Thanks be to snugglejong for getting to this out to me before I left town! She's amazing and I'm lucky to have her as a beta!
Enjoy!
Chapter Twenty-Four: Actions Have Consequences
When Nagisa woke, she came to an all-too painful conclusion. And that conclusion was that she woke up from unconsciousness with intense pain radiating all over her body far too often ever since joining Konoha.
Kisame was her next thought as the blue-skinned man came into view. He towered above her prone form, seemingly even bigger than normal with her laid out. But it was the blank mask on his face that had every tender hair on Nagisa's body standing on end. While maintaining eye contact, Kisame sat down by the bed with Samehada in reach. Nagisa wanted nothing more than to scoot away from the man, maybe find a new pipe to hide in, but her body was sore and achy. Moving her eyeballs hurt let alone trying to move a finger.
"Do you know what a jinchūriki is, Peaches?" Kisame asked with a smooth voice. Nagisa thought of a flat water surface that hide the deadly undertow. Her throat was sore so Nagisa only gave a single, small nod. Kisame made no motion to acknowledge her answer. "Do you know any jinchūriki, Peaches?" he asked instead. Again, Nagisa nodded once though this one was much smaller. Kisame's eyes bore into her, a shark that had caught the scent of fresh blood. "Who?"
Here, Nagisa bit her lip and remained motionless. Kisame's round eyes narrowed and the room was suddenly filled with the intense pressure of his chakra. It came down around her, pressing in from all sides. Aches were renewed and air was suddenly a commodity.
"Who?" Kisame repeated, his voice the only thing Nagisa's mind could focus on besides her desperate need for air. Sharp teeth dug into tender flesh. Blood began to bubble from between her lips as Nagisa put all her attention to trying to breath. "Would it happen to be your little teammate, the Nine Tail's host?" he continued on as if she wasn't about to drown in her own blood.
The ceiling started to gain little black dots that twinkled and collided with one another. A dizziness settled over her brain and the only thing that kept her in the here and now was the constant pain of her teeth digging into her lip.
When Nagisa was sure she was going to go back to the world of unconsciousness, the pressure was released. Gasping wildly for breath, the girl unintentionally spat out a glob of blood in her desperately attempt to regain the right amount of oxygen back into her system.
"Get up." Limbs shaking, Nagisa did as she was ordered. Kisame didn't wait around to see if she would follow or not, choosing instead to strut out the door. The young kunoichi did her best to keep up with the long legged swordsman. By the end of their journey she was coated in sweat and breathing heavily. They entered the training arena where he lead her over to a bench and sat her down.
Weights were strapped to her forearms and calves. When they were attached properly, Kisame backed away.
"Start running," he ordered, motioning with his head. Nagisa eyed the training area with hesitation. She was already exhausted and her muscles felt tight and painful. It was her honed reflexes that had her throwing herself out of the way of the kunai Kisame suddenly threw at her. Her tender muscles didn't keep her up and she faced planted into the gym floor. "Run."
The arena was massive; massive enough that it took Nagisa ten minutes to run it in its entirety without chakra. When she made it back to Kisame, her body was already beginning to shake. He now occupied the bench she been on, sharpening kunai.
"Insubordination will result in your life becoming a living hell, Peaches," he said without looking at her. She began to slow her pace, hoping to relieve some of the pain burning in her calves. She then had to throw herself forward to dodge the kunai sent at break-neck speed. She wasn't quick enough though and it made a light slice through the muscle on the back of her thigh.
"Keep the pace," Kisame growled, voice vibrating to her even with Nagisa on the other side of the arena. His round eyes stared at her for a moment before going back to the blades in hand. "You can stop when you decide you want to talk."
"Keep the pace," Kawauso ordered from behind. Sakura gasped like a beached whale but somehow kept her legs moving. In all honesty, she wasn't a hundred percent sure she could even actually feel them anymore. Just dead weights at the end of her torso that kept moving by a power all their own. Her lungs on their other hand she was all too aware of. They burned like each one had its own personal sun and was going to consume her from the inside out. Each breath felt like dragging her respiratory system over sand paper.
Sakura wasn't sure how much longer Kawauso had her continue but when, "That's enough," was finally said, she hit the ground like a dead weight and groaned.
The sun warmed her already hot back to an unpleasant degree but she was too exhausted to move into the nearby shade. Even the air was oppressive, a wet humidity having fallen on Konoha for the past few days due to heavy rainstorms that allowed everyone to know they were technically in fall and closing in on winter. The odds were low that it would snow that year but already the nights were getting cold and forcing many to keep windows closed.
"That's two minutes off from yesterday," Kawauso told her from his position beside her. Sakura didn't have the energy to care. "Good job." That resulted in a weak smile that he couldn't see with her face in the dirt. Massive hands grabbed one of her slender calves and began to knead. "Five minutes and we continue on to chakra control."
"Yes Kawauso-sensei," she choked out all but purring under the pressure. He was even kind enough to do her sweaty feet (though that was probably more to do with the intense muscle cramps she kept getting there, more so than any kindness). When he strapped on her sandals and slapped her knee, Sakura reluctantly got up.
Kawauso attached chakra seals written on little tags to her palms, top of her feet and forehead. More were placed down her front over the areas her gates were. They stuck to her skin just fine especially as Kawauso had made a change to her wardrobe. A pair of baggy shorts that tightened around her knees versus her normal green spandex and a tank top under a loose fishnet midriff shirt.
"You earn the right to fight in a qipao," Kawauso had told her while also snapping a hair band in her direction. When Sakura had argue with him, the ANBU had consented…then proceeded to fling her about by the flaps of her dress like a ragdoll during their spars. The next day, covered in bruises and still feeling sick from the momentum, Sakura had appeared in her new outfit.
"Left hand." Closing her eyes, Sakura built up chakra and forced it to her left hand. The tag glowed as the seal was open. "Naval." The chakra hummed pleasantly as it whooshed away from her hand and to her stomach. It was hard to not let the other tags light up on the way down, in fact two of them did burst to life before shutting down quickly. When she first started all of them had light up like hive of fireflies in the middle of the night. "Better. Gate of Life." Sakura licked her lips and focused on bubbling her chakra at the gate.
