile reappear as Hoshimoto's shoulders slumped with the information.
"Hoshimoto-san is the young Uchiha-boy giving you trouble?" grandma Fujita asked as she approached with a platter of cherry tomatoes, Sasuke's eyes locked on the red fruit instantly. He was so focused on his favorite dish that he almost missed what Mio mumbled under breath.
"the pureblood duck-ass has a problem with halflings." Mio grunted as Yuko appeared and smacked Mio's wild locks of auburn. Sasuke glared at Mio before smirking as she stifled several curses by biting onto her arm.
"Huh, funny, I don't think he understands and is just curious." Fujita replied, her smile never falling. "Come Uchiha-san, follow me!" She set the platter of tomatoes down next to Mio before latching onto Sasuke again and dragging him out of the dining room. The glass doors barely closed after Sasuke and his look of pleading before someone else walked into the room. She was thinly built and wore a mask, her long ash-colored hair sat in wild chunks around her shoulders and waist, as if nothing could tame it. She was dressed in a dark kimono edged in emerald green stripes and wore a black long-sleeved turtle neck with an extended piece of cloth reaching from her neck to cover her mouth and nose.
"Hoshimoto-san, I heard much excitement from my room." The young woman said as she rubbed sleepily at her red rimmed eyes.
"yes, Naruto-kun decided to show his face today!" Yuko said cheerfully, silence was her answer. Slowly everyone parted to show Naruto partially hiding behind Grandma Ikeda, holding two large platters of rice and dumplings.
"Uzumaki-san?" the woman questioned, her coal black eyes moving to observe the blonde. "…I was unaware the demon child still remained here."
"Takumi!" Grandma Ikeda barked, her normally gentle voice sharp, loud enough to make Mio leap from the table and stand at attention. "We do not speak such words here! Do not forget that we are—"
"we are all the same in body, mind and soul." Takumi, the white haired masked woman drawled, carelessly interrupting the woman. "Yes, I recall."
"We are all Amehitoko in this place," Mio said softly, suddenly wide awake and staring at grandma Ikeda wirily.
"It doesn't mean we can distribute the pure-kekegenkai's filth." Ikeda snapped, her voice still firm like steal. "I will not repeat myself Takumi Hatake. Watch your words in this house."
"As you wish, dear grandmother." Takumi murmured, tilting her head in acceptance and blinking slowly with the action. She moved silently towards the large table, not making a sound as she sat at the end, opposite of Hoshimoto and plopped her face into one thin clawed hand.
"Hatake," Takara murmured, drawing Takumi's board attention. "As in… Kakashi Hatake?" she looked at Yuko, her face twisting into a look of confusion, "is she related to our teacher Yuko-san?" no one moved, breathed or even had a chance to blink before Takumi snarled like a rapid dog and barreled up the stairs in a flurry of dark sleeves.
"Please forgive her Koizumi-san," Yuko sighed heavily, "I forgot to tell you not to mention him but, in all honesty, I had thought that she was still out of the village and would remain out of the village for another week or so."
"man," Mio grunted as she flopped down into her chair. "I can't wait for that bitch to leave again. Maybe, if we're lucky, her next mission out will have her not returning."
"Mio!" Ikeda snapped again, making the younger woman flinch.
"What? You can't seriously stand there and say that any of us will miss that awful woman!" Mio defended herself. "I mean seriously! She was kicked out of the Hatake clan for crying out loud!"
"I said ENOUGH!" the apartment building shuttered with Ikeda's voice, making everyone cringe with the volume. "This is not breakfast conversation! If none of us can speak pleasantries today then may I suggest that we all eat in silence?" with that dark note, everyone set the table, said their breakfast prayer, and ate silently. When Sasuke and Fujita returned only one of them was confused with the silence of the large table. Sasuke took the open space between his two teammates while Fujita hurried to Ikeda's side and begun a hurried, almost panicked sounding, whispered conversation. Breakfast was quiet, the only sound being that of utensils scraping clay bowls and whispered requests for one thing or another. It was an hour before the tense and unusual silence slipped into an almost comfortable quiet and by then the seemingly last occupant of the apartment building stepped into the large room with an expression of utter confusion.
