Disclaimer: Chapters One and Five!~
Part II
Three Years Later
Naruto hadn't been the only one that went off to go do his training with Jiraiya. Ryu had also requested to be able to go on her own to train. Tsunade would have refused if Ryu had not promised to send her weekly updates.
Ryu had left the day after she got Tsunade's consent. However, Ryu had left before Naruto did with Jiraiya. With only Naruto and Tsunade knowing. Kakashi had looked around for days after he realized that she was gone, before he gave up and went to go ask Tsunade if she knew where Ryu had gone.
The three years that passed had taken a toll on Kakashi. The loneliness increased and the ache in his chest ached even more. However, he would never admit it to anyone. He was currently reading an Icha Icha book on the roof of a building in Konoha. He suddenly heard, "I missed this place! It hasn't changed one bit!" Kakashi looked up and saw Naruto standing up on a pole, looking out to the village.
"You've grown a lot, haven't you, Naruto?" Kakashi observed. Naruto turned and noticed him. "Yo!" He greeted.
"Kakashi-sensei! You haven't changed at all!" Naruto said, jumping down and landing beside Kakashi with a wide smile. He suddenly remembered something. "I have a present for you , Kakashi-sensei!" He said, taking out Jiraiya's new Icha Icha Tactics book and giving it to Kakashi.
"What?! You...H-how...This is…" Kakashi said, surprised.
"This is the latest in the Icha Icha series after three years! It's really boring, but you'll still like it...I think!" Naruto replied. "Alright! Next stop, straight to Ichiraku Ramen!" Naruto said in excitement, heading towards Ichiraku Ramen.
"As promised, I'll leave Naruto back in your care." Jiraiya said to Kakashi, both of them were walking at a slower pace behind Naruto. Suddenly, arms appeared besides Kakashi's face and wrapped themselves around his neck and he felt a body press up from behind him that he could definitely tell that was female.
"Jiraiya-jiji, how was your trip with Naruto? Did he mature or anything?" A familiar but not familiar voice asked from besides Kakashi's ear. Jiraiya turned his head and recognized Ryu instantly. She wasn't wearing her mask and had the standard black on with the ANBU uniform underneath it.
"Ah, the results of his training, huh? You'll see it later." Jiraiya replied with a smile. "How about yours?"
Ryu shrugged. "Oh, I don't know. I mostly went off to learn more about the Uzumaki fuinjutsu. I was successful in learning more about fuinjutsu but not so much on the Uzumaki Clan fuinjutsu. But I indeed got stronger, that I know." She grinned.
Kakashi sighed. "How long are you gonna stick to me, pup?" He asked.
"Until I am satisfied." She replied. Kakashi's eye softened at Ryu's reply. He had indeed missed her. Sakura and Naruto were talking when Sakura looked up and noticed Ryu who was basically clinging to Kakashi.
"Ryu!" Sakura called out, catching her attention.
"Ah! Sakura!" Ryu waved. She let go of Kakashi and walked around him towards Sakura.
"How have you been?" Sakura asked with a smile.
"I've been good. How about you?" Ryu replied.
"Good too! Shishou has been teaching me medical ninjutsu." Sakura said. Sakura looked Ryu up and down. A tinge of jealousy filled Sakura. Ryu had obviously grew a womanly shape with wicked curves. Sakura grinned and pulled Ryu over to the side. "With those curves, I think you get finally snag Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura whispered.
Ryu sweat-dropped and waved her hands back and forth. "Sakura, I don't like Kakashi-sensei anymore. It was a silly crush." She replied with a slight blush.
"Oh come one! I can see that blush!" Sakura insisted. Ryu backed up a couple steps.
"No, really! It was nothing more than a silly crush. Plus, I don't think Kakashi-sensei even sees me that way." Ryu replied, her expression falling. "After all, I'm his precious student." She murmured, sadly. Sakura pulled Ryu into a hug.
"I think you two would look amazing together. He seems to be more relaxed in your presence. Also, he teases you the most. It must mean something, right?" Sakura murmured into Ryu's ear. Ryu sighed and shrugged.