And as she struggled to contain chakra there versus letting it absorb and disperse, Sakura realized just how talented Lee and Gai-sensei were. She wasn't opening the gates. Instead, focusing on the tenketsu that went down her spine and channeling chakra to the area and the surrounding, smaller tenketsu. It was hard due to the gates doing their jobs, which was to limit the overall chakra throughout the body and drained her chakra reserves quickly.
"Right foot." Sakura released a small sigh of relief and allowed her chakra to run away down her leg and light up the seal. Student and teacher continued this pattern until Sakura was sweating buckets again. Her chakra was easily half way eaten up when he called an end to their game and plucked the seals off.
"Hands." Sakura sighed but held out her hands and began to circulate as high a frequency through them as she possibly could. She was going to have to soak herself for at least an hour to get all the sweat off later. The blue chakra coating her hands waved like flames in the wind.
"Contain it," Kawauso ordered, the black eye holes of his mask boring into the chakra with enough intensity Sakura felt like she could actually feel his eyes. "Contain it, Sakura." Her eyes squeezed shut a second time as she desperately tried to control the chakra and sharpen its edges.
With a frustrated cry, she was let her chakra go when the pain was too much. The exhaustion caught hold of her with avenges and she hit the ground.
"Why is this so hard?" she bemoaned, watching her hands shake in front of her. It felt like she had joined the Aburame Clan, with beetles running around underneath her skin. Kawauso sat crossed legged in front of her and took her hand in his. He began to massage the digits between his own.
"Chakra has no desire to become conformed. You are using a high level frequency and forcing it to become a shape. This is not like using chakra to grab like tree climbing or water walking which covers a larger area and encompasses the area. You are projecting chakra. There's a difference." When Sakura let out a put upon sigh, Kawauso looked up from his ministrations. It was strange to stare up into the bone white mask with little otter ears and muzzle like marks.
"You are doing exceptionally well. Your chakra control is phenomenal for someone your age." He looked back down to her hand and massaged her thumb. "Especially for someone civilian born."
Sakura felt an age old bitterness well up in her stomach. Some of it came out as,
"Yeah, it's amazing a civilian born like me even made it to genin."
Kawauso paused before moving on to her wrist, done with the digits and palm.
"I know a few talented shinobi of civilian birth."
"Talented for a non-clan shinobi you mean?" she grumbled.
"No. They are talented as people who had no support and yet still made their mark amongst the ranks." Sakura peeked up through her lashes and watched her new teacher. She had a lot of practice with reading only half a face what with Kakashi-sensei never removing his mask but not being able to see even a small amount of face was disconcerting.
Kawauso moved to her other hand.
"Do you know what age clan children begin their training?"
"Five?" she guessed, assuming the same age as herself and the age that one entered the academy.
"Two." Sakura jerked back, almost taking her hand back, and stared wide eyed at the ANBU in front of her. "Some even younger. Dexterity training, perception training, stretching exercise… there a lot of small, easy ways to begin training that civilians wouldn't think of. Your teammate, the Uchiha, was most likely training since birth. And then, he would have clan training outside of the academy."
Sakura was allowed to take back both her hands and she rubbed them together. Dark eyes met green as Kawauso stared her right in the face.
"Do not look at yourself as just a civilian born shinobi. Rather, think of it as you are the only graduate in your year to be at such a disadvantage and still come out on top. And you made it to the first portion of the third exam during the Chunin Exams. That in and of itself is an impressive feat. And you beat plenty of clan born genin to get there."
Sakura felt a blush burn across her cheeks and she curled in on herself with bashful pleasure bubbling in her chest.
Leader-sama was a lot more intimidating the second time around. Partly because for the past five days Nagisa had been quite literally run into the ground with always increasing weights, dodging of weapons and no sleep. She had had nothing to eat besides rice and water before she was forced to run again. Just standing in front of Leader-sama with Kisame behind her, back in the same room she had first met him in, was an exhausting feat of strength. Her legs were trembling and the world refused to stand still for longer than a second. She couldn't concentrate on anything especially not the orange haired male with the scary eyes and chakra that felt wrongwrongwrong.
"How did you use demonic chakra?" Leader-sama questioned.
Nagisa could see the blue haired woman from before. She was standing behind Leader-sama, cast in shadows from a heavy drape that she was partially hidden by. In her blue hair there was a white flower that looked wrong somehow.
A slap to the back of her head and Nagisa started to run. It was only Kisame's arm wrapping tight around her chest that stopped her. All of her body weight slumped against him. She looked up into his face, his greenish blue skin turned ghastly by the poor lighting of the room. Like a body that had been decaying in water.
"Answer the question Peaches."
Nagisa wanted peaches. She began to look around the room. Why was Kisame talking about peaches if there were no peaches? Maybe the lady had them? She had a flower in her hair, maybe she had peaches? She was sick and tired of rice. They were so bland and they never filled her up for long and they looked like maggots and—
"How did you use demonic chakra?" Nagisa's head lulled on her neck. It dangled limply against her shoulder as she tried to formulate something of a sentence. She was supposed to answer. But then she was supposed to be running. But Kisame had let her stop running. She wanted to sleep. And peaches.
"How do you know Uzumaki Naruto?"
Nagisa head jerked as the name rang inside her like a bell. It resonated in her mind clearing away some of the fog.
Naruto. Her sunshine. With chakra that was always too warm. Warmth that seeped into her very bones and seemed to chase away the cold that had settled around her so very long ago. And he was always radiating that smile. That smile that went from ear to ear and showed all his teeth and should look like a threatening gesture (because teeth could kill) but on him somehow made her want keep it there. Always give him a reason to smile. Hated it when she was forced to wipe that smile away with an action. It was why she had killed that man without him knowing. The man that had wiped away his smile. That pathetic useless piece of trash that had gnashed his teeth and hurled hurtful words at what was hers. The clouds had set in. The dark rain clouds that blocked out his sunshine. She liked thunderstorms but she didn't like those storm clouds. Or the rain they brought.