"Oh, good morning everyone," everyone turned to look at the young woman. "You're all so quiet, did something happen already?"
"Takumi is home," Mio grunted, she was promptly slapped by Yuko. "ow! What?! She is!"
"Oh dear, well I hope none of you take her words to heart." The young woman said with a pitying expression on her face. "You do remember that she's still hurt over what her brother did to her, don't you?" Silence answered her, everyone returning to their meals as they stole discreet glances at the pair of grandmothers at the head of the table. Sighing heavily the young woman shook her head and moved towards the front doors of the apartment.
"I'm off to work! Don't break anything Mio!"
"hey!" Mio barked, the woman laughed as she closed the door behind herself. "don't single me out, geez."
"…whose Takumi's brother and what'd he do to her?" Takara asked softly but no one at the table answered her, even Hoshimoto stuffed his mouth full of rice when she looked at him expectantly.
"…Yuko-chan," Naruto spoke up, looking at his kind faced neighbor curiously. "are Kakashi-sensei and Takumi-san siblings?" Fujita choked on her drink, coughing and hacking into her napkin while Ikeda patted her friend's back and chuckled about being too old to drink tea. Yuko looked around the table with a pleading look in her eyes, but no one helped her, only Yuuna reached forward to scoop more rice into her bowl.
"Eat your breakfast Naruto-kun," Yuko advised as she scooped some cooked vegies onto his plate. "don't forget your rice…"
"…yes Yuko-chan," Naruto bobbed his head and accepted the second helping easily.
…
…
Before he followed his teammates to the training grounds, Naruto took a large platter of warm food up to the winding staircase. On the roof where laundry was often left to hand-dry, there was a rickety old shack that hardly looked fit for anyone to live in. it was made of plaster, stone and wood, its western corner roof still had a gaping whole from where a branch crashed into it from the winter before. The front window next to the metal door had a small hole in it, no bigger than his palm and with a thousand cracks spreading out like spider webs. Naruto knew from his memories that the room was once a storage room, barely any bigger then his own apartment building. Now though, it was the place where Takumi slept on the rare day's she didn't have to work for Anbu. Gulping slowly, Naruto knelt before the door and gently set the tray of food down before it. Sitting back, Naruto stared at the covered dishes and felt his eyes sting with the need to cry as old memories surfaced in his mind.
"hey Takumi-chan… I know you don't like him but he's my teacher so I have to learn from him." Naruto said softly, his head never rising as he spoke softly to the woman he knew to be standing on the other side of the door. "but… even if he's my teacher, even if I pass or fail his final test…I… I … want to keep taking lessons from you…" he hesitated, unsure if he had the right to continue. "So… Takumi-chan… even though it's your brother who'll be teaching me combat… can you… can you at least… keep teaching me… the way you always have…" he bowed his head, his lips trembling as tears leaded out of his face and splashed against his knees.
"Please Takumi-chan, I want you… I want you to keep teaching me." Naruto pleaded, "I-I don't want to lose my Tsubasa-onee-san!" it was true, he based Tsubasa from Takumi because he knew the kunoichi hiding from his sight wore a thousand masks, as her job indicated. She was Tsubasa, the sweet flirt who couldn't hurt a fly. She was Momoko, the wealthy merchant heiress with a cold heart. She was Kazue-san the mother of six with the patience of a saint. She was Hikaru, the mysterious priestess of fire temple. She was Emi, the shy waitress at a high-class restaurant.
Takumi Hatake was a master infiltrator and master at espionage. She could flip between personality requirements by the flip of switch but no matter how quickly she must change her appearance and demeaner, she never once forgot who she was. No matter the situation, no matter how out of control or bizarre, she didn't break her persona until necessary. She even had the scars to prove her acting skills. For some reason her scars didn't mar her beauty, if anything they emphasized it. The strangest thing about Takumi though was the fact that when she's disguised as someone else, using nothing more then hair dye, contacts and a change of clothes, her skin appears as flawless as the day she was born. It was as if she could hide her scars without even trying or turn them int stretch marks when she needs them.
