Hello everyone, I am Orochi-no Tsukiyomi. I have finally found time on this lovely day to bring you the next chapter of A Tale of Pain. I'm must apoligize deeply for any and everyone who has been reading my work. College has started for me recently so the time I use to have is almost non-existant for me anymore. I Thank all of you for your patience and understandings. I hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or its characters, they belong to Kishimoto *glares at him* However, I do Ryatsu and Dok'Jenara, so if you want to use them in further projects of your own, ask me first, k?

"Talking"

'Thinking'

'Reading'

"Demon Speaking"

'Demon Thinking'

"Jutsu"

Time/Location Transition

Chapter 12- The Return Home

Yuki-no-Kuni, Frozen Wasteland - 3:26pm

Cell Thirteen, after spending a week withing the village of Yuki, were finally moving out to return to their home to the south. Even after all the time they spent their, the memory of their mission was still fresh in all of their heads. Their client, Getsuo Motonari, who turned out to be the father of Ryatsu. Consumed by the very brink of utter madness, Motonari had attacked them, revealing three assassins by his side. All were Nuke-nin so they couldn't have been pinned on their home village if they died. The assassins leaped and attacked Cell thirteen, separating them from each other, leaving Ryatsu to the torment of his deranged father. In the end, Cell thirteen not only were able to defeat the three Yuki Nuke-nin, but Ryatsu manage to kill his father, ending his nine year long revenge.

Anko looked back at her students as she flashed them a grin. She was proud and rightfully so. She had seen each of those names in the Bingo books and killing two of them was no small feat by their standards. She angled her head down as her grin grew twisted as she stomped down at her extra baggage. Dragging behind her by his now ruined Hook spear was the surviving assassin, Mengetsu Makato. he grunted in pain as her foot slammed into his head as he struggled weakly at his hook spear twisted around to bind him to no avail.

"Um..Sensei?" Tenten finally asked her teacher, "Exactly why are we dragging him back? I thought you said you were going to kill him?"

Anko looked up to her as she grinned slightly, "Because for our little prisoner here...I have some..lovelier ideas for him...that and I was planning to interrogate this guy for any information as to why they agreed to assist in our attempted murder"

Makato grinned dementedly as his long mane of hair fell over his face, giggling like a child as everyone turned their attention to him. Anko lift the skeletal man from his binding as she glared at him, forcing her killing intent to shut him up. He paused as his grin grew even more as he unleashed a twisted laughter.

"You...your a fool...Mengetsu won't tell you anything..right?" he spoke, sounding like a little girl as his voice changed again with his madness, "Yeah..Makato won't tell you anything..he doesn't have to say anything if he doesn't feel like it, right Makato-neesan?", His voice sounding like a younger boy now before returning back to his broken voice, "...yes..keke...Why should we tell you leaf worms anything about why we did anything?"

Anko shouts in frustration as the madman laughs more, smiling in glee. The genin all sweat-dropped as they viewed at him with a mix of disgust, horror and shock; unable to believe that anyone could lose their mind as bad as this shell of a man was portraying. They eventually tuned out the madman's laughter as they continued through their journey home. The journey was quiet as no one exchanged any words minus Makato's giggling and self conversation with two other persona's within him.

Hi-no-Kuni: Konahagure-no-saito, North Gate, several hours later..

"OI! you two lazy bum!" Anko shouted out at the usual guards, Kotetsu and Imuzo, "Get off your lazy asses and let us in already!"

Ryatsu looked up as he closed his eyes, remembering his entrance here, or rather his passing out. He sweatdropped in embarreshment as he turned to his friends. Sasuke was staring at their prisoner with a raised brow, his hand resting on the pommels of his blades. Tenten was performing a cleaning matinece on her weapons to make sure they were still fully functional and not carrying rust. They were finally home, or rather at its front door. Each were still carrying signs of fatigue from their encounters up North, but in those experiences they were hardened by it.

Imuzo finally looked down and saw them, nodding lazily as he called for the gates to open. The large, wooden doors of the North gate slowly creaked open for Cell Thirteen to enter. Anko continued to dragg makato along the ground uncerimoniously as she turned to her students.

"Alright kiddies, I'm going to dump this peice of trash over at the T&I corp. compound and head to the Hokage to report how this "mission" turned out. I'm giving you guys a break, you have been through the ringer that most fresh Genin normally are never given the chance. That and a nice break will help you guys of the stress of killing your first kills. Understand?" She intructed them with a grin.

She then promptly delivered a swift stomp to Makato's head, slamming his face onto the stone road as he fell unconcious. The man groaned as she daragged him away over to her former place, waving backwards at her students. They watched her leave as they turned to one another.

