A/N:I'm on a boat. I got mah swim trunks an mah flippie-floppies...

Please. Please shoot me.

So...this is like, the last chapter of 'Gaiden'. I'm not writing much during the semester, but when i get free time and a good idea, than I'll write and update my other stories XDDD.

The next installment is a separate story , called 'Eiga Monogatari'.

Bear with me!!!!!!!!

藤原のムラサキです。

XxX

"Nine men dead..." Murasaki heard a man's voice say heartily as a cold compress was applied to her brow. "Impressive...impressive...she's just a gennin, they say."

"Not even that." Chiriku's voice chimed in, fringed with worry. "She was put into protection after someone attempted to kill her...her cover has been blown tonight...this is the fourth attempt she's had on her life."
Murasaki frowned inwardly. So the thing in the garden...it had been human...it hadn't felt like a human…it had felt so hollow…but then again, so had she in that situation…
Murasaki felt the vibrations of footsteps on the floor, and felt one of the men cover her up to the neck as a door slid open.

"Where is he?"
Murasaki recognized the sound of Kenko's voice and opened her eyes to see her sensei standing over the top of her. His arms crossed.
"Master!" Murasaki cried, sitting up, only to be pushed back by Chiriku.

"You're injured." He said sternly, indicating her hands, which were bandaged to the elbows.

"I never thought Yugaou would stoop to such levels." Kenko seethed, kneeling beside Murasaki. "an attack that damages a poets hands…"

"Yugaou is not the one who put this attack into motion." Chiriku hissed, clenching his fist, the cold compress dripping lukewarm water down his arm. "I'm going to be straight with you, Master; Nozomu-san is the child of a high ranking shinobi! This was an assassination attempt, and not the first."

Kenko tilted his head back, narrowing his eyes. "I know my own apprentice!"

Chiriku shook his head, clearly getting angry as he threw the cold compress on the floor.

"No, you don't!"

Murasaki pressed her lips shut, looking away from the sight of the two men arguing.

"They say I've been killing people…but why can't I remember any of it?" she thought, making a mental note to ask Chiriku later. It scared her, and made her want to return to Konoha even more.

"Maybe I'll kill Danzou and won't remember it…"

"That's terrible!" She thought back, furrowing her brows.

"But…he killed…"

"You can't prove that! Even so, just because someone killed doesn't mean they should die, does it? If that were so, then dad…Kakashi, even myself would deserve death…"
Murasaki felt tears welling up in her eyes and she struggled to wipe them away with her bandaged hands, which were beginning to prickle and throb dully.

"Lets let her rest…I need to have a few words with Nozomu…" Chiriku said, pushing everyone out the door before turning back and sitting by her side with a sigh.

"Murasaki…" Chiriku began evenly, folding his hands patiently. In the dim light of the oil lamps, he looked much older than sixteen.

"I'm…sorry…" Murasaki choked, wiping her eyes on her bandaged hands.

"I won't yell at you. It would be pointless. You know what you did wrong." He said evenly. Murasaki could tell he was unfathomably angry by his calm tone, which was possibly worse than yelling. The room was silent for a long time, and Murasaki began to wonder if this was all Kenko had to say. Taking a deep breath, Murasaki asked the question that was troubling her the most at the moment.

"Why can't I remember killing these people…? I always black out…"
Chiriku was silent yet again, seemingly contemplating the question.

"I don't know for certain. Some people are saying that when something traumatic happens to someone, they don't remember it… but I can't say for sure if that is the case with you. I've seen you kill. You are clearly not yourself when you do it, but I cannot give you a solid answer either way. It's like nothing I've ever seen before, though…"

Murasaki blinked up at the dark ceiling, biting her lip and thinking.

"Who attacked me?" she asked finally. Chiriku was silent again, the shadows flickering across his face.

"The assassins were from the Mist Village. We have all been ordered to keep silent about it. We finally got out of what they are calling 'The Great Shinobi War', and Kumogakure just pulled an incident with the Hyuuga clan in Konoha. Now, more than ever, we have to be careful not to cause international incidents that could spark conflict…as far as the rest of the castle is concerned, you are sick and have been quarantined."

Murasaki frowned and nodded. "I understand."
Chiriku smiled slightly, replacing the cold compress with a fresh cloth.

"Chiriku?"

"What?"

"I'm not going back to Konoha, am I?"
Chiriku sighed and sat back.

