Fade to Black Chapter 10: Path of Determination, a naruto fanfic

Hey guys! Has it been too long since the last update? I wouldn't know because I'm the one working my ass off trying to multitask with 5+ stories and juggling life situations regarding school, family and friend bullshit. But enough whining on my part! WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED LAST TIME!?

1.) Kaiza had been taken by Etsuko!

2.) Tomū, once again, got his ass kicked far and wide across the land while Katsu rescued Akiko from drowning!

3.) Anko had escaped death with a clone!

4.) The Faceless Samurai retreats back to Gato's base! But not before locking his sights on Tomū!

5.) The group chooses to continue the mission!

Caught up? Good! Let's jump in this bitch!

"Hello, what's good bitch?"~Character talking

'Damn, she got a fine ass!'~Character thinking

"I'll blow you to smithereens!"~Bijuu/Boss talking

'Wow, he really is an idiot...'~Bijuu/Boss thinking

(PS-I would also appreciate any type of fanart dedicated to this story XD If someone has made or found any artwork, please PM me and I will link it up on my page for everyone to see! Thank you for your time!)

Disclaimer: We DO NOT own Naruto! Just our OCs :)

Chapter 10: Path of Determination

If anything, it weren't the sound of smashing plates that caused Katsu to wince in reflex.

Instead it was the swelling of his nose that continued to send throbbing pains into his nerves.

"Y-Yeah, so that's what happened." Tomū said meekly, leaning back in his chair.

The room was quiet for the most part. If you ignore the ticking of the dining room clock.

It took less than a few hours to make it to the small village, with the help of traveling through the trees instead of walking on the roads. But as soon as the team made it, they were quick to ask around for information regarding the living arrangements of a man named Tazuna, one of Kaiza's closes friends. And after receiving the needed information from wandering civilians, Anko had been first to learn where Tazuna and his family lived.

Of course by the time they made it to the house and met the dark-blue haired woman who lived there, Akiko had started to wake up.

When the lady had worried over Akiko's health, as well as the conditions of the rest of Team 1, they soon learned that the woman's name was Tsunami.

Business was first and foremost as usual as Anko first handed Tazuna, a grumpy old drunk of a man, the scroll containing all of the necessary supplies given to them for the progression of the bridge.

However, Kaiza's absence didn't go unnoticed by a young boy. Apparently the boy, Inari was his name, was the only son of Tsunami. Another close friend to Kaiza. But as soon as the boy realized that Anko's team was the selected group to protect Kaiza on his way back home, Inari had been quick to question the whereabouts of his closest friend.

Which brought everything back to the present, with Tomū finishing off the conversation.

Who, in turn, found it overwhelming to tell the family of three

The teen swordsman's eyes wandered the room; a habit he had whenever the atmosphere got too dull, tense, or awkward. He locked onto the many expressions of everyone in the room, including his own team.

Akiko was still looking a little dizzy, as well as guilty for failing to protect their client. She was looking down at the table, trying not to make eye contact with any of Tazuna's family.

Katsu remained the impassive one of the room, with the occasional wince from his bruises.

Anko had been leaning back in her chair, nonchalantly swinging one of her lengthy kunai around her finger.

Then, regrettably, Tomū found himself looking over the reactions of the occupants of the house.

Tazuna had been glaring at Anko the entire time, his nearly emptied bottle of sake held tightly in one hand.

Tsunami had already dropped several plates onto the ground, mouth agape and eyes wide.

Inari was the worse of them all. With disbelief filling his eyes, his head slowly shook to the sides as tears cascaded down his cheeks.

Tomū winced, but all the while remained silent as the information was absorbed into the family's brains.

"Just to recap," Tazuna was the first to speak out. "You mean to tell us that Kaiza, our Kaiza, was kidnapped by two of Gato's goons?"

"Yup." Anko said.

"And you thought it was a good idea to come here, wasting all this time instead of using it to rescue my best friend!?" Tazuna's hand balled into a fist and slammed against the table, his eyes burning in rage. Behind him, Tsunami flinched at the loud noise and realized the mess she had made on the floor. As she leaned down to pick up the pieces, Tazuna's voice only raised higher with every passing word. "What kind of shinobi are you!? All you had to do was escort him home!"

Anko, having caught the kunai in her fingers, slammed the tip of the knife down into the table and made sure it stuck into the wood. The purple haired woman sighed as she leaned forward on one arm, pointing to the drunk with a single, bored finger. "You see this?" She gestured her hand to herself and her genin teammates. "You got yourself one jonin and three fucking genin."

"Inari, go upstairs please." Tsunami ordered quietly upon hearing the strong language.

As the boy quietly ran upstairs to his room, Anko didn't even bat an eyelash as she continued smoothly. "Now I don't blame you guys for the lack of money due to your bandit problem, but all you can get is us." Now, Tazuna found himself on the receiving end of a lecture as Anko pushed her seat back with her legs and stood up. Leaning forward with both hands planted firmly on the table and narrowing eyes staring holes into Tazuna's, Anko pressed on. "And to be honest, you should be glad I didn't order my team back to Konoha and leave Kaiza for dead. Especially when nobody mentioned the chance of fighting two possible S-Rank fighters!"

