I really wanted to forget everything for just five minutes, but sadly, I didn't have that luxury. I had to find out what Zabuza meant. 'You're not mine to kill.' What in the name of Kami does that mean? I dug deep, trying to find some spark of a memory that had a fight or feud in it. Maybe that would help me to figure out what this huge mystery was.
"Nii-chan!" I heard Naruto's voice and I snapped my eyes open. My investigation would have to wait. I looked for him as he appeared at my side.
"Yes, Nii-san?" I asked and he ginned hugely and pointed at his tree. There was a mark on it that was about nine feet up. I smiled. "Good for you. You did it!"
"Yeah, thanks to you!" He said and I smiled a bit bigger. I stood up and placed a hand on the shoulder of my brother.
"You did the work. I only helped you get there." I said and he chuckled.
I let my hand slide off of his shoulder and strolled over to my own tree. I sighed as I looked at my two slash marks. I then closed my eyes and made my hand sign to control my chakra. I started to feel something, but it was the burning on my birthmark. I quietly groaned and massaged the area to sooth it. This usually helps. I would seriously have to ask Kakashi or Iruka about this.
"Ayame-chan." I heard a voice from behind me and footsteps coming towards me. I rolled my eyes, knowing who the voice belonged to, and turned to meet the gaze of Sasuke.
"Hai?" I asked, trying not to sound completely oblivious. He stopped when he was about two feet in front of me.
"When are you doing to tell me what's going on with you?" He asked, voice monotone as ever. I kept my face cool and collected, just like what he was doing.
"I don't know what you're talking about, Sasuke-kun." I said. "Is there something wrong?"
"Hn. Don't take me for a fool." He said.
"I don't."
"Then don't attempt to lie to me, Ayame-chan."
Argh. I was getting pissed. Why can't he just leave me alone?
"Why can't you just leave me alone?" I asked. Sasuke exhaled through his nostrils.
"That's not how it works." He said and I raised an eyebrow.
"Oh?"
"We're of the same village. We're of the same team. We're friends. You can trust me." He reasoned. "I need to know if there is anything I can do to help you."
Whoa, whoa, back up for a second. Friends? He actually admitted it? I decided to stab my thumb with my middle finger's nail to see if I was dreaming. Ouch. I was awake.
"It's not a matter of trust." I sighed and put my hand on my hip. "I may or may not tell you later, Sasuke-kun. For now, let's just train." I said and he nodded, then walked away.
Ugh, he is so good at holding his emotions away from his face! I wish I could do that more easily. Oh, well. I turned back to my tree and focused all over again. I would have to hide my seering pain for the day to keep everyone's suspicious eyes off of me. I narrowed my eyes at the tree and sprinted forward, running up the tree and going twenty feet up it before back flipping off of it.
"Nice one, Ayame-chan!" Naruto called to me and I smiled.
I didn't bother looking up at him. I was in the zone.
We went on training until, after an hour, I ran up a tree and didn't come done. I made it to a high branch. I finally did it!
"Hey, Naruto-kun!" I called down to him. He looked up in the direction in my voice and smiled hugely. "I know I was always taller than you, but this is ridiculous!" I laughed. I was so happy that I measured up to Sakura. He pouted, but I saw the corners of his lips threatening to smile.
"Good for you, Nii-chan." Naruto grumbled, but there was obvious pride in his voice. I smiled and leaned on the trunk of the tree. I slid down until I was sitting on the branch and my legs were outstretched in front of me. I exhaled, tired.
"Kitai-san would be proud of me." I whispered, closing my eyes.
I was certain that she would be. I so desperately wanted to find her, to ask her questions, to know everything about her. As soon as I could remember enough information about her and my family, I knew I could find her. I just had to work hard. I had to work the hardest I've ever worked in my life. This was my mother I was talking about.
I focused on the image of her face I had found a few weeks ago. I studied it and memorized it, taking in every feature and beautiful flaw. Then, something hit me like a brick wall. A new image appeared, but it wasn't my mother. It was a young boy, no older than four, standing over me. He had short, black hair but the exact same hazel eyes Kitai had. Was he my brother? His face was twisted with disgust and hatred. Was that directed toward me?
A million questions rushed into my head, making my lose my focus, along with the little boy. Who was he? Why did he look so upset? How did he know me? Where was he now? Where was Kitai when this was happening?
'Okay,' I thought, eyes now open, but narrowed in focus and determination. 'I can guess that that memory was when I was an infant, possibly a newborn, and that was thirteen years ago. So, the little boy is seventeen or eighteen now, depending on what month he was born in.' Another million questions.