"Please," Naruto sobbed, "Takumi-san… I don't care about the mask you wear for everyone else but please, please don't take my onee-sama away!" Naruto sobbed, a hick-up bursting forth from his chest like the fountain of tears spilling from his eyes. "Please," he felt a gentle hand touch the top of his head, claws made to harm felt gentle like feathers along his scalp. A wide billowing sleeve of black and emerald stripes filled his vision, long white curls danced on the edge of his vision.
"Rule twenty-five: a shinobi never shows his tears," Takumi whispered. "Dry your eyes Ototo, there'll be no failures on this day." With the breeze she arrived with, so too did she disappear, her warm touch faded like the tears drying on his face. Smiling gently, Naruto rubbed harshly at his face, rose to his feet and dashed down the stairs of his apartment building. Takumi was off on another mission but at least this time, she told him that she'd return to him. But most importantly, she accepted him as him and not as the bubbly Tsubasa he displayed for her countless times before.
Takumi accepted him, for who he was.
…
…
Team seven arrived in training ground Seven at seven-thirty on the dot. Kakashi Hatake was, unfortunately for them, on time. He watched from his place before the memorial stone, as the three children raced towards the three poles; Naruto and Takara laughing loudly in their game. Then they saw him and all three turn into meek kittens and trudging forward like the guilty children they were. He waited until all three of them were standing behind him, heads bowed and toes curling through the dirt. Correction: Sasuke had his hands stuffed in his pockets and glaring off to the forest to his right, his round face distorted in a childish pout.
"Ne, Kakashi-sensei, we're sorry for being late." Takara spoke up first her soft voice nearly lost in the gentle breeze. "we were told that you're always two hours late so we thought it was okay to be late a little bit…"
"…you three ate breakfast, didn't you?" Kakashi asked, tilting his head slightly to the side.
"H-h-hai," Takara answered again, looking at her feet in utter shame. "We were so focused on practicing our techniques last night that we forgot to eat so we thought… I encouraged us to eat breakfast." Kakashi noticed how Naruto's back straightened, his eyes widening slightly as he glanced at Takara non-to-discreetly. Sasuke's clue was the fact that his dark eyes snapped from the tree line to Takara, his fists flexing in his short's pockets. So, the little girl was trying to lie to cover for the one who did convince them to eat breakfast, while she appeared to be telling the truth the boys hadn't been prepared for the girl throwing herself under the bus. It was their surprise that gave away her lie. Sighing heavily, Kakashi allowed his disappointment to contort his aura, making the three squirm in their unique ways.
"Since our meeting yesterday was interrupted, let us restart our meeting today." Kakashi gave Naruto a sharp look, to which he ignored by looking at the sky as if he hadn't noticed the glare.
"Introductions?" Takara asked curiously
"That's right," Kakashi nodded. "Today, instead of a test, we're going to have introductions."
"Uh, that's boring," Naruto deadpanned, "we three already know each other."
"Oh really?" Kakashi asked, his visible eyebrow raising. "Alright then, Naruto-kun, tell me Takara's favorite foods and colors. If you get her's right you're to tell me Sasuke-san's favorite colors and foods." Naruto stared at his teacher for a moment, sweat gathering on his neck as he realized his mistake. Kakashi seemed to grin at Naruto, a challenging glint in his somber dark eye.
"Um Kakashi-sensei, I think Uzumaki-san meant that he knew our names and skill sets as well as a little bit of our personality." Takara covered for Naruto quickly, "perhaps if you gave us a demonstration of an introduction, we could fulfill your request better?" She had meant it as a statement but as she rattled on and Kakashi continued to stare her down, the more and more it sounded like a question.
"Alright," Kakashi drawled slowly. "My name is Kakashi Hatake, I'm a Jonin and twenty-six years old. I don't feel like telling my likes or dislikes. I never thought about dreams for the future and I have a lot of hobbies."
"So, your hobbies include annoying the hell out of your students?" Naruto asked bluntly, an irated-twitch danced across his right brow.
"My students? Oh yes I can count the number of teams I've lead on one hand." Kakashi smiled and held up one finger. "My genin team. I've never been a Jonin-instructor because no one has ever passed my test."
"your genin team?" Sasuke repeated slowly. "I thought Chunin lead lots of missions?"