"No, you're going back…like I said, I can't give you a definite answer, but you will return…I promise."

XxX

Danzou sat back, rubbing his Sharingan eye in frustration. Even assassins from the Mist had failed against her…she certainly was a difficult target…but Hatake's arson on the temple had definitely come in handy when it came to tracking her down…

He glanced over at the children that had been brought in as ROOT's new recruits with a sigh. These kids were going to be his key to becoming Hokage one day, maybe more…

He stood up, leaning heavily on his cane and inspecting the children closely. A pair of fathomless black eyes met his and he thought for a moment.

"I can't send any more of these second-rate assassins to do my work for me…next time, I'm going myself…" He thought furiously, looking sternly at the raven-haired toddler as the boy played by himself. "But my hands are tied…the Hokage is aware of my movements and has placed spies in my midst…"

With an eerie smile, he reached out to the raven-haired young boy, offering what looked like a kind hand to the war-orphan.

"Don't be afraid." he said in feigned kindness. Once the boy was within reach, Danzou grabbed him, reaching into his mouth and placing a seal on the screaming toddlers tongue. Without any further consoling, Danzou set the toddler back on the floor with his comrades, where the toddler sat wailing in the middle of the floor. Danzou tilted his head back, another sick smile crossing his features.

"If I lay low in the eyes of the village…I might have a chance at success…" He thought, turning away from the children and leaving the room. "and I know just the way to deal with that Fujiwara until I can make my move…I just need to get her back here before she says anything damaging…"

XxX

Murasaki fumbled with her chopsticks as she sat quietly beside Master Kenko in a large room filled with rows of kneeling pillows and low tables facing one another. Long stemmed oil lamps set the mood, the flickering golden lights really setting a feudal-era mood in the room. Murasaki was reminded of the shrine, which seemed primitive compared to Konoha's electric lights.

She didn't dare say a word, though the dark haired girl that was sitting beside the woman named Yugao kept shooting smirks in Murasaki's direction, her face partially concealed behind the stem of an oil lamp. It had been a week and a half since Murasaki had been attacked, and she was hoping the bandages would come off soon, though her fingertips had been burned badly.

She ignored the girl, focusing only on her food and mastering the chopsticks with her currently hindered dexterity.

The daimyo sat nearby, eating wholeheartedly while his effeminate son sat stiffly beside him, picking daintily at his food. Murasaki found them both fascinating, wondering how a son could turn out so different from his father. Even she had similarities with her father, but these two seemed like polar opposites.

The daimyo was a big, sturdily built man with a large belly. His voice and laugh were attractive, and while he was not by any means handsome, he had a charm about him that won ones heart instantly. He was warm and loving, caring deeply for his wife and family, and even the people over which he reigned.

His son, however, was painfully slender and pale. His face, which was covered with a handkerchief most of the time, was long and his eyes were cold. No part of his manners stated that he wanted anything to do with his family or his country. He treated everyone as if they were something unpleasant that he had found on the soul of his shoe, and was often the butt of many jokes because of this.

Murasaki averted her eyes when he looked up from his yakitori with a sour expression on his face, as if the delicious chicken kabob was something disgusting.
The dishes were cleared away within the hour, and warmed sake was brought out in small porcelain pitchers.

Murasaki hated the bitter, burning taste of sake, supposing it was something she would like when she was older. Kenko, on the other hand, almost immediately began to down the caustic fluid.
After the drinking picked up, and many of the courtiers cheeks had become rosy from the alcohol, the daimyo clapped his hands enthusiastically.

"Let's have some poetry!" He called, draining his sake cup. "We'll make a game of it!"

"Let's have Yugao-chan begin!" Kenko called, raising his glass to the older woman, who clenched her yellowed teeth together in what was supposed to resemble a smile. For a moment, Murasaki feared that the powder on the woman's face would crumble and fall off, but it held fast to the woman's skin.

"You flatter me, Kenko-sama!" she said, drawing a fan and hiding behind it as if she were embarrassed, making a coughing sound that was supposed to bear some semblance a laugh. "Perhaps our apprentices should go first!"

Kenko paised in th emiddle of pouring Murasaki a fresh cup of sake, which he had been practically forcing on her.

"That's a wonderful idea!" The daimyo cried, slamming his freshly emptied glass down on the table and signaling for the attendants to bring out more of the small sake pitchers. "Itoshiki Nozomu-san! You shall begin! Give us something to begin with!"