Did he know I was alive? Is he looking for me? Did I have any other siblings? And so on. This is going to be one headache I don't want to deal with, but I have to. For the truth. For my family. For myself. When I find my family, I can finally show everyone that I'm normal. I had a life. I wasn't a freak.
"Ayame-chan." I heard Sasuke call for me. I looked down and saw him looking up at me. "It's getting late. We need to get back to Tazuna's house." I looked up and saw that the sky had darkened. How long had I been out of it?
"Hai, Sasuke-kun." I said and leapt from my tree limb to land next to him. I was about a foot away from the Uchiha. "Where is Naruto-kun?" I asked.
He pointed over my shoulder. I turned to see Naruto, curled up in a ball next to a bush. I smiled and sighed. I was going to have to wake this boy up. I walked over to him and knelt next to him. I lightly shook his shoulders.
"Nii-san." I said softly. "Wake up, Naruto-kun." He groaned quietly and slowly opened his eyes.
"Hm?"
"We have to go, now. Come on." I said and gripped Naruto's hand as I guided him to his feet. He rubbed his eyes as he stood and yawned.
"Let's go." Sasuke said and walked off. I sighed quietly and released my grip on Naruto.
We walked back to the home of Tazuna in silence. Naruto was tired, Sasuke wasn't one for conversation and I was wrapped up in my own thoughts. I decided to write down everything I remember and work on remembering more after the mission was completed. It was too risky for my mind to wander in a situation such as this. I could get my team and I killed. We made it to Tazuna's home and saw Kakashi, Tazuna, Sakura, Tazuna's daughter and some kid sitting at the dinner table. The kid must have been the grandchild.
"Well, I was beginning to wonder when you'd all show up." Kakashi said and we sat down.
I sat with Sakura to my right and Naruto to my left. Sasuke was in front of me and the child was to his right. Kakashi and Tazuna sat at either head of the table. Tazuna's daughter would sit in the empty chair next to Sasuke.
"Sorry, Kakashi-sensei." I apologized and bowed my head.
"You should be pleased to know that we all made it to the top of the trees." Sasuke said and I stared at him.
They both made it? I didn't even notice. I looked at Naruto who was now beaming at himself. I was seriously out of it. Sakura nudged me and I looked back at her.
"Good job, Ayame-chan." She congratulated me. "You too, Sasuke-kun. And... Naruto..." She said and I smiled.
"Ayame-chan was the first person to make it up, though." Sasuke said and I rolled my eyes. I don't like being put down, but I don't like being acknowledged either. Kakashi turned to me.
"Impressive." He said in a voice I couldn't read. I blinked, but remained silent.
"Yeah, Nii-chan helped me get to the top!" Naruto said with a growing grin. "I did it! Believe it!" I mentally cursed him.
"Well, that's all fine and dandy, but how's that going to help me?" Tazuna asked and I bit my tongue to keep myself from saying anything I would regret. "I doubt there will be a tree to climb when I'm being attacked." Kakashi chuckled wryly.
"It will help them control their chakra for any type of situation." Kakashi explained. "Ayame, for example, can use her chakra in her ears to find valuable information or fight while she's blind. It's an important skill to have when you need to anticipate someone's move." I felt judgmental eyes on me and I turned to face them.
'Just like in the village.' I thought.
"Good hearing, ne?" Tazuna asked and I nodded. He cupped his hand around his mouth and whispered very quietly. "Can you hear this, brat?" No one else heard him. I clenched my teeth and nodded. Tazuna dropped his hand to reveal a smirk. "Impressive." He said sarcastically. "Now, you can hear gossip behind your back." I glared at him and Sakura gently touched my arm. I shrugged her away from me and stood up.
"I've lost my appetite." I turned my back. "Call me if I'm needed, Kakashi-sensei. I'm bound to hear it." I growled the last sentence and left without another word.
I didn't want to be in that house. I didn't want to be in that village. Tazuna didn't know me- he didn't know my team, my friends. He's a bastard. Why am I protecting him again? Because he's the only one who can save his village? Argh, why is this such an obligation? I went into a room and saw my pack, along with Sakura's. I assumed we would be sharing this room, so I stepped in and lied down on a mat. I shut my eyes and just ignored everything. Just for once.
The Next Morning
I didn't remember having any dreams or even Sakura coming in. It worked. My shunning of the universe paid off, because I finally got a few hours of peace. I so desperately needed that. I sat up on my mat and stretched my arms. I touched my toes, which were stretched out in front of me. I looked over at Sakura's still sleeping body and debated whether or not to wake her. I decided against it. She needed as much sleep and energy as she could get.