"I'm going to go check on Itachi-neesan, make sure he hasn't done anything suicidal." Sasuke spoke as he turned towards their new apartment, "That and to tell him that w ecame back alive, I'll leave you two to yourselves then. See you later then Ryatsu"

He walked off casually as he scratched the back of his head as he left the couple alone. They looked at each other as they both heard Jenara yawning, mumbling in her sleep around Ryatsu's wrist.

"Hey Ryatsu, why don't we go to the feild, that way we can have some privacy" Tenten offered to him, knowing his uncomfort around public.

"Sure, sounds like a good idea Shizuka-chan, I'd..like that" He mentions alittle shaken as she looks at him worriedly.

Without a rhyme or reason he takes off for their training field as She follows after him, looking worried at him. He had probably had to be dealing with the most stress of all of them she figured. First being the very fact he didn't even want to take the mission and wanted nothing to do with going up north. Second was how coldly he described the place and how frightened he became when they arrived, all because of what happened when he was only four. She gritted her teeth, still angry that anyone would do that to him, or to anyone that young and innocent. Next was the fact that their client was his father and was trying to kill him. Finally he fact that He, himself killed his own father, the object of his revenge.

Konoha- Training Field 44 (Forest of Death), 9:27pm

She finally caught with Ryatsu as he lay on the ground, staring at the sky behind his sunglasses. She approaches him as she crouches down, staring at him in the face upside down. He leans up and kisses her gently. She grabs his sunglasses and takes them off, staring into his serpentine grey eyes fully, feeling an ache in her heart. His eyes seem to reflect her pain and sadness as he reached up with his hand and strokes her cheek tenderly.

"Shizuka-chan, don't feel bad" He offered to her as he tried to grin for her.

"Rya-kun" She started as she sat down, bring his head on her lap as her hands began to move through his hair, "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Talk about what? theirs nothing..."

"Don't lie to me Rya-kun. I know theirs something eating at you." She whispered at him, "I know it has something to do with the mission at Yuki. You've been so quiet, distant and looking around with silent fear."

He closes his eyes, feeling her concern stab his heart with pain, "Shizuka-chan..."

"Rya-Kun, please don't make an excuse." She whispers softly to him as she brings a finger to his lips, brushing through his hair still, "I'm not mad, nor am I going to hurt you Rya-kun. I'm just concerned for you. We are alone, no one will bother us here. Please Rya-kun, what is bugging you?"

He feel a tear land on his cheek as one of his own tears slowly fall down the side of his head, "Alright..I'll tell you Shizuka-Chan. I..I hated him, I hated my father. He...to him, I was nothing but a monster...a demon..just like everyone in that damn place saw me as. I...I would've believed them, if it weren't for the care and love of my mother...and our elder. When I was three however...He was killed" He closed his eyes in pain, "He was a kind old man and they slaughtered him like a dog, all because he cared for the village "demon", It wasn't fair, he didn't deserve to die. Then that fucker of a father, my father tried to kill me when I was only four. He bound me in that same jutsu..those chains...always those chains..."

He began to tremble in fear, she saw it clearly. She held his hand as he gripped it tightly. She stroked his head as she kissed his forehead lightly.

"Its alright Rya-kun, hes dead...He's dead and hes not coming back. He's not going to hurt you anymore. He or those chains, they will not come to harm you anymore Rya-kun." She whispered reassuringly to him softly as she draped her arms around his chest loosely.

"Shizuka-chan...I've...I've spent my entire life...chasing a shadow...running from torment...waiting to destroy what ruined my innocence. Now that he gone...I...I don't know what to do anymore...I..I feel empty...like a entire void as been ripped open by a large weight being forced away." He speaks sadly, his tone dead and broken by his tears.

Tenten listened to his words, feeling each stab and jab at his empty words. She knew his haunting for sometime now. He was strong at hiding it with that casual grin of his, but inside he suffered alone. She had made it upon herself to help him through it but he always kept everyone at a distance, as if afraid to hurt them. She gripped his hands firmly as she closed her chocolate eyes, unable to form words to help him out of his funk.

Jenara opened her eye lazily, finally having about enough of her friend's emotional wreck and problems. She uncoiled from his wrist and slithered up to his face, raising her tail in the air.

"Ryatsu..." she spoke in an even tone, "I have something to tell you my friend~"

He opened his eyes as he turned his head down to face her as her tail crashed along side his, sending him spiraling into the tree next to them. Tenten looked in shock as Jenara slithered slowly to Ryatsu, who was clutching the side of his head as he swayed from side to side. She leaped and brought him to the ground, baring her fangs at him.

