Recappy from the Last Chappy: Washi's eyes frowned. "Why did we have to spread the storm so far, anyway? It'd be some miracle that they find a way to track us. No scent, no footprints. . . . Was it necessary for you to be so thorough?"

The man spoke up. "Yes. We'll reach the end of what was the storm's radius soon enough, however. Let's move. We need to take the target back to Yuri-sama."

The leader nodded. "I think Yuri-sama will be very pleased, the sooner we get there." She took off, hopping amongst the branches with Washi and the unnamed male not far behind. On the leader's waist, tied by a red string, was a small wooden knick-knack of a young girl in a blue kimono, wearing an expression of serene sleep, with black hair and orange eyes.

Chapter Seven: Boy With a Crush

"I'm sorry, but I can't catch her scent past here," spoke Pakkun; he was the nin-dog brought forth by the Summoning Jutsu, chestnut brown with darker shades around his muzzle and long ears. He was a small pug, wearing an open blue vest, Konoha hitaiate, and bandages on the ankles of his front paws.

Team Sakura stood around him near the entrance of the hotel. Ao, on one knee at his level, frowned. "Are you sure, Pakkun? Nothing?"

The dog nodded. "My nose ain't what it used to be, sweetheart. A stronger nose might be able to pick it up, but I can't. Try—"

His nose twitched. A strong breeze was blowing from the North, rustling grass, leaves, hair, clothing, and fur. He raised his nose, closed his eyes, and took a deep sniff. He opened his eyes. "South. The wind's blowing her scent this way."

Ao smirked and stood. "Thanks, Pakkun! Lead the way!"

"One moment," Sakura said. She dug into her pouch and pulled out two headsets. "I'm going to stay back for some recon, see if I can find anything out about the kidnappers. I'll relay anything I find out to you through the headsets." One of them, she handed to Shouta. "Shouta, you're going to be the leader while I'm back here, so you get the headset. I want quarterly reports."

The brunette nodded and smiled, donning the headset. "Of course, Sakura-sensei."

Ao pursed her lips, scowling at both him and Sakura, but it went unnoticed.

Sakura donned her headset. "Okay. Stay together. Contact me if you face any trouble."

"Yes, Sakura-sensei!" they chorused.


The boy stood at the window of his room, overlooking his village. It was simple, with arrays of buildings—mostly the houses of his people—with a stream running through; small wooden bridges made it so people could conveniently pass onto either side of the divided village, although the water of the stream was in fact only shallow enough to submerge one's feet. The village was in a gorge, surrounded by stone. Far off, was an opening in the rock with a wooden-log gate.

He was short, for a village leader, mostly because he was quite young. At the age of eleven, his hair was colorless, scruffy as it shaped around his head and over his brow. His eyebrows were just as white, since it was not a matter of bleach, but natural. Stoic lilac eyes blended significantly with his pale skin.

Over a black turtleneck with long-sleeves, he wore an elegant, green, kimono-style shirt, loose enough in the collar that a lot of his chest would have been exposed. The sleeves were also loose, ending on the biceps, and lined with a lighter green. His obi was silver, the same as his pants, which were tucked into the black zori on his shins. The sleeves of his turtleneck were long, ending at his wrist, and there were light blue prayer beads hanging around his neck.

In the distance, as he toyed with the beads, he saw the gates to his village open, and he moved his head up a little; his emotionless expression was unchanged.

A moment later, a young woman entered the room, a wavy-haired brunette with cunning brown eyes. The cut was just above her shoulders, and there was a part in her bangs that showed three dots, like points of a triangle, colored a light blue on her forehead. "Yuri-sama . . . Kanae, Suoh, and Washi have returned through the gates, and will be here shortly.

Yuri blinked, a faint pink coming to his cheeks. "Are they alone?"

"That's currently unknown. The daughter of the Fire Country's Daimyo may be with them, she may not be. Kanae always carried her targets specially." She waited for a response, but did not receive one. "Is there anything else you want me to do?"