I stood up and made my way to the door when I heard a very familiar voice from the other side of the wall. I froze and listened.
"Why couldn't I beat that creep?" It was Naruto. What was he talking about? "Why the kuso are we protecting him?" There was another person with him. I heard the breathing of another person.
"Hn. Ayame-chan is a lot tougher than she looks." It was Sasuke? What the kuso? "She can handle Tazuna."
Oh. They were talking about what happened last night. I rolled my eyes and boldly opened the door of the room I was in. I stepped out into the hallway and saw Sasuke leaning on the wall and Naruto standing in the center of the corridor with his arms across his chest. I saw Sasuke tense in the slightest as I walked towards him and my Nii-san.
"Don't." I said in a hushed tone. "Naruto-kun, drop it. Sasuke-kun, you too." I ordered and passed them to get to the kitchen where I had a feeling Kakashi was.
"Ayame-chan." I heard from behind me and Sasuke (I knew it was him because his voice was close to my ear) gently gripped my right shoulder. The burning was back and I shoved Sasuke's hand off of me.
"Don't." I repeated, gripping my shoulder. I ignored whatever it was he had to say and continued my trek to the kitchen.
"Sasuke, Naruto, Ayame." Kakashi's voice called in a calm manner. "Get in here." I turned back to glare at the boys as I walked towards my sensei's voice.
"Hai, Kakashi-sensei." We said in a unison and bowed.
"Enough of that." Kakashi said. I noticed he was the only one in the room. It was still early, so I'm sure everyone else was asleep. "Bickering will get us nowhere. Ayame, I would like to speak with you after breakfast, understood?" I slightly scowled and nodded.
"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto said in and annoyed voice. "It wasn't Ayame-chan's fault that Tazuna-san is a-"
"Naruto, mind your words." Kakashi said, voice still content. "Don't worry, your friend isn't in trouble. Can't a teacher just have a word with his student?" No.
Naruto pouted as another body bumped into him.
"Hey, watch it, brat." Tazuna barked. I clenched my fists and took a deep breath, trying very hard to control myself. "Move it." He said and shoved Naruto away. He fell towards me and I caught him in my arms.
"It's okay." I whispered, feeling Naruto getting more tense with each passing second. Naruto straightened his posture and dusted himself off.
Everyone else woke up soon after that. Tazuna's daughter- I wish I'd caught her name- was making breakfast as the rest of us sat where we sat last night. I kept sneaking glances of Tazuna, mentally daring him to say something.
"So," The man I mentioned started to say. "How'd you sleep, hearing brat?" He asked and I remained silent, not egging him on. "Huh? Hey, I'm talking to you." He looked right at me and I still refused to speak. Tazuna grunted. He muttered something very softly, but, of course, I could hear him. "Damn brat." I closed my eyes and sighed quietly.
The food was served and we ate in silence. I had nothing to say and nothing I wanted to hear. After we were all finished, Tazuna announced that he was going to get some groceries and Kakashi told Sakura to guard him, seeing as an assassin probably wouldn't strike around a ton of people. They left and I was helping to clear the table, when my sensei pulled me aside. We went into the woods and walked around aimlessly. I was silent during our outing, until Kakashi spoke.
"Ayame," He started. "I know things are hard for you. Of course, I've noticed. Don't ever think you can't talk to me about anything or think that the people of our village are all right about you." He insisted. Now was as good a time as any.
"Actually, there is something I need to ask you." I said, a bit nervous. Kakashi raised his eyebrow, telling me to go on. "Do you know about my...birthmark?" I asked, hiding my awkwardness. He shook his head and I sighed, then moved my right sleeve down to expose my shoulder. "You see, it hurts sometimes." I said. I was looking for any sign of surprise, but none were present. "What do you think that means?"
Kakashi hesitated before answering. "No. You should ask Iruka." He said and I sighed then recovered my birthmark.
He was lying. Stalling to gain more time. I didn't want to tell him that I knew, because I wanted to know if Iruka knew anything too. I needed to find him when we got to the village before Kakashi did. I didn't want them to get their story straight before I got a chance to squeeze the truth out of him.
"Is that all?" He asked, fishing for something. I shook my head. "Very well. Oh and don't let Tazuna get to you. He's just intimidated by you and everyone else." I laughed wryly.
"I'll believe it when I hear it." I muttered. Kakashi sighed and our walk back to the house was silent.
