Chapter 6:
When the hills let go
Slowly fade into the water like some ancient lover
On a ship filled with ghosts
It's something to behold
~*~
Rena stood behind Sasori, the breath had been crushed from her lungs and she felt like she was going to puke, but she felt victory's adrenaline coursing through her body. She'd done it, she'd cracked Hiraishin—well, not technically—she had no idea what she'd even done, but after Minato had destroyed the puppet, she could tell Sasori was considering retreat and there was just no way she could allow that to happen. She didn't know why, but she knew they had to take Sasori and take him alive. She had an inkling that it had something to do with this prophecy, gut instinct had a habit of turning out to be something more than mere gut instinct.
She noticed Minato's eyes were on her, a bit surprised. She knew he must be as confused as she was, sure she'd done something right in order to have successfully used Hiraishin, but the problem was, there was no tag in this area. So how had she done it? Was it a fluke? She had been aiming for the disguised kunai, but she supposed she'd overshot it. Did she land in this position by accident? There was no more time to think about it. As soon as Minato recovered, he moved and in the blink of an eye he was standing in front of Sasori, a hand on his chest. Tagged.
~*~
"Dammit!" Naruto shouted as he and his clones stood over the opening they'd made in the dragon's head.
He knew Gaara was gone, but he didn't want to admit it. He didn't want to admit that he'd failed.
"Why is it always you?" He murmured, his voice cracking as the tears fell.
He stepped back as his clones moved to lift Gaara's body from its clay prison.
Sasuke suddenly appeared beside Kakashi, his expression solemn.
"He got away." He said, referring to Deidara. It pissed him off, but the obnoxious man had escaped even him. Underestimating the man had been terribly erroneous of him. Evading the Sharingan was a real feat.
Kakashi only nodded from where he sat on the branch, observing his student's struggle to not only admit that his friend was dead, but to get his emotions under control.
"I need you to do something." He said in a low tone. He dipped his hand into his kunai pouch and pulled the small piece of paper with a seal adorning the front and handed it up to Sasuke.
"I'm sure you remember what happened at the Valley of the End, to Naruto that is."
"The red chakra." Sasuke said, he remembered that all too well.
"Yeah. It happens whenever he gets too upset and can no longer control the Kyuubi's chakra. It's possible that it'll happen again here. I can't move, so if he loses control, you need to get close enough to him to get that tag on his forehead. That'll suppress the Kyuubi's chakra, but you have to do it fast, before too many tails appear or he'll be impossible to get to and when he's like that he can't distinguish between friend and foe."
"I understand."
"Kakashi-sensei, Sasuke-kun!" Came Sakura's voice.
Sasuke whipped around, hoping to see Rena approaching with them, but she was nowhere in sight.
"What happened?" He questioned as soon as his teammate and the old woman landed beside them on the branch. His stomach suddenly dropped with the fear that Rena wasn't with them because she'd been killed.
"Rena-taicho and Minato-san told us to come and help you guys," She replied, throwing a concerned glance at Kakashi after his weary wave.
"So you just left them?" He asked, his tone going a bit darker.
"It was an order." Sakura replied defensively, recognizing his tone. "Besides, they won't lose. He's the fourth Hokage, and Rena-taicho is ANBU. I don't know what she was like when you were training her, but she doesn't need your protection anymore Sasuke-kun." Sakura told him, her expression knowing as her emerald eyes bored into his own black.
Sasuke narrowed his eyes reflexively. They had been apart for three years and she was still able to read him with unsettling accuracy. He hated it.
They stared at each other for a second longer, and then Sasuke broke the stare-down and turned back to where Naruto and his clones were, deciding to drop it for the time being.
They watched Naruto for a while longer, looking for any signs that he might be losing grip, but once he realized that no amount of shouting his friend's name would make any difference, he slid down the trunk of the tree and sat there, slouched over and cradling his head in his hands, shaking it back and forth.
"He's really upset…" Sakura said.
"He's too sensitive." Sasuke replied, his tone snide.
Sakura glowered at him.
"Too sensitive is much better than too insensitive. If I remember correctly who's the one who ran off to Orochimaru so he could get the power to kill his brother because he murdered his entire family? If that's not sensitive I don't know what is" She growled, not caring if she hit any nerves, she'd had enough of his proud hypocrisy.
After glaring at him for a second longer, she moved to where Naruto was and sat beside him, whispering softly.
Sasuke stood completely rigid. She had no right to be talking about that, but there was no point in arguing however, she'd ended the conversation when she moved away, so he silently seethed.
After a few minutes of uncomfortable silence, there was a shout behind them and they turned to see the Fourth and Rena moving toward them.
Sasuke finally let himself breathe now that he knew she was alright, she looked a bit unsettled and pale, but otherwise unharmed. The Fourth was watching her, with slight worry in his eyes. That caused Sasuke's stomach to drop, what was wrong?
"Would you quit that?" Rena said, turning to him once they landed where the others had gathered beneath the trees. "I'm fine. I'm not going to collapse or anything."
"That jutsu uses a huge amount of chakra." Minato said, his tone as concerned as the look on his face.
"Thanks for the hot tip." Rena said dryly, "I'm fully aware of how much chakra it uses. I'm fine."
Minato nodded, but still wore the worried expression, brushing off the snippy tone. However he'd known many ninja who would wave away serious damage because they were too proud to admit they over did it, or took on something they couldn't completely handle yet. However Rena seemed tough, they'd only known each other for a short time, but she'd shown incredible stamina and physical endurance. He wasn't sure how much of it was actually legitimate endurance and how much of it was just personal will power.
"Did you…" Kakashi said, leaving the question hanging.
"No. We captured him." Rena replied.
"Captured?" Chiyo said, walking over from where she had been kneeling beside Gaara.
"Yeah," the Fourth replied, pulling a scroll from his kunai pouch. It was small and black, with strange red seals spider-webbing across it. It was bound by a thick red cord.
"Rena sealed him."
"I didn't know you knew any sealing jutsus." Kakashi responded, trying to move to his feet, but cringed visibly.
"You shouldn't have used it for so long." Rena said, ignoring his comment about fuinjutsu and rushing to catch the man before he fell over. She gave him a very pointed look, signifying she knew exactly why he was so weak.
"One of us is going to have to carry you, you know."
"I'll be fine."
"Oh bullshit. You can't even stand Kakashi." She replied. "You know you're going to be spending a long time in the hospital bed when we get back."
Kakashi's eye darkened, "I'm not going to the hospital." He replied in a sour and otherwise unquestionably authoritive tone that usually put the fear of God in lower ranked ninja and even other Jonin, but Rena wasn't afraid of him and his tones. According to her, he could pull rank or try to be as intimidating as he wanted, he was still harmless in her eyes. Irritating and impossible to figure out, but harmless.
"Yes you are, and don't give the nurses a hard time just because you like to over exert yourself." Rena told him.
Kakashi stared at her for a second as his heart warmed. She was scolding him, but he could see the underlying concern for him beneath the tough exterior. He tightened his arm around her, just trying to make sure that she was truly there and that he wouldn't blink and find her gone. The last time he'd been totally nerve wracked over the well-being of a woman was…well when Rin was alive. He'd let himself love her, and then she was gone. He'd then vowed that he'd never again let himself get so close to anyone again. Until now that is. He'd been afraid of taking the risk of loving and then having to deal with loss. However, Rena was a risk he'd take every time.
Every molecule in his body was attuned to her, from the slight shifting of her shoulders as she breathed, to where her arm was wrapped around his shoulders, to the sounds of her words as they flowed into his ears. She was rambling on about his numerous shortcomings and just generally getting on his ass about over exhausting himself, but he didn't care. He was tuning her out, caught up in her presence. She always said he never listened, but that wasn't true, he may space out sometimes, but he always listened; people just didn't seem to grasp that he was completely capable of multitasking. She was glaring at him now, lamenting about how he never listens, but he didn't mind. He was perfectly content to just stare at her, glad that she was close again. He didn't particularly think about what he was doing, it was just…subconscious. There was a faint voice in the back of his mind that was telling him that he was expressing too much for their current setting and company, but he did was he was best at: he ignored it.
