I would like to start off this chapter by addressing a few issues that have been (repeatedly) brought up by a few of my more opinionated reviewers:
To start, I would like to explain the issue of Naruto's chakra and how come none of the older shinobi seem oblivious to it. The answer is this: they're not. They know he possesses demon chakra. But way back in the first chapter, Hyuuga Hakuro—both matriarch of a well-respected clan AND wielder of the Byakugan—attested to the fact that Naruto's unusual "gift" did not come from Kyuubi itself, but as the result of an attack by Kyuubi. In other words...she told them he has demon chakra, but no demon. (This is obviously a total lie, but the villagers don't know that. Yet.)
Second, there has been an outspoken group of people over the last few chapters demanding some Team Kiba, Shino, and Hinata with a side of Kurenai-sensei. You're not going to see them until the next arc, so please stop asking. However, I do promise that—in time—there will be PLENTY of development for all the teams. And yes, you will get to find out what everyone's favorite little heiress has been up to in the absence of her boys.
Finally...to my GREAT surprise...I have been getting a number of people who want to see more Haruko. While I am immensely flattered that you like her, there is something I need to emphasize: her presence in the Naruto universe is the main theme of the story, but her character is not. Not right now, at least. I can assure you, though, you have not heard the last of her. She will continue to play a large role in things as the story develops.
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And with that, I send one last sleigh full of thanks to my wonderful readers, and a gallon of homemade eggnog to my beta, PhoenixClaw. I'm so happy my story distracts you from doing your paper (it distracts me, too!) :P
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-Chapter 6-
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Sakura hated hospitals.
It wasn't so much a fear as it was a deep-rooted feeling of unease in the pit of her stomach. The sheer lack of color in the room, by itself, was enough to make her dizzy; everything, from the walls and furniture to the apparent dress code of the residing staff, was an unhealthy (in her opinion) shade of off-white. Sterilization wafted through the air, a mixture of heavy bleach and medicinal cocktails that stung her nostrils.
She could never picture herself working as a medic. It was one thing to fight out on the battlefield, where there still remained hope of a victory, but a hospital was where the losers and unlucky ended up...torn, beaten, and broken. There was just too much pain within such a pale, confined area. Too much hurt. Too much loss. Too many memories best left unremembered.
A hand went to her forehead as she closed her eyes, willing the nausea away.
"Not a fan of hospitals, I take it?" A low baritone murmured from her left. Sasuke had taken a seat beside her on the cold, hard waiting room bench.
"Bad memories," came the reply, flat and harsher than intended.
Though her eyes remained closed, she could sense him nod in understanding. "Yeah. Same here."
"I dunno. They never seemed so bad to me," Naruto spoke up from her other side. Moving her hand just enough to peek open one eye, she watched as the boy sent her a half-smirk, stretching his arms and legs in an exaggerated manner. "A few years ago, I had to get my tonsils removed. Everyone was real nice to me...even though my voice sounded like some fat, old broad who had one too many cigarettes."
Sasuke's eye involuntarily twitched as he recalled those two weeks of his life. Particularly the strong—almost impossible to ignore—urge to stab Naruto in the throat with a kunai every time the boy opened his mouth to speak.
At that moment, Kakashi returned to the waiting lobby. His unusually serious expression, leaving deep creases in the mask, initially worried the trio. But when he gave them a wordless nod in affirmation, a unanimous sigh of relief could be heard. The success of their mission had been contingent upon receiving a doctor's permission to even visit the target; it was hospital policy that no one—ninja or otherwise—under the age of 13 be permitted into the I.C.U. Only Sakura was of age, with Sasuke still a few months shy. As such, thejounin had left them waiting for nearly half and hour while he sought out the proper authority to seek special permission.
Sharing a look between them, the three young genin quickly rose to their feet and followed him through the large, swinging doors. A young, male medic guided them through the maze of gurneys and medical equipment.
"I must ask you to please keep your visit short," he stated sternly, out of professionalism rather than annoyance. "He might seem alert for the moment, but he's been drifting in and out of consciousness at random since first waking up. His condition hasn't entirely stabilized yet, either."
"We understand," Kakashi spoke for his team.
"Very well then," the medic led them to one of the larger rooms, ushering them inside. "You have ten minutes."
The door shut behind them with a loud 'click,' causing all but Kakashi to jump. In unison, they turned to meet with their target.
Their first surprise came upon the realization that the man they had been looking for was hardly a man at all, but a boy of no more than nineteen. The second was that said boy was already sitting up in bed, ready to greet the quartet with a side smile as if he had been expecting them.
Mitsurugi Reiji had several feeding tubes pouring nutrients into his good arm; the other was covered with a thick cast. A light oxygen mask obscured most of his facial features, and one eye was heavily bandaged. The wrappings—though they looked fresh—were already seeping traces of blood. His dark hair (at a glance black but upon closer examination revealed to be more of a deep forest green) was limp and tangled, sticking out at awkward angles.