"She's not making any sense," the woman's voice floated to them but Nagisa barely heard her over her own thoughts. Thoughts of Naruto, warm cuddly Naruto who was always there but not right now.
And why wasn't he there? He was always there. Always right there just a thought away. She should be able to reach out and find him but he was gone. They were all gone actually. Except for oldest. He was there but he had blocked her out. Had she been bad? Why wasn't anyone talking to her? Why didn't anyone let her in? Why couldn't she reach them anymore? What had she done?
But then he was right there beside her. The forge with an even tempo. And her sunshine was there now. Barely there, just the slightest bit of warmth. And so were the others. A shadow of a presence of something bigger than her that she would gladly give her life to, the biting cold of ice that had long since thawed and now only just wet the ground, the flicker of a shadow crawling across the wall, a sakura petal at her foot and the sound of two smith's hammer ringing… ringing… ringing… one faster than the other, one more chaotic with its beats with no set tempo.
"Why won't you let me in?" Nagisa asked him. Black eyes, pretty black eyes that absorbed all things, stared down at her as she went even limper against Kisame. It was only his arm that was keeping her from falling to the ground.
Something was wetting her face. She could feel it on her face, bathing her cheeks from the sweat that coated her entire form and down into her smelly shirt.
"What did I do? Why can't I come in? Where are the others? Why won't they answer?" she babbled. Her head lulled as she tried to watch the shadow dancing on the wall. "Shika…" she called, reaching for the black that was twirling angrily. "Why are you angry? What did I do? Why can't I find you? Where is everyone?"
There were voices all around her. Voices that needed to be quiet because they were going to scare away the others. Why wouldn't the voices shut up? Didn't they know—
Nagisa let out a terribly whine as the ground began to move.
"The sand," she hissed at the voices. "The sand is here. You need to be quiet. If you're not quiet, he'll come…" She pulled her legs up to the arm wrapped around her chest. The voices had stopped. All but one. One that was talking in her ear but it needed to be quiet.
Her nails bit into blue green flesh as the sunlight, her beautiful sunlight that would burn away the cold started to get hotter. Too hot. Hot like fire. Fire that consumed and destroyed. It would leave the stench of burning carcass. She hated that smell. Would rather smell rot than burnt flesh.
"They're coming," she whined and began to struggle against her bind. The others were gone. Gonegonegone in the presence of them.
All except the even tempo of the forge. It was distance but she could still hear it. The voices rose to a crescendo as she kicked out wildly.
But no… that was the wrong thing to do. She couldn't fight these monsters. She had to become small. Small enough that the sand wouldn't feel her and the fire couldn't reach her. Nagisa buried deep within herself, closing them all off. Eyes squeezed tight she listened to her wildly beating heart and willed it to slow. Silent and still like a reflective pool.
"Peaches?"
Nagisa opened her eyes and stared up into the dark round pools of Kisame.
She was hungry. Were there peaches? Could she have some? But…she was supposed to be hiding. Hiding from the fire and sun.
"Bonds? What a strange kekkei genkai. I would have thought she would have theirs if any from what you said Kisame," the woman's voice murmured beautiful like water bubbling softly against rocks.
"I will see what Sasori can't find out. I have never heard of such an ability. Had Orochimaru—" Nagisa's entire body jerked hard. "–known his place we could have used him now. His obsession with the clan's abilities may have been helpful here."
Orochimaru. Snake. Liar. Filth.
Nagisa lifted her head up from the blue green it had laid upon. Her eyes bore into the pierced flesh in front of her with the eyes that were so very wrong. He was in leagues with him. The one who dared try and desecrate her Master.
Before anything but ideas could bubble in the quagmire that was her mind Kisame had her cuddled close to his chest. He turned away from the man with wrong eyes and stared out the door with the forge behind him. Nagisa peeked over one of his massive shoulders and burned the man's image into her mind. Every piercing, every mark was seared into the front part of her brain. When the purple eyes met hers Nagisa continued to stare instead of look away like she had every time before then.
This one had worked with Orochimaru. This one 'appreciated' Orochimaru's talents.
She would see him dead.
The door closed behind the forge… Itachi, her mind could now supply, the name coming up through the thick mud of her consciousness and popping like a bubble that resounded throughout… and her view of the man was cut off.
Itachi and Kisame spoke to one another, but Nagisa found she had no energy to pay attention anymore. Instead, she allowed her forehead to flop against Kisame's massive shoulder and him worry about the world that was spinning. He was an S-ranked shinobi. He should be able to handle it better than she ever could.
They made it back to Kisame's room, Itachi continuing on to do whatever it was that Itachi did while in the tower. Kisame was meticulous in bathing her, washing away the stench that had built up for the past five days and mindful of the nicks and cuts that littered the back of her arms and legs from his kunai. He even cleaned the shark bite that was looking inflamed. No words were shared as he cleaned the suds from her hair and body before rubbing her down with a towel. One of his own shirts was pulled down over her head and shorts were pulled up over her small hips. Nagisa was practically asleep when he was finally finished brushing her hair.
She was asleep when he tucked her into his bed and ran one of his massive hands through her hair.
Kisame snorted with amusement as Nagisa burst from the water and tried to take him by surprise. He was quick to whirl around and clothesline her with a giant arm. Nagisa gagged as the air was forced from her lungs and she plummeted back into the depths of the pool. The lack of air forced her to make a quick retreat and resurface, gasping for the vital compound that kept her living.
"Better!" Kisame called over to her. Nagisa glowered from underneath her wet bangs and he laughed. He moved to the edge of the pool where he sat down. His rolled up pants were up near his knees allowing them to remain dry as he let his feet dangle in the pool. Nagisa pulled up her chakra and crawled on to the surface of the water and waddled her waterlogged self over.
When she sat down Kisame handed over a strip of jerky and they began to eat.
"You're getting faster." Nagisa made no comment and stuffed her cheeks with the jerky. She thought it might be some type of beef but she couldn't be sure. But at least it was meat and not rice. If Nagisa never saw onigiri it would be too soon.