". . . ." The blush disappeared from his face. "I have caught wind of your true actions, pertaining your last mission. Ichi . . . they lead me to question your loyalty to me, and this village."

Ichi swallowed, scowling uneasily. Her mouth was a straight line. "Rest in my assurance that those are simply false. I am, always have been, and always will be, loyal. Where did these accusations come from?"

"I know she's lying. I'm not dupable, not by a bad a liar as her," he said to someone Ichi could not see. He then addressed her. "Unimportant. You're a traitor." He heard Ichi's guilty grunt as she took a step back. "For months, you've been feeding info to the ninja of Hoshigakure. You'll be surprised to know that info was fake."

She gasped minutely. Her eyes widened, and sweat began to accumulate at the back of her head and on her temples. Realizing what fate was soon to overcome her, she took a step back, toward the door, but it shut by some invisible force before she could exit. The occurrence made her jump and yelp.

Yuri turned to face her, releasing his necklace of prayer beads. He raised that hand, forming a two-fingered sign. "Yes, it does suck that it's come to this. She was one of the ones I liked. Well . . . now I'll be able to keep her spirit closer to me."

Ichi's eyes looked like they were going to shoot from her head, whereas the dots on her forehead began to glow white. "No—NO! Yuri-sama, please—!"

His face expressed no mercy. "It's too late. You should be holding onto your dignity. Don't worry about going to heaven or hell. . . ." He watched as she suddenly went still, and limply fell to the ground. The three glowing points on her forehead projected from her and converged, sailing over to a bead on his necklace, which also glowed white. "You'll be serving me instead."

He let her body lay on the carpet of the master bedroom, turning to face the window again. The light of his bead began to dull, until it was completely extinguished. It now held a similarity to a number of beads on the necklace; it seemed to have a constant, swirling substance within.

The door opened again, but it was two females and a male that entered the room; all three wore masks. In his presence, they all pulled the cloth down, revealing their solemn visages. They crouched in a triangle formation, heads bowed. They did not pay mind to Ichi's body.

"Yuri-sama," the one closest to him called. She had the same eye and skin color as Yuri, yet her hair was chestnut brown, short and thick. Beneath her bangs, the same blue markings as Ichi were present, her red-painted lips formed an almost-straight line. She wore a tight, short-sleeved, dark purple shirt beneath a padded grey vest, and a black skirt over fishnets tights that led into black, knee-high zori.

He turned to face them. "Kanae. Suoh. Washi. Success or failure?"

The man and woman in the back, Suoh and Washi, rose and stepped back. Suoh was on the left, scruffy orange hair spanning not far from his head. His blue eyes stared forward, into space. A padded grey vest, like Kanae's, was over a muscular chest and short-sleeved black tee. Baggy black pants were tucked into dark zori at the knee, armor covered his forearms, and on the left arm, a blade skimmed the flank.

Washi, on the right, had the same flaming hair color as a braid trailing down her back and sharp, pretty blue eyes with long eyelashes. Her bangs parted over the sides of her face, partly over her eyes, and she was also branded with the three-pointed mark. She wore a brown, short-sleeved turtleneck with a medium-sized collar and a large zipper down the front. Her arms and ankles were bandaged, though black zori also covered her shins and blue jeans tucked into them.

Kanae took a little wooden figurine from her waist, setting it on the wooden flooring. Silently, she performed a string of hand signs while Yuri faced them, and tapped the figurine on the top of its head. She stood back as the figure was consumed in a cloud of smoke.

Chiyo's form sleeping was revealed, when the smoke cleared. She was on her side, dreaming contentedly, completely oblivious to her situation. Gently, she was inhaling and exhaling, not in an obnoxious, snoring fashion, but a faintly audible sound, as her acherontic locks delicately sprawled behind her.

Yuri felt his face grow hot as he walked a few paces closer to her, arms at his sides. He could feel his palms begin to sweat. "Wake her."