"IT's TIME YOU STOP THIS RIGHT NOW YOU STUPID BAKA!" She hissed angerly at him as his eyes widen, terrified at his long time friend, "You finally did what you have set out to do so many years ago. I have personally seen you grown since then, and you have found people who you care for deeply. Now that your revenge has been settle, now EVERYTHING mean..NOTHING!"

"Jenara-chan..."

"NO EXCUSES!" She shouted as she brought her face to his, her emerald orb burning holes into his grey eyes, "You think that because he dead that your life is fucking meaningless? IS THAT WHAT YOU HONESTLY BELIEVE IN RYATSU!"

"Jenara, please stop, your scaring Ryatsu!"

"OUT OF THIS SHIZUKA!" She spat at her angerly before returning her focus on him, "Life is not meaningless Ryatsu-kun. You have two brothers now who care for you. You have a wonderfully brilliant and kind girlfriend who is even now worried and thinking about you. Hell, your own teacher see promise in you. Please, if not for your brothers, do it for your girlfriend. If not her, than do it for me, your friend. If not for me..." She paused as she finally calmed down, staring at him softly, "Then do it for yourself, Ryatsu. Move on and live life for us. We are your new family now Ryatsu-kun."

He paused as he let her words sink in. A shadow covered his eye as tears slowly rolled down the side of his snow white face. As much as it pained him for his long time friend to yell at him as she did, Jenara was right. He had lost so much so fast as a child, all from his father. He was so obsessed with his revenge in secret, that he completely had no idea what he had planned to do with himself when he was done. now that it was, he had nearly lost himself to his own depression and fragile mind. However, Jenara was right about one thing, he did have a family. He had two big sisters and an older brother, another brother who was his rival. He had a girlfriend now, who cared and loved him for who he was. His tears fell down more as he reliazed just how much of a fool he was. He was about to throw it all away without realizing it.

Jenara saw his reaction and slithered around his wrist slowly, licking his hand lightly in apoligy. Tenten slowly walked towards him, sitting next to him. He lowered his head to hide his shame from her as he suddenly jumped. He shivered as he felt her arms slowly bring him into a warm and caring embrace. She rubbed the back of his head tenderly as she kissed his forehead softly. He lowered his head down, resting it on her shoulder as he cried out loudly for the first time, letting everything out that he had left suppressed in the last nine years. He anguished torment echoed through the forest as Tenten continued to hold him, stroking his back gently.

"Its alright Rya-kun" She whispered tenderly into his ear, "its alright to cry..this is our special place, you can cry all you like. I'm here for you love."

"Shizuaka-chan..Its..it just hurts so much" He cried out weakly as his arms slowly hugged her back limply, "The pain..it hurts so much Shizuka-chan."

She held him close as she rose his head up level, staring into his serpentine grey eyes softly. She brought her other hand up to his face, slowly and tenderly wiping his tears with her thumb as she leaned in and planted a soft kiss on his lips. He slowly melted into the kiss as he closed his eyes, hugging her more solidly. Jenara slowly began to coil around both of their arms, showing their unity through herself.

"Shizuka-chan" He finally spoke, sounding much confident and level.

"Yes, Rya-kun?"

"Thank you" He hugged her closely.

She nodded slowly understandingly, hugging him back. She got up and offered her hand, he grabbed it and got up as well. She duck into her pocket and dug out his sunglasses handing back to him. He looked down at them, reaching for them as slowly opening them. He hesitated a bit before placing them back on over his eyes.

"You know Rya-kun, You have such pretty eyes. When are you going to stop wearing those sunglasses anyway?" she asked him curiously.

"I'll wear them until I feel safe enough to not have to. I..I just don't like showing my eyes to people." He replied before pausing, "You..You really think they look good?"

She nods slowly, "I do, I think they look beautiful. They almost reflect the palest moonlight sometimes."

"Well then, when we're alone Shizuka-chan. My eyes are yours love" he replied, blushing lightly as he gave his gentle grin.

They held hands as they both decided to head home, kissing each other before heading their separate ways.

And This ends this chapter. Since I am going alittle lazy on myself, and I dread to see how long this chapter would be had I not ended it as I have. I am going to split this chapter into two parts. Expect the next half very soon hopefully. Again I am very sorry about the long pause since my last updates. College has started so I have been finding myself very hard pressed for time to write. Join us next time on A Tale of Pain, Chapter 12.5, The Chunin Exams Begin.

Untill next we meet

Mata Ne

~Orochi-no-Tsukiyomi