When Nagisa had woken up after a two day coma she had been starving for something substantial. Kisame, who acted as if he hadn't been her torturing for the past five days leading up to her hallucinating and doing lord knows what else, had brought her a meaty broth that she had sucked down like a starving man. And then they had gotten back to training. Not the running punishment, though Kisame did introduce an hour run with weight and projectiles. But rather the traditional intense training with the tantō and ninjutsu practice in the pool along with water battles.
"You start your lessons again tomorrow," Kisame told her after swallowing his portion of the jerky. Nagisa stiffened and took a fierce bite out of her own before chewing sulkily. Kisame let out a snort before his hand flopped down on her head and ruffled the hair. "It's good to strengthen the mind along with the body."
"Master didn't make me," she pouted softly. Kisame scoffed.
"Because Zabuza didn't give a lick about education for education's sake. But I'm in charge now so get use too it." Nagisa's lip twitched but she chose to take another bit of jerky versus saying anything.
The next morning after training Nagisa was plopped down in the same room as before. The tutor this time around was a woman with graying hair and a stern face. The woman greeted Kisame with a polite bow and introduced herself as Eguchi Maemi. Nagisa sat down while the adults talked, obviously sulking.
Kisame thumped her on the head lightly with his knuckles. She looked up with eyes hooded. The swordsman showed his sharp teeth in a mock smile.
"You will behave. You will listen. And you will not run away. Understood?" Nagisa's bottom lip pouted out the smallest of bit as she eyed the elder. The woman met her glower with a stone mask. Another, sharper, rap on the top of her head. "Understood?" Kisame stressed.
"Yes."
"Good. Have a good lesson Peaches, Eguchi-san." And Kisame walked to the door and, giving Nagisa a cheeky smile slapped a seal on the back of the door and closed it. She felt the chakra burst as the seal closed and her bottom lip came out dramatically on its own. A polite clearing of the throat and Nagisa reluctantly turned her eyes to the woman.
"We shall start today's lesson in the Land of Wind."
Nagisa slumped into her seat.
Something was wrong. Nagisa wasn't sure what that something was but from the depths of sleep she knew something was wrong. It was this knowledge that let her pull herself from the intense slumber she had been in previous. Some would call it a coma perhaps due to the level of exhaustion she was constantly feeling and the way she hadn't dreamt in weeks but Nagisa was fine calling it sleep.
Before she opened her eyes Nagisa knew that Kisame still slept soundly beside her. He was asleep on his back. His chest rose and fell against her back where she had curled against him for warmth throughout the night. Burrowed as she was under the covers it took Nagisa a moment to realize why she had awoken. She felt safe enough at the moment with Kisame at her back. Though, that was probably a poor sign. She was sure Zabuza had mentioned something about becoming attached to kidnappers in order to survive certain situations.
Not that that would be hard in and of itself.
Kisame was… familiar. Familiar in the way that being buried underneath the heavy blankets and pressed up a giant heat source was familiar. Under the covers she was where she wanted to be. Surrounded by the scent of male musk and salt water.
Nagisa almost fell back to sleep when she felt the sensation of wrong again only much more acutely as she was no longer clouded by slumber. And it was then she realized something was wrapped around her wrist. Pink eyes snapped open and Nagisa lunged away, succeeding in stepping on Kisame's privates and stomach. Whatever held her only let her get to the other side of the bed for its grip was strong. Kisame woke with a roar of pain and rage before proceeding to clothes line himself on whatever had Nagisa. He choked on his bellow. With an arm that was still unnecessarily massive he grasped the line in hand and flung it away with all his strength.
Both Nagisa and Samehada went flying across the room where they hit the wall. It was Nagisa's poor luck that had her landing on the sword where it instantly put out its spikes and let out a strange noise. Nagisa bucked wildly trying to free herself from the sword's handle that she now saw was wrapped around her wrist. It only got tighter and more spikes appeared.
"Sonofa—" Kisame was by her side in a flash and slamming his foot down on Samehada's middle. The sword let out another noise before shriveling in on itself and becoming its 'normal' self once more. Silence fell between adult and child except for heavy breathing. Only when she was sure Kisame had Samehada pinned did she look away from the blade and up to him.
"Grab the clothes you'll need for today," he ordered and Nagisa shot up like a rocket. The rumble in his voice wasn't something she had heard for a while and the last time she did she had run to near death. She grabbed a set of fresh clothes from a dresser that had two drawers just for her now. With eyes still on Samehada, Kisame plucked the massive blade up like it was nothing then stormed out the door. Nagisa was hot on his heels but as far away from the blade as humanly possible.
They didn't walk far, just down one level and a couple turns, when Kisame approached a door and knocked. Itachi answered.
"Could you take Peaches for me this morning?" Nagisa perked up when she felt a jolt of something come through the ever closed bond between her and the Uchiha. His black eyes flowed between the two in front of his door. With a small node he stepped aside and Nagisa was pushed in by Kisame's hand on her back. "Be good," the swordsman said before disappearing with the use of a body flicker.
Nagisa stared at the stop Kisame had been until Itachi closed the door. After, the only thing she could do was stare at Itachi. He didn't bother returning her stare and instead went over to a plush-looking chair in the brightest part of the room. Nagisa noted he was ready for the day, mesh armor with navy accents under an identical T-shirt with a simple white belt around the waist and dark blue pants. It was practically the uniform for the building. His hair was still free from any restraints.
Curiosity and perhaps just a dash of desperation to not feel so alone in her head anymore, Nagisa pushed at the bond between them. Itachi didn't break stride and picked up a book that was on the armrest of his chair. Nagisa round eyebrows furrowed and she pushed harder and quicker, like a slap versus a tap. She instantly regretted the action as it felt like she had open hand smacked a brick wall.
"Go ahead and change and we will begin," Itachi said in a monotone voice, giving the slightest tilt of his head in the direction of his bathroom. Nagisa continued to stare a hole in his back but did as asked.
