Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto
A/N: Like I said in the last chapter, this is a "flashback" chapter. I will warn you all now that there's no NejiTen mention in this chapter at all… this is before either of them is even born (clearly, given the title of the chapter and all). Hope you like it anyway. XD
THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS!!
DEDICATION – Dedicated to Midnight Memories, (I certainly hope I spelled that right since I've been misspelling pennames a lot lately XP)… thanks for reading so many of my stories, for all the PMs, for all the dedications, and for your WONDERFUL reviews. XD… and also, thanks for being my sounding board on some of the stories, especially on this one, really helps out in organizing my thoughts. You rock! XD
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25 YEARS EARLIER
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"I am sorry Furi-iki-san." The Sandaime Hokage solemnly looked up at the tall young ANBU wearing the dragon mask. "You should take some time to yourself. I have already begun to make arrangements for another operative to –."
"I do not believe that is necessary." The young ANBU interrupted the Hokage.
"Given the circumstances…" Sandaime began.
"I appreciate Hokage-sama's intentions." The ANBU protested, "But it is unnecessary. I will complete the mission with my team."
"I do not doubt your ability to complete this mission." The third informed him. "But you could be placing yourself, as well as your teammates, in great peril if you were to head into battle with a less than focused state of mind."
"This will not be an issue." The shinobi tried to assure the leader.
"Can you guarantee this?" The third questioned.
"I can." The masked man replied.
"How?" The third inquired.
"It is my duty as a shinobi of the leaf," the large ANBU firmly replied. "To abandon a mission during a time of impending war, when there are few shinobi teams available, would not only be a disservice to the village, but a betrayal of my clan."
"I see." The third calmly nodded his head. "Very well, I won't stop you." The ANBU nodded; glad that he had not been taken off the mission. "But remember this..." the shinobi tilted his head downward, facing the third directly, as he listened intently. "The loss of your clan is an unfortunate occurrence, but you are not alone. We, the people of the leaf, are still your family."
"Hai." The gigantic shinobi nodded; a hint of sorrow in his muffled voice; then in an instant, he was gone, leaving the Hokage alone in office.
"Please…" The third sighed. "Do not act recklessly." He shook his head solemnly. "It would be a shame, if, after the massacre of his clan, the last of our weapons masters were to carelessly lose the life that fate so graciously spared."
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"Ox." The staticy voice called over the radio transmitter.
"What is it Rook?" The Ox masked ANBU replied.
"The target has been located." The voice replied.
"All of them?" Ox inquired.
"No." Rook replied. "Only B and E."
"Ox." A second voice interjected into the communication.
"Have you located a target as well Dragon?" Ox asked the voice on the other end of his transmitter.
"I have located target Y." Dragon's voice informed him.
"Understood." Ox responded. "Jackal?"
"Hai." A calmly serene voice replied, "I have located targets A and D."
"Good." Ox replied. "I am nearing Targets X and Z."
"What of C?" Rook asked.
"C left the room A and D are in before they were located." Jackal responded.
"Toward what direction Jackal?" Ox asked.
"Toward the west gates." Jackal replied.
"Understood." Ox replied. "We will take down our targets when I give the signal, then head back to the village. I will take care of C."
"Is that wise?" Jackal asked. "We still do not know the appearance of C."
"Ox." Dragon interrupted, "I am close to the western gates. It will be more efficient for me to locate C."
"Very well." Ox replied. "I leave C to you, Dragon. The rest, take down your targets on my signal. We all meet at the rendezvous point at sun-up, then head toward the village. Now move out!"
"Hai!" Dragon, Jackal, and Rook unanimously responded. (1)
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'There.' The ANBU in the dragon mask swiftly rounded the corner as he made his way through the inside corridors.
Wind and Fire had been at war since the first great shinobi war, over a generation ago. In the time that passed, Wind had amassed a large shinobi army, becoming a formidable enemy. There were rumors of a treaty between Wind and Earth. At the moment, Earth was far more powerful than Wind, but Wind had more men at its disposal. The two countries were said to be allying themselves through an arranged marriage that would unite the two royal families. If that were to occur, Fire would be at a sever disadvantage.