And yet, his eyes shone with life as they gazed upon his new visitors; what bit of facial skin that remained exposed was flushed with a healthy color.
While the three young genin remained frozen by the doorway, Kakashi took the initiative to step forward. A single, light bow of introduction was coupled with a friendly smile beneath the mask. It was an expression the boy mirrored twofold.
"Your headbands...you came from Konoha," Reiji spoke up. His rich baritone was muffled by the mask, but the words were surprisingly clear. When the jounin confirmed his assumption, he continued: "My sister? Sayuri-chan?"
"Alive and well," Kakashi answered smoothly, holding up the scroll. "She sent us here to deliver this to you."
Reiji's eyes misted over. "It's been over a year..." he murmured, more to himself than his visitors.
A heavy silence filled the room as he accepted the letter, broken only by the occasional rustling of cloth or Naruto's shuffling feet. Three and a half pairs of eyes watched intently as Reiji carefully opened it. A few smaller scraps of paper fell into his lap—pictures, judging by their size and shape. The boy poured over each photograph, along with every last word of every last sentence. Seconds were measured by the faint beep of his nearby heart monitor.
After what felt like an immeasurable amount of time to his audience, Reiji lowered the scroll. His single, unbandaged eye glistened with unshed tears in the florescent lighting as he met the gaze of each member of Team Seven.
"Thank you," he whispered to them, voice shaking with pure, raw emotion. The eye closed for a brief moment, allowing a single tear to fall. "I can't even begin to tell you how much this means to me." It opened again, staring up at the ceiling in nostalgia. "Sayuri-chan and I were once the children of a powerful noble...but hard times came upon our village. We were not recognized as one of the Great Powers, you see, and thus our influence was not as strong. When we fell, we fell hard."
Reiji paused to roll his scroll, the action delayed by his shaking hands. Meanwhile, not a sound could be heard from the rest of the room's occupants. Even Naruto grew still out of respect.
"Our mother had passed away when we were young. Father was always trying to look out for our well-being, but once the economy collapsed...so did he. When Sayuri-chan was just barely twenty, he was forced to marry her off to a simple farmer. I left as well, doing odd jobs anywhere I could find work. The last time I saw her...she promised me she would be happy." He paused to wipe at his eye. "I would never have imagined just how well she would keep that promise."
"She looked pretty happy when we saw her," Naruto spoke up, drawing everyone's attention. "In fact...I'd say the only one happier then her was the baby. Cute little thing, too."
A chuckle escaped the older boy's lips. "I can only hope that someday, I will be able to share that happiness with my niece..." His voice trailed off as a thought occurred to him. "Niece...I have a niece...I'm an uncle..."
Again, his eye closed as the emotions began to overwhelm him. A single hand clutched at the scroll tightly, pressing it against his heart. Reiji remained silent for several moments before his breathing slowly evened out, growing shallow. Even in sleep, the grip on his sister's gift never once faltered.
"Our work is finished," Kakashi spoke softly, so as not to disturb the sleeping boy. He motioned for his team to follow him out of the room.
Naruto was the next to exit, immediately behind his sensei. Sasuke, too, took a step forward before realizing that his remaining teammate had yet to budge from her spot, and was staring aimlessly at the patient. Almost as if on instinct, he reached out and gently wiped at the wetness on her cheek with one thumb; the touch seemed to shock Sakura back to life.
"S-Sasuke?" She turned to look at him with wide eyes.
"Come on." He jerked his head towards the direction the other two had gone, giving no indication that his action had been anything out of the ordinary. "We're leaving."
Choking back a reply, Sakura nodded once. With one final glance in Reiji's direction, she followed Sasuke out of the room.
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Upon their return to the village elder's apartment, a bizarre sight was waiting there to greet them.
The little girl they had picked up in the forest had woken up in their absence and currently sat at the head of the communal table, pouring an invisible liquid into two cups. There was a large straw hat on her head, so oversized that she had to keep pushing it up every few moments to see. She wore a sleeveless burgundy dress in place of her old, tattered rags. An adult-sized red scarf draped around her neck and shoulders, completing the look.
Even more amusing was the potbellied man sitting beside her, contently munching on a few biscuits. The topknot on his head had been restyled into a series of coarse, uneven braids. A necklace of flowers hung from his neck. In between bites, he picked up and drank from one of the empty cups with a smile so large it deepened the creases around his eyes.
Sasuke barely had time to register the oddity of the scene before him when the little girl spotted his presence in the doorway. Taking no note of his slack-jawed expression, she nearly dropped the pot clutched in her tiny hands from excitement.
"Nii-chan!" Her voice squealed, making her sound even younger. With somewhat wobbly legs, she rose to her feet and immediately ran to hug him. "Me and Oji-san are having a tea party!"
"I...can see that," he replied weakly, still bewildered by her actions.
"I must say," Mako spoke up, any attempts at hiding his amusement in vain. "This little darling here makes the finest tea this side of Wave!" He sent her a wink, earning a tiny giggle.
Sakura knelt down to meet the child at eye-level. "What's your name, sweetie?"
