Notes: Because the relation between Itachi and Shisui is never defined (to my knowledge, anyway), I assume they're cousins. It makes the most sense, and since the Hyuuga provide the most detailed example of how clan life works, it's likely that Itachi and Sasuke had cousins around the same ages as them.
The Nature of Love
A Naruto Fanfic by
Nate Grey (XMAN0123-at-aol-dot-com)
Chapter 12: Big Brother Shisui
5 Years, 11 Months in Konoha - October
Uchiha Shisui was the first famous relative that Sasuke ever learned about. Sasuke could only remember actually speaking to him a couple of times, and what stuck with him was that Shisui had not seemed all that heroic. He was scruffy, lanky, consistently drowsy, and never seemed to be in a great hurry to do anything. There was a small scar just below his left eye, where someone had made a failed attempt to steal his Sharingan.
The stories all told of a different Shisui: of one who had nearly lost both his eyes and his life as a genin, all because he had been too slow. From that point on, Shisui devoted himself entirely to speed. At the peak of his career, he could fire off multiple jutsu in what seemed to be the space of a second for anyone watching him, and complete a movement before the suspicion of it was even half-formed in his opponent's head. In battle he was constantly in motion, but outside of it, he never wasted any energy. Anyone that dared to call him lazy was quickly referred to his impressive service record, yet another stamp of pride on the Uchiha name. The whole clan seemed to believe that he would go on to become something truly special.
But because Itachi had loved him, he just turned out to be the last Uchiha whose body was attended to by blood relatives, and the first of Itachi's true victims. It was Shisui's death that had given Itachi the Mangekyou, and his life that had made it possible. Itachi had seen Shisui as his brother... and, to a lesser extent, so had Sasuke.
At least, Shisui had treated him like a younger brother. He would ruffle Sasuke's hair whenever he passed him, or call him "Sasuke-chan" just to get a rise out of him. It was just light teasing, never anything mean-spirited, the kind of thing Sasuke got from several of his other older cousins. They all seemed to realize that Itachi rarely interacted with Sasuke, and Shisui, not unlike Sasuke's own mother, went out of his way to make sure Sasuke got at least some attention.
In a way, the story of Shisui's "suicide" did hold water. He had sealed his own fate by being so likable. In a clan where the ultimate power could be obtained by killing a loved one, he'd never stood a chance. If Itachi or Sasuke hadn't killed him, someone else would have at some point. He didn't deserve to die like that, but that didn't mean it wouldn't have happened, anyway.
Sasuke didn't miss Shisui, exactly. They hadn't spent that much time together: Shisui was usually with Itachi, after all. He was sorry that Shisui was dead, and upset that his death had given Itachi the power to wipe out their clan. Beyond that, he sometimes recalled Shisui's slightly crooked smile, but that was about it.
The first night that Sasuke spent in bed with Hinata, though, he dreamed that Shisui was standing at the foot of the bed, watching them with a strange expression on his face. Even when he woke up, Sasuke felt as if someone had been there, though he could not say why. He was tempted to do a search of the compound, but decided against it. Anyone wandering around would no doubt run into Gaara, and while the redhead didn't actually get sleepy, he might have been less inclined to be merciful with any dark figure he ran across in the middle of the night. Sasuke had no intention of being that person, so he stayed in bed, closed his eyes, and tried not to think of dead relatives. It didn't work, at least not until Hinata shifted slightly so that her head came to rest against his shoulder. Although then Sasuke had plenty of problems trying not to think of HER, though it was a welcome change from the usual topics in his dreams.
5 Years, 11 Months in Suna - October
Temari was on her way to the Kazekage's official interrogation room when something warm and furry rubbed against her cheek. She tensed, and had just started to reach for her fan when Meg sighed and said, "You know, I never thought I'd say this, but those boys are starting to get on my nerves."
"Telling those awful jokes again?" Temari guessed with a grin as she lightly stroked the weasel's back.
"Worse. They dragged Kankurou into it. So where we going?"
"My father has something he wants me to see. Probably he just caught a spy."
Meg blinked. "Oh. So you probably don't want to walk in with a pet, huh?"
"It won't matter," Temari assured her. "My father knows you can fight, and might even ask us to get some information out of the prisoner. I know that's not really your thing, so I'll understand if you want to go."
"You shouldn't be alone when you do things like this," Meg decided, carefully sliding her body between Temari's fan and shoulder. That way she was still close to Temari's ear, but out of sight of anyone who wasn't already looking for her.
"Well, here we go," Temari muttered as she spotted the lone guard outside of the room. He saw her coming and stepped aside with a respectful nod, unlocking the door and opening it for her.
The room had a dark, damp feel to it, which was admittedly odd for Suna, but special care had gone into designing this particular room. The Kazekage was standing in front of the prisoner with his back to the door. The prisoner was chained to the wall, his feet several inches off of the floor. What really got Temari's attention was the presence of Tayuya, one of Orochimaru's personal bodyguards. She was almost never seen away from his side, so it was odd that she'd be there without him. It was also odd that she seemed slightly uncomfortable. Every other time Temari had seen her, she'd been glaring at something or someone. Today, she looked as if she'd rather be somewhere else.