"We can't," Kanae responded. "She's under a sedative of some kind. We could give her something to wake her up, but considering the length of time it took for us to return after her capture, she should awaken soon."

He stopped in front of Chiyo. She looks so peaceful . . ., he thought. "Let her sleep." Silently, he knelt on one knee, and picked Chiyo up like a groom would his bride. The boy was careful as he carried her over to his bed, which was king-sized. He pulled the sheets over her, since she shivered.

For minutes, he stood at her bedside, silently watching as she slept. Kanae, Suoh, and Washi stood, awaiting their dismissal. "Go away. And take out the trash while you're at it."


Three knives were planted into the bulls' eyes on the center post of three, thrown precisely by a young brunette kunoichi-in-training. She was still in the stance she had been in to throw them, and her lavendar-white byakugan eyes lit up as she victoriously jumped up and down. Dressed in a pink Chinese-style shirt and blue shorts, hair done up in twin buns, she turned toward two people sitting not far away.

"Mom! Did you see that? Did you see that?! I got them all in the center!"

The woman she had addressed sat on the grass nearby, next to Sasuke. She was also brunette, wearing her hair up in twin buns, as well. Her bangs parted above brown eyes to show the Konoha symbol on her hitaiate. The white Chinese-style shirt she wore with red-violet tabs and lining was sleeveless, fitting a trim waist, and she wore loose pants of a color matching the lining of her shirt. Feminine ninja sandals completed the garb.

Tenten clapped for her daughter. "Good job, Tenji! Keep it up!"

"Yes!" The little one happily ran forward to collect her knives from the target, grinning widely. The first two were easy to pull out, since they punctured shallowly, but the third was tough. She had to tug hard, straining, leaning as far back as she could. Her hands were slipping off of the knife, but simultaneously, the blade very slowly slipped from the wood.

She felt something whistle past her left ear, just as she finished pulling the weapon out of the tree. Another knife replaced it as she fell down onto her back.

"Tenji!" Tenten shouted as she stood. Quickly, she started to run over, but Tenji sat up, twisted, and smiled, assuring her mother that she was alright. The girl stood up and looked at the boy who had thrown the kunai that had nearly hit her.

Hatsumomo's mouth hung open in awe and appeared remorseful. "I'm so sorry, Tenji-chan! I meanted to throwed it at that post!" His finger pointed at the post with a target in front of him. There was one kunai in the outermost ring, one far below it, and half of the blade protruded from the top of the post, precariously, of another.

"Didn't you hear the safe rules?" she demanded, putting her fists on her lips. "'No throwing knives when someone else is trying to get their knives back!"

"I'm sorry!"

Tenten watched them in relief, placing a hand over her heart as it slowed back down to a normal pace. She returned to the Hero's Memorial Stone, sitting next to Sasuke. He had his knees raised with his elbows resting on them as he scowled.

My son . . . doesn't like the Academy . . . and is a terrible ninja, he thought to himself, trying to digest the unthinkable. At this age, he could understand ones near the rim of the target, and pardon the one not far from it on the post, but the other target on the other post, he could not fathom. Even with a dislike for the facility, he should not be as maladroit.

Tenten leaned against a tree with her legs straight out, keeping an eye on the pair of training students. "Six years ago—coming near seven—your name was carved into that stone. A stone for ninja that were killed in action. Weird, huh?"

For a moment, Sasuke took his eyes off of his son and moved them over to the K.I.A stone. "Doesn't seem so. 'Uchiha Sasuke' was dead to the world."

"So it's like he's been resurrected."

"Yes."

"Hmm." She cocked her head, continuing to watch, a pink smile crossed her face as Tenji made another bull's eye. "Sometimes I wonder if she's taking after me, or her dad. She's top of her class in taijutsu and weaponry. She began developing her byakugan early, for a member of the Branch Family."

Sasuke's eyes returned to Hatsumomo. The blonde was collecting his kunai as Tenji reacquired hers. He was discouraged to see that his son's kunai were far from the mark whilst Tenten's daughter's were all on the target, or a bull's eye.