The girl eyed her warily for a moment, before darting behind her 'brother.' A shy smile appeared as she tugged on his arm, briefly peeking out before burying her face into his side. Sasuke stared down awkwardly for a moment, before clearing his throat to get her attention.
"I-it's all right," he told her. "You can talk to her."
A tiny head popped out. "Is she your girlfriend, Nii-chan?"
Naruto had to clasp both hands over his mouth to cover the snickering; Sakura, still kneeling, sent him as evil a glare as she could manage, despite the heat she could feel rising to her cheeks. Sasuke could not have looked more out of place than he did at that moment.
"She's my...teammate," he explained lamely, at a loss for any other words.
The girl seemed to accept his reply at once, and came out from behind her human wall. Though traces of her youthful timidness remained, she slowly made her way over to the kunoichi. The two met eyes briefly before the younger smiled.
"I like your hair," she stated in her quiet, high pitch. "It's pretty."
Sakura couldn't keep the smile off her face. "Your hair is very pretty, too."
"My name's Ayumi." The introduction was coupled with a slight tilt of the hear. Hands behind her back, she swung her body back and forth adorably.
"It's very nice to meet you, Ayumi. I'm Sakura."
"And my name's Naruto!" The blonde stepped forward, giving Ayumi his widest grin. "And this here's Kakashi-sensei."
Kakashi looked up at the sound of his name, a single eye peering over the edge of his orange-covered book. Noticing the mutual glare of disdain his students were sending him once they realized what he was reading in front of a young child, he quickly tucked his little treasure into his pack and held up a hand in greeting: "Yo."
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"Bye, Mako-oji-san!" Ayumi waved from her seat atop Sasuke's shoulders. "Thank you for the dress!"
"You are most welcome, my dear." Mako waved back, then turned to the boy. "You be sure to take care of her, you hear?"
"Yes, sir," Sasuke replied.
The last of the farewells were exchanged, with Mako promising that they were welcome at his home anytime, before Team Seven (plus one) began their travels back to Konoha.
Already, the sun had risen past its noon mark as the run-down village faded further and further from view behind them. It was warm out, but the heat wasn't stifling. Time passed among the group comfortably, the tiniest of the five entertaining them with her cheerful humming. Before long, her creative mind brought lyrics to fruition, and she began to sing for her new friends:
"In the mountains, in the forest; in the wind, in my dreams. Keisuke-nii-chan, I have found you. Even though you leave, you always come back soon. I will always be waiting for you. Keisuke-nii-chan, I love you..."
Several feet back, Naruto quickened his pace to match that of Sakura's.
"What are we gonna do about her when we get back to Konoha?" he whispered, careful not to let the others hear.
"Well...can't the Hyuuga adopt her like they did Sasuke-kun?" she asked.
"I don't think so." The blonde shoot his head. "I heard from Hakura-ba-chan one time that Hyuuga can only adopt other Hyuuga. Some old law of theirs, or something like that. That's why I was never allowed to go live with them permanently."
The news caught Sakura off-guard. "But...they adopted Sasuke, didn't they?"
Naruto shrugged. "Yeah, I never quite understood that, either. I'll have to ask Ba-chan about it sometime." He pulled back for a moment, arms crossed and eyes closed in deep thought. Again, those around him considered it impressive he didn't trip or run into anything. "The hard part is gonna be convincing her that Sasuke's not her real brother."
"True," she admitted. "Judging from her song, even their names are eerily similar. As if the fact that she still can't tell them apart isn't strange enough already."
"Well, she's just a kid," Naruto pointed out. "Kids make mistakes all the time."
"And some never grow out of the habit."
"Exac—HEY!"
Sakura giggled as her teammate's face twisted into a grimace.
Above the trees, a few birds circled the area, their sweet song echoing through the flora. Only the lightest breeze made it to the open trail, skimming across a shallow puddle in the center of the path. Kakashi spared a glance at it as they passed by, curious as to why there were no other signs rain had fallen in the past few days. Without alerting his students, he tensed his muscles and focused his senses. Something didn't feel right.
Seconds passed, however, and the puddle was left further and further behind. He began to relax. No doubt his paranoia was a sign of him getting older; though he was still quite young by civilian standards, the life of a shinobi tended to age one both physically and mentally.
Little Ayumi gave a yawn just then, evoking the fainest grin from the 'aging' man. No doubt his students were still fresh for the travel ahead, but their addition to the group was young and frail. A rest would probably be in order within the next—
"AHH!" the girl screamed suddenly, pointing behind them.
Kakashi had less than a second to assess the situation before he found himself wrapped in an unusual, thick set of chains. The metal gave off a sickening sound as the sharp links sliced against one another, promising certain death. His arms were pinned to his sides in an instant. There was an assassin on either side of him, each holding one end of the deadly restraints.
"What?" Sasuke exclaimed, pulling the shrieking Ayumi from his shoulders as he recoiled back.
"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto and Sakura cried out simultaneously.