"Our Sound allies have discovered a spy, Temari," the Kazekage said quietly. "Do you recognize him?"
Temari stepped around her father and came to a complete stop, barely able to keep the shock out of her face.
The prisoner was Iruka.
She had known that he was more than just a simple liaison from Konoha, of course. He had given her that black hat that Naruto swore had Gaara's scent on it. He always sent her lilies anonymously on her birthday, by way of some flower shop no one in Suna had ever heard of. He was also careful never to ask her about Naruto, which was more telling than anything else. Had it not been for that, she might have just assumed he was just an older man flirting with her. But their contact had always been just shy of frequent, which Temari knew was by design. Iruka didn't want anyone thinking that they actually knew each other, and apparently that had been a good idea, if whatever he'd been doing had gotten him into this position.
Temari said nothing as she stared at his face. She couldn't say anything, after all. Admitting that she knew Iruka beyond an occasional glance would bring suspicion upon her, and then she would be in no position to save him. It would be hard enough convincing Naruto that he needed to be saved at all.
"He's the liaison from Konoha," she answered simply.
"Was," the Kazekage corrected smoothly. "He was caught with sensitive information concerning the Sound. They have turned him over to us, temporarily, as an act of good faith. He might have certain information on us, as well. We need to find out all that he knows."
Temari glanced at Tayuya, who was staring hard at the wall. "What do you want me to do, Kazekage-sama?"
"Break his arms."
Temari blinked, but there was no change in Tayuya's expression, so she immediately strode forward, pulled out her fan, and delivered two swift, heavy blows, closing her eyes against the sound of Iruka's bones shattering. It was nothing she enjoyed, and she knew Iruka would not hold this against her, considering the circumstances, but she still hated herself for doing it just because her father had told her to.
To his credit, Iruka did not scream. He gritted his teeth, and probably bit his tongue, if the blood that leaked from his mouth was any indicator. It was both possible and likely that he was bleeding internally from whatever they'd done to him beforehand, but that he chose that moment to finally show it pointed to Temari's blows being more responsible, at least in her mind.
"I suggest," the Kazekage said calmly, "that you start talking, Iruka. Your next interrogator will have my full permission to do whatever it takes to loosen your tongue. And he has been known to be over-enthusiastic when it comes to mindless bloodshed."
Iruka slowly, and with great effort, lifted his head. "I will gladly tell the young Uzumaki anything he asks of me."
The Kazekage's eyes narrowed. "You're not a very good spy, then. He hasn't answered to that name for some time, and he never will again."
"It's how I knew him, and it would also tell him exactly where I knew him from."
"I would think you'd want to hide that. He is not what you would call fond of Leaf-nin. I'm sure I don't have to tell you why."
Iruka managed a pained smile. "I have nothing to hide from him anymore. I gave up on ever going home a long time ago. I'll tell Naruto everything you want to know... but only him, and Kabuto."
The Kazekage studied him carefully for a long moment. "Fine. But if you're expecting mercy from that pair, you'll be waiting a long time." With that, he turned around and left the room.
"If you're thinking of doing something," Iruka grunted the moment the Kazekage was gone, "then don't, Temari."
Temari blinked, surprised that he was speaking freely with Tayuya in the room, so apparently they had an understanding. "Yeah, because you really look like all your plans have been working out great," she snapped.
Iruka shook his head. "It's too late, anyway. There's no point in you getting dragged into my mess."
"Then why will you only speak to Naruto? What's he got to do with this?"
"Everything. He's the reason I'm here, and the only reason the Leaf is still allied with the Sand. You don't really think the Sandaime Hokage would maintain relations with a village that welcomes one of Konoha's most wanted missing-nin? It is... possible he doesn't know that much yet, but the moment he even suspects it, the so-called alliance between our two villages is dead. And if that happens before the chuunin exams, you can expect to find the Leaf much better prepared for your invasion, and that's assuming they're still willing to let you in."
Temari frowned. "What happened to only talking to Naruto?"
"That's just common sense, Temari. I haven't told you anything that your father doesn't already know for certain. If I wanted to surprise you, I'd say something like certain people in Konoha have started to accept that Naruto and Kyuubi are two different entities."
Temari bit her lip. "Is that true?" she asked softly.
"He said it, didn't he?" Tayuya snapped, shooting her a dark look. "He may be a lot of things, but he's no liar."
Temari could think of no reply to that, considering what Iruka was charged with. She was really starting to wonder why Tayuya would stick up for someone endangering her village... but then, Temari was in the same situation herself, although it was her village's treachery that made spies like Iruka all the more necessary. They were extremely lucky that he seemed to be the only one, all things considered. Iruka was perhaps the trustworthiest spy she'd ever met.
Apparently, she wasn't the only one who thought so, because Meg finally spoke up. "You know, he doesn't smell like a bad guy, Temari," she whispered. "Just, um, bloody, and that's not really his fault. I feel kinda bad that you had to hit him like that. Maybe we can... oh, wait, here comes Naruto."