"I-I... I..." The drunk stuttered.

Tomū coughed into his hand to avert people's attention to him. "W-With all due respect, instead of arguing, shouldn't we start forming plans to fight back?"

"I was getting there Gaki." Anko responded with an eye-roll. "And just to be clear, you three aren't fighting."

"That's fine." Katsu grunted as he leaned back in his chair, arms folded behind his head. "I personally don't want my ass kicked anymore than it already is."

"My point exactly." Anko snapped her fingers. "Even working as a team, none of you were able to put a single scratch on that Etsuko bitch." The jonin noticed the stern, quiet glare from the blue haired mother across the room, but simply ignored her. "And seeing as how the Hokage is sending us back-up, hopefully it'll be enough so you three don't get in the way and die."

"So what are we gonna do then?" Akiko questioned.

Anko's head tilted towards Tazuna. "You three will be protecting this old fart's family." Seeing the nods of her team, Anko grunted her approval before standing straight. She looked at Tazuna. "It will be a while before back-up arrives, so in the meantime, I'm going to survey the area and make sure there's no enemies around. When I get back, I expect to hear more about this Gato person and whoever the hell is working for him."

With that, the jonin yanked her kunai out of the table. "Back in 30 minutes kiddies." She informed before exiting the room and eventually the building itself.

Nothing else was heard besides the sound of the front door slamming to a close.

"I uh... can you tell me where the bathro-" Tomū began.

Tazuna spoke, face covered with both hands. "Upstairs, down the hall, door on the left."

The blue-eyed swordsman nodded his thanks before walking up the staircase, leaving the room to themselves.

Akiko, upon seeing Tsunami struggling to gather up all the broken pieces off the floor, eventually stood up and walked over. "Here, let me help."

Lastly, while the female genin received a nod of thanks from Tsunami, Katsu just watched as Tazuna shook his head. It seems the weight of the situation was bearing down more on him than the Hyūga expected to see. He watched as the drunk groaned and pulled his hands away, grabbing the sake bottle and bringing it to his lips. Only to realize it was completely empty.

"So..." Katsu whistled.

The old man looked at the teen.

"Nice weather we're having."

"... shut the hell up."

5 Minutes Later...

He hissed as his fingertips lightly grazed the tender flesh.

"That's gonna be a bitch to deal with..." Tomū muttered his annoyance. He had pulled his gaze away from the mirror to look down at his torso. He had pulled up his shirt to view the results of the one-sided battle from earlier. To say he was disgruntled was an understatement. Bruises upon bruises took up residence along the skin of his chest and stomach, darkening spots throbbing and sending sharp pains with the slightest touch.

He sighed as he slowly lowered his fishnet shirt, grimacing as he felt the fabric run over the sensitive skin, before zipping up his jacket.

Tomū's eyes moved back up to the mirror.

He silently stared into his own blue eyes.

You, boy... what is your name?

The young swordsman felt a shiver run down his spine. The cold voice of the samurai was simply too daunting to forget. Having fallen victim to the presence of the killer, it had already been engraved into his brain and Tomū had no doubt that he'd remember this day for as long as he lived.

The day he had the chance to prove his worth as a true shinobi.

The day he had nearly been dropped off at death's doorstep.

A split second had passed as the image replayed in his memories. From the moments of being kicked around by Etsuko like a child to soon becoming helplessly trapped in the assassin's water prison. From watching his teammates fall prey to the assassins superior abilities to watching his own leader nearly getting cut down. From failing to protect Kaiza to experiencing the horrifying killing intent of the Faceless Samurai before he disappeared.

Tomū lurched forward over the sink, eyes closed, sweat building up on his brows and bile attempting to force its way up his throat.

'So close...' He had thought. He bit his lip. He didn't want to risk throwing up. 'We were so close to getting killed! We stood no chance!'

His fingers tightened around the edges of the sink.

The teen could understand the insignificance of his powers going against a trained, seasoned killer. But he had his teammates, it was three-on-one. Surely they would've inflicted some type of harm on the older woman! But that was far from the case. It wasn't even a battle. Hell, Tomū was sure they weren't even a warm-up for the ex-Kiri kunoichi.

'Too weak...!' The words echoed in his head.

It was their fault Kaiza's life was in danger!

Opening his eyes, electric blue met the same as he glared into his reflection.

He had gotten a taste of the real world, another chance to make a difference.

A chance to correct his mistakes.

As little as he was, even the smallest power could turn the tide.

He just needed to improve.

Good? Bad? Boring? Pretty sure it was boring, but not everything can be interesting! Hopefully I can continue updating things as smoothly as I've been doing lately... and if so, hopefully I'll get more and more readers to join this little group! XD Spread the love people, I need the hype! And remember, I do still need a little help creating in-between missions to keep things interesting. Or a few new OC characters to help progress the story. If you guys are feeling up to it, don't be afraid to tell me via PRIVATE MESSAGING OR REVIEWS!

Alright! Peace everyone!

REVIEW PLEASE!