But the two masked ninja struck again too quickly for them to react, their carefully coordinated movements executed so that the chains were pulled tight enough to literally squeeze the life out of their victim. Sasuke barely had time to shield Ayumi's eyes before his teacher exploded into a wave of blood and limbs. The three genin watched in petrified horror as the remains fell to the ground in a messy pile, dust rising from the point of impact.
Sakura felt her knees go weak, fighting to keep the bile from rising to her throat.
"K...Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto screamed, before he felt a threatening presence appear from behind.
They underestimated him, both the assailants' actions noticeably slower than they had been with the jounin. Almost as if they were taking a sick pleasure at the thought of snuffing out a group of young ninja. That slight delay was all the time Naruto needed, however, as he recovered from his shock at the last moment, sliding out of the way between the legs of one of his attackers. The two chain whips landed in the dust where he had been less than a split second prior.
"SHIT!" Sasuke swore, quickly passing on Ayumi to Sakura. "Watch her!"
Not giving his teammate time to protest, he made a running dash for the pair, reaching for a kunai and shuriken and tossing them in one, swift motion. The projectile weapons clashed with the metal chains just as they were being pulled from the ground, throwing their wielders off-balance. A second assault of weaponry aimed at the assassins forced them to split up, dodging in opposite directions.
By sheer luck, one of the two dodged right into his own oncoming weapon, as Sasuke had been hoping, slicing his arm just below the wrist. The man swore violently—causing Sakura to immediately place her hands over Ayumi's innocent ears—as he clutched at his blood-covered hand. The crimson liquid flowed freely down the grip of his weapon, making it slippery and more difficult to manage.
His partner came to a skid-stop several feet away, unscathed.
"Damn Smartass rookie!" He snapped upon seeing the other man's condition, pulling his own chain back for the next attack.
The element of surprise had been lost to them, however, and Sasuke was easily able to follow his next attack. Quickly backtracking through the brush, he circled once before moving in for a rapid dash towards Naruto. But the blonde, too, saw him coming and was able to dodge at the last second. He could feel the whip as it sailed over his head, too close for comfort. Several longer split-ends fell to the ground before his eyes.
"Eghk!" He comedically flinched at the sight of blonde hair against dirt, eyes bulging. "Watch out, Sasuke; those things are really sharp!"
"No shit!" His teammate called back as he dodged a series of attacks from the second assailant.
They were fast. Too fast. Even with one of them injured, Sasuke had just enough time to parry once before another blow was struck. Left-right-down-shoulder-kidney-cheek-knee...what was worse was that there seemed to be no set pattern. It was all sporadic, impossible to detect or predict. And he couldn't concentrate for long enough to even activate his bloodlimit.
Then it happened. A slight twist in stance. The wrong attack at the wrong moment. Sasuke lost his balance. He braced himself for impact, be it against metal or dirt.
Metal clashed against metal, and a dull thud was heard.
The boy quickly regained his balance and, not sparing himself time to look, fell into a sweeping kick that succeeded in knocking his stunned opponent to the ground. Hardly a finishing blow, as the man was back on his feet almost instantly, but it provided the break he desperately needed to retreat back. Only then did his eyesight travel to a nearby tree, where the edge of the man's chain whip had been pinned to the trunk by a set of kunai and shuriken, with the former securely wedged between the latter for additional security.
His sight then shifted to where Sakura stood a ways back from the battlefield. One arm clutched tightly to a whimpering Ayumi, the other still outstretched from her toss.
In spite of himself, Sasuke let out an inaudible whistle. "Nice aim."
Sakura grinned in reply.
"LOOK OUT!" A shout came from the other side of the clearing.
They turned to see Naruto on the ground, the ninja he had been battling (though 'avoiding' was probably a better term) heading straight for Sakura and Ayumi. The kunoichi didn't have time to react, and Sasuke was too far away. Everything happened in the blink of an eye. One instant, he opened his mouth to cry out to them...
...and the next, Kakashi appeared, unharmed and restraining their potential attacker with ease. The second man was already unconscious under his other arm.
"I apologize for not helping out right away," he called out lazily to his students. "But it seemed like you were handling things pretty okay for the time being."
EASY FOR HIM TO SAY! Sakura's mind screamed, and began uttering phrases that would have made the two enemy ninja blush.
Sakura was too taken aback to let her imagination's colorful interpretations of her teacher's sexual preferences disturb her. Straightening, she stared at the jounin in sheer awe before looking to where she had sworn she saw his remains fall.
There were nothing but a few scattered logs left.
"A...replacement technique?" She muttered weakly. Her inner voice echoed the question, adding a few choice words in between.
"Good job, the three of you," He commended. His students were still wide-eyed and had yet to recover from the sudden turn of events. Still, he continued on as if they had done nothing more than pass that week's written exam at the academy. "Sasuke...Naruto...and Sakura, especially."
"Me?" Sakura blinked. "What'd I do? Sasuke's the one that did most of the fighting."
