A/N Moving the plot along just a bit ^-^. Can't have everything going well right? As a heads up this is a little bit darker in terms of psychologically. Hope you guys enjoy it!
Disclaimer:I do not own Naruto.
The sun's been nice the past few days
I sit around just to watch all the clouds
A lazy hazy blue sky time
This sighing air that's closing my eyes
"This is so boring." a sigh slipped from between my lips and out of the corner of my eye I saw Rin shake her head at me. "Seriously. Shouldn't we be learning how to like.. make poisons or something?"
"Flowers can be useful" she chided me as she braided a snap dragon in with a bunch of daisies and baby's breath. "It's a good way to communicate with out words. Say I put this on your head.. What would it mean?"
I didn't know if I should feel offended or amused.
"Innocent. Festive. Presumptuous?" I thought for a moment before a grin worked onto my face. "Looks can be deceiving, but that's not for me right?"
That earned me a rather skeptical look. Over the past two months Rin and I had gotten quite close to one another. After the first day the other kids avoided me like the plague. I was judged, and now considered a genius. Ryouta-sensei squashed my hopes of fading into the background. More times then I bothered to count he would use me as an example of what was supposed to be done. This earned me the place of teacher's pet. So the other kids named me. In reality that man disliked me as much as the rest.
Rin actually took the time to get to know me. Sitting next to me when every one gave me a wide berth. Walking home with me when Otou-san was called away. If I had a best friend it was probably Rin, but even still where was a small wall still there between us. Don't get to close. That's what the little voice in my head said. This friendship is a grenade waiting to go off. When I tried to recall why...
Pain behind the eyes...
Head ache for hours..
Same ole, same ole.
"Oh no, not you in the least bit." she said with a sarcastic drawl. Laughing I threw a daisy at her. She'd at least gotten me to stop stuttering around her. I could relax a bit.
"Ridiculous skill set. The boys don't have to do it." I flung myself onto my back, abandoning the crumpled pink tulips and daisies that were knotted in my laugh.
"Could you imagine Obito running around with a fist full of daffodils?" she mused. The image was amusing, but I had something far better pop into my head.
"Or Maito-san throwing lilies at all of us while shouting about our.. oh god.. what is it.. Youthful Fire?" that had us both rolling. Rin dropped the crown of flowers she made on top of my face.
"Speaking of.. Youth.. not Maito-san.. How's you're Okaa-san doing?"
"Cranky! Otou-san's been gone a while and she gets upset a lot." I said sadly. As excited as I was to meet my new sibling it was not worth my mother's pain. Sometimes I found myself hating the baby that grew in her tummy. Then I remember how stupid that was. My sibling to be was not the one causing the strife. This stupid war was. "She'll be a lot better when Otou-san comes home."
After our 'kunoichi' training, if you could call it that, we went home. Rin walked half way to the complex with me before deviating towards her own home. Feeling a bit unmotivated today I wandered. Mama was probably sleeping. She did that a lot now days. Not that I blamed her. Growing a life in your belly had to take lots of energy. Our training together had come to a full halt a few months back. A shame, but now I was allowed to train by myself.
That being said I meandered over to the training grounds. Before our sessions stopped Mama and I had learned what my elemental affinity was. Big surprise. I was a water type. Like my Mama, and like Tobirama. Another source of stress for me. There were only a few people that knew of my lineage, but that didn't keep me from feeling there were expectations to be met.
So I trained.
By myself
With out getting lost, mind you!
Today I didn't have cause. With out really realizing it I ended up next to the river that ran through the training grounds. Rolling up my pant legs I sat on the damp bank and let my legs soak in the water. Comforting. Water was comforting. A friend of sorts. Something that was in short supply for my life.
Otou-san was off brokering peace on behalf of the Hokage. Not alone of course. He'd been sent off with a team. Where? No clue. He wasn't allowed to tell us. Shortly after Hizashi and Hiashi- nii-san were sent off to the borders. Mama didn't need the stress of me acting up on her plate. That left me with just Rin. Who had a life of her own, and I refused to impose on. Even though she'd probably be there for me if I asked.