"That's less of a single leader and more like a group lead where everyone communicates and works together to get the job done." Kakashi shrugged. "Technically Chunin count on each other's in sites and experiences in certain situations so the leadership on missions is often shared between the teammates."
"What about being a Jonin?" Takara asked curiously. "Don't you lead missions as a Jonin?"
"I lead one mission as Jonin and that was with my genin team," Kakashi repeated himself, looking as if he was tiered of repeating himself. Takara straightened with the change of voice, her eyes sharpening on the man through her mop of orange painted locks. "Now then, why don't you three continue were we left off huh? Naruto-kun you want to go first?" Naruto blinked at Kakashi, a frown twisting his lips as he glanced at Takara and Sasuke, wondering if they noticed the change as quickly as he did. Takara's frown and Sasuke's slightly narrowed eyes confirmed the blonde's suspicions, he wasn't the only one who noticed the change.
"Alright, I'm Naruto Uzumaki," Naruto scrunched up his face as he turned his eyes towards the sky, wondering what he could say. "I'm twelve but I'll be turning thirteen in October. I like Ichiraku ramen, I dislike uncooked vegetables, my dream for the future is to be the strongest protector in village history and my hobbies?" he paused for a moment, thinking hard on the last requirement of his introduction. "I guess… gardening and pranks…"
"…you do realize that the 'strongest protector in the village' is referred to as the Hokage, right?" Sasuke asked as he stared at Naruto side-ways. "You telling us that your dream is to be the next Hokage?"
Naruto shrugged, his eyes drifting towards the ground. "Maybe, you don't have to be the Hokage to be the strongest in the village. I mean the Youndaime Hokage was the most feared shinobi in the village with a flee on sight order from Iwa for years before he was chosen as the fourth Hokage. I mean he earned the 'flee on sight' order when he was sixteen and just barely made Chunin rank. He was the strongest shinobi in the village for nearly a decade before he was chosen to be Hokage." Naruto snapped his mouth shut, blushing brightly as he rubbed nervously at his neck.
"Uzumaki-san," Takara murmured, a soft smile on her lips. "You admire the Youndaime, don't you?"
"Yeah," Naruto's face reddened further as a shy smile stretched little by little on his lips. "The Youndaime Hokage… is my hero." There was never a time in Kakashi's life where he wanted to spill all the secrets to Naruto more than just then. He wanted to tell Naruto who his parents were, how proud they be of him, how proud his father would be to hear those words… but Kakashi knew better. He understood what it would mean if the embarrassed boy before him suddenly knew everything. If he didn't discover it all on his own, if he didn't conclude everything himself, if he didn't investigate it himself, then he'll think all the wrong things and end up misunderstanding his parent's wishes for him.
Sensei, did you hear that? Kakashi thought as he closed his eye and took a deep calming breath. He's proud of you sensei… you're his hero… "Alright, Uchiha-brat you're next." Sasuke twitched with the address, his dark eyes sharpening into a glare at Kakashi, who easily shrugged it off.
"my name is Sasuke Uchiha, I'm twelve and will be thirteen in July—"
"In two months? Duly noted!" Takara interrupted in an excited whisper, her hands clenched in front of her as if she was barely able to contain her excitement.
"Don't even brat," Sasuke hissed at her, to which Takara giggled cutely at him. "Tch, I hate a lot of things and don't particularly like anything. What I have isn't a dream because I will make it a reality. I will restore my clan and kill a certain person."
"…that last part would've been cooler if you were sitting and had your hands folded in front of your face so you could glare over them." Naruto smirked at Sasuke, earning him an irated look from the young Uchiha. "What? Your hands are stuffed in your shorts and you have this total 'I don't give a damn' aura surrounding you so it puts the seriousness in your words off. Like seriously bastard, you sound serious but you look like you're making fun of someone else."
"How about I just clean the deck with your face?" Sasuke hissed at him, eyes glinting like daggers. "At least I know what my end goal is and can say it freely without fearing everyone else's opinions."
"I'm not afraid of anyone's opinions," Naruto frowned at him.