The door opened again, and Naruto walked into the room, followed closely by Kabuto. Fortunately, Iruka had been allowed to wear a Sand chuunin vest and forehead protector as part of his job, to avoid attracting too much attention, so Naruto didn't immediately recognize him as a Leaf-nin. Kabuto obviously did, because that creepy smile instantly appeared on his face as he addressed them.
"I understand that Naruto-kun and I are meant to question the prisoner alone. I must ask everyone else to leave the room... and that includes you, Tayuya-chan. Don't worry, I'll be sure to fix anything we might damage during the interrogation."
Tayuya scowled at him, and glanced at Iruka one last time before stomping out of the room.
"So what's the deal with this guy, Temari?" Naruto asked quietly, staring at Iruka curiously. "Why is he so important?"
Temari closed her eyes. "He was sent by the Sandaime Hokage."
Naruto froze, his eyes widening. "What...?"
"He's been watching you, making sure you were still alive, and reporting back to Konoha. But since he knows about the invasion, the Sound can't trust him." Temari opened her eyes and placed her hand on Naruto's shoulder. "He's the one that gave me Gaara's hat. He'll tell you anything you want, so don't hurt him if you don't have to."
Naruto blinked slowly, and for an instant, Temari thought she could see the start of tears in his blue eyes. But then it was gone, his face slipping into an unreadable mask as he moved past her.
"Don't worry," Meg whispered. "Naruto will do the right thing. It's Kabuto I'd be worried about, and I don't think Naruto will let him do anything too bad."
Temari desperately hoped that Meg was right as she slipped out of the room. Iruka didn't deserve to die, not when he'd risked exposure to tell her about Gaara. Naruto would understand that, but even if Kabuto did as well, he was a Sound-nin. There was no telling what he might have orders to do, or what he'd do simply because he felt like it.
"Are you sure this is a good idea, Anko-san?" Ayame murmured for the third time as they approached the Uchiha compound. "Maybe he's just really busy with something..."
Anko rolled her eyes. "So? Gaara is my kid, and no kid of mine stays out all night without at least leaving a note."
Ayame frowned. "Has he ever left a note?"
"No, but usually he gives me some warning. So you can see why I'd make such a big deal out of this. Besides, you couldn't really carry all this food by yourself, could you?"
Ayame blushed and looked away from Anko's knowing gaze. She hoped she wasn't being too bold by making lunch for Gaara's team without asking first. Gaara had never actually been mad at her, so she had no idea how he'd react. Sasuke and Hinata had begun eating at Ichiraku's often enough that she knew their usual orders, and neither seemed to have a problem with her (Sasuke was a little cold, but nearly every male Uchiha she'd met had been to some degree). Then again, she'd also brought three back up meals, just in case they preferred something other than their usual. Her father hadn't been happy about giving out six free meals, especially when he knew Gaara's two might go to waste, but kept his mouth shut because it was Gaara in the first place.
Both of them recalled how Gaara had kept them inside while Uchiha Itachi had murdered his clan. No one other than guards and ANBU were hurt or killed, but that didn't mean Itachi wouldn't have taken out anyone that happened to come across his path that day. Gaara had very likely saved their lives, and that was enough for them. And even if he didn't care for ramen, he almost never ate anywhere else.
Anko had been teasing Ayame about her feelings for Gaara for years now, even when Gaara was standing right there. It never got a reaction out of him, although Ayame would turn bright red and do her best not to meet his eyes. Honestly, she wouldn't have been surprised if he chose someone else in the end. All she really had to offer him was her feelings themselves, and Gaara had not proven to be big on feelings.
But soon the Uchiha compound loomed before them, and it was too late to turn back. Ayame took a deep breath as she followed Anko through the gates, and quickly released it. Everything looked... deserted. True, Sasuke had been living there, alone, for some time, but he clearly stayed in one particular section, and made no attempts to spruce up anything else. She couldn't really blame him; most days Ayame did her best not to look at the pictures of her mother. There was too much pain to have to deal with it every single day, and it was far easier just to put it out of the mind whenever possible.
It was terribly easy to find Gaara's team. For one thing, there were nine of them, instead of the expected three. Two Sasukes were surrounded, and being attacked, by a circle of two Gaaras and two Hinatas. The Gaaras were using long tentacles of sand, while the Hinatas relied on typical Gentle Fist taijutsu. The Sasukes weren't doing so well: primarily, they were concerned with the tentacles, which struck with far more force than Hinata's hands. But in dodging those, they often ended up leaping right into Hinata's hands, and the decrease in speed that resulted from her hits only left them open to more sand tentacles.
Off to the side, a Hinata knelt in front of yet another Sasuke, carefully studying his slightly bloody arm, while another Gaara stood over her.
"I still think you need more time to recover, Sasuke-kun," Hinata was saying as Anko and Ayame drew closer. "You were under so much pressure yesterday, and your body is still tired from it."
"For the last time, I'm fine," Sasuke snapped, though his words lacked a certain venom they might usually contain, a further sign that Hinata's concerns were not unfounded. "I just need to catch my breath, and then I'll-" Whatever else he was going to say, no one found out, because Hinata suddenly stood up, slipped her hand behind his neck, and pulled him in close for a deep, passionate kiss. When she finally let go several seconds later, there was a glazed look in Sasuke's eyes, and his mouth was hanging open slightly.