Itachi was easier to follow than Kisame. At her 4'4 height Nagisa was shorter than him by under a foot which was a relief after Kisame's two foot taller form. Sure, Kisame slowed his walk but there was only so much the man could do before he threw off his own stride.
Those already in the training arena gave Itachi the same amount of respect they had given Itachi; leaving the majority of the room to them and not daring to get in the way. Nagisa did the customary laps around the arena. Then began the sparring.
Itachi was fast.
If she had to compare him against Kisame than Kisame would have been sound and Itachi light. Nagisa had no chance in blocking any of Itachi's hits. He was quick to gauge her reactions and bring his attacks down to a visible speed and they fell into a proper rhythm.
Nagisa was forced to accept just how much the missing-nin hadn't been taking her seriously in Konoha on the river. Most of his punches went through her blocks and littered bruises on top of bruises. But the punches weren't nearly as bad as Kisame's nor his kicks as aggressive. Nagisa didn't know if was because Itachi was pulling his forces that much more than Kisame did but the girl doubted it. Itachi's attacks were precise and hurt more in the way that the areas hit were tender and vulnerable. Kisame's attacks hurt no matter where they landed simply because there was that much power behind them. A kick to the chest from him resulted in a winded Nagisa due to the air being forced out. An attack to the chest from Itachi resulted in a winded Nagisa because he had stabbed her diaphragm with his bony fingers.
By the end of the four hours Nagisa was feeling more mentally exhausted than physically if only because Nagisa had to be truly aware of Itachi at all times versus simply trying not to become a pancake under one of Kisame's attacks.
Itachi led a limping Nagisa back to his room.
"You bathe first," he told her, speaking for the first time since they left his room. Nagisa eyed him before looking back to the bathroom door. She was use to sharing bath time with Kisame now. Itachi must have seen her hesitation. "I am not from the Land of Water. Go clean up so we can eat." Nagisa went ahead and did as order, making sure to get behind her ears as if she expected Kisame to appear out of nowhere and beam her in the head with the wash bucket for not being thorough. If it happened once it could happen again.
She dressed in her second set of clothes and was tying off the belt when Itachi exited the bathroom. He was quick to change as well and together the two of them walked to the small kitchen like area Kisame cooked. She sat at the table as Itachi cooked, circulating chakra to try and help her tender muscles from cramping later.
When Itachi plopped an omelet in front of her Nagisa jerked lightly. She stared at the fluffy yellow egg, filled with vegetables and cheese, unable to do anything but blink. Flashes of a tall dark man skirted around the edges of her memory. She squinted lightly trying to get the memory to surface. He had made them omelets. Whenever they were in that town…he was always there the next morning. She remembered Zabuza all but stalking the man after they had eaten before he had kicked them out of their current hideout to train. Nagisa had always been surprised that he appeared the next time they showed up. She had assumed Zabuza would eventually kill him with the way he was always staring at him.
He had made some fantastic omelets Nagisa remembered before the memory was swallowed up by her subconscious.
The kunoichi ate her food without complaint (even if they weren't as good as what her memory portrayed).
She finished before Itachi. So, she grabbed her plate and began to clean it and the tools he had used to cook. Hands covered in suds, Nagisa focused on the bond between them again. It was just as closed as it had been that morning. Mindful of the pain she had experienced earlier, Nagisa tapped along the edges of Itachi's shield looking for any weakness. If she really wanted to Nagisa believed she could flood the gate and reach the Uchiha but knew that would be unwise. He had a block because he didn't want her in and breaking that block for simple curiosity—not curiosity. She was alone and she didn't want to be alone. Didn't want to hear the echo in her own mind where there was nothing but silence after almost a year of constant racket—would not end well for her.
Nagisa pushed at the other bonds inside her head but they went nowhere. Like sending out an electric pulse down a line attached to nothing but thin air. She knew it was due to the distance between her and the others. If she was in Ame then Konoha was very very far away. Not so far for a shinobi of S-rank but enough to give pause to anyone chunin let alone a genin. Nagisa had experienced the distance blocking the bonds. When she had gone hunting for Zabuza there would be times when the distance would be to great and she wouldn't be able to keep contact. It use to stress her out to an insane level but here, with Kisame breathing down her neck like a mother-in-law on the day of the wedding, Nagisa wasn't given time to ponder the bonds let alone think about anything else.
In a way she was grateful for that.
But now, having accidentally made a bond with Itachi, a sworn enemy to one of her teammates and the village she had joined, Nagisa was desperate for something. A whisper of Naruto's exuberance, a hint of Sakura's tenacity or even a spark of Sasuke's controlled rage. But most of all, she wanted the fond annoyance of Shikamaru bubble in the back of her mind.
Nagisa put the plate in the strainer while trying to smother the emotions rolling in her gut.
Itachi allowed her to clean his plate and cup and began to dry the frying pan he had used. When the dishes were done he walked out of the room and Nagisa followed. She was dropped off with Eguchi-sensei who droned on about the trade between the Land of Wind and Land of Stone. Nagisa found out she could toss her pencil and get it to stick in the ceiling for a few seconds before it fell back down. That resulted in her pencil breaking so she switched to a kunai.
"Momochi-san," Eguchi snapped causing Nagisa to look to her and catch her blade blind. The hard look in the woman's eyes would have had more socially adept children curling in on themselves. Nagisa, oblivious as she was, simply stared back. The woman breathed out a hard sigh when Nagisa didn't flinch and proceeded to pinch the bridge of her nose.
"Do you know why it is Hoshigaki-san is having you take lessons, Momochi-san?"
Nagisa continued to stare. A thin brow rose high up a forehead. With another sigh Eguchi turned and pointed to the elemental map. Every nation was displayed and color coded for emphasis.
"Tell me Momochi-san, what do you think would happen if, let's say Land of Fire, lost all of its timber to a plague. What do you think would be the result?" Nagisa eyed Eguchi with a bit more interest now. She didn't answer, unsure if this was a ploy to get information on Konoha for Leader-sama so therefore kept her mouth firmly shut. A few minutes of a stare down lasted before Eguchi closed her eyes and lifted her head up to the ceiling. Nagisa thought that was rather stupid as now she had a clear shot at the woman's throat. Eguchi remained like this for a moment before pinning Nagisa with a fierce gaze.