Rena noticed the soft, prolonged, almost tender look, but didn't make any remarks or ask any questions. There wasn't any need for words between them, not anymore. Although she cared for Kakashi and she knew that he cared for her, she wasn't sure if it was in either of their best interests to pursue anything beyond what they already had. While she knew Kakashi would open his life and soul to her, she wasn't sure that she could do the same for him. And then there was the matter of Sasuke to be dealt with. She wasn't looking at him, but she didn't miss the very faint look of displeasure that crossed his face because of the way Kakashi was looking at her.
Rena was at a complete loss, she had no idea what to do. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt anyone. She and Sasuke hadn't spoken a word to each other since that day in the hospital, except for mission orders that is. She could tell he was doing his best to banish the jealousy that he felt, but what she couldn't figure out was why he'd be jealous in the first place. He'd never seen her as anything but an annoying obligation, or so she thought. He'd never said anything or shown any outward indication that he felt anything for her, and now he was getting jealous over what didn't even yet exist between herself and Kakashi. If he was that upset about it, why hadn't he said anything? However, if there was anything Sasuke was great it, it was not sharing his feelings when he should. He wasn't a very soft or emotional person anyway, at least not on the outside. But she knew underneath that concrete casing, there was a softer side and upon remembering how over the edge his pursuit of revenge had driven him in the alternate timeline that she knew, she was determined to make sure that never happened. There was a lot that needed to be resolved between them before the tension caused the rift between them to grow beyond repair.
She hadn't forgotten about how she'd felt about him, or about the way his particular aura felt across her skin and she'd never forget why she'd done all of this in the first place. Of course she'd never forget any of that, but so much had changed. She'd been denying it for months, but it all became clear when Sasuke came back; when her knowledge and the advantage it provided was rendered useless. Things were changing, for the better or worse who knew, and Rena found that her heart had changed with it. Not that she didn't love Sasuke anymore or that she didn't care for Kakashi, but she couldn't find any of it. She knew it was still there, but the steel had moved beyond her mind, to also occupy her heart. The steel that you grow to protect yourself from all the horror and death was crushing her sympathy, compassion, remorse and love down so hard, it was nearly completely gone. So as if things weren't complicated enough, she had to deal with emotional detachment.
"How's Naruto?" Minato asked, looking toward where Sakura was still comforting the blond.
"He's taking it hard, as we all expected. In his eyes, Gaara is his brother and the bond couldn't have been stronger even if they were blood. They understood each other in a way that nobody else could. That and Naruto can't stand breaking a promise. He made a promise and in the end he wasn't able to fulfill it, and that itself is what's crushing him. We all get on him because he's gullible, loud, dense, and a little bit slow, but Uzumaki Naruto is the most dependable, driven, reliable, loyal, solid, good-natured, genuine, strong, unwavering man I have ever known. He is the very embodiment of The Will of Fire." Rena said, throwing a glance at Minato, who smiled gratefully at her run down of what Naruto was like. She had subtly explained to Minato that his son was a great man, and he should be proud. And he was.
"We need to move him to an open space." Chiyo said quietly, looking at Gaara's body. "I can't do what needs to be done in the middle of a forest."
~*~
The Kazekage woke with a start, everything was a bit bleary and it took him a minute to get his bearings. He was laying in the midst of a group of Sand-nin, many of whom were crying and shouting happily. But why?
Oh that's right, he'd died. Flashes of the Akatsuki, the battle in Sunagakure and the extraction ran through his mind like a movie. Then Naruto was there, the blond was looking at him with extreme relief and joy and there were tear stains on his face.
"What's going on?" He asked, still mildly shocked at just how many people were there and how glad they were that he was okay. He still wasn't used to having people care about his well-being instead of being dead afraid of him.
"You really scared us for a second, don't ever die again okay?" Naruto responded, which a good-natured smack at the man's shoulder.
Gaara took a minute to look around, he recognized Hatake Kakashi, Haruno Sakura and was that…? It was, Uchiha Sasuke stood beside Sakura where she sat on the grass, an unconscious Chiyo-baasama in her arms, her expression somber. What happened?
"Chiyo-baachan fixed you up! She's really exhausted and fell asleep but she should be okay!" Naruto said happily looking up at where the woman and Sakura sat. However judging by the saddened faces of Sakura and a white-haired Leaf ANBU that he didn't recognize, Chiyo-baasama was more than just exhausted, and that fact had yet to hit Naruto.
"I see."
He moved to stand and Naruto shifted to help him, but he waved it away, wanting to do this on his own. Once steady on his feet, he walked over to where Chiyo-baasama was and knelt down. He looked at Sakura, his gaze questioning. After a second, she nodded silently, confirming what he'd feared.
The great Chiyo, legendary puppeteer of Sand was dead, having given her life in exchange for his. There were no words that could describe the grateful admiration he felt at that moment. This woman who'd always brushed off the village as something that was no longer her responsibility had made the ultimate sacrifice for it. Her memorial would do her justice, he'd be sure of it.
~*~
The Kazekage's plight was over and things had settled down in the ensuing weeks. The Fourth had decided to let Tsunade keep her position as Hokage so he could have time getting used to things and he mainly spent his time training or on missions with Kakashi and Rena. The three had sort of self-formed their own squad and they had become a very tight-knit group. Surprisingly, no one questioned it, but nobody was really going to question the Fourth, or Tsunade for that matter. There had been no reason for them not to be in a squad, they worked extremely well together, they knew each other's fighting styles in and out and they compensated flawlessly for each other's weaknesses. There wasn't an obstacle that they couldn't overcome between the three of them. They undoubtedly became Konoha's most efficient and feared team; they were so in tune with each other that they scarcely even needed to speak with each other when it came to battle. Other shinobi who'd been dispatched with them said it was a remarkable thing to witness. Some had even started called them the new Legendary Three, however all three of them did their very best to diffuse that before it had a chance to stick.
The shockwave that swept through the village at the Yondaime's return had been staggering and shinobi and civilians alike had gathered in droves to see him those first few days. It had been a bit difficult to explain everything to Tsunade and the council when they returned, and it had taken several hours, but once everything was understood, it went smoother than they all had hoped.
No one could understand how Minato was able to stand it all, but he had been very calm and collected throughout the entire ordeal and took the time to talk to as much people as he could, often staying out very late to talk to very last of the crowds. It was apparent that he had missed the village as much as it had missed him. They were a bit let down to know that he would not be resuming his position as Hokage, but the village practically brimmed with delight at having him back, there had even been a festival thrown in his honor, to which he responded with the usual polite modesty. After about two weeks the shock and excitement had died off and he found that he had an easier time of moving around the village and he spent quite a lot of his leisure catching up with his old friends, who had aged while he looked the same as he had all those years ago. It was unnerving to say the least, but they'd all managed to work their way around it. Surprisingly, nobody really questioned how he'd come back from the dead, they'd all figured it would be explained to them if need be. Everyone was just glad to have him back.
When he decided that he was ready to start taking missions, it had been quite alien to be standing on the opposite side of the Hokage's desk receiving orders instead of giving them. The only difference was that Tsunade never really ordered him to do anything, more often than not she simply asked him and she never carried an authoritive tone with him. Although he was quite a bit younger than herself, and she still called him 'kid' occasionally, it was evident that she held a great respect for him after what he'd done for the village, and she often requested his council.
Tsunade was honestly very fond of the man, he was a thoroughly professional sort of fellow—solid, unassuming, extremely intelligent. He boasted none of the vile, unsavory tastes or habits of his teacher, his student or his son. He was sober, punctual and very polite. Tsunade often found herself wondering how in the world Naruto turned out the way he did, and then she remembered Uzumaki Kushina and it all made perfect sense. The boy may have looked like his father, but he was definitely his mother's son. From the loud, obnoxious laugh, unwarranted outbursts, hyper, rambunctious personality and right down to the intimate relationship his foot had with his mouth, there was no doubt he was her child.