"If he can't even dodge my kisses, he needs to rest," Hinata decided, turning to Gaara.
"You're assuming that he would even want to," Gaara replied. "Despite all his protests, I have yet to see him dodge a kiss even once. So either he has no future as a ninja, or you need a way of distracting him that he doesn't find quite so pleasant."
Hinata blushed, and was saved the trouble of producing a suitable reply when Anko casually threw a kunai, aiming for the back of Gaara's neck. Instead of impacting against the usual sand shield, however, one of the Gaara clones broke away from the sparring group and slapped the kunai back towards Anko with a sand tentacle. She caught it, of course, a little startled at how much force had been behind it. She quickly shook her head and glared at Gaara... the real one, who was staring at her in mild annoyance.
"We are training," he said simply.
"No, YOU are late," Anko corrected. "Do you know how worried I was?"
"Not at all?" Gaara offered, seemingly bored with the conversation.
Anko stuck out her tongue at him. "Well, yeah, but it's the principle of the thing! If you're going to be out all night, the least you could do is let one of us know!"
"We've already established that you weren't worried. What would have been the point?"
"Kakashi and I are responsible for you, that's the point! It doesn't matter if no one can hurt you, or if no one would bother to kidnap you, or if you just wanted to goof around for a change. The fact is that we're your guardians now, and you can't just act like that doesn't matter, because it does to us!"
Gaara simply stared at Anko as she finished her rant. Then he walked over, took her hand, and placed it on top of his head. "Sasuke liberated Hinata from the Hyuuga last night, and I wanted to be sure they kept their distance. I spent most of the night designing sand traps around the compound. Also, as of today, I've moved out." After a slight pause, he added in a tone that was more explanatory than apologetic, "Sorry."
"I'll start bringing your stuff over tonight," Anko replied without missing a beat. Then, as an afterthought, she licked her thumb and carefully wiped at a small red scratch on his cheek. "How did that happen?"
"Hinata needed to see the difference between the way I heal, and the way everyone else does." Gaara finally noticed the three bowls she was holding with one arm. "What is that?"
"Oh, right! Ayame-chan was sweet enough to make lunch for all of you."
Hinata and Sasuke immediately perked up at the mention of food, so Ayame quickly unwrapped and passed out their meals. They both thanked her (Sasuke grunted, but she assumed the sentiment was there). Gaara said nothing when Ayame handed him his bowl, but he ate every bite, which she considered a personal victory.
All too soon, Gaara's team noticed that there were three more bowls that nobody was eating. Only Hinata was polite enough to ask if they could have those, too.
"Um, I'm not sure if you'll like them," Ayame replied as she hesitantly unwrapped one of the bowls that Anko had been carrying. "We don't get much demand for this particular meal..."
Without a word, Gaara took the bowl from Ayame and began to eat that as well.
"Ah, Gaara-kun is the only one who ever orders it," Ayame offered helpfully, smiling as she watched him eat. "I suppose it's the name that throws people off."
"Tanukiudon," Sasuke muttered, a blank expression on his face. "One of my cousins used to tell me that there was actually tanuki meat in it."
Ayame smiled and shook her head. "He was only teasing. I've made the dish several times, and I've never used anything like that."
Sasuke still didn't look convinced, not even when Hinata asked to try a bowl. He also made a point of not looking when she tasted it.
"You should try it, Sasuke-kun. It's not bad," Hinata decided.
He scowled at her. "I am not going to-"
"Come on, just a little?" Hinata insisted with a grin, waving the bowl under his nose. When Sasuke still didn't take the bait, she made a show of dipping a finger into the bowl, scooping up a noodle, placing one end between her lips, and very slowly sucking up the rest of it.
Sasuke turned a spectacular shade of red, but still refused.
Pouting, Hinata started to lick her finger clean, then thought better of it and teasingly traced Sasuke's lips with the finger until he opened his mouth, if for no other reason than to keep her from wiping the rest of the bowl's contents all over his face.
Ayame felt like she should look away, but found she just couldn't. After Sasuke had sucked Hinata's finger clean, she proceeded to happily feed him the rest of her bowl, which he ate without any further protest. Ayame thought about offering them the last bowl, but discovered that Gaara had eaten that during Hinata and Sasuke's little scene. Maybe he wouldn't admit to liking the dish, but he certainly had no problems eating more than one helping of it.
"Sasuke. Hinata," Gaara said the moment everyone was done eating. "Continue to work on the healing exercise. I must speak with Ayame."
Blushing bright red, Ayame followed Gaara to the gates of the Uchiha compound, wondering what he couldn't say to her in the presence of others.
Gaara stopped abruptly and turned to face her. With deliberate slowness, he reached out and firmly grasped her wrist. "You must never bring us lunch here again, Ayame."