"The best possible outcome is that the Land of Fire would find another source of timber and only fall into a short depression or recession before climbing its way back up swiftly. The worst? Another world war."
Eguchi walked to the map and pointed firmly at the red blob that represented the Land of Fire.
"Timber is the main export. That means it supplies most of the country through its services; those who own the land, the lumberjacks who harvest, those that turn the trees into useable lumber, and those who export it to other countries.
"Now imagine all those trees are gone. The people of Fire no longer have a reliable source of income. Without that, they no longer pump their money into the other business, which take a heavy hit. The land will become swamp with flash floods and mudslides without the trees to keep the earth from eroding. This affects the farmers, the second largest source of export and the largest import. Now well over half the Land of Fire is without jobs and therefore money and food. Clean water is hard to come by with the amount of eroding.
"Now the shinobi are affected. The Hokage is unable to get jobs for their shinobi and unable to keep their forces fed. So the Hokage reaches out to other countries to sate the need for missions. This affects other countries who have already been affected by the lack of lumber. Without anything to sell, the Land of Fire is unable to bring in imports and this causes a recession in other countries, for they no longer have exports. So the amount of missions other countries have are lessened and lessened more by the Hokage lowering the prices and therefore making it more sensible to get Konoha shinobi than their own.
"Tension and hunger and desperation rise until there is nothing left but all-out war between the nations for resources."
Nagisa blinked slowly while her brain absorbed the information dump she had been given.
"Unlikely," she finally stated firmly, unable to believe that Konoha would fall to its knees just because of the amount of trees.
"Is it?" Eguchi snipped. Crossing her arms under her chest the woman's face turned haughty. "Do you know what happened 29 years ago?" Nagisa's maintained her blank expression not sure where the woman was going with her questions. "29 years ago the Land of Water was hit by an epidemic of monstrous proportions. A blight fell upon their main source of exportation and importation. Fish. No one knew what was happening but the result was that well over sixty percent of the fish near the islands died.
"This resulted in the crippling of Kirigakure. Do you know why they started the practice of killing off their own students? It was because the village couldn't afford to feed its own forces. So what better way to distribute resources than by making sure only the crème de la crème could receive them? Civilians were dying from starvation due to the lack of food available. Trades were useless for no one could afford to keep a trade running and all the finances received from exports was going to the daimyo and shinobi.
"And due to Kirigakure's weakened state it allowed Kumogakure to surge forth and try to conquer the Land of Stone for it no longer had to fear one of its borders being breached. Thus beginning the Second Shinobi World War."
Nagisa turned her gaze to the map tacked to the wall with new eyes.
Nagisa wasn't a fool nor was she naïve. She understood the importance of information and appearances. Had Konoha appeared weakened at all by Suna and Oto's combined attack odds were they would have been submerged in war after the Chunin Exams despite the peace treaties currently in effect. They were, after all, just pieces of paper.
Her eyes went downcast as the memory of Sozen surrounded by screaming children and pushy elders with food surfaced.
"Shinobi cannot survive without civilians. Civilians cannot survive without shinobi. In order to be a successful shinobi you must educate yourself on the delicate balance of both. That is why Hoshigaki-san has you coming here every day."
Eguchi turned back to the chalk board and began to write with a piece of chalk.
"Now… back to what I was saying."
Nagisa gazed at the map for a moment longer before turning and paying attention to the woman.
Nagisa was thrashed during ninjutsu practice. Even without the use of sharingan, Itachi was simply quicker and more adept at her suiton-ninjutsu that any she sent his way was dodged or turned against her in a sick twist of brutality. Again, Nagisa made the comparison of tact versus shear force between Itachi and Kisame.
The kunoichi was being launched by a returned Daibakufu no Jutsu when she noted Kisame with his feet soaking in the pool near the side. Nagisa slammed into the wall and then fell head into the water. It was instinct that had her kicking out and breaking through the water's surface to fill her empty lungs. A lung full of water came up with awful coughing.
"No mercy, eh, Itachi?" Kisame chortled.
"Hn." Itachi slipped out of his fighting stance and flicked his fingers through his bangs to remove water. Nagisa watched the two of them cagily. When Itachi walked off the water and settled next to Kisame smoothly she let herself relax. The water encased her completely as she went under and swam to the two shinobi.
"How was your day, Peaches?" Kisame asked as she resurfaced. Nagisa regarded Itachi with a side eye before saying,
"Enlightening." Kisame laughed. He helped haul her out of the water and plopped her down next to him. When she was settled Kisame leaned backwards and pulled his cloak to him. He must have been wearing it earlier for Nagisa smelt rain and the outside world on it along with something… else. Her nose twitched hopefully while, from the folds of the heavy fabric, Kisame pulled out a pastry box. Pink eyes narrowed in dangerously.
"A reward for hard work and a thank you for the inconvenience." From the depths of the white box Kisame showed a small horde of dango. He laid it on his lap before pulling out three cans of tea. When those were passed out he started to hand out the dango. In a matter of seconds both Itachi and Nagisa had their cheeks stuffed. Kisame laughed so hard his face turned purple. "Who'd have thought I'd find two sugar junkies," he choked out before biting a dango ball of his own stick.
The trio sat on the water's edge enjoying the treat and silence. Nagisa's only pulled her bare feet out of the water when she noticed her toes were starting to wrinkle. Kisame didn't have that problem.
Nor did he have a problem with pushing Nagisa back into the water when they were finished with their treat. She came up sputtering and snarling only to find Itachi alone on the side. Her brows furrowed and it was only the motion of the water that warned her. Quick as a whip Nagisa jumped from the water and ran across the surface. Kisame hands curled around air where her feet had been only moments before. His round eyes broke the surface and a toothy smile was sent her way before he disappeared. The ensuing game of dodge the shark was rather exhilarating, if not a tad frightening.
