Disclaimer: I do not own any Naruto characters.
Chapter 10: The cruelty of fate
Kakashi and Haruka ran as fast as they possibly could. They needed to go back to the temple before Kenji got there. They talked and gestured to each other while they ran. By the time they reached the temple, they already came up with a plan to battle Kenji and his poison.
Sakura and Naruto were still in a state of drug-induced sleep. Haruka woke them up with the sniffing bottle and Kakashi explained the situation to them briefly. They immediately began to prepare for Kenji's arrival. They finished the preparation just when Kenji appeared at the door of the temple.
Kenji looked inside the temple. He could see the four Konoha shinobis fast asleep in their sleeping bags on the floor. "Just as I expected." He said to himself. He walked up to Kakashi, not even bothering to soften this footsteps. He took out a small bottle from his pocket, opened the cap, and a sweet almond smell immediately filled the air. Kenji placed a few drops of the fluid directly into Kakashi's mouth. Within minutes, blood as black as tar began to drip down from Kakashi's mouth. His body twitched painfully for a few moments before it laid completely still again.
Kenji repeated the procedure on Naruto and Sakura. He watched both of them twitch in pain with his emotionless face. Finally he kneeled down next to Haruka. He stared at her face for a long time, still amazed at its resemblance to the girl who he once loved. For the first time tonight he hesitated. What if... just what if she was really her? Kenji shook the thought out of his head. That was impossible. The other girl died a long time ago. The woman in front of his eyes was merely one of life's cruel little jokes. Kenji opened the bottle again and dropped the fluid into Haruka's mouth with his steady hands. Very soon the pretty girl was as dead as her comrades.
"Sorry you have to die," Kenji said to Haruka's dead body softly. "but I cannot let anything ruin our plan." Finally he got up and left the temple.
The morning sun began to creep into the temple and shine on the dead bodies as the night faded away. Suddenly all of the dead bodies disappeared into thin air with a pop. Kakashi, Haruka, Sakura and Naruto walked out from their hiding places, as alive as they could be.
"How was my kage bunshin and henge???" Naruto bragged with a big grin on his face.
"You are fantastic as usual." Kakashi padded him on the shoulder. "But your shadow clones would have died and disappeared in front of Kenji's eyes if Haruka didn't predict what poison Kenji would use and gave your clones the antidote beforehand."
"Not to mention the fake blood that Haruka-sensei made." Sakura added.
"That stuff was nasty." Naruto could still taste the fake blood in his mouth. "I'm going to make Kenji and Shou pay back for trying to kill us." He said with vehement.
Sakura noticed that Haruka lowered her head uncomfortably at Naruto's comment. She said, "Haruka-sensei, is there something you want to say?"
-- Well... -- Haruka gestured hesitantly, expecting her teammates to disagree with her, but somehow she felt like she had to voice her opinions. -- in a way I understand how Shou and Kenji felt... I think I would do exactly the same thing if I were in Kenji's position. After all, Yuuta murdered Shou's family in order to seize the country. A revenge... is the only logical next step... --
Kakashi placed a hand understandingly on Haruka's shoulder. "Haruka," he said, "we are shinobis. Our job is to finish the missions assigned to us. We are in no position to judge our clients, or get emotionally involved with our missions."
Haruka nodded, without saying anything more. This was her first real mission after all. She supposed she would get used to the cruel way of ninja eventually.
"Kakashi-sensei." Sakura broke the silence. "Now that Kenji thinks that we are dead, what do we do?"
Kakashi thought for a moment. "The four of us alone cannot battle off a whole village of rebels, especially since they plan to attack Yuuta at a festival, where there will be a lot of innocent people around. We will need to call for backup from Konoha." He looked at his teammates one by one, mentally analyzing everyone's abilities. "Naruto and Sakura, you two immediately go back to Konoha and ask Tsunade-sama for backup. Haruka and I will follow Shou and Kenji. Konoha is only a day and a half away from here. It will take you no more than three to four days to come back. By the time you come back the rebels will have left for the festival, so meet us at the Village of Tanzanite." Kakashi pointed out the location of the village on the map.
Kakashi then summoned his nin-dog Pakkun. "Take Pakkun with you, he will take you to us when you come back."
Naruto and Sakura immediately gathered their belongings and left for Konoha.