All the blood that was in Murasaki's face drained and she felt dizzy. All eyes were on her and her mind had stopped working after her fourth cup of sake. She blinked slowly, trying to string together a coherent thought that didn't concern Yugaou's caking makeup.

Without further delay, or thought for that matter, Murasaki spat out the first line, which went:


"The color fades from the flower
As with passing time it withers,
it's strands turn with age turn white;
Does the snow make it any more beautiful?"

A deathly silence fell upon the room and Murasaki wanted to hide her face in shame. Yugao clenched her teeth together in the same smile she had before, her dark eyes glittering maliciously. Her apprentice did not miss a beat, hiding her mouth behind her sleeves.


"A thing which withers
With no outward sign
is the flower
of the fickle-hearted man."

Murasaki didn't even bat an eye, smiling kindly back at Yugao's apprentice as if she were teaching a child. This manner made the girl squirm terribly and look away, which both made Murasaki feel guilty and gave her confidence.

"Flowers know nothing
Of what lies beyond the garden wall;
He is gone now
To come now only dreams."

Kenko stiffened, casting a concerned look in Murasaki's direction, though not criticism fell from withered lips. Murasaki knew what she had said and done only moments after she said it. Her thought had strayed to Obito halfway through the girls poem, and it was him she had spoken of, but she hadn't meant to take Kenko's turn…
Kenko merely laughed, clapping her on the back and pouring more sake into her cup. Murasaki unthinkingly downed the wine to hide her embarrassment, regretting the feeling of fire inside her stomach moments later.

"I see your apprentice is eager to live up to his masters reputation." Yugao said with her coughing laugh.

"What a big reputation it is." Her apprentice said from behind her sleeves, her dark eyes arching upwards in a false smile. Murasaki's stomach gave a sudden lurch and she stood up, racing to the sliding panel and stumbling out into the tea garden where she had been attacked over a week before. She almost fell into a shrubbery into which she began to vomit, her head spinning. She heard a couple of guards race towards her, placing gloved hands on her shoulders and back and easing her into a more comfortable position.

"It's okay, just let it all go." Murasaki dimly heard a woman's voice say before Murasaki pitched forward, hearing only the sound of laughter as she lay on the cool grass.

"Oh, god…" she laughed, pushing herself up onto her elbows shakily. She felt weak as the woman who had come to her aid helped her to her feet, but for some reason she found it insanely funny.

"They should never have given someone as young as you sake…" The woman seethed, her curtain of blond hair covering half her face as she led Murasaki back to the open door through which she had come. Murasaki shook as she struggled to wipe her mouth, stumbling against the woman.

"I'm so sorry…" Murasaki giggled as the woman pushed the doors wider. The room was still buzzing with the sounds of revelry, Murasaki's humiliating incident having been pushed to the side by something Yugao's apprentice had just said.

The woman led Murasaki into the hallway, where Chiriku waited. He looked quite surprised to see them, but wasn't angry.

"I'm glad to see you got her out of there, Lady Ise…" He said with a bow. Lady Ise paused for a moment, tilting Murasaki's chin upwards.

"So this is the girl that's been causing all the problems? I can't believe they gave her sake…that's…so irresponsible!"
Lady Ise slid in and out of focus as she seethed and swore, and Murasaki could make out the dim outline of a lamellar breastplate over a white kimono and blue hakama. A nagiganata was strapped to the woman's back and Murasaki blinked in surprise.

"A female samurai…?" Murasaki wondered, her head still buzzing terribly from the alcohol. She somehow wanted to laugh, but clamped her mouth shut for fear of vomiting.

"I'll take her to bed." Chiriku said, leading Murasaki away from the upset looking blonde.

XxX

Over the next week, Murasaki was quite dismayed to realize she didn't recall much of her first poetry 'competition', and wished she could recall exactly what had caused Yugao's apprentice to earn the highly suggestive title of 'Grass-Thatched Hut'. On top of that, Murasaki herself had earned the reputation of not being able to hold her sake, a title which she didn't mind. Next time, she would simply avoid the caustic fluid.

Chiriku was keeping a closer eye on her, confessing that he was taking time away from sleep to ensure her safety. More than once, Murasaki begged him to go to bed, but he would crankily refuse. Once in a while, Asuma would relieve the monk of his duties, but the teen was not fond of loosing sleep over the fugitive Fujiwara.