That didn't stop her from giggling though.
Sakura fell into the hard seat with a relieved sigh. She pushed her palms into her sore eyes with noodle arms. She was sure every part of her body was hurting but it was a good hurt. The kind of hurt she hadn't felt since she was little and run around with Ino from dawn to dusk.
With a tired, but wide, smile on her face, Sakura let her head fall on to the bed in front of her. Her droopy eyes crawled up to Sasuke's face. He might have been in a coma but it looked like he was only sleeping. Pale face smooth of any blemishes or wrinkles that usually marred his features, Sasuke looked more relaxed than she had ever seen him.
A light blush colored Sakura's cheeks.
'He's going to be so proud of me when he wakes up,' she giggled, basking in the tenderness of her body because it meant she was getting stronger.
It was the eyes boring into the back of her skull during her run that had Nagisa's entire form tense and ready. She would eye Kisame who seemed content to sharpen her tantō on 'his' bench. It only took her another run around the arena before she realized where the feeling was coming from.
A cluster of shinobi were on the far side of the arena as usual. Decked out in the 'uniform' of the tower they all blended together when Nagisa didn't pay attention to them exclusively. Now though, one of them was staring holes into her head. He was apart from the others who seemed to be trying to hiss something at the staring man but he paid them no mind.
Nagisa stopped running when he began to walk towards her. Stalk would have been a more appropriate term. She saw Kisame pause in his own activity when she stopped before his eyes went to the stranger as well.
Nagisa could practically smell the rage coming off the man. He was rough looking. Scars littering what little of his face was visible from behind his rebreather. Torture scars Nagisa realized as her eyes skimmed along his skull. It was the only part of his body that wasn't bound in fabric or leather. Even his hands were heavily bound, no doubt to hide even harsher signs of torture. His eyes, dark and full of hate, tried to sear her flesh with looks alone.
Only when he was right in front of her did Nagisa finally realize who it was he was looking at.
"Gōzu." The younger demon brother grew in size as his body began to brace with his anger. Nagisa sunk into a ready stance. The movement from Kisame leaning forward had Nagisa sparing him a glance before turning back to Gōzu. She could actually feel the anger radiating off him. Even with the rebreather on his face Nagisa could see he was clenching his teeth.
"You," the missing-nin growled. "—traitorous bitch." Nagisa's face smoothed into a blank mask with her eyelids coming down to half-mast. "Because of you—" Gōzu seemed to lose the ability to speak for a moment. His hands clenched and unclenched at his sides and Nagisa noted that he was shaking. "…How long were you working for Konoha, huh?" Gōzu leaned in and it was only the fact his arms were still shaking at his sides that she didn't back up. "How long were you feeding them information? Did they make you a chunin for selling us out?"
Somehow Nagisa blood had turned to ice despite the ire bubbling in her stomach.
Gōzu's nose was practically pushing against hers. She could make out the heavy scent of artificial air and hear the filters hissing with each breath. His eyes were bloodshot.
"Did they give you Master's bounty for becoming their lap dog?"
Like a spark follow the trail of gunpowder Nagisa body became a raging inferno. She felt her chakra burst from her body as her façade broke under the pressure. The bangles in her side bangs whipped hard around her face and the loose fabric of her clothing caught surge of energy.
Why was it everyone assumed she was a traitor?
Naruto, Orochimaru, Konoha, the 'Master' who come to her after the Chunin Exams, and now Gōzu. Each one had given her the title of traitor either through voice or offers. Some had offered power for the betrayal while others demanded her blood.
'You betrayed us!'
'In exchange, I will accept you into my world and I will take you to heights the likes of which this pathetic village could never achieve. With their restrictions and moral compass, they will never allow you to stretch your wings and fly, Little Momochi. Do this simple task for me and I will help you soar.'
'Our Master has seen you and recognized your potential. We are here to welcome you into our fold. Come. Let us take you home, where you will rise and become a great shinobi for Konoha.'
Nagisa looked into the rage filled eyes of Gōzu and felt her own rage greet his with equal ferocity.
He was weak. A simple chunin that had become too dependent on his brother. It was why Kakashi-sensei had been able to take them out so easily. Cocky in their joined might that they had fallen to a fresh pack of genin and a single jōnin.
Nagisa… Nagisa had stared down monsters since her last meeting with this man. Shinobi gods and tailed beasts, she had been thrown before them and she had not been broken. Beaten and blooded and the closest to death she had ever come but not once did she break.
There was many things she would do in this world. She would maim, kill, torture, steal, and or bribe if it meant she achieved her goal. If it meant that her team continued on breathing Nagisa doubted there was anything in this world she wouldn't do.
Except betray her Master in mind, body or spirit.
For he was the only reason she still continued to draw breathe in this world.
'He knew, much like the Shodai knew, that he needed to give his child, you something they could use to continue on. She he passed on his knowledge as the Shodai passed on his seeds. And he knew that someone was needed to plant those seeds. By leaving you alone, he knew you would not thrive. So he gave you on. He gave you to us.'
There was a kunai in Nagisa's hand before she even realized she was moving. With speed she had not had the last time she stood before Gōzu, and with the technique Kisame had been drilling into her head for the past week, Nagisa sliced through the chunin's bare throat. Blood gushed out wildly with the power of a pumping heart. Due to her smaller stature, Nagisa felt the blood splattered across her face and front, still warm with body heat. A mix of hissing and gurgling sounded from Gōzu as air escaped and lungs tried to continue the last breath. Gōzu's hands came up to try and stop the spewing blood while his eyes were wild and wide.
The chunin toppled to the floor and with one more gargled breath fell unconscious. In less than a minute he was bled out due to the extent she had cut his throat.
By the time Kisame was in front of her, Gōzu was dead.
His hand fell on top of her head uncaring about the amount of blood staining it purple.
"Good job, Peaches," he smirked displaying two rows of dagger-like teeth. "Let's go get you cleaned up and have some breakfast." Nagisa's eyes slid down to Gozu's body but was quickly diverted back to Kisame when he booped her on the nose with his bloody pointer finger.