During the next two days, Kakashi and Haruka spent their time spying on Shou and Kenji. Together, they found out all the details of Shou's plan, including the exact time and location of the assassination. "We sure work well together as a team." One night, Kakashi said to Haruka before they went to bed. Haruka smiled shyly and replied, -- I wish we can fight side by side like this for the rest of our lives.--
Kakashi smiled brightly. "Yes, we will fight side by side next to each other in battles for the rest of our lives." He reached out and took her hand into his palm. Was it another perfect-for-kissing moment? He wondered, but he decided that he didn't want their first kiss to take place in the middle of a mission. When they went back to Konoha, he would properly ask her out. He would take her to a romantic dinner, then for a walk in the woods, and then he would kiss her. Kakashi had it all planned out.
The rebels left for the Village of Tanzanite two days after Naruto and Sakura left. Kakashi and Haruka quietly followed behind them. They reached their destination in slightly less than half a day. The Village of Tanzanite was much bigger than the Village of Tourmaline. It was almost the size of a small city, with streets filled with merchants who eagerly tried to sell their goods and shoppers who eagerly tried to bargain for a good price. The villagers were busily preparing for the festival. Colorful lanterns were being hung on the houses, and street stalls were being set up for various snack vendors and carnival games.
The rebels disguised themselves as merchants and scattered throughout the village. Shou and Kenji spent the afternoon wandering around aimlessly, mentally preparing themselves for the assassination tomorrow, absolutely unaware of the fact that they were being followed by two skillful Konoha shinobis.
As they leisurely strolled down the street, a commotion ahead caught their attention. Pedestrians on the busy street quickly parted to the sides and gave way to a group of soldiers. "Lord Yuuta is here!" The crowd exclaimed. Shou gave Kenji a slight pull and the two of them slipped into a side alley. Kakashi and Haruka followed suit and hid themselves in a different alley.
A group of about ten soldiers marched by. In the center of the group was Lord Ishiguro Yuuta and a few of his followers. Lord Yuuta looked around the well decorated village contentedly. He turned to his followers and said, "What a lovely sight. I hope you are enjoying this as much as I do." Lord Yuuta had a surprisingly pleasant looking face.
Haruka froze in horror as soon as she saw his face. She had seen the man before. In fact, she had seen him countless times in her dreams, standing in a blood stained room, taunting a helpless little girl with the exact same words.
What was happening? Why was Lord Yuuta in her dreams? Who was that little girl?
Suddenly, Haruka felt like an explosion went off inside her head. Ancient hidden memories were unearthed, filling her head with images of people and places that she used to know. The new images danced around madly in her head, and old memories continued to resurface. Haruka felt like her head was about to split in half. She squatted down painfully and cradled her head with her arms.
Kakashi looked at Haruka worriedly. People on the street had gradually resumed their activities as Lord Yuuta and his soldiers disappeared at the end of the street. Kakashi could see Shou and Kenji leaving their hiding place, ready to move on.
Kakashi said gently to Haruka, "What's the matter? Are you not feeling well?"
As if cued by Kakashi's words, Haruka suddenly let out the sharpest and loudest scream that made everyone on the street turn around to look at her. Shou and Kenji were visibly shocked to see the two supposedly dead shinobis, but Kakashi did not even bother to keep an eye on them. He simply stared at Haruka in disbelief.
Haruka was... screaming? How was that possible? Wasn't she born mute?
Kakashi squatted down next to Haruka. Her face was contorting in pain. He could see droplets of sweat forming on her forehead. Impulsively, Kakashi threw his arms around Haruka and held her tightly against his chest. He said to the screaming woman softly, "It's ok, everything's ok, I'm here, I won't let anyone hurt you, I won't let anything bad happen to you." He whispered in her ear. "I will protect you for the rest of my life, it's a shinobi's promise."
Kakashi could feel Haruka responding to his words. Gradually she began to calm down. She stopped screaming, and she let her body relax into his arms. Kakashi continued to pat her consolingly, until he felt someone approaching them. He looked up. It was Shou and Kenji.
"Yo." Kakashi forced a casual smile onto his masked face. "Fancy running into the two of you here."
Kenji gave him a bitter grunt, but Shou looked worriedly at Haruka and said, "What happened to her? Is she ok? Was it really her... screaming... just now?"