"Moving on, it was Koizumi-san, wasn't it?" Kakashi interrupted the beginnings of a fight. The little girl twitched with the declaration of her name and Kakashi noticed with a sick twist in his stomach the fear in the little girl's eyes. It was as if she was afraid he'd treat her differently since he knew her name and yet she showed no sign of fear for her teammates, even though they knew her full name as well. "Well girl, you going to introduce yourself or not?" nervously Takara bit at her lip, her jade eyes dropping to the ground where her right toe was digging little circles in a nervous habit.
"Uh… um… I'm… I'm Takara Koi-Koizumi," Takara gulped, looking up at Kakashi fearfully through her orange hair. "I'm six years old and I'll be seven next March. I like Strawberries but I'm allergic so I can't eat them without suffocating. Um… my dream… my dream is to succeed where my sister failed… so I don't know… I don't know what to do now…" Kakashi let the silence drag on for a moment, slow realization creeping up on him as his eyes narrowed slightly at the young girl.
"Hmmm, and what are your hobbies?" Kakashi asked, interrupting whatever it was that was about to spew out of Naruto's mouth. Takara looked up at him nervously, fear was mixed with memory in her shadowed jade eyes. She gulped nervously, biting her lip again as she glanced once more to the ground.
"uh… its…" Takara's voice drifted softer, too soft to be heard over the gentle rustling of leaves.
"huh? What was that?" Kakashi asked slowly
"its… sai," Takara repeated herself, her brows pinching as her lip stuck out in a childish pout.
"can't hear you," Kakashi said, perhaps a little louder than necessary.
"Its Sakura bonsai," Takara's eyes narrowed at him, her voice a little louder than before.
"now hold on a moment young lady, you see I've lived through a war so soft voices don't get heard by me." Kakashi yawned sleepily at her as if to make a point. "can you say that again?"
"Its Sakura Bonsai." Takara snapped at him, her voice level and with its tone of irritation.
"Sorry Takara-Chan what was that?" Naruto asked, he quickly folded his hands behind his head and turned away from the girl to hide his grin.
"Its Sakura BONSAI!" Takara screamed, her voice echoing in the field.
"Whoa girl calm down, there's no need to scream," Kakashi chuckled. Takara glared at him, her fists clenched at her side as she ground her teeth together. "Okay, good, Bonsai are noted for their calming effects. It also takes great concentration. Its actually a lot healthier habit then what the boys came up with."
"huh?! Don't pick favorites just because she's a girl!" Naruto shouted at him
"hey now, I'm not picking favorites," Kakashi smiled at them from behind his mask. "I'm saying that as a shinobi, something like taking care of another living being, is remarkably healthier then pranking someone or training till you faint."
"Wait, what?" Naruto asked, generally confused.
"Shinobi have long, bloody missions that results in nightmares, bad habits and unhealthily mentalities. Having something soothing such as gardening, art work or caring for another's life are all good examples of healthy habits. These habits will help you in the long run with dealing with the job that we have chosen as Shinobi." Kakashi explained, he fished out his favorite book and held it out for the children to read its title. "Some keep their sanity by getting lost in fictional stories. Other's paint to distract themselves from their previous missions. Other's do poetry, or write music, or garden, or even teach to relax themselves or forget."
"With Iruka-sensei around, I never once thought that teaching was therapeutic," Takara murmured in awe. "Iruka-sensei must go on some very dangerous missions then…" her eyes drifted towards Naruto meaningfully.
"What?" Naruto asked her, squinting his eyes at her.
"Nothing," Takara grinned at him. "Ne~ Kakashi-sensei! What's this great test we're supposed to take part in?" Kakashi perked as the attention was bluntly directly towards him, firmly distracting the boys from Takara's quite mischief.
"The final test? I was gonna hold off another day…" Kakashi said slowly, feeling as if he missed apart in the conversation. The three children gave him various versions of pouts, Sasuke's looking the most childish as he refused to look at Kakashi. Naruto made no hesitation about his disappointment as he was giving Kakashi his best puppy-dog eyes. Takara just looked sad, with her slumped posture and bowed head and her long copper locks dancing about her face it was like he was staring at half-finished painting of a ghost. "uh…right, might as well get on with it." Kakashi shrugged carelessly, Naruto beamed, Takara barely restrained a giggle and Sasuke closed his eyes as he smirked to himself. Kakashi stepped back and unhooked a scroll from his back pouch, laying it out he quickly unsealed a pair of box lunches from inside. Grabbing hold of them, Kakashi set them on the tombstone behind him and unsealed an alarm clock from the seal next to the one containing the food.