I was alone.
I wanted my Otou-san to be back. I didn't want to go back home where the rooms were quiet. I didn't want to go home where I would see Mama's tear streaked face. An uneasiness plagued me though. For a while now I felt like I'd been watch. Maybe I was being paranoid. All of the freedom and alone time must be going to my head.
Right?
Why then, when I was alone, did every hair on my body stand on end? Around me the air would become suffocating with dark intent. Not quite killing intent, but something that made me want to scream and run away. Everywhere I went this dark heavy cloud followed me. Sometimes I felt like I was going crazy. Inside me the overwhelming urge to run clawed at my brain.
Even now as I sat next to the water my head started to fog up. This was a bad idea. I shouldn't have come out here so late and on my own. How long had I been sitting here? An hour? Minutes? My heart bounced in my chest painfully. Calm deep breaths became short and panicked. Soft rushing sounds that the river made became muffled.
Some one knew. Some one KNEW.
Senju. Senju. Senju.
Then, in a blink, the smothering feeling evaporated. All of my senses would come back to life leaving me breathless and confused. Out of impulse I activated my Byakugan. Throwing my head around I searched for the source of my fear.
Bad idea.
As I turned my head up to the branch above me I caught sight of blue leaping away.
I was being followed.
I was being watched.
Words cannot describe how fast I got the hell out of dodge. Running through the village bumping into random strangers was a bit out of character for me, but I didn't care. If some one knew about me then Mama was in danger too! Mama and my unborn sibling! Danger! We were all in danger!
Some one scolded me as I blazed past the entrance to the compound. A chakra infused rock flew past my head from one of the aggravated guards. Didn't phase me one bit. An explosion could have gone off under me and I wouldn't have blinked. I just wanted my Mama. I wanted to know that she was safe, and I wanted her to keep me safe.
Was that possible?
"Mama?" came my breathless cry as I threw open our door. Sitting at our little table in the living room was Mama. A confused look on her face.
"Yuri-chan?" came the questioning voice. A head turned and I felt that feeling come back. On the back of my neck the hairs stood erect. Despite my straining lungs my breath caught in the back of my throat. Around me the world swayed.
"Who might this be, Senju-sama?" that voice invoked several feelings. The first being paralyzing fear. His voice was nice enough. There was youthfulness there, but something behind the tone made me recoil. Under the fear something boiled. A hatred I didn't know I was capable of.
"Oh! Danzo-san, this is my daughter Yuriko. Yuri-chan close the door! Don't be rude." Mama solded.
Numbly I kicked off my shoes and stepped inside. Closing that door behind me was like signing a death warrant. Some how I knew this man's name before she even said it. Biting the inside of my cheek I marched over to her side and sat down. Hiding ever so slightly behind my Mama's arm I glared at this man. Behind my eyes a slight pain started to flare up and I steeled myself for the pain to come.
God dammit.
Foundation. Liar. Liar. Manipulator. Murderer. Danger.
"What do you say, Yuri-chan?" Mama said testily shoving my head into a slight bow.
"N..nice to meet you Danzo-san." I mumbled quietly. He beamed at me and I resisted the urge to glare. Under all of his bandages this guy exuded a pleasant demeanor. Don't trust him. That's what the pain in my head told me. This guy was bad news bears.
"I didn't realize you already had a child Senju-sama. I was under the impression you were to have your first soon." he said in a conversational manner. Again there was no hint of threat on his face. I trusted my gut though.
"Hiruzen-kun was very adamant on keeping it a secret. I thought he would have told you..."
"It seems there are still some secrets between us." he waved a hand in a dismissive way and turned that one beady eye my direction. "I do hope you aspire to be like your mother and father Yuriko-chan. We could use some more great ninjas."