"True," Kakashi replied. "But you not only kept Ayumi out of harm's way, you were also right there to help Sasuke when he needed backup. Even the most fleeting moment of action can make a difference between life and death in battle."
Naruto stood up from his place on the ground, brushing the dust from his jacket before looking up at his teacher. "T-that was unbelievable!" he exclaimed, showing no signs that he had heard his teacher's words of wisdom. "We thought you were dead!"
"The art of deception," Kakashi explained, as dully as if they were in a lecture hall. "To fool your enemies, you must first fool your allies."
"Well you certainly fooled us, all right!" the boy exclaimed, torn between anger and a newfound respect for the man. The latter of the two was winning out. He took a step forward. "When we saw the bloo...whoa..." After only a few paces, he began to stumble over his own feet. Body swaying of its own accord, his eyes quickly glazed over as a wave of vertigo swept over him.
"Naruto!" Sasuke exclaimed, rushing to catch him before he hit the ground.
A weak moan escaped Naruto's lips, his lids heavy as he teetered on the edge of consciousness.
Kakashi was at his side in an instant, the two ninja thrown to the ground nearby in his haste. "What happened?"
"I don't know." Sasuke looked to his teacher, the fear evident in his eyes. "He just...collapsed."
A frown marred the jounin's usual carefree features as he quickly scanned over his semi-conscious student. It deepened when he located the light scratch across the boy's scalp, almost completely hidden by his thick hair. The wound, superficial at a glance, was already starting to discolor around the edges.
"This isn't good," Kakashi stated. "Off-hand, I can't tell if it was a corrosive or a poison...but either way, he needs medical attention—and fast."
"W-what's going on?" Sakura questioned, cradling Ayumi in her arms. The little girl had stopped screaming, though her lower lip still quivered.
"We need to go back to the village," Sasuke explained, pulling his childhood friend onto his back. The sense or urgency in his teacher's voice had alarmed him greatly. "Naruto's been hurt."
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From his hiding place above, a masked shinobi appeared in the center of the dirt road. He stood, assessing the situation around him carefully. Two would-be assassins were unconscious, tied to a tree off to the side with their own weapons. One of them was still bleeding from the wrist.
Heaving a sigh, the boy shook his head in disdain. A delicate hand reached up and removed the mask, revealing lovely, innocent features.
"Zabuza-san is not going to be pleased." Haku stated matter-of-factly.
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"Judging by the look on your face, I take it those two idiots failed to even kill a bunch of kids."
Haku's mystifying smile was set in place as he reported in a calm manner: "In their defense, it was more than just a 'bunch of kids,' as you put it." Placing the mask down, he moved to stand before his leader. "The jounin who accompanied them was quite talented. He took both men out within seconds, and without so much as breaking a sweat."
Zabuza was surprisingly calm for one who was hearing unwanted news. Those few brave enough to be present (albeit cowering in the shadows and behind doorways) attributed this to the fact that Haku was the messenger. It was a known fact that the deadly assassin held some sort of soft spot for the feminine boy, though not a one could explain precisely why this was so. Some believed it to be the overwhelming aura of serenity that seemed to surround him, something that always helped to elicit responses no other lackey could ever hope for. Like remaining alive in the face of defeat, for one.
But even stranger still...Zabuza actually seemed amused by the report. "What did this jounin look like?"
"I could not see his face," Haku answered. "But his hair was tall and a silvery-gray, and his hitae bore the mark of the Leaf."
Beneath the mask of bandages, a deep chuckle erupted from the elder of the two. He motioned for Haku to come closer, not moving from his seat on the couch as the boy knelt beside him. A hand reached out, one finger placed delicately under the boy's chin to tilt his head up. The gesture was unusually gentle to all outside witnesses, yet Haku showed no signs of surprise. Only gratitude.
"Haku...I do believe I shall require your assistance on this one."
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The pending silence hung heavy on the hearts of everyone in the room as they waited to hear news of Naruto's condition. Even Ayumi knew better than to cry at that moment, and had settled for curling up into a tight ball in Sasuke's lap. The boy's fingers absently stroked her hair in a soothing manner, not fully aware of what he was doing. All action ceased when Mako reentered the living room area; over a half dozen eyes focused on him in question.
"The doctor is just finishing dressing the wound now," he explained, mostly to Kakashi. "We won't know anything for certain for the next day or so. He said..." here, there was a pause to glance at the children in the room. "...he said the wound had already begun to discolor, and he fears the poison might have seemed into the boy's brain. There could not have been a worse place for Naruto to have been cut."
"Will he live?" Kakashi asked.
Mako heaved a heavy sigh. "Of that, we can be certain. You got him here just in time to administer the antidote."
Sasuke let out the breath he had been holding up to that point; from her seat to his immediate left, Sakura did the same. Ayumi watched the pair closely, too young to understand exactly what was happening, but comforted by the fact that her brother was breathing again.
"I can't thank you enough for this, Mako-san." Kakashi bowed deeply to the elder.