"I don't know, Sakura…" Ryu replied. Sakura looked over to Kakashi, who was engrossed in the Icha Icha Tactics. Sakura suddenly remembered something interesting she had done in the three years.
"Actually! I know something that can help! Come over to my house in a couple hours!" Sakura said mysteriously.
~The Kyuubi Twins~
Hours later, Ryu was in Sakura's room with Sakura's excitement showing. "I was doing some research on Kakashi-sensei over the three years because well, I wanted to help you. While I was searching, I stumbled upon some nice information on the Hatake family!" Sakura said with a grin.
Ryu blinked, her interest intrigued. "What did you find out?" Ryu asked.
"Well, a long time ago, the Hatake line was rather close to wolf demons before the demons died out and apparently, they were the Guardians of the Hatake line. Each member of the Hatake line has some features that are rather wolf-like. But the one thing that is the same for every of them is that they forever search for the one that will be their own true Mate!" Sakura's eyes sparkled. "It's just so romantic! And apparently they can tell who their Mate is by their scent! All we have to do is get Kakashi-sensei to get a whiff of you without that mask of his and we'll know or not if you are his true Mate!" She said excitedly.
Ryu snorted and started laughing. "Even if all that stuff is true, which I doubt that it is, he already got a whiff of me without his mask once. It was three years ago, when I first joined your team and I got frustrated by the D-rank missions and went into the Forest of Death to let out my frustrations." Sakura frowned.
"But that was before you hit puberty right? It says here that in the case that the Mate is younger, the desire to claim their Mate will not emerge until the Mate has hit puberty." Sakura replied. Ryu shook her head.
"Sakura, give up. I already have. Over the three years I thought about it and like I said, it was a silly crush!" Ryu said, the decision made. Sakura sighed. "Nevermind me, what about Sasuke?" She asked. Sakura blinked in surprise.
"What about him?" Sakura replied.
"Were you able to snag him? Or has he fallen into the hands of Ino?" Ryu shrugged. Sakura shook her head.
"He's been too busy for that stuff. He joined ANBU." Sakura replied. Ryu's eyes widened and she grinned mischieviously.
"Oh? I'm going to find out which one he is and totally make him call me senpai!" Ryu replied. "Well, I'm gonna go drop by Tsunade-baachan's office, I'll see you later, Sakura!" She jumped out of Sakura's window and onto a roof and headed towards the Hokage Tower.
She honestly didn't want to just Hiraishin in there and get a paperweight thrown at her so she went the normal way and opened the door like a normal shinobi. However, a paperweight was still thrown at her.
Ryu ducked and sweat-dropped when it buried itself into the wall behind her. "That could have killed me!" She said, turning to Tsunade. Tsunade snorted in reply.
"I doubt that could. I bet if I threw that at full strength, you would still be able to avoid it."
"Well, yea, but what if someone had been behind me?"
"You would have caught it." Tsunade replied. Ryu sighed. "What do you need?"
"I heard that Sasuke joined ANBU?" She asked. Tsunade nodded.
"Yes. I thought it would be good for him to join. It has been so far. It has been about six months or so since he has joined."
"Well, I'll need to report to Headquarters and tell the Commander I'm back on mission status then?" Ryu asked. Tsunade nodded.
"Though, you don't have to go to him right now. I have a mission for you now that I have been trying to find the right shinobi for, but since you are here now, you'll do." Tsunade replied. Ryu sighed.
"I'm guessing I go as ANBU then?"
"Might as well. Go to Sunagakure and deliver this scroll for me. Directly to the Kazekage, get his reply then come back." Tsunade ordered.
"A mere delivery? Why not get a chunin to do it?" Ryu asked.
"This is a scroll of uttermost importance. It needs to be delivered quickly and you are the fastest shinobi we have." Tsunade replied.
"Does Sunagakure have one of my Hiraishin kunai there?" Ryu sighed.
"Yes. I remembered to give them one. In case I ever needed you to be there quickly." Tsunade nodded. Ryu quickly put on her black cloak and her mask.
"I'll be off then." Tsunade dismissed her and Ryu disappeared with a flash of yellow.