Tenten continued, "Because of that, she also got the Hyuuga curse a year earlier than most, at three." The bandages on Tenji's forehead were brought to attention. "There was nothing Neji could do. Luckily, she hasn't had to live the horrors of it. But, it could be suppressing her potential, a little; that's why I stress marksmanship.

"But . . . Neji tells me Hatsu-kun dodged that shurikon." It was noted that even when Hatsumomo's forehead was visible, no Hyuuga Cursed Seal had been evident. "Krystal wouldn't have it. Said he had 'Uchiha' as a family name, not 'Hyuuga'—the rules of the Hyuuga Clan did not apply to him. Lucky."

He continued watching his son. . . . 'His son.' "My son. . . ."

The brunette tilted her head upright and turned to face him. "You don't believe it?"

His expression did not change. "It's hard to. He looks nothing like me. He acts nothing like me. I didn't know she was pregnant when I left."

She hesitated. "The date Hatsu-kun was born was around nine months after you left. She . . . found out about the pregnancy probably minutes before she was told 'Uchiha Sasuke' died." Her eyes went from being averted, back to his face. "And . . . she wasn't with anyone until about two years ago."

Sasuke's back straightened, and he gave her his complete attention; his round, scowling eyes met her own expression of minute shock. "What?"

She blinked. "Hm? I thought you knew. . . ."

No response.

"Well . . . there wasn't much, just dates . . . she didn't have anyone longer than a few meetings until that one guy for a couple months. . . . Then about a year ago, she began dating her current boyfriend . . . Sai."

The shadows of his face darkened dangerously, leaving Tenten breathless and speechless. Soon, however, someone arrived and called her name, diverting her attention. "Tenten-sensei!"

She turned her head, seeing a daffodil in front of her face held by a blue-eyed, plump, blond boy. A blush had blossomed on Taro's cheeks as he bashfully folded his other arm behind himself. "Um . . . Taro-san. What is it?"

His smile faltered a little, becoming a little discouraged. "A daffodil! My mom said they mean friendship. I wanted to give you a whole bunch, but she didn't let me. She said 'less is more.' . . . Don'ya like it?"

She smiled nervously, accepting the flower. I get it that it's just a kid-crush, but . . . how do you handle it? "Yes, of course I like it . . . thank you. Did your mom know you mean to give it to me?"

"Nope! It's secret—don't tell her, okay?"

"I . . . understand."

Taro grinned cheesily. "All right! I gotta go, Tenten-sensei—," he giggled, "—bye!" He ran away, saying, "She like my flower!" loud enough for everyone present to hear.

Tenten continued to look at the daffodil for a few moments; it was a pretty distraction from the scowling man beside her, and it in truth was very sweet. She no longer felt his eyes on her, but did not feel up to looking at him yet after dropping a bomb like that on him. To him, it was like Krystal was committing adultery; bombs like that are bound to burn.

Since Sasuke had been alive, however, Krystal technically had.

Through her peripheral vision, she saw Sasuke stand and begin to walk away. She stood, too, and opened her mouth, but shut it when she realized that he was walking toward his son. He took a kunai and presented how to throw it properly, stoic with the exception of a scowl.

The brunette swallowed. Sweat had begun accumulating beneath her headband as the hair stood on the back of her neck. Sasuke was radiating bloodlust, but he acted calmly. He was probably calculating his next move, debating the plan of his confrontation.

Oh boy. . . .


The surface that she laid upon was much softer than she remembered falling asleep. Perhaps the angle of her head had changed, too; was she on two pillows, or three? She opened her eyes a little, seeing blurs of colors including greens, silver, white, and light blue.

Opening them wider, the shapes of those colors became more defined, until she made out the torso of a young boy with authority. She tilted her head so that she could see his face; he was unrecognized. Quickly, she rolled away from him, making the blanket unravel itself from around her, and stood on the side opposite of him.