Again, Mako hesitated and spared a glance at the children. He appeared to be carefully choosing his next words, eyes lacking the confident sparkle they had held only a few hours prior. "You are more than welcome to stay here until your friend recovers, of course. However...I must request you not wander the village in your battle attire, let alone your village symbols."
"But why—"
The kunoichi was interrupted mid-sentence. "We understand," Kakashi bowed again, then turned to address his students. "You both are hereby ordered to change at once. If you do not have civilian clothing with you, go to the nearest shop and purchase some. And leave your hitae behind."
Sakura, still confused, looked to Sasuke in hopes of some sort of explanation. The dark-haired boy was just as confused as she, however, but stood and voiced his compliance. Motioning for little Ayumi to follow them, he reached up and moved the band from his forehead, placed it in his pack, and led the two girls out of the room.
Only then did Kakashi turn back with a grim expression. One that bordered on annoyance. "I expect now you will explain what it is that's going on?" The old man winced at his accusing tone, but he did not let up. Together, they moved to sit on the couch as he continued. "There is obviously more to the situation than what you have already told us, isn't there?" He paused. "That girl...Mei...she didn't die protecting Tazuna, did she?"
The bags under Mako's aging eyes grew heavy as his brows knit together. "It is as you say. She was targeted long after the master bridge builder was assassinated."
"Why?"
"Because she was ninja." His eyes closed. "The fact that she was so young did not matter. Her mere existence here, having seen what she'd seen, was more than enough for Gatou to want her dead. You see," he looked up at thejounin, and Kakashi was shocked to see the intense look of pure hatred. "With all the power he wields, the man is still a coward. He fears even the smallest voice could reveal his intentions to the world. As much hold as he has on this country...his reign could not survive an intervention from one of the Powers. The moment that child stepped foot into this village...her life was forfeit."
"Is this why you insisted Naruto to be treated here, rather than at the hospital?"
A nod. "It was bad enough you had to come here at all, but I believed your initial presence was so fleeting that he would not have time to hear about it. The girl...Mei..." his voice noticeably cracked as he spoke her name. "I did nothing to protect her, a regret I shall carry with me the rest of my days. Were I to commit the same offense twice, I would no longer be able to live with myself. You see, Gatou is most threatened by foreign ninja. He pays little heed to the common traveler...unless they do something to incur his wrath."
"Was Reiji-san, by any chance, one of those people?"
"He was, indeed." Mako shifted in his seat. "Reiji-san is brave, of this I have no doubt. He tried to do what I could not..."
"You mean Mei?"
"It had become painfully obvious he had taken a shine to her, though to what extent, I can not be certain. He knew she would be targeted once Gatou learned of her arrival and convinced her to let him travel at her side. At least until she was back in her own country. She knew nothing of the target on her own head, and eventually agreed, her will already weakened from the guilt she felt at having failed her assigned mission."
Kakashi remained silent, allowing the man to continue.
"We found him in the same place she was killed, beaten within an inch of his life and left for dead. I have little doubt that he witnessed her die as well. So you see..." he continued, "It is all I can do to hope that the same tragedy does not befall those children. Hope that word has not reached Gatou that his first attempt ended in failure."
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Tiny droplets of water echoed off the cold, hard stone walls. No other sound was heard, no other movement but the ripples in the pools that continued to form. It was neither dark, nor could could he detect a rational source of light. Every door promised a way out, and yet he could not will his own body to move.
Naruto sat in one corner of the room, curled into a ball. His mind was a blur; he couldn't remember how he had gotten where he was, or how long he had been there.
A sudden roar brought him to the present, and he looked up to see something that had definitely not been there before: a large steel cage, the locks secured tight and the bars close together. The metal quivered from the sheer volume of the sound. At the center, a single piece of paper fluttered around the edges.
Rather than be afraid, it was curiosity that finally drove the boy to his feet. He could not see passed the bars, as the light source seemed to end with them. Cautiously moving forward, he stared unblinking at the giant prison.
A pair of blood-red, glowing eyes stared back.
Pathetic whelp of a human! How dare you intrude upon my realm?
That voice—low with growling overtones—sounded so familiar, as if he had come upon it before. Still, it startled him enough to cause Naruto to lose his balance and trip over his own feet. He landed ungracefully on his rear, right in the middle of a small puddle.
"W-who..." he stumbled over the words. "Who are you?"
Glistening razors of teeth appeared, snapping furiously. Saliva dripped from one of the larger fangs.
The moment I escape from here, yours shall be the first head I devour. Mark my words, you are mistaken if you think you can hold me forever.
As the inhuman growls reverberated across the room, the words ran familiar in Naruto's mind. If you think you can hold me... He glanced up at the paper stuck to the bars, eyes widening when he finally noticed the symbol written on them.
SEAL
"You're the Kyuubi!" A shaky hand rose to emphasize his statement.
Did not your parents teach you humans consider it rude to point?
He blinked once at the overly sarcastic tone, fear momentarily disappearing. "You know..." he began, finding courage when he realized that the demon fox could not reach him where he was. "You have an awful lot to say for someone who's been stuck inside the body of a human for twelve years."