~The Kyuubi Twins~
Kakashi wandered around Konoha, thinking about the test he had finished a couple hours ago with Sakura and Naruto.
-Flashback-
Kakashi had to admit, the two had grown. The first time they did the bell test had been too easy. The only one he had been wary of the first time was Ryu because he didn't know if she was going to pull out anything that was higher than genin level techniques. Now, he had to actually use his Sharingan for the two.
It made him wonder how much Ryu had grown in the three years. His eyes softened slightly. She had indeed grown. She was taller now, now up to his chest rather than waist. The look in her eyes changed, they were more mature. He shook his head. He had to focus on the other two and not just Ryu.
Kakashi was hiding behind a tree, waiting for Sakura and Naruto to make a move. He heard a rustle and saw the two jump right at him at a direct attack. 'Are they idiots? Going for a direct attack...'Kakashi thought.
"Now Naruto!" Sakura said.
"Let's go, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto grinned. "In Icha Icha Tactics, the truth is that the main character…" Kakashi's eyes widened and he blocked his ears but realised with the Sharingan, he could read Naruto's lips and quickly closed his eyes.
After a few seconds, Kakashi looked up and saw Naruto and Sakura holding a bell. He stopped blocking his ears and blinked. "Huh?" Naruto and Sakura grinned.
"A ninja should look underneath the underneath." Naruto said to Kakashi.
"Right, sensei?" Sakura added.
-Flashback End-
Kakashi looked up into the sky and frowned. 'I wonder how you have grown, Ryu.' He thought.
~The Kyuubi Twins~
Ryu arrived at Sunagakure with a yellow flash, scaring the council members that were in a meeting, along with the Kazekage. "Oh whoops, are you all in a meeting? I'll wait outside then." She said, quickly heading towards the door and waiting outside.
It was around twenty minutes later that the finished up. Gaara walked up to Ryu and silently motioned her to follow him and she did. They went into his office.
"What is it that you need?" Gaara asked her. She pulled out the scroll Tsunade had gave her.
"Tsunade-sama gave me this to give it to you, saying it was of uttermost importance." Ryu replied, handing it over to Gaara. Suddenly, Ryu noticed something from outside Gaara's window and narrowed her eyes. She silently took a Hiraishin kunai out from her kunai bag and handed it over to Gaara, who silently took it and slipped it into his robe.
Gaara nodded at Ryu and she nodded back. He headed out first, Ryu followed behind but a bit slower. Her ears picked up three bangs and narrowed her eyes. "Infiltration successful…" She heard. "Huh? Ho-" Sand flew towards the intruder but he was able to dodge it and get on his bird.
The sand chased after the intruder and Gaara jumped onto a pile of sand himself, following the intruder into the sky. "You knew it was me." The intruder stated.
"In this desert, no bird like that exists." Gaara replied.
"Heh..it seems like my sneaking in was a failure. Thanks to that, I don't need to search for you." The intruder said. A huge amount of sand rose up from behind Gaara. "As one would expect, he has the geographical advantage. It's risky."
Ryu was watching the fight from the ground, with Kankuro and the other Sand shinobi. "Tell me if you need me to interfere. I'll be able to help Gaara." She said to Kankuro.
"Will you be able to fight with him, is the question." He replied.
"Quite easily. I wasn't in ANBU so early for nothing." Ryu said, smirking from behind her mask. A giant bird suddenly started plummeting towards the village.
"What the hell is that?!" One of the Sand shinobi said, staring at it. Sand rose up to cover the area of the explosion that happened just as the sand rose up. After a couple minutes, the sand started falling and Gaara fell. The intruder caught Gaara and flew off. Kankuro instantly started following. Ryu was about to follow him, herself but was stopped.
"No! With how fast you got here with the scroll, even with the bird we sent, we do not know if the bird gets intercepted or not, so go back to Konoha and tell the Hokage!" Ryu nodded and instantly flashed to Tsunade's office but noticed she wasn't there and ran to the room where they gave out missions.