Tsunade had been given all of the details of Minato's return, including the bit about how Naruto wasn't to know that Minato was his father, at least not yet and she could tell how much it pained the man to be restricted from telling Naruto about his parentage. However despite that, she could tell that he was immensely proud of his son, and delighted to know that he had found a mentor in Kakashi and Jiraiya.
Things were finally settling down, and everyone basked in that peaceful glow for as long as they could, because the Akatsuki and Orochimaru were still at large and they all knew a storm was coming.
When they returned from Suna, the matter of what to do about Orochimaru had come up and Tsunade had elected to not pursue him so soon on Rena's suggestion since before, the only reason for the mission had been finding Sasuke and that was no longer relevant. Provoking Orochimaru would do nothing but get people killed. When they finally went after him, it would have to be with finesse and delicacy. He was a member of the Legendary Three after all, he wouldn't be taken down so easily. However they knew after Sasuke's escape he must have been forced to find a new vessel and he was now at full power. It would be another three years before he would be vulnerable to attack once more and there was no doubt in anybody's mind that he would attack Konoha before that if they didn't strike first. Being that Rena's knowledge of how things would pan out was now totally useless, she couldn't predict how Orochimaru would move and Sasuke gave as much input as he could, but it wasn't much, mainly the locations of bunkers and names of shinobi loyal to Orochimaru. However he protested against sending squads to flush out the hideouts as the number and power of the inmates kept there was unknown and the vast majority of them had the curse mark. So they could do nothing but keep an eye on him for the time being.
Sasuke found himself wondering occasionally about Suigetsu and Karin and how differently things might have gone if he hadn't been impeded in his plans.
He intentionally omitted them from the intel he gave about the hideouts, as he might need them in the future. He sometimes considered asking Rena of the future she'd seen, but somehow he never got around to it, it was hard to find her alone and he didn't feel particularly comfortable talking about such things with the others around to butt in on his business. No matter how much he watched her—and he always watched her—he couldn't get a good reading on her. She'd learned to mask her true emotions expertly and she rarely spoke to him. At first he'd attributed it to how busy she was, she was an ANBU operative after all and her schedule was full. However they'd seen each other on multiple occasions out having lunch or dinner with Naruto and Sakura and sometimes others from the original Rookie Nine and of course the Fourth.
However every time they'd had outings like that she'd been with Kakashi. He still hadn't given himself over to thinking about that on a serious level. They were teammates and both were Hunters so it was only natural that they were close to a certain level, but it freaked him out a bit at just how close they were. If one was not looking for signs of a more…intimate relationship, they would be missed altogether, but Sasuke's eyes missed nothing. He caught glances here, slight brushes of fingertips there, just barest hint of a smirk. It could have just been his jealous imagination (he had finally admitted to himself that he was jealous after all, but he'd die before he ever admitted it out loud, he still had his pride after all) but it seemed to him that the two were much friendlier than either of them let on or that anyone besides Naruto seemed to notice, but Naruto had always been incredibly intuitive despite how lacking he was in the brains department.
Minato it seemed, noticed as well, and Sasuke often caught the man observing his two teammates with just faintest hint of amusement twinkling in his eyes.
If they did have something deeper going on, it wasn't a surprise that they were keeping it very low key, both of them were very guarded about their personal lives. Sasuke figured that came with the kind of job they had and he was the exact same way so he couldn't really say too much about that. He hated people prying into his personal life so he could understand their distance. However they were distant with everyone but each other and the Fourth, and Sasuke wondered if it was a product of how much they worked together, relying so much on each other as fellow ninja that it just carried over into their personal lives or if it had developed separately. He also took into account that while they were both elite ninja, Kakashi had a certain status that made him a public figure in a way, no matter how much he despised it and the village watched him very closely. Not only was he watched by the higher-ups of the village, but by legions of kunoichi and Sasuke was sure that if it ever came out that Konoha's most eligible bachelor was off the market, the rumors would fly and Rena would be subjected to all sorts of nastiness, cattiness and gossip by countless women who were hot for the Copy Ninja. However he couldn't see Rena being bothered in least by any of it and he doubted anyone would try a physical confrontation, she was an ANBU operative after all and after the fight with Sasori, everyone was scared shitless of her anyway.
Not only that, but the Yondaime was very protective over her, almost like a father or an older brother and from the sharp, warning looks he'd directed toward those who threw Rena dirty looks or sneered in her direction, any kind of slander or unsavory rumors would not be tolerated and nobody had the guts to test him.
Sasuke suddenly felt a deep wrenching pain twisting around in chest and his throat burned as he sat gazing out the window of his apartment. He was losing her. He never particularly gave much thought to having her before, and he regretted it. She was forming a life that he was gradually becoming less and less a part of and it hurt tremendously. He didn't want to admit that he had developed feelings for her, but the emotions that were welling up inside him were far too painful for him to just dismiss.
Letting her go to Konoha had been a tremendous mistake. No—it hadn't been. Rena had established herself as a splendid kunoichi and had excelled beyond all of his highest expectations. She was on almost on par with the Fourth Hokage, she had status and the respect of the village and everyone in it. He was incredibly proud of her and he only wanted to see her happy and smiling again, even if he couldn't be the reason. It was strange, caring that way for somebody else, but he couldn't help it. She was the only one who really understood him and his mission and now he was losing that.
Sasuke sighed, now that he'd sorted out his feelings, the only thing left was to figure what he was going to do. At any rate, he knew he had to talk to her alone. He wasn't thrilled about the prospect of talking about his feelings, he positively hated being vulnerable, but he had to know where they stood, even if it was just as friends, he would have to make do with it…it would have to be enough.
~*~
In the time that they'd been back, Rena had received her own legendary title as Konoha's White Fury, coined by Minato after the battle with Sasori. Much to her displeasure, Naruto, Sakura and the rest of their friends had made an occasion out of it. She hadn't quite understood why it was such a big deal, but Minato, Jiraiya and Gai had insisted it was in fact, a very big deal. It wasn't every day a ninja reached legendary status.
"But I don't understand. It wasn't that much of fight. I don't really think I did anything warranting a legendary title." Rena said, as she sat with Kakashi, Minato, Gai, Jiraiya and Asuma at a dim bar where they were 'celebrating.' However Asuma, Jiraiya and Gai were doing enough celebrating for all the rest of them.
"You sealed a member of the Akatsuki, and not just any member, Sasori of the Red Sand. Not only that but you used an extremely advanced sealing technique that even took me a good two months to get the grasp of. I still wouldn't consider myself adept enough with it to use it on somebody like that." Minato replied.
"You're just being nice. Legendary titles are great and all, but I don't want to have a title. I don't particularly fancy being put in every bingo book from here to Kumo." Rena grumbled.
Asuma laughed uproariously, "ain't that the fuckin truth!"
"I'm glad somebody agrees with me."
Everyone laughed, but Jiraiya and Minato insisted on the title despite Rena's sighs and mutterings.
They'd also insisted on a party and it was going to be huge, the entire village had been invited. When Rena found out, she had been furious and she begged them to call if off, but Minato had only laughed and told her to relax and just enjoy herself for once. They all pushed him to convince her because if anyone else (including Kakashi) talked to her like that, it would have been detrimental to their health, but for some odd reason Rena never hit the Yondaime, and she was more likely to listen to him.
It seemed Kakashi was the only one who sympathized with her and it took the combined strength of Minato, Naruto and Sakura three hours to convince him to go after they'd ambushed him while he was making his way back from the jonin compound. At first they'd tried to allure him into the idea of a flashy party, but that hadn't worked, then they had tried to bribe him and that was a bust, so they had then resorted to outright pleading and guilt tripping. Minato was very good at guilt tripping and he patiently waited for his chance.
"Come on Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto whined, walking backwards in front of Kakashi as they made their down the almost deserted late-night avenues of Konoha. "Why can't you go?"
"Parties aren't really my style." His sensei replied, not bothering to look up from his pervy book.
Naruto looked at him helplessly, then huffed and crossed his arms, looking at Sakura with an exasperated expression.