Yuri observed her with the lightest blush on his cheeks. Chiyo was scowling at him strongly, orange eyes ablaze, with the slightest bit of sweat dewing on her brow. "I know she's scared . . . I can read it in her aura."

Chiyo grunted, taking a minuscule step back as her scowl deepened. "I'm . . . not scared. . . . I'm angry."

"I sense that, too."

Silence commenced as he stared at her, completely stoic but for pink cheeks and minutely parted lips. Eerie, luminous, lilac eyes just stared at her, and she did not understand what type of stare it was. It did not give away much emotion; she was not scared or disgusted by it . . . it was not of lust, either. . . .

Her brow lifted when she momentarily caught his eyes give way to adoration, and felt more flaming color add itself to her face, a deep red on her cheeks. She shook it off, reverting to a controlled, dignified expression.

"What are your plans for me? Death? Ransom? Everybody knows that's what happens when someone is kidnapped . . . commonly with a person related to someone with money or power. I'm thinking ransom, by your age."

"I have money. My people and I live cozy lives," Yuri replied. "I don't want you dead, either, Chiyo."

She was distrusting. "I don't know you. Don't say my name without an honorific."

A soft smile crossed his lips that seemed a smidgen despondent. "Sorry, Chiyo-hime. My name is Yuri, Lord of the Creek Village." Slowly, testing her caution, he began walking around the bed, never taking those eyes off of her. "But, to you, Chiyo-hime, I would just be a boy with a crush."

Chiyo's eyes further widened and she stepped back, her face turning a deeper red. The moment she had stepped away, Yuri stopped in his tracks. "Wha . . . what? CRUSH?!"

His smile disappeared, replaced with something more like a minuscule shock. "Yes. I've seen you at festivals . . . and have found you to be very easy on the eyes. . . . I want to know you. And maybe . . . some day you can become my bride. A Lord should have a wife."

She swallowed. "So you kidnapped me? You couldn't—you couldn't deal with my parents? Like a NORMAL suitor? How stupid that your village could let a kid that makes decisions like this become Lord! I want to return home immediately."

He took a large step toward her. "No! Please don't go. . . . I can give you anything you want, here, with me. . . . Give me a chance."

But the girl stood her ground. "If you can give me anything I want, you can release me." She received no response. "Then leave me. Let me . . . adjust."

". . . ." The boy nodded and began his procession toward the door; he appeared dignified, with his shoulders back and back straight. He stopped in front of the door and raised his head, as if listening. "Yes . . . I hope she starts liking it here, too."

The door closed behind him, but Chiyo was sure that she had not seen a hand anywhere near to help it.

Embers of her eyes soon were being doused by tears as she hugged herself, gently rubbing her arms. She pursed her lips. Anger was a strong emotion in the forefront of her heart, but it was also accompanied by disappointment, anxiety, and gloom. Never had she even heard of a place called "Creek Village," she had no idea where she was.

Where was her prince? Was he not supposed to have saved her from this scenario? Naturally, she had been correct! ANBU would only be able to handle this; obviously, her prince had lied to her in many ways. There was greater doubt now that Ao was ANBU whereas Chiyo was completely sure of the incompetence of Konoha ninja.

How could she have been kidnapped in a room with four shinobi?

She was enclosed in complete silence as she walked toward the bed and climbed on the end. The girl crawled across, toward the head, and laid on her side, close to a fetal position. Ashamedly, she pulled the blanket to wrap herself in a small cocoon.

In the cocoon, she regressed, finding solace under the comforter, but knew she would exit the chrysalis as a refined and dignified as a butterfly.


Light strumming of a light wooden acoustic guitar filled that section of the outer halls with a lovely melody as Yuuta played the said instrument. He sang no lyric with the music, aiming his eyes at the cloudy sky, smile on his face. The day was beautiful in Konoha, with white clouds.