Kakashi shook his head. He didn't know the answers to his questions. He looked at the woman in his arms. Her eyes were closed. Kakashi wondered if she had fainted. He gently touched her face and said, "Haruka, are you alright?"
Haruka slowly opened her eyes. Her gaze was scattered and confused. She looked around and saw Kakashi, who was looking at her concernedly with his sole visible eye. Haruka gave him a bleak smile, then her eyes fell upon Shou and Kenji, and an intricate expression crept onto her face. It was a mixture of yearning, fear, happiness and disbelief.
She opened her mouth as if she was trying to speak, but no sound came out at first. She tried again, working her vocal cords as hard as she could. Finally she managed to form words. The pronunciation was a little off, but it was clear enough to be recognized. She looked at Shou and said with trembling lips, "Shou ni-chan..."
Shou's body visibly shook. He stared at her with wide opened eyes. "What did you just call me?"
"Ni-chan..." Haruka's face blossomed into a bright and beautiful smile. "... my brother, I'm so glad to see that you're alive. And you too," She turned to Kenji. "Jiji-sama."
Kenji's knees collapsed and he kneeled down on the ground involuntarily as Haruka addressed him with a secret nickname that only a certain little girl knew. But he was so sure that the little girl was dead. He shook his head repeatedly, "That's impossible. That's impossible. You can't possibly be..."
"Shiori!" Shou shouted excitedly. He walked up to Haruka and studied her face closely. "You are Shiori! You are my baby sister Shiori!"
Haruka nodded. She repeated his words joyfully. "Yes, I'm Shiori, I'm your baby sister Shiori." Tears began to form in her eyes. She tried to get up. Kakashi gave her a little lift on her elbows to help her get onto her feet.
Haruka looked at Shou, shyly at first, and then she smiled a teary smile and threw herself into his open arms. "Ni-chan, I'm so glad that I remember you now. For a very long time I could not remember anything, but it all came back to me now, after I saw Uncle Yuuta's face." She said quickly, choking on her tears occasionally, but her speech was much smoother now that she had had some practice, though her voice was still a bit shaky.
"Don't call that monster Uncle." Kenji spat angrily onto the ground as he got back up onto his feet as well. "He was no longer part of the family the moment he murdered his own brother."
Kakashi stepped back from the group and observed the family reunion quietly. He looked at Shou and Haruka. He noticed for the first time that the two actually looked very alike, especially those large almond shape eyes and the thin lips. He wondered why he didn't see that before. There was no question that they were siblings. That would mean that Haruka was the daughter of the late Lord Ishiguro Kouhei, and the princess of the Land of Quartz.
Shou held Haruka tightly in his arms, as if she would disappear into thin air if he let go of her. "Thank Heavens you are still alive." He said, tears began to roll down his cheeks as well. "And thank Heavens we didn't actually kill you." He shot an accusing look at Kenji, who looked away guiltily. Shou returned his gaze onto Haruka and he saw the Black Star necklace on her neck. "Shiori, this necklace used to belong to you when you were a child, now fate has returned it into your hand." He stroked her hair lovingly and asked. "What happened to you during the massacre? Where have you been all these years?"
Haruka quickly searched her memories. Her brain was still a bit overwhelmed by all the new memories. She scanned through images after images in her head, looking for a particular piece of memory. The memory of what happened on that fateful day twelve years ago.
It was a fine summer day. She was still an innocent little girl. She liked sweets, and she liked birds. Kenji, the royal physician, happened to know a lot about birds, so the two of them would often go on little outings in the woods and Kenji the old man would tell her everything about the birds they saw.
They had just come back from a particularly fun outing today. Kenji was carrying the little princess in his arms, simply because he enjoyed spoiling her. However, as soon as they entered the castle, where the Ishiguro family lived, a group of soldiers rushed out, seized the princess from Kenji's arms, and separated the old man and the little girl forcibly.
Haruka remembered being carried to the living room, where her uncle Yuuta, the brother of her father, brutally murdered her parents in front of her very own eyes. "What a lovely sight." Her uncle said to her. "I hope you are enjoying this as much as I do." The little girl began to scream uncontrollably. She did not know murders could happen on a fine summer day like this.
Suddenly, one of her father's followers came out from nowhere, grabbed the princess in his arms and immediately escaped by jumping out of the window. He ran and ran, dodging arrows and random attacks from Yuuta's men along the way. Miraculously, he made it all the way to the back side of the castle, where the kitchen and the servant's quarter were. He opened a little door that the maids used as an entrance. He said, "Run away, my little princess, run away as fast as you can."