Ayame's mouth dropped open in shock, the hurt flashing in her eyes as she looked away. "Oh. I-I understand..." she said softly. In that moment, she wanted nothing more than to run away, so Gaara wouldn't see her cry. The only problem was, he still hadn't let go of her. Ayame was a little puzzled about that, until she heard Gaara's next words.
"I do not want Hinata and Sasuke to come to expect such luxuries regularly. From now on, we will come to you instead. The walk will give them time to reflect on what they have learned, and to practice certain techniques. That time is essential to our advancement, and must not be disrupted."
She nodded, feeling a lot better. "Of course. I'm sorry, Gaara-kun! I didn't mean to-"
"You have done nothing wrong," Gaara interrupted. "Sasuke is in no shape to train much longer today. The walk would not have helped in this case." He paused, peering at her closely. "Why did you do this, Ayame?" Gaara asked quietly.
She blushed, looking at the ground. "I-I wanted to help you, Gaara-kun. This was the only thing I could think of, so I thought... I hoped that, maybe..."
"Thank you."
Ayame blinked and slowly lifted her head. Gaara was staring at her, in much the same way he always did. But somehow, she felt closer to him now, and perhaps that was why she stepped closer and wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him impulsively. She was even more delighted when she felt the slight pressure of Gaara's hands on her back.
"You smell like ramen," Gaara noted suddenly.
Blushing, Ayame started to pull away, but Gaara's hands remained firmly on her back.
"I did not say it was an unpleasant smell," he added.
Thoroughly confused, but still deliriously happy, Ayame allowed herself to enjoy the hug again. Then, more than any other moment they had shared, she knew that she was hopelessly in love with Gaara. Every other boy that had commented on the way she smelled had immediately followed it up by trying to "taste" her, which had resulted in Ayame developing quite a solid right hook, for a civilian (Sakura had been a big help, offering unlimited lessons in "man-handling," and Kiba had been a rather unwilling test subject, but she'd paid them back with a ton of Ichiraku coupons). But Gaara wasn't like those boys, and he could honestly appreciate the smell without turning it into something dirty.
Although if he kept hugging her like that, her cheeks would be permanently stained red.
"Um, Gaara-kun? I kinda need to get back to Ichiraku's. Have to make up for those six bowls, you know..."
Gaara blinked and slowly released her. "I see," he said simply.
"If you ever change your mind, though, I'd be glad to serve you all again!" Ayame offered, slowly backing away from him.
"I will keep that in mind," Gaara replied with a nod.
With an enormous grin on her face, Ayame happily hurried off with a skip in her step.
Gaara watched her for a few more seconds before going back inside.
Naruto had believed for quite some time that when next he saw someone from Konoha, not only would he have to kill them, he'd take great pleasure in doing so.
But Iruka complicated that fantasy. He was an agent of the Sandaime Hokage, a friend of Temari, and one of the few people that had ever greeted Naruto with a genuine smile (this was very impressive, considering that Kabuto hadn't tended to his broken arms until afterwards). He answered all of Naruto's questions in surprising detail, from why he hadn't approached Naruto earlier, to how he had been captured. The strange thing was that Iruka seemed to bear no ill will to anyone: not the Kazekage, Temari, or even the Sound kunoichi that had caught him (he slipped and called her "Tayuya-chan" more than once, something Naruto noticed made Kabuto smirk each time). When Naruto asked about that, Iruka simply said that he understood that ninja had to do certain things for their villages, and that it was pointless to hold personal grudges unless the enemy went out of their way to make the matters personal.
Naruto got the distinct impression that he could trust Iruka, although that belief was challenged when they reached the subject of Orochimaru. Iruka did not outright say that Orochimaru was untrustworthy, but he urged Naruto, several times, to be careful around the man. Naruto assumed this was because Iruka was Orochimaru's prisoner, but Iruka insisted he would've said the same thing, had they met when he was still free.
They even talked about Konoha, or Naruto listened while Iruka talked about it. It was startling to learn how easily Gaara had made a place for himself. Naruto was jealous about that, considering all he'd had to go through in Suna, but at the same time, he was glad nobody had made it easy for him. He'd worked hard and earned every single thing he had now, and he was intensely proud of that fact. Still, he found his thoughts wandering back to some of the few people he had somewhat decent memories of. He remembered stealing steaks from the butcher with Kiba, Ayame hiding him behind the counter at Ichiraku's when other kids ganged up on him, and the way Sakura's green eyes lit up whenever she was happy.
It was funny, though. Naruto could vividly picture Sakura in his mind even now. But the warm, fluttery feeling in his gut whenever he thought of her had faded over time. He couldn't explain it, and somehow he knew that if he saw Sakura today, she would be even lovelier, but he would only stare for a minute, where he once would have for hours. There were just more important things in his life, and no time to drool over a girl that wouldn't even talk to him, outside of yelling at him for stalking her. Sakura was his first crush, but as far as Naruto was concerned, Kin was his first love.
But when Naruto ran out of questions, and Kabuto took over the interrogation, he realized that he had a big problem. Naruto was really in no position to help Iruka, as he was a prisoner of the Sound. Sure, he could test the waters with Orochimaru, and possibly find out what was in store for Iruka, but if the man was important enough to Orochimaru, nothing in the world could free him without great difficulty. He had to do something, though. Temari was counting on him.