Ryu burst into the room, startling everyone in the room. Tsunade noticed that it was Ryu. Kakashi frowned as he heard the panting coming from Ryu. "Tsunade! The Kazekage has been captured by the Akatsuki!" Everyone in the room was shocked.
"Team Kakashi, I'm assigning you a new mission. Go to Sunagakure at once and get a grip on the situation there, and report back to the Leaf. After that, follow any orders the Sand gives you and back them up! Fox, go with them!" Tsunade ordered.
~The Kyuubi Twins~
Ryu was waiting at the gates for Kakashi, Sakura and Naruto. She had quickly packed her things and arrived there. Ryu shook her head and bit her lip. The trip from Sunagakure was a big one and using hirashin to get there even once a day was hard, but she had done it twice and the toll was quickly catching up to her.
It used quite a bit of chakra and even with Kurama's chakra constantly mixing with hers, allowing her chakra reserves to be rather larger than usual, she knew that if she made that trip one more time, she would be out for days with extreme chakra exhaustion and that was not what they needed at the time.
Kakashi was the second one to arrive. He instantly walked up to her and pulled her mask off, scaring her and stared in her eyes. "W-what are you doing?!" She said in slight panic. His eye narrowed.
"Stay here." He said, sternly.
"Like hell!" She replied.
"Your chakra is depleted."
"So what? I can still make the trip! It's not as tasking, spreading out that distance with three days rather than instantly in a couple seconds!" Ryu insisted.
"What if we run into an enemy?" Kakashi asked, the expression on his face, serious.
"I still have enough chakra to use to be able to be on par with Tsunade's strength!" Ryu replied.
"With a couple punches and kicks, maybe." Kakashi frowned.
"Even so, I can handle myself without using chakra perfectly fine!" Ryu snapped. Kakashi's expression softened.
"I know. I'm just worried about you." He sighed.
"I'm not a kid anymore, shishou!" Kakashi shook his head.
"Why not drop shishou and just call me Kakashi? After all, I have taught you everything I can." Kakashi said. A blush found its way to Ryu's cheeks.
"W-w-wha! K-ka..k-k-kash….!" Ryu stammered, her face turning red.
"Oooiii! Have you two been waiting long?" Naruto called out, walking towards Ryu and Kakashi. Sakura was beside him. She instantly noticed Ryu's red face and looked back and forth at Kakashi and Ryu. A grin appeared on Sakura's face.
Ryu's face turned even redder and she quickly took her mask from Kakashi and wore it once again, hiding her face. Kakashi tilted his head to the side in confusion. "What's wrong?" He asked Ryu.
"N-nothing, dattebane!" She replied, quickly. "Let's just go now with everyone here, dattebane!" Sakura grinned at the verbal tic. Kakashi shook his head and shrugged. Tsunade and Iruka was there, seeing them off.
"Ok, Tsunade-shishou, off we go." Sakura said to Tsunade. Iruka turned to Naruto,
"Do your best!" He encouraged with a smile. They turned to go but Jiraiya landed in front of them. The group stopped once more. Ryu stumbled and shook her head. Kakashi instantly walked to her, grabbed her arm and dragged her to Tsunade, who had just finished talking to Jiraiya.
"What are you doing, dattebane?!" Ryu said, struggling to get out of Kakashi's grip, but he had a tight grip on her arm. He ignored her.
"Please check on this one before we go." Kakashi requested Tsunade. Tsunade blinked in surprise but nodded, raising her hands to check Ryu. Ryu snarled at Kakashi and was still struggling. Tsunade frowned at Ryu. Kakashi suddenly changed his grip to place both hands on her shoulders firmly. "Stop struggling! If you don't let Tsunade check you, I won't allow you to go at all!" He growled at her, staring into the eyeholes in her mask.
Ryu was about to argue but when her body locked up and froze. 'What the?' She thought. 'Kurama, is this your doing?' She asked the dozing fox.
'No. You probably couldn't sense it but Kakashi just used one of his abilities as someone from the Hatake line. He used the aura of the Alpha just now so you would stop struggling. Don't ask me to fight it because I can't. Also, I don't know if he even knows that he can do that.' Kurama replied. 'Now let me sleep.' And he fell quiet. Tsunade's voice jolted her from the mindscape.