"It's the celebration for Rena's elevation as a legendary ninja. You're her…" Sakura paused, not sure if she should bring up her friend's personal information. "…teammate Kakashi-sensei, you should be there." She said with a steady but firm tone.
"If I know Rena—and I do—she doesn't even want to be there. She probably thinks it's as ridiculous as I do."
"Of course she does, but if you remember she also hates hospitals as much as you do and let's not forget that three week stint you had to tough out, and she was in that hospital room with you all day every day from start to finish. The least you could do is spend one night at a party. It's only fair Kakashi." Minato told him in that light tone he'd always carried with him.
Kakashi looked like he wanted to strangle his blond sensei, realizing now if he didn't go he'd feel like a total fucking asshole. He knew Rena wouldn't be cross with him if he didn't show up (in fact he figured he was the last person she wanted to see), however everyone else would be. He wasn't particularly concerned about being called a heartless, insensitive bastard—he did have a reputation to uphold after all—but having Minato-sensei angry with him wasn't something he liked very much.
"You just had to bring that up didn't you?" He muttered darkly.
Minato only chuckled lightheartedly and smiled with satisfaction.
"Also, it's a formal party, so you have to wear a suit." Sakura informed.
Kakashi groaned, he looked ridiculous in a suit.
~*~
When the paper thin girls
With twisting little braids in their hair
They take off their coats and throw
Pebbles and stones from the side of the boat
Crying out
The stones they float, the stones they float
Oh my god, the stones they float, the stones they float.
~*~
Ino strode over, arms loaded with various dresses. She dumped them next to Rena, and then stood back with her hands on her hips.
"This is ridiculous Ino." Rena grumbled from where she sat on the divan, arms crossed and clearly very irritated at being dragged along for dress shopping by Ino and Sakura.
"It's a formal party Rena and you have to wear something nice. Stop being such a bitch about this. I'm trying to keep you from committing social suicide by showing up in a goddamn jonin uniform." Ino replied, frowning at her friend.
Rena's eyes hardened and darkened into a tarnished gold as they shot toward the blonde in a warning glare, but Ino brushed it off. She wasn't afraid of Rena, at least not in a setting like this. It was true that the girl could be downright terrifying, but she had been acquainted with her long enough to know that she wasn't entirely a cold hard bitch like everyone said. However, Rena's anger took on a sinister calm and her voice went very low, drained of anything resembling human emotion. It had quite literally on certain occasions, scared the piss out of lower ranked shinobi and even Ino herself when it'd been directed at her once upon a time.
"I don't care about things like that. But, if it gets you off my ass I'll wear a damn dress. I'm not however, wearing any of those." Rena replied, jabbing an index finger at the pile of brightly colored and frankly skanky dresses that Ino had brought over.
"If I'm going to wear a dress I'm operating on my taste, not yours."
Ino groaned, her plans to get her friend into something that would give Kakashi an instant nosebleed had been foiled. She hadn't really thought Rena would consent to wear anything like that anyway, but it had been worth a try. She threw her friend a sly look.
"So, do you know what Kakashi-sensei is wearing?" She asked suggestively.
"His uniform probably." Rena replied offhandedly, completely blowing off Ino's suggestive tone.
"Oh no he's not. We already told him he has to wear a suit and Tsunade-sama already informed everyone that anyone who shows up in a uniform won't be admitted." Sakura declared, walking over to them with a pale green dress in her arms. She laid it over the back of the divan and then walked around to inspect what Ino had chosen.
"Geez Pig, we're going to a party not a strip club." She said, picking up one of the racy dresses by its hanger and examining it with a wrinkled nose.
"Can it forehead!" Ino snapped in response. "At any rate, he'll probably wear black, so anything you pick will be fine."
Rena lifted an eyebrow, "why would I care about matching with Kakashi?"
Sakura and Ino both turned to Rena.
"Well, aren't you two going together?" Sakura asked.
"Of course not," She said, as if the entire notion was ridiculous, "Kakashi is taking Shizuka." Rena informed them, getting to her feet.
"Who the hell's Shizuka?" Ino questioned, folding her arms under her breasts and shifting her weight to her other hip.
"Kakashi's girlfriend." Rena replied, her tone uncaring.
Ino and Sakura shared a shocked and very confused look. From what Naruto had been telling them—and everyone else—they were under the impression that Rena and Kakashi were an item. Could they have mistaken friendship between teammates for something more romantic? Naruto had seemed awful sure about the entire thing though, and then there was that comment Pakkun had made back in Suna about "the white-haired female Kakashi liked so much", Sakura and the rest of Team Seven had figured he'd been referring to Rena. Did they have some kind of fall out? Did Rena not feel the same? What the hell?
"Oh." Sakura answered, after recovering from her mild shock while Ino was still sputtering. "Who are you going with then?"
Rena began moving toward the other end of the shop, where the more elegant dresses were lined along the back wall, "Minato-sensei." She said over her shoulder.
Ino's eyebrows shot up at that answer. That was a surprise, although it really shouldn't have been, they were on the same team after all. But at the same time, that was the last person they expected her to be going with. The two girls walked over to where Rena was, bent on getting more information out of her about how that pairing came about.
"Did he ask you?" Ino inquired, peering at a violet number with lace around the bodice that looked like it would make her breasts look fantastic.
Rena threw the Yamanaka a suspicious glance, but answered anyway.
"Yes."
"And Kakashi-sensei is alright with it?" Sakura retorted.
"Why wouldn't he be?"
"Uh…well, I mean…" Sakura stumbled, trying to avoid Rena's suspicious gaze. Damn, she had eyes that were as penetrating as Tsunade-sama's.
"What is this all about?" Rena continued, turning to face the two girls, her expression saying that she was fed up with their poor reconnoitering skills.
"Everyone thought you and Kakashi-sensei were dating." Ino replied bluntly. "Naruto has been blabbing about it for weeks."
Rena was silent. She had suspected as much, but while she had Kakashi had discussed it when they had gotten back from Suna, at a great length, and had even actually tried it for several weeks, things just hadn't worked out. What had been odd, was that Kakashi had been the one to break it off, and about a week later when he introduced Shizuka to herself and Minato-sensei, she thought she realized why. She had been so angry she nearly put the both of them through the wall. Minato-sensei had been furious with the man for days, but hadn't made any comments. Until that is, when he and Rena had left on a mission. Kakashi had been given a solo assignment, so they had been dispatched without him. Tsunade had thought it best to separate Kakashi from the other two for a while, considering tensions between the three of them were still high and it would've caused strain on teamwork.
(She also, out of spite, had given the Copy Nin the most tedious mission she could get her hands on. It was a retrieval mission for a rare medicinal plant in the swamps to the south. The fens were disgustingly humid, unbearably hot and infested with bugs that liked to bite. Not to mention the water was riddled with poisonous leeches and the swamps themselves were crawling with unsavory plants and vicious reptiles. It was an awful place to be stuck in, and the plant she needed was so rare that Kakashi would be there for at least a week before he found it. He was going to suffer and she didn't feel in the least bit sympathetic for him after what he'd pulled with Rena. She'd been appalled to find out that Kakashi had dumped her for someone else. Not only had it seemed like he really cared deeply about her, but leaving her for another woman was completely outside of his character. However, predictable was the last adjective one would use to describe Hatake Kakashi. She had also inclined Minato to try and talk to Rena, to see if he could gauge how she was handling it.)
Minato wasn't the type to pry into someone else's business, but he had been able to tell that the entire ordeal was bothering Rena, so he asked if she wanted to talk about it. Rena herself, wasn't a very emotional person, not on the outside—not anymore anyway—and she had always elected to deal with her problems by herself, but she knew that if she could talk to anyone without fear of judgment or bias, it would be Minato-sensei. She had finally dropped the cold, indifferent faade and went off on a heated tirade about Kakashi and exactly what she thought of him, utilizing several expletives in the process. She had explained that more than anything else, she was confused. What Kakashi had done was so outside of his character that it had left her reeling and struggling to understand. Minato had listened intently and without interruption. At the end he had agreed with her, but then informed her that while Kakashi seemed sure and steady on the surface, underneath it all he feared commitment. That wasn't to say that that excused what he'd done, and that didn't mean that Minato wasn't pissed at his student, because he was, but there was a level of understanding.