It had thus been decided that a small group of ANBU would infiltrate Wind, in the village of China, and eliminate the royal family. This, Fire hoped, would prevent the proposed alliance, as well as severely injure Wind. With no leader to guide and unite the shinobi villages within its borders, Fire hoped that it would cause confusion and instability within the country. The hidden village of Suna would undoubtedly still be a threat, as theirs was the most powerful of the shinobi villages within Wind, but it would be best to have one powerful village against the Fire nation's many shinobi villages, than to have all of them. (2)
The mission was to arrive in China and eliminate the Daimyo's family. There were eight targets; the Daimyo himself, his wife and three children, along with the Daimyo's two younger brothers and elder sister. Dragon had just taken down his target; the daimyo's youngest brother. It had been more challenging than he had thought it would be. Not surprisingly, there were a number of shinobi guarding the royal family; still, there were more men than Dragon had anticipated. And apparently even the royals had been trained in basic combat; but it wasn't enough to defeat a well trained shinobi elite. Though he had sustained some minor injuries, in the end, Dragon had been able to complete his task.
'That must be it.' Dragon headed toward the elaborately carved doors at the end of the hall; sticking to the shadows to avoid being detected by the many guards, who now appeared to have become aware of their presence.
It had not taken him very long to determine where his next target had run off to. With Jackal's information that the target had gone toward the Western gates, he could only assume that the person had gone off toward the sleeping quarters. In a palace the size of the Daimyo's home, it was easy to determine were the most luxurious quarters were located.
'Always look for the rooms with the best views' he told himself, remembering what his mentor had taught him. There were only two on that wing of the palace; having checked the first one, Dragon knew the second would be where his target was located.
"Whose there?" A soft feminine voice called out from behind a changing screen, just as Dragon stepped into the dimly lit room.
'How?' Dragon froze; uncertain as to how this woman could have detected him so easily, especially given the amount of noise coming from just outside her window.
"Are you one of the ones who have come to kill us?" the small voice asked without hesitation.
"…" Dragon stood in the shadows, watching as the petite female's silhouette remained motionless on the other side of the paper screen.
"If you are with those men out there," she motioned toward outside, where the sounds of fighting had begun escalating. "Just get it over with." It wasn't an order; her voice was gentle and polite, yet sorrowful at the same time.
He wasn't sure what it was; he certainly had never before hesitated when it came to a mission. Under normal circumstances, Dragon would have taken advantage of the unhindered opportunity to strike, and killed the girl within seconds. But for some reason, he couldn't bring himself to move from here he was; the pain and loneliness in the small girl's voice touched his spirit. Her erect shadow, standing behind the thin paper screen, demonstrated the air of nobility she carried herself with; yet it was betrayed by the slight tilt in her shoulders.
"Are you not afraid?" Dragon calmly asked, startling the young woman, though her reaction was minimal; only evident to a well trained eye.
"I am to be married soon." The young princess somberly replied.
He couldn't see her from behind the paper screen, but from her size, and given the age of his previous target, Dragon would assume the girl was no more than 14 years in age; just a few years younger than he was. Though it was surprising, it was not unheard of for young girls to marry at such an age; especially among royals.
"Is marriage so horrible, you would welcome death in its stead?" Dragon asked.
"Yes." She dejectedly replied.
"I was taught that marriage was to be look upon as favorable." Dragon responded.
He wasn't quite sure why he wanted to make her feel better; but, inside, his spirit pressed for him to do so. From her reaction, he doubted his words had the desired effect.
"Perhaps for those who are lucky enough to choose of their own will." the girl replied.
"Arranged marriages are common among nobility, are they not?" Dragon observed.
"That may be so," the girl replied, "but it does not make them any less wrong."
He agreed with her. Though his clan had been one of the five noble clans in the village, they had never practiced the arcane tradition of arranging marriages for political gain. It was always left up to the individual couples, whether they desired to marry or not. The idea of being forced into a life long commitment seemed absurd; he just couldn't imagine what kind of family could sell their own child away for profit.
"Then why not flee?" Dragon coolly suggested.
"I would have nowhere to go." The girl replied.
Dragon could sense the presence of guards quickly approaching the princess's chambers. He was certain that they would arrive within the minute. From the commotion outside, it appeared likely that their mission had already failed. He was certain that his teammates would arrive at their predetermined location at the allotted time, but Ox would likely head there immediately, and wait for them until sun up.
If Dragon timed it just right...
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Flash-forward (3)
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"Ox." As he had expected, Ox had arrived at the rendezvous immediately after leaving the Daimyo's palace.
"You survived." Ox stated happily; though the happiness in his tone would only be evident to one who had known him as long as Dragon had.
"Hai." Dragon nodded, before removing his mask and taking a seat on the forest floor.
"Did you not run into any trouble with the guards?" Ox asked, before proceeding to remove his own mask; choosing to remain standing.
"…" Dragon shook his head, "What happened?"
"I haven't confirmed it as of yet, but it appears there was a coupe being plotted, and we were caught in the cross fire." Ox informed him; rubbing the side of his jaw with his thumb; a nervous habit he had picked up long ago.