One warm night in the fleeting weeks of summer, Murasaki was laying awake in her bed while Chiriku and Asuma sat in her room, playing shogi by lamplight.

"You guys should go to bed…" Murasaki moaned, rolling into a different position. "You need sleep…"

"We're fine…" Chiriku said without looking up from his chessboard. "You should go to sleep…"

"It's been over a month…" Murasaki muttered, rubbing her eyes and sighing.

"Go. To. Sleep." Chiriku said sternly, the oil lamp casting long shadows on his face, illuminating his dark circles and making him look like an old man. Asuma made a move and let out a sigh, himself looking nearly as old and tired as Chiriku did.

Murasaki sighed and closed her eyes, thinking about how the two teens resembled a couple of old men, sitting around and playing shogi all the time...

She closed her eyes, wondering if they would play shogi as old men as well, and thinking how much Asuma had matured since he'd come to the temple…
Murasaki was almost asleep when she felt something in the back of her consciousness, something she'd forgotten about until that moment.

"The door." she managed, scrambling up just as the rice-paper panels came crashing down around her, landing heavily on where she's been laying moments before.
Asuma and Chiriku spring into action, drawing their weapons, but nothing happened. Whoever it was that had broken Murasaki's seal on the secret door and knocked down the rice paper panels had disappeared up the same passage they had come.

"Asuma, take Murasaki out to the stables…get her a ride back to Konoha with Lady Ise, then send a hawk to Konoha and alert them that she's returning." Chiriku hissed, pushing Murasaki into Asuma's arms and disappearing through the door.

"Come on, let's go." Asuma said softly, leading Murasaki out by the hand.

XxX

The moon was high and full as Asuma lead Murasaki out into the courtyard, Lady Ise in tow. Ise had wrapped Murasaki in a pale pink kimono with stylized cherry blossoms around the hem, and a medium green kimono emblazoned with leaves had been put over her head like a veil to hide her identity. Murasaki found it difficult to move underneath the heavy silk, and had to shuffle to keep from tripping over the long hems. She didn't want to admit it to anyone, not even herself, but it was the first time she'd felt like a girl in nearly a year…and she felt beautiful…

"Here." Lady Ise said, approaching a palanquin surrounded by men in lacquered hats. "This is my fathers…No one will dare attack it." She said, pulling aside the panel. "Get in, quickly…no one can see." Lady Ise said, her voice low as she looked around. "We'll cover you here."

"Thank you…" Murasaki said softly, climbing in to the large box awkwardly. "Tell everyone thank you…I owe them my life…I promise when I become a kunoichi, I'll pay back my debt…" she said, lifting one of the bamboo curtains to speak to Asuma and Lady Ise, the green kimono nearly slipping off her spiky brown hair. Asuma rummaged in his sleeves, pulling out a Konoha leaf protector.

"You take this. You're already a kunoichi…" he said, handing it to Murasaki.

"And when you get home…please find Kurenai…tell her that I'm okay and that I'll be back soon…"

Murasaki blinked and nodded as Lady Ise signaled to the men. Murasaki was nearly thrown off balance as the palanquin was lifted into the air and onto the shoulders of the men in the lacquered hats. She was forced to relinquish her grip on the bamboo curtain in favor of finding a position in which every move of the men didn't just about make her fall out of the box. She caught one last glimpse of Asuma and Lady Ise as the curtain fell and she was ushered out of the castle's gates.

Murasaki could tell by the sound of the men's feet and the feeling of the chakra around her that they were passing through the city. She sat back on her knees and closed her eyes, holding the forehead protector that Asuma had given her in her hands.

"What am I supposed to do with this?" She thought, opening her eyes and staring down at the blue silk band. In the darkness of the palanquin, she could barely make out the carved symbol of Konohagakure staring back at her. Something stirred in her heart, warming her to the core and a broad grin cracked her normally sad features; She was finally going home.

XxX

Sarutobi looked wearily down at the letter the daimyo's hawk had just delivered. His pipe hung partially out of his mouth, the smoke clinging in the air and creating a dreary halo around the formerly retired Hokage.