Bite your tongue, brat. Or I shall bite it for you.
Though he knew the threats were empty...for the most part...the sheer killing intent of the creature was more than enough to make him scoot back. After reassuring himself that those massive claws could not pass through the bars, he stood up and brushed himself off.
"W-where are we, anyways?"
Another snap of the teeth, making Naruto jump, and a low growl. To think...the greatest of the demons, forced to sit inside the mind of a puny, weak mortal child! My powers are wasted!
This drew Naruto's attention. "Powers?"
Surely you did not think your survival until this point was by your strength alone? Even then, you have usurped but a small fraction. Enough to keep a walking deathtrap such as yourself alive, at least. Tell me...are all humans prone to such danger, or did I just get lucky with you?
The longer the conversation continued, the more bored he could tell the fox was getting. The ever-rising sarcasm was evidence of that. No matter the species, a threat can only hold for so long when the one doing the threatening was immobilized.
"Why have I never seen you before?" Naruto wanted to know. "You've been sealed inside me my whole life...but I've never so much as met you inside a dream. Why now?"
Your external mind has shut down to protect itself. From a meager scratch, no less! Pathetic.
Now his insults were becoming repetitive.
With a roll of the eyes, Naruto straightened himself and tried to look as dignified as one with a soaking wet bottom could. "Listen here, fox. According to you, this is MY mind. You're the one taking up space, causing me all this trouble...since I'm already here, perhaps its time we talk about how you're going to make things up to me."
A scoff. You speak as if I am in your debt. The Kyuubi gave another snap of his massive jaw for good measure. If anything, you are in mine for being allowed to live this long.
"Yeah, yeah. Head devouring and all that." He waved one hand in the air dismissively to prove his point; Kyuubi let out a roar in anger, but otherwise did nothing. Waves of red crashed against the edges of the bars, threatening to overtake the boy...but it soon became clear that the demon did not carry enough control to allow them to leave the seal. "Look, the way I see it...your survival is dependent upon my survival. You with me so far?"
Though it nauseates me to admit such a thing...you are correct.
"Well, then...how about a deal?"
There was a pause. I'm listening.
-
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"Sakura-chan! Sakura-chan! Look at this one I found!"
The elder girl gave a patient smile as yet another sand-colored shell was shoved in her face. "That's a really nice one, Ayumi-chan. Why don't you put it with the others?"
Ayumi nodded enthusiastically and ran off to her rapidly-growing collection, leaving Sakura alone with her thoughts.
She had been fortunate enough to bring a spare change of clothing, and thus hadn't needed the shopping spree. For the moment, she'd resolved to go barefoot in place of her usual sandals. A light green tunic top was matched with black pants that cut off just below the knee, tied in place with a matching belt. Her hair, easily her most identifiable feature, had been pulled back and tucked underneath a large, light green headwrap (the one item she'd needed to purchase). Only a few wisps of bangs still showed.
The sound of fighting came from several feet away, and she sighed upon viewing Sasuke still beating on one of the older trees in the area. The bark had softened with age and decay, moistened by the close proximity to a lake, making it a good target.
"I'm not sure Kakashi-sensei would want us to be training right now," she called out to him hesitantly. "We were ordered to post as civilians, after all."
The only reply he gave was a series of successive blows, the last one so harsh it splintered the wood and caused his knuckles to bleed a little.
"You know..." she tried again, her voice much quieter this time. "I'm worried about him, too. We all are."
His last blow went wild as he threw too much power and not enough focus, sufficiently caught off-guard by the remark. Learning against the tree, Sasuke closed his eyes as he paused to catch his breath. Her words having finally sunk in, he pushed himself back, moving towards the edge of the shoreline. Absently, he picked up one the larger, smoother rocks in the area and tossed it roughly. The rock skipped several times across the surface before eventually disappearing into the water, leaving only the ripples.
Ayumi laughed at the display, clapping her hands together in delight. Her shells were instantly forgotten as she set out to look for rocks to skip.
Sasuke, meanwhile, headed to where his remaining teammate sat, plopping into the spot beside her with a sharp exhale of breath. It dawned on him for a fleeting moment that he had been spending a surprising amount of time during the mission at her side, for one reason or another. The though quickly dismissed itself, however, as he spared the pink-haired girl a glance.
He hadn't forgotten their days in the academy, how she and Ino had viciously fought over his attention. Even now, he wasn't entirely comfortable with the hopeful looks he could see her sending him on occasion. If someone were to have told him a year ago that he'd be sitting under a tree, alone with Haruno Sakura—one of his most outspoken admirers—he would have either laughed in their face or shoved them into an oncoming practicekunai. Possibly both.
And yet...the girl with him now seemed so different than what he had once thought her to be like, as if she were another person entirely. It was strange, almost unnerving, though not entirely unwelcome. He couldn't help but wonder, however, what brought about such a drastic change.
Over by the pond, Ayumi squealed as she got a rock to skip once before sinking.