"There was nothing in the report." Dragon replied.
"No." Ox shook his head, "but… as I was preparing myself to take out the targets, I witnessed X stabbing Z; he killed his own sister."
"But why would he kill her?" Dragon asked, "Would not A have been the logical choice?"
"I believe he was aware of our mission from the start. He must have been assured that we would eliminate the Daimyo for him, blaming the whole thing on us, thus taking over the throne without complications." Ox explained.
"Perhaps." Dragon nodded, looking down at the floor as he thought the situation over.
"Shortly after, I was surrounded by a multitude of shinobi guards," Ox informed him. "I tried contacting the three of you through the radio; but you did not respond. That's why I am surprised to see you here."
"What of Jackal and Rook?" Dragon inquired.
"I do not know what has become of them." Ox replied, staring intently past his teammate. "Ryo-san?" he curiously looked down at the man. (4)
"Hn?" Dragon looked up questioningly.
"Is there something you would like to tell me?" Ox motioned toward the tree behind Dragon.
"Oh, yes." Dragon nodded, having forgotten why he had arrived early. "Oushi-sempai, I am in need of your assistance…"(5)
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End of Flash-forward
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Dragon stepped toward the changing screen; for the first time facing the young girl, as the enemy quickly approached. Holding out his hand toward the petite girl, he moved his mask to one side and looked deep into her innocent brown eyes.
"Run away with me." (6)
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TBC…
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A/N: Well, this wasn't my original idea (as I already mentioned in the last chapter), but I honestly did end up liking how this background chapter turned out. There where a lot of little pieces in here that will come into play in the future… well, technically the whole chapter is meant to do that, but specifically, if you end up feeling a little like ("Geeze, What was the point of putting that in there?") well, I can assure you, there IS a point XP… again, I hope you're not all disappointed that there was no NejiTen here… but… don't worry, there will be more soon enough. ;D
KEY:
The ANBU team
Dragon: Ryoku
Ox: Oushi
Rook: unnamed (and presumably dead) ANBU member
Jackal: unnamed (and presumably dead) ANBU member
(1) I'm sure someone's going to want to know… so here's who each of the 'targets' had been:
A: Wind Daimyo (Xiu-Juan's father) – Jackal's target (presumed dead)
B: Daimyo's wife (Xiu-Juan's mother) – Rook's target (presumed dead)
C: Xiu-Juan – Dragon/Ryoku's target (clearly not dead)
D: Daimyo's son (Xiu-Juan's brother) – Jackal's target (presumed dead)
E: Daimyo's youngest son (Xiu-Juan's brother) – Rook's target (presumed dead)
X: Daimyo's younger Brother – Ox's target (Alive)
Y: Daimyo's youngest Brother – Dragon/Ryoku's target (dead)
Z: Daimyo's elder Sister – Ox's target (dead)
(2) Hahaha… yes, because the Naruto-universe isn't really a real place, and it's pretty much limited to the 5 great nations (and the smaller surrounding nations), I figured I didn't really want to expand their world too much, so instead of referencing China the country, I decided I'd name the capital of Wind-Country China instead XD.
(3) I know… so weird… (though, I'm hoping it's not too awkward)… but I needed it to end with the very last line… and it was either do the "flash-forward" or not do that scene at all…
(4) Sticking to my "obvious subtly" I only addressed Ryoku by name once… in the very first sentence when the Hokage called him 'Furi-iki-san' but that's the most "obvious" of my "obvious subtleness" and I'm sure some people may have missed it… which was my intent for those who weren't paying close attention XP)… but otherwise I called him Dragon everywhere else… Of course, if you think about it (along with the title of the story) it's quite obvious that I'm talking about Ryoku. XD …And of couse, Xiu-Juan didn't get mentioned by name ever, but once you figure out Ryoku, it's obvious that the Wind Princess is Xiu-Juan.
Anyway, here Ryo-san is Oushi's nickname for Ryoku.
(5) Oushi means Ox… it also means Deep Truth/Knowledge, which will undoubtedly play into the story eventually.
Oushi-sempai is Ryoku's mentor; also, he was the ANBU captain in charge of this mission. And I'll tell you now; Oushi is also the ANBU leader in the "present day" part of this story…
(6) Another prime example of my "Obvious Subtly"/"Subtle obviousness" (not sure which one wording I like best XP)… if I played the games on this story, I would be asking where this line came from… but it's pretty obvious. XP… and it's what's supposed to get anyone who hadn't realized by then, that Ryoku is Dragon.
Once again, thank you all for reading….
Remember to REVIEW, please and thank you.