"No, we're not. Not anymore." Rena told her friends after a minute of reflection. She didn't really want to elaborate, but she knew that they wouldn't stop until they got every last detail. She sighed.
"What?! So you were dating? What happened?" Ino exclaimed, looking at Rena with a shocked expression. Sakura's face was similar.
"It just didn't work out."
"Oh come on Rena, why didn't it work out? We're your friends, telling us these things is why we're here!"
Rena rolled her eyes, "He broke up with me for Shizuka, sort of." She said curtly, deciding to just get straight to the point.
Both Sakura and Ino gasped, and then looked at each other in total confusion, and then the anger crossed their faces.
"That bastard! Why would he do something like that?!" Ino proclaimed in a shrill voice.
"It doesn't seem like something Kakashi-sensei would do. That's awful." Sakura commented, her expression pensive.
Rena shrugged, she'd dealt with it and it still stung a bit when she thought about it, but with Minato-sensei's help, she'd made peace with it. Making peace with Kakashi however, was proving much harder. They could now carry out missions without any difficulty, but they didn't interact with each other outside of work very often, which had been rough when Rena thought about how close they used to be. It saddened her to know it would probably never be that way again, not if Kakashi was serious about Shizuka. As it turned out, Shizuka had had no idea about Kakashi's relationship with Rena, and she decided that she wasn't going to bring it up. Rena found that she actually liked Shizuka, she was funny, upbeat and sweet and it wasn't her fault that Kakashi had been a total dickhead. She and Kakashi meshed well together, she made up for the traits that he lacked and vice versa. Rena realized later on that the reason Kakashi seemed so taken with her was because she reminded him of Rin, not only did she physically resemble Kakashi's lost teammate, but her personality was similar.
Rena figured the problem between Kakashi and herself, was that they were too similar. They were both very reserved, collected and emotionally withdrawn. So when they felt something, they both would rather keep it to themselves than share it with the other. There had been little communication and neither one opened up to the other very often. So in retrospect, it wasn't surprising that things had gone sour. Kakashi probably hadn't meant for things to go the way they did, he'd met a woman who forced him to change his perspective, who made him step outside of his comfort zone and gave him things that Rena could not. The timing of their meeting could not have been worse, because it had made Kakashi look like a two-timing piece of shit, but in fact he hadn't tried to initiate anything serious with Shizuka until he broke it off with Rena. It had just been bad luck.
It had been through lengthy conversations with Minato-sensei that Rena had come to realize all of this. The man had wisdom beyond his years and an incredible insight. It really surprised her sometimes at how smart he was.
"It's not that big of deal. There's nothing to be gained by dwelling on the past and I would appreciate it if you didn't try and bring it up with Kakashi, he feels bad enough about it."
"Well he should. That was such a scummy thing to do." Ino replied with a huff.
"I don't think he meant for things to go as bad as they did. He met her when we were still dating, but he didn't really try to move beyond friendship until after our relationship was done and over with. She's good for him."
"So are you! You're Orihara Rena, Konoha's White Fury! You're one of the strongest ninja in the village, and he's an idiot to have let you go." Ino encouraged with a winsome smile.
Rena gave her friend a small smile. "Thank you, but I'm no good for him Ino. I can't give him what he needs. This job has taken too much out of me, I don't think I have the emotional capacity to be in any kind of relationship anymore."
Ino thought for a second, "Well what about Minato-sensei? He's pretty hot, and you've been spending an awful lot of time with him lately." Ino said with a wink, and Sakura looked her with surprise, and then began to giggle at the absurdity of the idea in spite of herself.
Rena looked absolutely flabbergasted that Ino would even suggest such a thing.
"Training Ino. One doesn't master a jutsu like Hiraishin in a day. Besides that he's married, that is forbidden territory. I wouldn't dare make a move on a married man, especially someone I only see as a mentor and friend. I can't believe you."
"He was married, you didn't bring his wife back ya know. And there's nothing wrong with crushing on a teacher."
"Ino!" Sakura whispered harshly, glancing around to make sure no one was close enough to hear her friend's blatant disregard for integrity.
"Just because she's not here doesn't mean a thing. The marriage is still very valid to him, he loves her more than anything."
Ino sighed, a guilty look passing over face. "I didn't word that right. I didn't mean any kind of disrespect, it's just…he's going to have to live the rest of his life without her and that is the saddest thing I can imagine. He's going to be awfully lonely don't you think?"
"I'm not sure that he's going to have to be without her, we don't know what the future holds."
Ino shook her head, "This whole thing is just insane! I don't understand anything anymore!" She shouted and threw her hands in the air, stomping back to the divan and her pile of dresses, fed up with the conversation.
"Anyway, we need to find you a dress. Is Minato-sensei gonna wear any specific color? It's just bad taste not to match with your date." Sakura said, scanning the dresses, a hand on her chin in thought.
Rena cringed internally at the word 'date'. It was just too weird to think of Minato-sensei as a date. 'Companion' fit better, they were going as teacher and student after all.
Rena had been pretty surprised when Minato-sensei had asked who she was going to be going to the party with after training one day. When she'd told him that she was just planning on going alone, he'd remarked that he wasn't going with anyone either and then asked if she'd like to go with him. It had been a very friendly exchange, and there hadn't been any trace of any other intent besides friendship in his voice. Rena had immediately reprimanded herself for thinking he'd mean it as anything other than two friends accompanying each other to a get together. Jumping to conclusions was a bad habit of hers.
She'd replied with a 'yeah sure why not', to which he'd smiled and nodded and then told her to meet him at dawn the next day for training. It hadn't even crossed her mind to ask him what color he was planning on wearing. Shinobi just didn't consider things like that.
"Hmm, I think we'd better stick with black for now, at least until we know what he's going to wear. I think—" Sakura said, moving to reach for a velvet floor-length gown, but was stopped when Naruto's voice pierced the air.
"Oi Sakura-chan!" He shouted from the other side of the display window where he stood waving, with Minato-sensei and Sasuke in his company. The three of them carried black dry cleaning bags that most likely contained their outfits for that night's party.
The two girls turned and Naruto rushed into the store, "Oh hi Rena-chan, I didn't see you!" Naruto addressed her happily.
"Let's see your suit Naruto! And it better not be orange…" Sakura said, pointing to the bag that was flung over his shoulder. The pink-haired girl sighed, it was probably already wrinkled…
Naruto unzipped the bag to reveal a crisp white suit with a very pale lavender button up and black bow tie.
Rena smiled, "Hinata-sama is going love it Naruto." She said, giving the blond a knowing look.
He grinned sheepishly and then chuckled nervously as he zipped it closed.
"I really hope I matched the colors right. All I had for help was the teme and he doesn't know jack about this kind of thing."
Sakura laughed and Sasuke threw his teammate a hard look.
"I know more than you dobe."
"Oh please, I don't think you've ever been on a date teme."
"Neither have you."
Naruto opened his mouth to retort, but Sakura interrupted him before he could ruffle Sasuke's feathers further.
"By the way Minato-sama, would you mind if we had a look at what you're wearing? It'll help in picking something that matches for Rena-san. She knows about as much about dresses as Naruto. No offense Rena-san." Sakura said good-naturedly.
Rena emitted a small laugh and waved it away.
Ino then pushed her way between Rena and Sakura, a bit put out that they hadn't called her over when the guys arrived.
"Let's see it Minato-sama!" She said, looking at the bag expectantly.
The former Hokage nodded, and carefully moved the bag so he could unzip it.
The suit was obviously custom tailored, made from only the highest quality fabric. The suit itself was a matte black and the lapels were cut from black satin, keeping the suit from being too monotonous. The shirt was a black polyester button-up that matched with the flat but rich black of the suit jacket. Around the neck and fit snug under the lapels hung a crisp white scarf, providing a very tasteful contrast the monochromatic color scheme. Overall it was very nice.