I bristled at the informal way he addressed me. Mama seemed to get a little flustered at the compliment. Cheeks became slightly red and she gave me a very pointed look. Did I really have to talk to this man? Pain shot through my ear as she pinched it. Cringing in dropped my head in defeat. She couldn't make me look at him.
"I w..would like that a l..lot." I grumbled.
"How has the Academy been treating you then? Surely you're top of your class." there was a knowing in that tone.
"I train v..very hard. We are all d..doing our best to become g..good ninja."
"Good I look forward to seeing you grow into a fine ninja."
You and everyone else it would seem.
Meeting Danzo left me feeling even more paranoid then usual. Logically I had no reason to fear him. He was a friend of my mother's. He was a well respected ninja, and he had never done anything to harm me. Mama took notice. I could tell from the tight smile that she had when she waved good bye to the bandaged man. For the first time there was a coldness between Mama and me.
"Yuri-chan what's wrong with you! I've never seen you act in such a manner." she chided as she slid the door shut.
"I don't like him." blood was rushing to my cheeks. Sensing the oncoming fight I bit my lip and braced myself.
"You don't like him. You can't treat people that way because you don't like them Yuri-chan. You didn't even give him a chance."
"I don't have to!" I snapped. That took her back a little bit.
"Watch your tone with me Yuriko. Danzo-san is a good friend of mine. I thought you knew well enough to respect Mama's friends."
Why couldn't she see!
"He's bad Mama! He's going to hurt us!"
"What are you talking about. I've known Danzo-san for a long time. We fought together with Hiruzen and all the other ninja. He's not going to hurt you."
"He's a bad man Mama!" I had the best argument, but I didn't know how to convey this to her. The gut feeling. The flash of images I got in my head when he was around. That man spelled death for every one around him.
"Yuriko what's gotten into you? Is this something your friends have been putting in your head?" she put her hands on her hips and I squared myself with her. I had to make her see! She WOULD see that I was right.
"No! He just feels wrong. Like the air around him is smoky. Mama he scares me." my hands curled to my chest as I tried to will my feelings to her. If she could just feel it. "What if he tells people we are Senju? What if he tries to take me and baby away?"
Hands seized my shoulders in a vice like grip as Mama came down to stare me in the eye. Red eyes were stone cold. Just like when she took the role of Sensei. Right now she wasn't my Mama. She was a ninja who had been offended, and I couldn't begin to comprehend why. If she would just listen to me she'd understand how bad that man was.
"You will never ever say things like this again young lady. To accuse a ninja of betraying his comrades is extremely offensive. I never want to hear those words out of your mouth again."
"Mama he's bad!"
Her hand hitting my cheek didn't register for a long moment. Silence flooded our home soon after the sound of her slapping me disappeared. My argument stuttered to a halt, and my mind filled with confusion and hurt. She slapped me. Mama hit me. Tears pricked at my eyes and I looked at her confused. In the air above my head her hand hung limply. Her face lost the hard edges and a long sigh escaped her.
"Yuri..."
"There's something wrong with me, Mama." I said softly. If I was so wrong that Mama would hit me then something had to be wrong with me. All of these images and random feelings had to mean something was wrong with me.
"Oh Yuri-chan, nothing is wrong with you." she swept me into a hug and I found myself glad that our fight was over. I didn't want to fight with Mama, but I didn't want her near that man either. "With Otou-san being gone and the baby we're just stressed. Things will get better. Otou-san will be coming home soon and you don't have to worry about protecting me, okay?"
"Okay.."
If only it was that easy. I was either going crazy or I was right. Right now I was pretty sure that I was developing some kind of mental disorder. Maybe my past life was messing with my head. Those terrible memories of when I had fought and died had to be skewing the way I saw the world. I had to start ignoring them.
No one was going to kill Rin.
Obito wasn't dangerous.
Danzo could be trusted.
I'm out of question ideas... Your turn to ask! Ask anything about Yuriko and I will post an answer a chapter.