"Okay, here's the test." Kakashi started as he lazily rolled up the scroll and returned it to his back pouch. "Without getting caught, you three are to get these bells from me before noon." Kakashi ordered as he pulled two bells strung on a single string of crimson out of his pocket and tied them to the beltloop on his pants. "Use any means you deem fit to retrieve them, even real weapons or elemental ninjutsu if you have any."
"You seriously think that one of us have the ability to use elemental ninjutsu?" Naruto asked with a dull expression on his face. Sasuke hid his smirk by turning his full attention towards the forest. Meanwhile Takara decided that the nearby lake was the most fascinating thing in creation. Kakashi was prepared for Sasuke knowing at least one elemental ninjutsu, Uchiha's were well known pyro-fanatics, but he honestly hadn't expected Takara to know any.
"…careful Naruto-kun," Kakashi felt his lips tug into a smirk. "Your teammates might be more skilled then you give them credit."
"hm?" Naruto blinked and looked at Sasuke before turning to look at Takara. "Hey! That's not fair! I'm the only one who doesn't know any elemental ninjutsu!"
"Quiet Uzumaki-san," Takara shushed as she whipped back around to face him, her face twisted in worry. "what he doesn't know won't kill him!"
With you three, it just might, Kakashi thought to himself. "Well, shall we get started then?" He pressed the start button and he was pleasantly surprised when all three of them disappeared. "Huh, the obnoxious colors can hide after all." Kakashi murmured as he looked around himself lazily. "hm?"
"I challenge you!" Naruto bellowed out from the edge of the lake, looking irated as he pointed accusingly at Kakashi.
"…compared to your teammates… you're weird." Kakashi drawled, feeling disappointed.
"The only thing that's weird around here is your hair!" Naruto bellowed furiously. "What twenty-something-year-old has white hair?! Did you lie about your age?! Are you secretly pushing a hundred?!"
"I told you I'm twenty-six and this is my real hair color." Kakashi drawled slowly. He's never been so insulted in his life, no one has ever said that he lied about his age or dyed his hair to his face before. Everyone just thought that was his real hair color, especially since he's had silver hair since he was a child.
"I bet you use moose to get it to stand on end like that too!" Naruto continued
"I do not," Kakashi sighed. "I don't do anything to my hair." That was true, he honestly didn't do anything to it, he didn't even brush it. He always let it do its thing, even when he was young. He's never had to worry about knots or tangles because his hair was too fine, just running his hands through it or letting the wind play with it always undid whatever was stuck in his hair. Water always slipped off the strands and never stayed long enough to do anything to it. Not to mention that virtually nothing can damage it because the fineness of his hair always parted with the slightest breeze so getting it singed in the middle of a battle was a rarity. In fact, the only person to do any kind of damage to his hair was Itachi, and that was because Kakashi wasn't expecting the boy to pop up in the middle of a privet spare.
"Lier! Silver hair that stands on end like a fabrication of electricity can't be natural!"
"I'm impressed you know words like 'fabrication' and 'electricity'," Kakashi drawled. "You showed no previous signs of intelligence." Naruto let out a scream and charged, Kakashi took his book out again and began to read. Admittedly Naruto wasn't phased by the appearance of a book, he continued to charge and started the test off with a battle of taijutsu. Kakashi tried hard not to mock the blonde because, honestly, he really wasn't trying and the blonde had failed to get him to move an inch in ten minutes.
"NOW!" Kakashi blinked as Naruto leaped back, a smirk on his face. Kakashi seemingly had little time to react before a dozen clones were surrounding him, thin wires strung between their fingers.
Please tell me he's joking, Kakashi thought to himself, and then he saw something, from the corner of his eye, one of the clones wasn't moving. Shifting on the ball of his foot, ignoring the rigged kunai whizzing past him to surround him in a maze of lethal wire, Kakashi focused better on the clone furthest from him.