"Ohhh." Ino and Sakura cooed, in unison. It was probably the finest thing they'd ever seen.
"You have exquisite taste." A woman's voice said to the side of them. They turned to see the shop's owner looking appreciatively at the suit.
"Why thank you." Minato replied politely and then moved to zip the bag shut.
"Which of you is his date?" The woman inquired, looking between Sakura, Ino and Rena.
Rena raised her hand briefly. "That'd be me."
"Ahh. Would you like some help? Finding something that compliments such a fine suit like that would be a challenge for even my most fashion-savvy customer." The woman said, smiling at Ino, who positively beamed at the compliment.
"That'd be much appreciated. Ino has…interesting taste, but not the sort I'm looking for." Rena replied, throwing a wary look at the dresses that were piled on the rack next to them, which were Ino's discards.
Naruto looked at the dresses and then his eyebrows shot up with surprise that such little fabric could even be constituted as a dress. He picked up a bright teal that number that seemed to be nothing but straps and a small bit of velvet. He turned it this way and that, trying to figure out how it was even supposed to be put on.
"How do you even…" He began, staring critically at the dress.
Ino quickly snatched it from his hands, "You wouldn't understand Naruto." She said.
"I don't think I want to…" He said quietly, still frowning at the scrap of fabric she called a dress.
The shop's owner laughed and then clapped her hands. "Alright, we've got work to do here boys, so if you wouldn't mind, you can wait over there." She said, motioning to another divan in front of a set of mirrors beside the changing rooms.
Naruto groaned loudly. "Girls take forever at this stuff, if it's alright with you guys I'm going to Ichiraku."
Minato laughed, and then turned to the girls. "I think I'll join him, I won't be much help here. We'll see you all later." He said.
"Sasuke-kun will you stay? We're going to need a male opinion." Sakura asked, stopping him before he could move to follow Naruto and Minato from the shop.
He glanced outside where Naruto was chattering on about something that they couldn't hear and then decided he'd much rather be in this company than listen to that racket anymore. He nodded in response.
"Oh good!"
Sasuke didn't respond, only moved to sit on the divan, draping the bag containing his own suit across its back.
Rena had heard Sakura ask Sasuke if he'd stay and she was apprehensive about that. She and Sasuke still hadn't really talked at all. Rena had wanted to talk to him, she'd been so delighted that he was back in the beginning, but she found she didn't really know what to say to him. Memories of those months in Sound flooded back and she remembered how much she cared for him, but the feelings themselves would not resurface. Silently, she cursed the job she'd chosen. It had robbed her of everything she'd worked so hard to build up. Her empathetic, caring nature was gone now, it had been replaced with a cold, hollow resilience. There was no room for such emotions in the sinister world she'd stepped into, if she submitted to them, she wouldn't have been able to carry out her missions. It had all been necessary at the time, she had done it all for his sake. If she would have known that things would take a 90 degree turn, she wouldn't have entered ANBU at all and stayed in her jonin position.
Rena sighed, deciding to think about it later and turned to the shop owner, who introduced herself as Miyu.
They decided to stick with black and white, with the option of possibly red. Ino liked the idea of a bright red, while Sakura leaned toward a deeper crimson.
They had her try on so many dresses that Rena lost count. She personally liked all of them, but none had felt quite right yet.
It was going on three hours before the party was due to start and the sun was beginning to dip below the horizon before they came across the perfect dress.
It had a low neckline and was held up by a thin black strap that circled around her neck. It was made from a beautiful black silk. The hem of the gown hit the floor, and there was a slit over the left leg, it went high, but not so high as to be untasteful. The piece was backless and the zipper hit a few inches above her tailbone. It fit perfectly and clung and whispered when she moved. Sakura and Ino gaped at her when she stepped pushed the curtain aside.
Sasuke had been right on the verge of falling asleep. They had been at it for hours and he was almost regretting not going with Naruto and the Fourth. Rena had looked wonderful in everything they'd made her try on, but they hadn't been satisfied with anything yet. He resolved to never get roped into shopping again, he was on verge of being literally bored to tears.
And then she stepped out for the final time. Sasuke lifted his head to see what they'd chosen this time and give his customary nod, but he found he couldn't so much as breathe. His mouth had suddenly gone very dry at the sight of the girl standing before him. His palms began to sweat and he had to swallow several times. She was absolutely radiant, it was like looking at the sun.
The black silk dress was snug in all the right places, but it whispered and shifted as she moved. That dress had been made for Orihara Rena. Sasuke found that the sight had knocked higher thinking right out of his head.
"Well?" Sakura asked expectantly, looking at him, waiting for his appraisal.
Sasuke tried several times to say something, but he wasn't able to even form a sentence, he was so floored.
"He is literally speechless, that's how you know it's the one." Ino said matter-of-factly, a dazzling smile on her face as she looked Rena up and down.
"Now all we have to do is figure out what to do with your hair..."
The women all crowded around Rena assessing her wealth of white tresses, and Sasuke was robbed of his view. It was at that moment that he remembered how to breathe. He was suddenly terribly envious of Minato and kicked himself for not thinking of asking Rena first.
~*~
Naruto shifted on his feet. Ino, Sakura and Rena were fifteen minutes late. Hinata, Neji and Tenten had arrived on time and they all stood talking quietly waiting for the others to get there. It turned out the pale lavender Naruto had chosen with Sasuke's help had matched perfectly with Hinata's kimono. Apparently the teme did have an eye for color after all, but he'd be damned if he ever admitted it, he was however, going to tease him mercilessly for it after this.
Speaking of the teme, he was being particularly standoffish, as if something was bothering him, but Naruto didn't want to spoil the night by getting in a fight with his impossible teammate. He and Sakura were going together and Naruto hoped he would loosen up or Sakura was going to do some damage to his ears for being in such a bad mood and ruining it for her. But then again, Sasuke was always in a bad mood.
After a while Kakashi and his girlfriend showed up. The sight of them together still made Naruto clench his teeth. He was still very agitated with his teacher for breaking up with Rena-chan, but he had to admit this Shizuka lady was really nice and she always bought him ramen and told really good jokes. But still…
"Geez, how long are they gonna take?" Shikamaru asked. He was Ino's date and Naruto felt extremely sorry for him. He heard the boy mutter something about troublesome women but whatever he said was lost when Tenten spoke.
"Oh! They're here!" She shouted from where she was looking out the window. After a few seconds her eyes grew very wide and a huge smile slid across her face. "Wow…" She whispered.
"What?" Naruto asked, moving to push her aside so he could see, but it wasn't necessary, because they had just walked through the doors.
Ino was wearing the violet dress she'd spotted earlier and her hair was up in her familiar ponytail, except that she'd pulled all of it back so her face was clear and instead of the usual silver studs, amethyst earrings dangled from her ears. Her heels were easily six inches tall, but she walked with all the confidence of someone who'd spent hours mastering how to walk in stilettos.
Sakura had exchanged the pale green dress for an elegant crimson lace gown with a portrait neckline. She'd pinned her hair back with diamond accented silver pins and wore black lace-up heels that weren't quite so high as Ino's. Sakura knew if she wore anything like she'd twist her ankle.
They moved to stand beside their respective dates, making way for Rena, who stood at the threshold speaking quietly with an ANBU operative that hadn't been there before.
The room suddenly grew very silent and Ino and Sakura shared a long look. They could practically feel everyone's eyes grow wider. They were extremely proud of their job of turning Rena from a stone cold, frayed-at-the-edges shinobi to a soft, elegant woman. But there was a slight air of concern at the sudden appearance of an ANBU member.
They'd lightly curled Rena's hair so that it hung in loose, voluptuous waves where it cascaded down her back, accentuating the backless feature of the dress. Her bangs had been pinned back in a simple half up do. They'd convinced her to wear dangling teardrop diamond earrings and Miyu had provided a gorgeous fringed lace shawl that completed the ensemble. She wore simple black heels that were high enough to make Sakura nervous, but still shorter than Ino's choice of footwear. Surprisingly, Rena had no trouble walking in them.