Brushing the hair from his eyes, Sasuke shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Sakura may have somehow had the foresight to bring extra clothes, but he had had to go out and purchase some new ones. Not that the money was an issue, of course; on top of whatever he had inherited from his late relatives, there were mission payments and his Hyuuga allowance. But he had become so familiar with the traditional, earth-tonal garments bestowed upon him by his adoptive parents...it felt strange to be sitting in the blue shirt and white shorts the store had provided.
Sensing an increasing rise in tension between them, Sakura eventually worked up the courage to break the silence. "I've been meaning to ask you about something."
"What is it?"
"Well..." She bit her lip. "Naruto mentioned something to me earlier that I was curious about: he said that the Hyuuga family was not allowed to adopt him because of some old family law. But if they weren't allowed to adopt him..."
"You want to know why they were allowed to take me in?" He finished. Sakura said nothing, but nodded. With a slight smirk, he leaned back into the tree. "Simple. They found a loophole."
"A loophole?" The question on her face was easily read.
"You see, I might not have been born a Hyuuga...but I was born an Uchiha." He allowed this piece of information to wallow in her mind for a moment before elaborating. "The Uchiha were a prestigious clan in their own right. They were also descended from the same family as the Hyuuga. Almost like very, very distant cousins. Because of this, they considered me related by ancient bloodline...and thus, were allowed to adopt me."
"Wow." She blinked. "So you and Hinata really are related."
He shrugged. "If you wish to trace our family trees that far back, then yes."
The voice inside her did back flips at the news. Sakura had to resist the urge to roll her eyes at it.
Oh, please...as if it hadn't already been obvious the two were nothing more than surrogate siblings.
"Do you...miss your family?" She instead asked, partially in an attempt to distract her mind.
She regretted the question almost immediately. Sasuke's expression went blank, the eyes that had showed traces of amusement now cold and dark. He grew distant, an aura of cold surrounding him with such intensity that she felt herself shiver.
"You can't miss what you don't remember," he responded flatly.
Before she could stop herself, she asked, "How can you not remember them?"
"I can't remember anything before waking up at the Konoha medical center four years ago." He sent her a sharp look that made her gasp. "You said before that hospitals brought up bad memories for you. Well, they're the first memory I have: waking up one day, not knowing who I am, but seeing the face of Haruko-san as she watched me regain consciousness."
"What..." it was as if her mouth was running on autopilot. "What happened?"
He shrugged again, as if to dismiss the conversation as unimportant. "The doctors said it was trauma. I'd received a recent severe blow to the back of my head, and that coupled with whatever I must have experienced caused my mind to...shut down, for a lack of a better word. They never told me anything more. Part of me wants to remember how things were before..." a deep breath "...but part of me just doesn't want to know. How great of a past could I have had if my own brain refuses to remember it?"
She didn't have an answer for him. "But...your family..."
"I have a family." Sasuke eased slightly, much to her relief. "The Hyuuga aren't exactly the warmest people around...but they've been there for me. Hinata and Naruto have been at my side since day one. Hell, I couldn't get rid of them if I tried. Not that I'd want to get rid of Hinata, of course."
He sent her a weak smirk, and she smiled faintly at the joke. Much as Hinata was truly like a little sister to him, even she knew that he was equally close with the blonde. No matter how many times he tried to convince people otherwise. If Hinata was his sister...Naruto was like the brother he never had.
Or couldn't remember.
"All I know of the Uchiha is that they're all dead," he continued on, plucking a piece of grass from the ground and twirling it with his fingertips. The action suddenly became a thing of fascination to him. "I don't know how or why it happened. Only that it did. Haruko-san and Hiashi-san never saw fit to tell me about it...and I never saw fit to ask."
Sakura simply stared as if seeing the boy for the first time. While her inner mind was shouting expletives at a certain platinum-blonde rival, bragging at getting to talk with Sasuke so intimately...her outer mind was reeling from the intensity of their conversation. How could he be so at ease with not remembering the majority of his life? How could he be content with a mere four years' worth of memories?
No, she realized with a start. There was something about the way he spoke of them...as if he were desperate to talk to somebody, so as not to forget they ever existed...the sadness in his eyes as he watched that stupid piece of grass get carried away on a fluke gust of wind...
Hyuuga—no,Uchiha Sasuke was nowhere near as comfortable with living in a fog as he claimed.
"Nii-chan! Nii-chan!" Ayumi's shrill cries brought Sakura out of her musings, and she turned towards the sound.
She saw nothing but a heavy mist, growing thicker with every passing second.
Sasuke noticed it as the same time she did, and together the young ninja were on their feet instantly. Calling for Ayumi to head towards them, it was several seconds later when she finally appeared, running straight into her surrogate brother's stomach. Tears were streaking down the girl's cheeks. They could no longer see more than a few feet in front of them.
The fog was forming too quickly to be natural.
"Sasuke..." Sakura whispered, coming up behind the boy. A hand reached for his shoulder to keep from getting separated. "What's happening?"
His eyes narrowed. "...trouble."