"Katon: Grand Fire Ball!" Kakashi watched as the clone dispersed to reveal Sasuke, a large ball of fire traveling down the length of wires; the same wires that stemmed from Sasuke's hand also connected to the rigged kunai that surrounded Kakashi.
"Yup, not joking," Kakashi mumbled as he watched the fire ball get closer to him. "Right, then," Kakashi slapped his hands together, his fingers blurring together in familiar hand signs.
"Futon: thousand blades!" Kakashi looked up to see Takara falling towards them, how she gained that height Kakashi wasn't entirely sure he wanted to know. But he was sure that the fan she just swiped at him was most certainly a jonin-leveled weapon that she most certainly was not supposed to be in possession of. The bladed wind created from the fan smashed into the giant fire ball and Kakashi watched as the two merged to create blades of fire that glided along the path of the razor-wire; ensuring that attack would not stray from the intended target. If it wasn't for the fact that he was in the line of fire, Kakashi would say that the sight was quite beautiful.
"Ah! oh no! Sensei!" Takara shouted when the bladed-flames crashed into Kakashi, seemingly consuming him.
"Yes?" Takara gasped, barely being able to turn her head in time to see a flash of Kakashi's hair before fire bloomed along her side and her sight darkened as she lost consciousness.
"Takara-chan!" Naruto shouted as he raced towards the free-falling girl. Sasuke cursed as he rid himself of the wires stuck to his fingers and defended himself against the onslaught of several kunai being thrown at him from Kakashi. "damn it!" Naruto cursed, he crossed his fingers and created several dozen clones, each pilling atop each other to cushioned Takara's fall. To his credit, Naruto didn't trip once as the clones dispersed with the force of Takara's small body smashing into their own. Naruto leaped, crashed into Takara, and landed in a large pile of clones that dispersed one at a time to slow their momentum to the ground. Coughing Naruto pressed one green-glowing palm to Takara's back, his memories from the academy surfacing as he remembered Nao's lecture.
"Now that's quite advanced for you," Naruto didn't even hesitate as his clones reacted for him. Several clones attacked Kakashi while a few quickly covered Naruto, creating diversions as they each dispersed again. Kakashi dispelled the clones attacking him quickly, looking around himself he saw that the clones had merely distracted him while the real Naruto and Takara retreated.
"Huh, their impromptu attack almost worked," Kakashi murmured to himself. Now to see if they planned to work together if the other two were just using Naruto to their advantage. Kakashi disappeared from the field, following the closest sent of Sasuke as he knew the Naruto clones were dispersing Takara's and Naruto's scents throughout the training field. It didn't take Kakashi long to find the three academy-graduates, they were huddled underneath a weeping willow tree, using its raised roots and half rotten underside to their advantage.
Huh, they at least know how to hide in plane sight, Kakashi thought, now what are they planning? He carefully traveled into the branches of the weeping willow, using transformation to turn himself into a squirrel, Kakashi ease dropped on their conversation.
"What the hell Dube, what's going on?" Sasuke asked, his voice low and angry as he sat anxiously near the exit.
"Nao-san taught me some basic first aid stuff," Naruto murmured, his frown twisting into a concentrated frown. "I'm using the diagnostic technique on Takara-chan right now so be quiet."
"You've been doing that since we settled here," Sasuke reminded him. "What's wrong with her? Why hasn't she woken up since Kakashi-sensei hit her?" Kakashi felt a nagging feeling in the back of his mind, something that was telling him he messed up big time when he hit Takara in her back.
"Shut up bastard, I'm not understanding what I'm getting, okay?" Naruto hissed at him as he pulled his hands back and pulled off his back pouch. "My reading is saying that Takara's bones are hollow but at the same time its saying that there's huge mark-thing on her back that's eating up most of her chakra."
"p-p-p-p," the soft sputtering of the girl had both boys freezing before scrambling to lean in close to her.
"Koizumi! Wake up brat!" Sasuke hissed at her, his hand clasping on her shoulder. "We don't have time for this, if you're faking it, I'm seriously going to kill you." Kakashi doubted Sasuke would but he could sympathize with the worried feeling of the boy, he wasn't feeling very confident in that last attack he did.