Everyone stared for a good minute before Naruto whistled low and then turned to Minato, whose expression was one of awe and a bit of surprise that the girl standing before was the same one he'd been training the past two months.
"You lucky son of a gun." Naruto said in bright tone with a friendly jab to the man's ribs.
Rena continued speaking with the ANBU operative for a moment more before he bowed, uttered a curt "Understood" and then disappeared.
Rena looked slightly troubled after the operative disappeared, but she quickly recovered and turned to walk fully into the room.
"Oi Rena-chan you look incredible!" Naruto said, and everyone nodded and made sounds of affirmation at his comment.
Rena smiled, "you clean up nice yourself Naruto." She replied.
Minato moved to stand beside her and offered her his arm and with that they made their way toward the dull roar of music and voices that came from the grand hall where the party was being held.
~*~
Down the burning ropes
Past the places where the steel beams
Meet concrete skies
You make your bed under the moonlight
I think it's time we said goodbye
~*~
Jiraiya of the Legendary Three was a man with many flaws in his character. He had never been fond of physical labor and he was a bit too fond of warm sake. He was occasionally careless about the truth and had a certain grand indifference to the finer points of property ownership. The company of ladies of questionable reputation did not particularly offend his sensibilities and his choice of language very frequently left much to be desired.
Namikaze Minato, disciple of Gallant Jiraiya was a man of almost inhuman determination, when he was alive he had spent several years trying to reform his vagrant teacher, but without much notable success. Through the years he had fought a valiant battle against his bad habits. He had regretfully surrendered on the points of indolence and shabbiness and he begrudgingly gave ground on swearing and lying. He remained adamant however, even despite numerous defeats, on the points of drunkenness, thievery and whoring. When he returned from the grave, he continued that battle in full swing, much to his mentor's displeasure. However despite how disreputable Jiraiya was, it was always his council that Minato sought out when he was feeling particularly troubled about something.
When Minato had returned to village, instead of being shocked, Jiraiya had simply welcomed him back with open arms and treated him as if he hadn't died all those years ago. Minato figured if the man really put too much thought into it he might not be able to handle it very well, so he had resolved not to think about it and just accept that his student was back and take it at face value. However Minato had found it necessary to explain to Jiraiya the nature of his return as it might prove useful for the man to know in the future.
So it was at approximately 3:34 in the morning when Jiraiya heard a sharp staccato on his door and opened it to find his student standing there dressed to the nines and bleary eyed from all the alcohol he'd consumed prior. Before his untimely death, drinking had been totally out of the question with Minato, but now he found his student seeking refuge in the bottle more and more, albeit discreetly in the comfort of his own apartment.
"I need to talk with you Jiraiya." Minato said, clearly not nearly as drunk as he appeared to be.
Wordlessly Jiraiya stepped aside and gestured for Minato to come inside.
The blond man slumped down on the couch and buried his head in his hands.
"So, how was the party?" Jiraiya asked carefully, deciding to build up to the problem slowly, noting that Minato was probably feeling a bit delicate. He was the type of man who kept his emotions rigidly under control and always tended his problems himself, but when he had too much alcohol, he lost that grip on his emotions and they tended to flood to forefront. Most of the time it dealt with something he was blaming himself for, Minato was very good at blaming himself.
"It was fine, fun actually. You should have seen Rena, I almost refused to believe it was actually her, she was so stunning."
Jiraiya raised an eyebrow at that, but didn't comment. Minato heaved a tired sigh and continued.
"I can't do this Jiraiya, not without Kushina. I don't feel like me, at least I don't feel like who I was before…"
Jiraiya sighed from where he was leaning against the wall with his arms folded across his chest. He had suspected it had something to do with Kushina, but he hadn't been prepared for the way Minato talked about his foul-mouthed student. Jiraiya was rather fond of Rena, she may have been reserved and calm but underneath that cool exterior she had a wicked good wit and a tongue sharp as a razor.
"Of course you don't feel like you Minato. You've been through something that no man has ever gone through before, and I'd be concerned if it didn't change you in some way. But that…prophecy, said that he would bring Kushina back didn't he?"
"He was vague about it." Minato replied, removing his hands from his face and leaning forward to rest his forearms on his knees. "But that's not it…tonight, with Rena I…" He left it hanging, not particularly wanting to say the words out loud.
"I—what you like her? That's not such a terrible thing, she's an attractive girl."
"No, it is a terrible thing, I'm married, Jiraiya and that prophecy won't listen to reason…"
Jiraiya raised his eyebrow again, "What do you mean the prophecy won't listen to reason?"
"I had been struggling with it during the party, trying to push the thoughts away and do all I could to deny it, but he made an appearance inside my head and told me to stop fighting it."
Jiraiya's expression had gone very solemn, "Go on."
"He said that what's happening is supposed to happen, that it's necessary for certain other events to unfold properly. I tried to ask him how I'm supposed to…let this…whatever it is with Rena continue when he told me that Kushina could be brought back. He said that there were consequences to a task going unfinished, that the future changes because of it. He said because the dark prophecy won in the last meeting, it eliminated the future that the prophecy of light was following at that point in time."
"What does that mean?"
"It means the future that I've always wanted with the woman that I love may never happen. The prophecy told me that while our sacrifices are great, obedience to Necessity has its reward. I don't have any idea what that means and he wouldn't tell me, he said there were things that he couldn't tell me about the future or what I'm supposed to do because it might impact the completion of the task itself."
Jiraiya pursed his lips and thought. He could see now how difficult his student's situation was. In all his life, Minato had only loved one woman, his heart belonged entirely to Kushina, she was the mother of his child. A child that he had to see every day and not be able to act as the father he'd always wanted to be, but never had the chance. Jiraiya understood how terribly painful it must be to be brought back and be denied a second chance at something that mattered as much to him as his family.
"I don't know what to do Jiraiya. I can't have my wife, I can't have my son, what purpose am I supposed to be fighting for? I don't know what any of this means and I almost wish they hadn't brought me back. The only good thing about it is being able to spend time with my son."
Jiraiya closed his eyes, he really didn't know what to tell his miserable student, and he wished he could tell this prophecy exactly what he thought about him. He had no answers, no direction, he had nothing he could give Minato in way of comfort and he felt positively helpless.
"The only choice I see here is to follow what this prophecy tells you and hope that it all works itself out in the end. We're talking about the incarnation of light, the very force of good here, he knows what he's doing and we may not like it, but we don't have very much choice in anything I'm coming to realize. Everything that's happening is preordained apparently, and if we don't want the world to be overtaken by darkness, we have to do our part, however hard it might be."
"But how I can be with someone who's not much older than my own son?" Minato asked exasperatingly, spreading his hands apart.
"Minato, you're not much older than your own son, you haven't aged a single day since last I saw you. We just have to trust that this'll all make sense in the end."
Minato groaned and then put his head in his hands again.
"Why me?"
Abruptly, they were both alerted to another presence in the room, a serene, familiar presence.
"Because it has to be you." Kushina said, from where she stood across the room, a warm smile on her face.
"Kushina…" Minato breathed, rushing to his feet. "How…?"
"He sent me. He said it was okay if I visited you for a while. Life agrees with you Mina-chan." She replied, throwing him a wink.
"I've seen our son Kushina." Minato replied, tears standing in his eyes. "He's grown so much, you'd be so proud of him."
Kushina's smile widened as her eyes began to tear.
"I'm so very glad. But Minato, I don't have a lot of time, but I want you to know that I know what you have to do, and it's okay. I've been watching her for a long time, and she's a lot like me underneath all that steel. That's why it has to be you, Kakashi wasn't able to break the steel in her soul, but you can. If she doesn't find something to fill the cold, hollow void in her, she won't be able to complete her task and everything will be lost. Do you remember what Mito-sama said about how to survive being a Jinchuuriki?"
Minato nodded mutely.