"She's fine, Kakashi. Her chakra is just depleted a bit. As expected from going to Sunagakure and back in one day. That's a big distance. She'll be back to her normal chakra reserves in about a day." Tsunade said to Kakashi. Kakashi nodded and let go of Ryu. They walked back to Sakura and Naruto, who Jiraiya finished talking to him and headed off.
~The Kyuubi Twins~
Ryu was easily keeping up with the group. Kakashi was constantly glancing over his shoulder at her to make sure she wasn't falling behind. She was radiating an aura of annoyance and Naruto was doing his best trying to calm her down. "I'll treat you to ramen when we get back!" Naruto told her.
"Hmm...sure! I haven't had ramen for three years so why not?" Ryu replied.
"T-t-three years?! How did you last?!" Naruto asked, shocked. She shrugged.
"It was hard but I'm not as addicted as you are, Naruto." Sakura noticed Temari and landed besides her.
"Temari!" She called out and the rest of them landed not far off as Sakura explained the situation to Temari.
"What?! Gaara?!" She said startled after Sakura explaining everything. She fell quiet and frowned. "I had a bad feeling…"
"It'll take three days to reach Sunagakure from here…Let's hurry." Kakashi interrupted. Temari nodded and they headed off.
-Three Days Later-
When they arrived, the Sunagakure shinobi greeted them and told them that Kankuro had been poisoned and he was in a severe condition. "I'll examine him!" Sakura said. They rushed to the hospital and entered the room. Sakura instantly rushed to Kankuro and instantly started examining him.
An old lady suddenly rushed towards them, with an intent to attack. Naruto and Ryu instantly blocked her kicks and punches. "Why are you going at Kakashi-sensei so suddenly for?!" You wrinkled old hag!" Naruto said angrily.
"I remember that time...that White Fang of Konoha! My son's enemy...I will get revenge for him today!" The old lady replied, with malice in her eyes. Kakashi sweat-dropped and held out his hands in a calming gesture.
"Ah! No, I'm not..!" Kakashi said.
"There's no use in arguing!" The old lady said, not listening however she was stopped by the old man.
"Sister...take a good look. There's a strong resemblance, but he isn't the White Fang of Konoha." The old man interrupted. The old lady stopped and looked at Kakashi carefully. She started giggling.
"No way! I was just pretending to be stupid!" She laughed. Kakashi, Naruto and Ryu sweat-dropped. Sakura was extracting the poison from Kankuro's body and after thirty minutes, she finished.
"I don't think there's a need to worry about his life in danger anymore. I've directly removed the poison. Now I have to make an antidote for the little bit of poison left in his body. We can't relax yet." Sakura turned to the medics. "Please gather what I say!"
"You're a lot like that slug woman...that a girl like you would come." The old lady observed.
"Yes! It's because Tsunade-sama is my shishou. And my shishou said I should come here." Sakura replied. The old lady fell silent.
"Sister...time really is slowly flowing by." The old man said to the old lady.
"Right! But we're not gonna be slow! Let's go right after Akatsuki!" Naruto said, pumped up.
"Woah...Hold on, Naruto." Kakashi interrupted. He turned to the Sand shinobi. "What of the pursuit that was sent after the Akatsuki?" He asked.
"Kankuro went after them alone. There was no others."
"Then, have we completely lost them?"
"Yes...we have."
"Well, then could you guide us to where Kankuro was fighting? You have two experts on tracking. We only need a small amount of their scent to be able to track them." Kakashi said.
"That is not necessary." Kankuro interrupted. "There are two enemies. One abducted Gaara...you should follow his scent. Even assuming they split up, the other caught a bit of their clothing on Karasu's hand."
"Making a success out of a failure...you are indeed a shinobi of the Sand." Kakashi replied. Kankuro stared at Naruto.
"Uzumaki Naruto...Please save my brother." Kankuro said. Naruto grinned.
"Leave it all to me! Because I will be Hokage some day too! So I'll secure an advance favor from the Kazekage!" Naruto replied. "Yosh! Let's go, dattebayo!"