Annora bounced down the hall, wearing an outfit more accommodating to the chill. Her garb consisted of a lavendar turtleneck, a denim skirt, and high black boots. Behind her husband, she stopped, turned, and bent over until her face was near Yuuta's cheek.

Gently, she rocked, taking a moment to listen to his playing. "Liking the music. Is there a lyric?"

He continued playing, but lowered his visage. "No, just having some fun."

She grinned, "Well . . . I have something you'll want to see," and kissed his cheek, bringing the smile his face to widen. His playing stopped as she lowered her lips, kissing the hinge of his jaw. "But I might need some coaxing before I give it up."

The brunette set aside his guitar and turned, twisting to meet her mouth with his. He brought up his left hand to cup her cheek, a delicate kiss that started the embers of their excitement. Deepening the kiss, he cradled the back of her head. Annora felt light as her mind clouded and her knees became weak, and those pleasured embers grew.

Regretfully, the kiss was released, as both found themselves needing air. Remorseful feelings did not long linger, however, since they quickly returned for a few more kisses. On the last, they paused in it, further taking in each other's sweet taste.

Stars were in their eyes when they parted, as Yuuta's thumb stroked her cheek and they rested their foreheads against each other. They closed their eyes. "Did that convince you?" he whispered.

Annora could not help but grin widely as she produced a letter. "H'oh yeah . . . it's nice to know we haven't completely lost our spark."

Yuuta matched her amusement as he took the letter from her. "I agree." He gave her one last peck and turned from her, back to how he had been with the guitar. She sat down next to him, and laid her head on his shoulder. "It's from Krystal-chan."

The letter's content was mostly of highlighted happenings in Britain, particularly of her class. She had discovered young fans of Yuuta and Annora, who constantly sang the couple's songs during free time (quite different in English, she had added.) Also, the accommodations on Britain surpassed par, and it was a blessing that they had instilled the English language in her.

There was also mention of her lamentation to be away from everyone for so long. She would be indeed lonely if Lord Maboroshi was not keeping her company when she was not teaching. "How's everyone doing?" she asked.

"Tell everyone I miss them and can't wait to be home. I already told Maboroshi-sama that after three months, I'm going back home regardless! Give a kiss to Ao-chan and Momo-chan for me, tell them and Sai I love them; love you too, Dad and Annora! (Yes, I'm assuming you're the ones reading this!)

"And if Sai asks . . . tell him that I am thinking about it hard, and haven't come any closer to an answer."

That preceding line made for an awkward pause between the couple, as both pretended to still be reading the letter. Both were thinking the same thing. If she chooses to marry him, what will she do when she learns Sasuke's alive?

"Yuuta . . . should we tell her?"

He took awhile to respond. It did not seem right to withhold such significant information from Krystal, but it also did not seem right to give it away in a letter so impersonally. "No. She wouldn't believe it, too much drama over letters."

"Yeah . . . you're right. But then she might get mad at us for not saying."

"But then we wouldn't have to wait to deal with it and stretch it out on paper."

She brought her right hand across her lap and stroked his arm. Randomly, she twisted her head, pecked his shoulder, and looked forward again, leaning against him. "Have I told you today that I love you?"

"No, not today."

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

End of Chapter Seven

Next Time in .:Violets are Blue:.!! Chapter Eight: Acquaintance and Inheritance

"Yuri-sama. The Gatekeepers have reported seeing four figures in the distance. The leading one is significantly smaller that the other three, possibly a small animal. If they are the ninja previously looking after Chiyo-hime, then . . . we will do at your behest."

Yuri quickly regained his composure, straightening himself. "If it is them, and they want Chiyo-hime back, they can't have her. You, Washi, and Suoh can go there and become 'acquainted' with them . . . try to change their minds."


Thanks for reading! Please, leave a review :D! It gives me something to reply to when I have Writer's Block (evilllllll!!!!) Also, I appreciate hearing from you guys, be they good or bad. . . . Though if you leave a review that's cross and full of things I supposedly messed up on, be sure you know to what you are pertaining :) God bless!