All too soon, Kabuto was done with his questions as well. Iruka had been just as cooperative with him as he'd been with Naruto, so there had been no point in making him suffer.
Naruto paused, glancing at Kabuto, who was waiting for him in the doorway, and then at Iruka, who was watching him curiously.
"Why did you trust me?" Naruto asked quietly. "I thought everyone in Konoha thought I was a monster."
Iruka smiled sadly. "I saw the Kyuubi with my own eyes. I felt the intensity of its chakra. It is not something that can ever be forgotten. If you are a monster, Naruto, you are not that one. In all the time I have watched you, you have never even come close to the sheer, overwhelming force I felt that fateful night, and I pray you will never find yourself in a situation where you would need to."
Naruto stared at him in surprise. "That's the only reason?"
Iruka shook his head weakly. "The Kyuubi killed my parents. To this day, I still bear chakra burns from trying to put out the accursed flames that cremated them on the spot. I could blame you for their deaths, but there would be no point. You were only a baby yourself when they died, and you lost your parents, too. What kind of person would I be, to hurt someone who suffered even more than I did? You are one of the few that can truly understand the pain of my loss, and it is because of you that so many others in Konoha did not have to suffer the same tragedy. You are a hero, Naruto, and anyone who refuses to see that deserves to face the full extent of the Kyuubi's fury."
"Careful what you wish for," Naruto warned him in a solemn tone.
Iruka smiled at him. "Naruto... there is a very good chance that, if you see me again, I will be a vastly different person. But you must remember me as I am now, and remember the words I have said to you this day. Promise me you will never fail to do what you know in your heart is right. And promise me that, if you have the opportunity in the future, you will send me to join my parents."
For a moment, Naruto saw Baki hanging from the wall in Iruka's place, that same terrible, gaping, bloody gash stretching from his left shoulder all the way down to the right side of his waist. In that instant, Naruto felt Kyuubi stirring within him. Normally, the fox kept quiet during the day, or when they weren't training, and it was almost never a good thing when he decided to speak up at other times.
"I'd listen to him if I were you, brat. You've never seen one of Orochimaru's experiments in action. At the very least, this one will have jounin level power the next time you see him, and he knows more about you than you do about him. You need to be ready for him, because he will kill you to get to me. He may not know it now, but he at least suspects it. You're lucky he's warning you at all."
Naruto quickly ran from the room, ignoring Kabuto calling his name. He kept running until it should have been humanly impossible, and then Kyuubi's chakra flared, giving him the strength to go on.
"Run all you like, brat," Kyuubi sighed in his head. "But you can't outrun destiny. Either you kill Iruka, or he'll hound you for the rest of your life."
If asked, Hinata would not be able to say what had compelled her to explore the Uchiha compound on her own. For weeks after the Uchiha massacre, she had heard horror stories about how whole ANBU squads had been slaughtered by some of the traps Itachi left behind. But it was impossible to determine whether or not the rumors were true: Itachi was certainly diabolical enough to do so, and who would better know ANBU's weak points than a former squad captain? Aside from that, Sasuke refused to address the rumors at all, so he either knew too much or nothing at all.
What Hinata did know for a fact was that both ANBU, and the Sandaime Hokage himself, had performed several sweeps of the compound, and deemed it safe enough. This either meant that it was safe enough for habitation, or only safe enough for Uchiha habitation. She did not doubt that some of the traps would only have been disabled by Uchiha blood, most of which Sasuke would have taken care of long ago. He had assured her, quietly, with an unreadable expression on his face, that anything of significant value had been moved to within walking distance of his room, and that there was really no need to keep in place the security measures that had once protected his home. Nobody would dare to set foot on the "cursed land" anymore: even Sasuke didn't want to be there at least half of the time.
Now that they had to worry about the Hyuuga, though, Gaara had invented his own security system, composed largely of well-placed, hidden pits with various nasty surprises awaiting at the bottoms. There was also now a great deal of loose sand scattered about the grounds. Sasuke had asked Gaara what it was for, and the eerie smile that he recieved as an answer had convinced him not to ask a second time.
Hinata was not worried about Gaara's traps: those, at least, she could spot easily with her Byakugan (she had figured out that the sand would play a large role in actually forcing invaders into the pits, or simply killing them on the spot). But the Uchiha would not have survived as long as they had, if they hadn't had some sort of defense against potential Hyuuga attackers, so when Hinata did walk around unsupervised, she did so slowly, and with the utmost care. Sasuke had asked her not to test her luck with anything that appeared to be locked or extremely well hidden, and there had been enough concern in his voice that Hinata took him all too seriously.
And yet, there was something in her (or outside of her, she still wasn't clear on where the urgings originated from) that insisted she look for... something. She had no idea what it might be, only that she would probably know it when she saw it. Maybe.
In all, the search only took three days. On the third day, Hinata wandered into a bedroom, stopped, and noticed something... off. It was very clean and orderly, only showing the faintest signs of dust or age. Sasuke never bothered to clean a room that he didn't use frequently, and with Hinata sharing his bed and Gaara pretty much wandering around nonstop when they weren't training, there was no other bedroom that demanded Sasuke's attention. That meant that this room had probably been clean even before, and remained untouched during, the massacre.