The princess looked at the man with her bright blue eyes. "Aren't you coming with me?" She asked. "No, my princess, I'm afraid I can't." The man smiled weakly, blood was dripping down the corner his mouth. It was then when she saw the arrow that was stuck deeply into his back.
The man gave the princess another push. "Quick, my princess, run as far as you can. Yuuta's men don't know about this route. You should be safe. But just in case, even if you run into anyone, don't say a word to them, Yuuta will be searching for you, so don't tell anyone about who you are. Don't say a single word." Then the man collapsed into his glorious death with a smile. He had proven his loyalty to Lord Kouhei by protecting the princess with his life. His last words deeply imprinted in the horrified little girl's mind.
"I had not spoken a single word since that day." Haruka told her brother. "I ran and I ran. When I could no longer run, I walked, and when I could no longer walk, I crawled on my hands and knees. I was scared, I was hungry, I was tired, but I kept crawling. Finally a retired medic nin from the Hidden Village of Konoha found me in the forest. He took me in, fed me and treated my wounds. I spent many days living in utter confusion after that. By the time I felt alright again, I could no longer remember who I was." Haruka shivered as she relived the painful memory.
She paused for a moment, letting herself recover a bit, then looked at her brother and said with trembling voice, "Ni-chan, Yuuta killed father and mother right in front of my eyes." She burst into loud sobs.
Shou grinded his teeth angrily. "That monster, I will never forgive what he did to our family." He looked at Haruka in her eyes. "Shiori, we will avenge for our family, and all those who have suffered because of Yuuta. You and I, and Kenji, and everyone in our village, together we will kill Yuuta and take the country back." He glanced at Kakashi, who had been standing slightly away from them in silence, then he looked back at Haruka. "You are of course with us, right?"
Haruka nodded. She let go of her brother's embrace and walked towards Kakashi. "Kakashi." She said. This was the first time she ever called his name. Kakashi decided that he liked how his name sounded on her lips.
Suddenly Haruka kneeled down in front of Kakashi and gave him a most formal bow. Kakashi quickly lifted her up. "What was that for?" He asked, though he already knew what she was going to say.
"Kakashi," Haruka said slowly, searching for the right words. "you have saved me many times. I would not be alive today if it weren't for you. I cannot possibly thank you enough for everything that you have done for me. You have always been so kind to me, so gentle, so patient." There was so much emotions in those beautiful blue eyes that Kakashi felt like he was about to drown in them.
"I thought we would fight side by side with each other in battles for the rest of our lives. We would be teammates forever. Teammates in missions, teammates in life, we would always take care of each other, help each other." Haruka had to take a few deep breaths to suppress her sobs. "But I guess, that was just a dream, after all."
She untied her forehead protector from her head. "I am going to follow my brother from now on. I have to avenge my father and mother. I need to kill Yuuta. Only his blood can sooth the souls of my parents, and everyone else who had died because of him." She looked at Kakashi. She gathered her strength and said, "This will also mean that you and I are enemies from now on."
Even though Kakashi knew this was coming, he still felt like someone had just hit him hard on his head. Just two days ago, he and she, they were talking about how they would fight side by side with each other in battles. Just four days ago, he almost kissed her and declared his feelings for her. But now... suddenly they were on opposite sides? Suddenly, she belonged to the rebels that he had been ordered to kill?
That was not fair! Kakashi screamed inside his head.
Haruka lowered her gaze, completely avoiding Kakashi's eyes. She put her forehead protector into his hand. "Please give this back to Tsunade-sama. Please thank her for everything she has done for me. She is a very kind person." Haruka paused for a moment. "Also please tell Sakura that I'm sorry I cannot be her sensei anymore."
Finally she sighed and said, "Goodbye, Kakashi, next time we see each other it will be on the battlefield." She looked at Kakashi one last time, before she went back to Shou and Kenji, and the three of them left promptly to where they belonged.
Kakashi remained standing in the alley, dumbfounded, feeling like his life had just been turned upside down by the cruelty of fate.
--- Author's Note: Just out of curiosity, and for my own improvement, how many of you have seen this coming? Was it totally predictable? Please let me know! (grin) ---