"Perhaps its for the better if the poor girl returns…Konoha is more stable now than it was a year ago: Danzou has quieted down and is no longer intent to make a fuss…" He thought, glancing over at a picture of his three former students turned sannin.
"Danzou has gone underground. He doesn't want to be noticed. I highly doubt he'll try anything to compromise his cover…it's the other one that I'm worried about…" Sarutobi thought, his eyes falling on the photograph of the raven haired sannin, who's amber eyes stared solemnly back at him. "Orochimaru's growing more aggressive in his search for immortality…that child of his was a failed experiment at creating a new body…he didn't factor in the egg donor's genetics…but there's some one in the village who might be a good host for that parasite of a man…"

Sarutobi took his pipe out of his mouth, blowing smoke into the air thoughtfully and drumming his fingers on the table.
"Let him come…I've been looking for an excuse to see my former student…" He said standing up and calling to a young ANBU just beyond his office doors.
"Inu-san, please alert Jiraiya-san that his daughter will return to Konoha before dawn."

The dog masked ANBU nodded stiffly, disappearing in a puff of smoke. Sarutobi leaned back, puffing on his pipe with a genuine smile.
"That'll make Jiraiya-kun happy…" He thought cheerily, looking forward to his former student's reaction.

XxX

Murasaki wasn't aware she'd been asleep when the palanquin suddenly halted. The fact that the large wooden framed box had stopped swinging woke her with a start, and the feeling of it being lowered made her stomach flutter as she awoke. Cautiously, she peered out of the bamboo curtain and her eyes were met with a sight that moved her to tears.

Bathed in the bright moonlight were the two enormous green gates of Konoha, which had been opened a crack to reveal a tall man with wild white hair. The warm summer night felt heavy and the air itself seemed to be alive. The moonlight seemed to cast eerie shadows across the giant gates, and Murasaki sat transfixed as she stared out of the palanquin, wondering if she was still dreaming. The soft breeze seemed to make the trees whisper a sad, yet beautiful song.

Her skin began to prickle as she gazed towards her father, afraid that any moment she would wake from an implausible dream.

Murasaki wasn't even aware of getting out of the palanquin, no less her feet hitting the ground before she found her arms wrapped around her father's waist, hot tears soaking his green shirt.
"Murasaki…" He breathed, pulling her closer and wrapping his strong arms around her shoulders. "I missed you so much…"

"I missed you, too, daddy…" She whispered, tears streaming down her face. The truth was, she was afraid to let go for fear he would slip between his fingers and she would wake.

"I'll tell Lady Ise you've arrived safely." called one of the guards from the palanquin. "But I fear she will expect further proof from you Hokage."

"That's fine." Jiraiya called. "I'll provide Ise-hime with any proof she needs."

With a nod and a wave, the palanquin bearers disappeared into the trees. Murasaki watched them with a sudden sadness, as if it had been the palanquin bearers that had taken care of her for the past year, and not master Kenko and Chiriku.

"Look at you!" Jiraiya said, a tint of joy-masked sadness in his voice. "You've gotten taller! I can't believe how much you've changed! So lovely now!"

Murasaki smiled up at her dad, pulling the green kimono further around her head to block out the sudden chill.

"Can we go home, dad? I really want to see how much Konoha has changed…" She said, glancing into the trees where she swore she'd seen movement. Murasaki had that feeling she was being watched, but it wasn't a bad feeling like it had been so many times before.

Perhaps it was her good mood, but she felt as if nothing would ever go wrong again as her father took her hand and led her to the same apartment she had left undercover less than a year before.

"I'm so glad you're back, sweetheart." he said, a noticeable bounce in his step as Murasaki cling desperately to his hand. "I..I just am…"

Murasaki clung tighter to her father, burrowing beneath his warm arm. "I am too, dad…" She said, her voice breaking with emotion.

XxX
A dark shadow crouched on the massive green gates, watching as the father and daughter embraced below. From his vantage point, he could hear the young girl sobbing with tears he assumed were joy.

A fluttering feeling settled in the pit of the ANBU's stomach as he watched the two, a feeling which he credited to frustration at the former miko. He shivered, an electric feeling prickling his skin as the forest surrounding Konoha gave what sounded like one huge sigh of relief. The moonlight seemed to turn everything into shades of black and white, and colors that would have been vivid in the daylight looked muted.

The ANBU silently cursed the third for allowing the girl to come back, for opening up that can of worms, and he cursed himself for not trying harder to prevent her return. He could have intercepted that hawk in the blink of an eye, but maybe he'd wanted her to come back…somewhere in the back of his mind.

"Don't be ridiculous." He thought irritably, following the pair silently. " She's just a little kid…"

xXxTBCxXx