The first area that Hinata examined with her Byakugan was the floor: a lot of the traps were based on hidden pressure plates or weak spots in the floor. But the only thing her caution showed her was a large box, one that greatly resembled a coffin. In the box were two swords. On the outside, carved with what had probably been a very dull kunai, were the words, "For Sasuke-chan."
Hinata debated telling Sasuke about this for ten very long minutes. At first glance, it seemed to be a morbid joke, one that Sasuke would not appreciate at all. But after carefully turning the matter over in her mind, Hinata saw that she had been mistaken. The box was, again, large: far too large for Sasuke's current size. However, and this spoke volumes to Hinata, she thought it would be an exact fit for Itachi, in a few years time. The swords also reminded Hinata of her last promise to Hanabi, and in the end, she was unable to ignore how coincidental it all seemed.
Sasuke dug up the box that very same day, cleaned the swords carefully, and spent a great deal of time simply staring at the blades as he held them in his lap.
Hinata thought it was best not to interrupt him. It also didn't seem like Sasuke would be parting with either of the swords, which left Hinata to wonder yet again where she was supposed to get one. True, she could probably just buy one, or even ask Sasuke to get one for her, but neither of those quite seemed like the opportunity that Hanabi had alluded to. Hinata had learned to trust her sister's intuition, if for no other reason than no one else in her former clan was willing to help her.
"Something doesn't smell right," Inuzuka Kiba muttered, glancing around the training area suspiciously. For once, he didn't mean that literally, though.
Sakura had asked him to meet her here, and she was always on time. For her to be late, she'd either have to be very sick, or... well, she COULDN'T be that, he was certain of it. He would know if it were that. At least, he believed he would know.
Certain members of his clan believed it was possible to identify the person that was meant to be yours by sight and/or smell, and Kiba had slowly come around to thinking that his might be Haruno Sakura (but only after she'd gotten over Sasuke, her fear of sweat, and the rather silly notion that dogs were always dirty). If Sakura really was his chosen one, and if the legends were true, he would instinctively know if she was sick, dying, or dead. There was no real way to test this, since Sakura hadn't been sick in all the time he'd known her, and he certainly wasn't going to get her sick on purpose. Still, it was a comforting thought, and one Kiba clung to with his usual enthusiasm.
Five minutes after the agreed upon meeting time, Kiba began to get restless.
Five minutes after THAT, Akamaru began to whine and paw uneasily at Kiba's foot. Kiba shot him a reassuring grin, but it had little effect on the dog. Lately, Akamaru had been getting very picky about how he got around: it was either Kiba's head, or Sakura's arms (which only further convinced Kiba that Sakura was his... well, theirs).
Fifteen minutes after that, Kiba firmly decided that something was wrong. But he couldn't just leave. Inuzuka were loyal that way, and he could no more miss an appointment with Sakura than Akamaru could swear off meat for the rest of his life. So he did the only thing he really could do: send Akamaru out to do some scouting. All too eager to be reunited with Sakura, Akamaru instantly agreed and set out.
The dog walked maybe three or four feet, paused, and then began chasing his own tail.
Kiba frowned and watched this for a whole minute before he finally started over to figure out what was wrong.
Only, then HE began walking in circles, and soon both boy and dog had collapsed against each other, thoroughly dizzy, but otherwise unharmed. Kiba was not so dizzy that he missed the muffled laughter coming from the nearby bushes. He recognized the laugh at once, and shot to his feet, only to fall right back down on his butt.
This time there was no muffling the laughter, and Sakura tumbled out of the bushes, holding her sides, followed closely by (much to Kiba's annoyance) his older sister, Hana, who had an enormous grin on her face.
"Sakura-chan?" Kiba asked slowly, his voice full of confusion and hurt.
Sakura gulped down a few deep breaths before she started laughing all over again. She did, however, manage a few more steps before she practically fell across Kiba's lap, snickering loudly. "I'm sorry, Kiba-kun," she gasped as she sat up, trying not to smile and failing miserably, "but I needed to test this new genjutsu Kurenai-sensei taught me, so I thought..." She trailed off and slid her arms around him, muffling her giggles against Kiba's shoulder.
Kiba thought he should still be upset about this, but somehow Sakura being that close to him made it hard to stay mad, even with Hana grinning at him like she was. Anyway, it seemed perfectly natural to slowly wrap his arms around Sakura, and she gave no sign that she had a problem with it.
Once Sakura had gotten the laughter out of her system, she drew back slightly and searched Kiba's eyes. "You're not too mad at me, are you?" she asked softly.
In truth, Kiba had almost instantly forgotten why he was upset, and that he was even upset in the first place. All he knew was that he wanted to keep holding Sakura, and his brain told him there was one surefire way to do that. So he blinked, shook his head slightly, and said, "Huh?"
Sakura smiled brightly and tugged him closer again, resting her forehead against his. "It was nothing, Kiba-kun. Forget I said anything."