"Pr-price," Takara wheezed, her eyes opening slowly, looking glazed in the dim light that streamed in through the willow brances. "blood… bloodl-line… pr-price." She coughed and wheezed, her body shaking with the wet sounding cough. Kakashi was feeling more and more alarmed, he hadn't hit Takara that hard. He strained from the habit of adding any form of strength and had only used momentum and weight behind the hit. Ordinarily that would've felt like a tap even to a normal genin.
"bloodline?" Sasuke questioned, "you have a bloodline limit?"
"What's a bloodline limit?" Naruto asked as he pulled out a book and began scramble over the pages hurriedly.
"A bloodline limit is a very rare and specially chakra-based power bestowed upon certain clans," Sasuke explained as he sat back and frowned at Takara. "for example, the Uchiha and Hyūga clans have bloodlines. The Uchiha have the Sharingan, the power to see and instantaneously copy and understand anything it sees for the exception of other bloodlines." Sasuke looked up at Naruto to see a blank expression on the blonde's face, forcing him to sigh heavily. "For example, someone with the Sharingan can see through any level of Genjutsu, copy it and use it against the original caster at twice the original's strength. A user of the Sharingan can also copy any Taijutsu form and memorize it down the Mila-seconds or copy an elemental ninjutsu down to the precise measurements of chakra needed to perform the technique. The only problem is that the Sharingan can't copy specific techniques that are also classified as bloodline limits, such as specific elemental ninjutsus."
"Okay, and what about the Hyūga, you mentioned them." Naruto reminded him as he went back to the book in his hand, "what do they have that's so special?"
"the Hyūga clan is well known for their bloodline limit called 'Byakugan'." Sasuke explained, "Do you remember Hinata Hyūga from our class year? The girl with short navy hair and pearl eyes?"
"Hinata-Chan? The girl who defended me at graduation?"
"yeah her," Sasuke rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Hinata-san is a part of the Hyūga clan and has the power to use the Byakugan. Unlike the Sharingan, the Byakugan is inherent, meaning every single member of the Hyūga clan has the Byakugan."
"What do you mean by unlike the Sharingan?" Naruto asked, "What's the difference between the two?"
"The Sharingan is a very rare bloodline in the Uchiha clan, my clan," Sasuke stressed pointedly. "Very few people are capable of awakening the bloodline and even fewer are capable of mastering it. In the entirety of the clan's history the only known individuals who are considered to have mastered, even just by a small fraction, are—" Sasuke stopped himself, biting hard on his lip and turning away from Naruto to glare out the opening, a small trickle of blood began to pool on his lip before spilling down his chin. Breathing heavily, Sasuke bit even harder on his lip, trying to force back the tears threatening his eyes and push back the memories trying to surface in his mind. Breathing heavily and immense pain, Takara slowly pushed her hands towards Sasuke until she was able to gently press her fingers atop his fisted palm. Naruto looked up form his book, staring at Takara worriedly before looking at Sasuke's white-knuckled fist digging into the dirt between him and Takara.
"Where as the Sharingan is known to copy techniques, the Byakugan is known to see through them." Sasuke changed the subject quickly, his voice trembled with his words but his interion clear even to Naruto. "The Byakugan is also known to see through any object, including the human body. The wielders of the Byakugan are said to be so skilled that they can detect poison in someone's tea and even see the chakra path ways of the human body. Although its also said that only the truly skilled Byakugan wielders can close off those chakra pathways. Apparently, it's a skill that's acquired with age. The older the Hyūga is, the more dangerous they are."
"Really?" Naruto asked, squinting at Sasuke's profile as the boy has yet to turn to look back at his teammates. "It sounds to me like old Uchiha's are dangerous too, especially if they have the Sharingan in their list of capabilities." Sasuke sniffed, fighting off the urge to smirk. The sense of pride that he used to feel at just the mention of his clan swelled briefly in his chest before he reminded himself that now was not the time nor the place to get lost in memories.
...
...
Thoughts are helpful
Opinions are wonderful
Helpful criticismis lovely! Just don't cripple me okay?
Please no cursing!
And don't forget to review!
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