"That the only way is to fill the vessel with love. The same thing applies to Rena, she's the vessel of light, but she can't do what needs to be done because there's too much darkness built up inside of her. She's lost her sense of purpose and she's very confused about everything that's going on. You have to be the light in the darkness Minato, because nobody else can. I'm so glad you were a part of my life and I love you so much, but my purpose was to bring Naruto into this world, and because the dark prophecy won, I wasn't able to see him grow up and there's a possibility that I won't be able to be a part of the future, so you have to move on."
She paused for a second, the look she gave Minato was penetrating.
"I'm going to be so pissed if you spend the rest of your life moping around. We don't know how things will turn out in the end, and while there may be the possibility of me returning to you, you have to be prepared in the event that I cannot."
Minato sighed and then nodded. The look in his eyes was one of incredible loss and sorrow, but there was also understanding and joy at being able to see her, even if it was going to be for the last time.
She smiled at him, a huge beaming smile. "Now I don't want you slipping back into this melancholy you've been in and if you continue this drinking habit of yours I'm going to tell Rena to give you as much hell as she possibly can."
"You've spoken with Rena?" Jiraiya asked.
Kushina turned her blue-green eyes to him, "Of course, if Minato is going to be with anyone but me, I'm certainly going to make sure it's not some idiot or floosy. I like that girl. You can't believe how adamantly she protested when the prophecy told her what was going on, it was a much more intense argument than yours Minato. She brought up how Kakashi would feel about it, and how Naruto would feel about it once he eventually found out who you were, but ultimately he told her it doesn't matter because they'll accept it and to stop worrying so much. And then I had a talk with her. She's very nearly as smart as you are, and she has a good heart, which was why she couldn't even entertain the idea concerning you because she knew about me and what we were to each other."
Kushina paused and raised her head as though she was listening to something.
"My time is almost up, sorry for rambling so much. I miss you both and you have my blessing Minato, I hope this makes things easier." She said, tears welling her eyes.
Minato's own tears were now falling as he moved to embrace his wife once more before she was gone. The hug lingered, she squeezed him tight, jabbing a finger into his side where she knew he was ticklish. She emitted a giggle, then she was gone.
~*~
Cause nothing moves in the warm air
And words that once would cut like a knife
They just hang in the clouds and you're pushed by the lord
But you're pulled by the crowds and
You're overboard, you're overboard
Oh my god, she's overboard.
My love she's overboard
She's overboard
My love she's overboard
~*~
Rena sat in the Hokage's office, still in her dress, but she had undone her hair and let it hang freely around her face.
In front of her, behind her desk, sat Tsunade. She had just spent the last forty-five minutes listening to Rena regale her with the bomb that the prophecy had dropped on her and the conversation she'd had with Uzumaki Kushina. She then promptly broke out the sake she saved for special occasions. This whole thing was just getting so crazy, she could barely even keep up. That radical turns everything was taking was having a negative effect on her blood pressure.
Silently she poured them both a drink and watched as the girl knocked it back.
"It would appear that you don't have any choice." She said solemnly.
Rena sighed gruffly. "I don't have a choice in anything. None of us do."
Tsunade poured another shot. "Then why fight it?"
"It's the principle Tsunade." Rena replied. If they hadn't been alone or if this wasn't a personal call, she would have added on the honorific, but Rena had become quite close with the older woman so she left it off as a form of friendship. Tsunade herself had requested it of Rena.
"I mean, what's supposed to come out of it that can't be done through friendship? What could possibly come out of me being in some sort of romantic relationship with Minato-sensei? How am I even supposed to initiate that?"
"Well first of all, I would stop calling him sensei. If you're going to date him, it'll have to be as equals. Some men liked to be called sensei, if you know what I mean, but he doesn't strike me as the type."
Maybe it was the sake, but Rena chuckled lightly at that. She knew Tsunade was trying to lift the mood and she was grateful. Everything was such a mess and nothing made sense anymore. Before, things had been so simple, she knew who she loved, who she was fighting for and what the future looked like. But now…her feelings concerning Sasuke were a mystery, she was fighting for a prophecy that still gave her a headache to think about and the future was a closed book. Not even Ka or prophecy or whatever the hell he was knew what would happen in the end. She thought she had burgeoning feelings for Kakashi, but that turned out to be dead wrong. At the thought of the turn for the worse her relationship with Kakashi had taken, she sent a thought out to Ka.
"Was it you?"
"That's a very broad question Jin." He replied after a moment, in that dry voice of his.
"My relationship with Kakashi and how it ended, was it you?"
"Naturally."
And with that, his presence diminished and he was gone. Rena grit her teeth, she really hated it when he did that.
She made a point to apologize to Kakashi when she saw him next, now realizing none of it had been his doing, it had all been the damn prophecy's fault.
"Did you get into some sort of argument with Minato?" Tsunade asked, pouring more sake.
"Hmm? No, what gives you that idea?" Rena responded.
"Where is he?"
"I don't know, he disappeared. He said he needed to get some air and he didn't come back."
Tsunade's expression turned pensive. It wasn't like Minato to just abandon somebody like that without a reason why. The man was the absolute soul of courtesy.
"You think he was told about this too?"
"I'm almost positive. He looked dreadfully uncomfortable and a little bit queasy for the last hour or so, once the alcohol really started to kick in."
Tsunade didn't say anything, only took a sip of her sake.
Rena swirled the drink around in the glass, she really shouldn't have been drinking so much, but it seemed appropriate since she didn't know how else to deal with the cataclysm her life had become.
A sharp rap at the door broke the silence, and Tsunade voiced for whoever it was to enter.
The door opened to reveal Jiraiya, and right behind him, Minato. Speak of the devil.
Jiraiya and Tsunade shared a long look after Minato closed the door, signifying that both knew what was going on, and how heavy it was weighing on each of their subordinate's shoulders.
Rena and Minato glanced at each other and then avoided each other's gaze, both of their faces just a bit uncomfortable.
Jiraiya coughed awkwardly, "Well I suppose it's all out in the open, so there's no point in beating around the bush. What do you two propose to do about this?"
He then made a beeline for the sake, but Tsunade snatched it away before he get his hands on it.
"This is for us ladies only." She said harshly.
Jiraiya gave her a pleading look, but she ignored him and set the bottle close to her, keeping her hand on it.
Rena then gulped down the sake in her own glass and gestured for more.
"I didn't know you drank Rena." Jiraiya said, surprised.
"I don't." She said, "But I think I have a very good reason for doing so tonight, wouldn't you?"
"I'd say. That is a very nice dress by the way." Jiraiya retorted appreciatively, his eyes shifting down to admire the great cleavage the dress provided, not even bothering to hide it.
Rena's eyes became flinty and she threw him a glare that warned if he didn't station his eyes elsewhere he'd lose them.
Jiraiya got the message loud and clear, and turned to see Minato glaring at him as well.
"What?" He asked, his expression innocent.
"You know what." Minato replied, his voice hard. There had been an involuntary flare of jealousy in his stomach when his teacher openly ogled at Rena, but he repressed it, choosing to hide behind a different point. "She's eighteen Jiraiya. What are you, sixty?"
"I'm fifty-four thank you very much. And just because I'm fifty-four doesn't mean I can't appreciate the female form in its most radiant stage." He replied.
"Well would you mind appreciating someone else? Do it again and all the might of Konoha won't be enough to protect you." Rena snapped.
"Well well Tsunade, looks like this one is perfectly capable of holding her own."
"You're a dreadful man Jiraiya." Tsunade responded.
"One does one's best. At any rate Rena, what do you think of this whole ordeal?"
"I think there's no alternative. No matter what we do or how much we try to avoid it, he'll make sure it happens. He's the spirit of the prophecy, and he's as old as time, so he's very good at manipulating events and emotions without anyone realizing it. I'm sorry Minato, but it appears you're stuck with me." She said, throwing the former Hokage a sympathetic look.
~*~
There's not a shell unbroken
In the valley where my heartache and the timbers lay
It's not the time to be hanging around here
You know what some might say
That people get too reckless
That even with the simplest of crimes
They leave blood behind
As I clean the knife for the very last time
I think she knows, I think she knows
Oh my god I think she knows
I think she knows