"Done," Kiba replied at once, getting a light punch to the shoulder for his smirk.
Hana chose that moment to cough quite loudly, and Sakura instantly leaped up to check on Akamaru. Kiba glared up at his sister as she casually walked over and ruffled his hair teasingly.
"Anyone can see you've got it bad, little bro," Hana sighed, shaking her head. "Honestly, I thought you'd have more sense than that."
"There's nothing wrong with Sakura-chan!" he snapped, jerking his head away from her.
Hana chuckled softly. "Never said there was. But you should've tried waiting before you let it become obvious. Now you'll have a hell of a time convincing Mom that it's not just a case of puppy love. She'll assume it's that, you two being so young. If you're really serious about Sakura, you need to start showing it. Get her something that shows you're serious: something she can show off to her friends."
"You mean get her something that shows everyone she's mine," Kiba translated with a frown. "She might not like that..."
"She will if you go about it the right way," Hana insisted. "If you ask me nice, I might even help you out."
That only made Kiba hesitate a little longer. Hana was a real pain most of the time, always pinching his cheeks or calling him "baby brother" in public. On the other hand, whenever he or Akamaru got hurt, she wouldn't let anyone else treat them, and the few times Kiba had felt the need to ask for her help, she hadn't made him beg too much. She wasn't a bad big sister, just an annoyingly typical one. Hana also genuinely liked Sakura, so it wasn't as if she'd drive the girl away on purpose. In the end, all it really took to make up Kiba's mind was the sight of Akamaru wagging his tail excitedly as Sakura cuddled him in her lap.
Gaara was currently in what he was tempted to call a good mood. He had always enjoyed being outside, under the full moon. More than likely it had something to do with Shukaku, but so long as the demon remained asleep, he didn't mind it at all.
He had always liked the Uchiha compound, possibly because it had been coated in blood the first time he'd seen it. Walking up and down the deserted streets at night, listening to the rustling of the trees, and feeling the cool night breeze on his face never failed to calm Gaara. But then, his family hadn't been murdered there, so he could understand why Sasuke never felt like joining him for these walks.
The team was progressing faster than he'd expected, or at least part of it was. He had honestly expected Hinata to struggle more than she had, but this had largely not been the case. In particular, she seemed to pick up anything Sasuke showed her within mere minutes, sometimes ending up more skilled at it than him, if greater chakra control was required. Sasuke had no explanation for this, since he hated teaching (among many other things).
Gaara had his own suspicions, after extensively studying the scrolls from their respective clans side by side. He could tell them, but suspected that the best results would be achieved unconsciously. And sure enough, at the end of the first day of training, Hinata complained of her eyes itching to the point where it was difficult to access or maintain the Byakugan. Gaara had merely nodded, excused them, and advised Hinata not to irritate her eyes in any way. By the next day, she had been ready to go again, and the itching, if still present, wasn't bad enough for her to complain about.
Sasuke was actually forcing himself to catch up, since he had the least amount of experience with his dojutsu. He could use all of Gaara's earth-based jutsu to some extent, though mastery of more than a few remained just out of his reach. Also, he was slightly slower than Hinata, though since Hyuuga techniques demanded that the user be faster than their opponent, this was not really surprising. Still, Sasuke was stronger physically, had greater chakra reserves, and better developed ninjutsu (Hinata had had almost none to speak of when they'd started out).
It had quickly become obvious that Hinata was primarily a close range fighter, thanks to extensive training in Gentle Fist taijutsu. Sasuke was a better ranged fighter, although when moving fast enough, nearly any of his fire-based jutsu could prove lethal at close range. It was strange, then, that Sasuke suddenly showed an interest in swords, and that Hinata seemed fairly curious about them herself. Neither had any proper training in the area, and Kakashi had admitted to being a bit rusty when he'd shown Gaara the basics of handling a sword. Anko owned a few, though she never used them, preferring smaller weapons that could be thrown and easily concealed (and it was surprisingly difficult to conceal anything when you were wearing almost nothing, as was Anko's habit).
At any rate, it would probably do them all some good if Gaara could locate a qualified kenjutsu instructor soon. So far, he only knew of people like Anko, who could handle any sort of weapon if they had to, but didn't really specialize in one in particular. It might be far more effective to simply attack an on duty ANBU and test their own skills with a sword, though the Hokage would probably frown on that, and the Hyuuga would just love any excuse to claim that Hinata wasn't safe with him. The fact that they hadn't done anything yet indicated that they were preparing for something big, and Gaara had promised himself that he would be ready… even if being ready meant introducing the Hyuuga to Shukaku.
End of Chapter 12.
Endnotes:
Dojutsu: pupil (eye) techniques, such as one that requires the Sharingan
Kenjutsu: sword techniques (not to be confused with kinjutsu, or forbidden techniques)
Sakura's jutsu:
Kuramu Jumon (Dizzy Spell):
The target is overcome by dizziness after a certain number of steps, and either collapses or blacks out completely, depending on the amount of chakra used. Especially effective on those who depend heavily on their senses.
I am, of course, making up most of the details about Shisui.