"Remember, Peaches: the strong eat and the weak are meat. This idiot was meat. Now come on." Kisame turned and strolled towards the exit with a pleased look.
"You guys go ahead and clean this up for us, okay?" he called out to the silent shinobi congregated at the end of the arena.
"Yes sir!" followed them out in a thunderous chorus.
Naruto knew the only reason he wasn't really feeling the kunai through his hand was because of adrenaline. Iruka-sensei had gone over that time and time again during his Academy days. About how adrenaline could be a good thing because it heightened your senses and allowed you to do things you wouldn't normally be able to do. It could help you push past your limits.
Only limits were there for a reason.
Like now, Naruto knew he probably shouldn't curl his hand down on Kabuto's to grip his fists but he did it anyway. There were a lot of little important pieces in his hand that allowed him to move each finger and he very well could have just screwed them up past redemption.
But that was okay.
Because now, finally making contact with Kabuto's flesh he could act.
The pain didn't block him as his pointer finger began to use his own blood to write on the back of Kabuto's hand.
"Until I become Hokage I refuse to die," Naruto told Grandma Tsunade. And he was a shinobi of his word.
The original paralysis tag was a mess Naruto now realized. He didn't need all the extra things that the store bought tags carried. Just like that how he had frozen stupid snake the creep had summoned. Now that thing had taken a lot of seals to freeze. Too many parts and not enough coverage. Maybe if he had had a huge brush and some paint a single seal could have held it. Just like how it was only with two kanji Naruto knew Kabuto would be frozen for good…or at least until the blood smeared. And that was why Naruto held out his free hand and allowed his doppelganger to swipe and shape the chakra he held. He the energy in his palm begin to spin, faster and faster, just like a little whirlwind.
Staring into Kabuto's face Naruto smirked when he saw the boy's eye twitch fiercely as he tried to break the seal.
The rasengan was done Naruto could tell. A tight ball of chakra contained in his palm. It was invigorating to hold such a powerful thing. Like being in charge of his very own natural disaster.
And it was with the strength of a whirlpool that hit Kabuto dead center in his chest.
Instantly the spy was whirled. Naruto's thumb smeared across his own seal and he felt when it broke. He also felt it when Kabuto slapped his chest even while being thrown backwards.
Naruto smiled even while feeling the pain in his chest. Clouds were starting to form on the edge of his vision even while he fell backwards. Each breath caused a strain in his chest to worsen. His entire world was engulfed in darkness in a matter of seconds. There was an empty feeling in his chakra system as it gurgled like the sound of water going down the drain.
Did he strain too much? Just like Iruka-sensei said he would if he pushed too far.
'Stupid fox…' he groaned on in the inside. 'Suppose…to make sure…I don't run out…'
God he was tired. And his head was really foggy. Like he'd been knocked upside the head real hard or someone had stuffed cotton in through his ear.
Somewhere in the pit of his stomach Naruto felt something wet-like move without his consent. It wasn't the normal heat that came with using the demon's chakra. Or even his own which felt more like warm broth swimming through his veins. No…this felt like…
'Nagisa…'
He hoped she was doing okay. That the Akatsuki weren't treating her poorly. Pervy Sage that they were mostly likely keeping her well if only to be able to use her against him later. But Naruto hadn't been able to sense her for a really long time and that made him worry. It was all his fault she wasn't home. His fault that she had been taken away again.
He had to get back to Konoha to help with the retrieval efforts. And Pervy Sage couldn't argue with him this time. He had learned the Fourth's jutsu. There was no reason he couldn't go and help now.
'Naruto.'
If he had been able to breath Naruto would have sucked in a painful breath. Somewhere something inside him snapped like a rubber band pulled too far. A burst of hot that he recognized as the Kyūbi's chakra before a dam burst and the water gushed through. And just like that Nagisa was there.
And she came down on him like a tsunami.
It was like the drain in his stomach had been plugged and Nagisa was filling him from the tips of his toes to the top of his head with her own chakra. It roared through his body filling him with a vigor that actually hurt. Like a water balloon filled almost to the break point. If she stretched him much further Naruto wasn't sure he'd be able to snap back.
A warmth settled in his chest right above where the strain was. Nagisa's chakra surged away from it as if someone had dropped a large boulder in the water that was her chakra. But just like with real water, her chakra came back with a vengeance and flooded the warmth. Naruto felt the warmth and wet battle for a moment. Nagisa's chakra lashing out in harsh waves while the other force trucked on, cutting through like a boat tossed about by the storm.
The boat reached the strain and Naruto felt the warmth settle all around it.
And the strain lessened.
The second Nagisa's chakra seemed to realize what was happening it joined with the boat, pushing it forward versus tossing it about in its uncontained rage.
Moments later the weight was gone and Naruto took a deep breath.
Naruto smiled as he felt Nagisa's chakra break and settle over his body. It began a slow drain through his stomach much like a flash flood slowly dissipating.
He cracked open his eyes, squinting in the bright light. A flash of blue caught his attention. He reached up with his injured hand now soaked in blood and grasped at the sparkle. His muscles complained but he was able to crack a small smile.
"I… won…" he giggled despite the pain in his lungs. He was no longer able to keep his eyes open and allowed them to shut him back into darkness.
'Nagisa…' he called out with what little consciousness he had left.
'Naruto…'
Naruto kept this weak smile. He couldn't wait for her to see his new move.
Kisame paused in his next attack on Nagisa as her entire body clenched and jerked backwards as if she had been grasped by a grand mal seizure. He watched her eyes blaze with chakra which covered the entire thing with a purple film. To Kisame it felt like an eternity but in reality was less than thirty seconds, Nagisa's entire body jerked forward with a horrendous gagging noise. It was instinctive to him by this point in his life that Kisame instantly took in Nagisa. He saw the sweat drenched skin, heaving chest and to pale skin. Not even her normal porcelain white but a pasty sick color that had him scrambling backwards to dodge the projectile vomit that exploded from her mouth. He grabbed the only long part of her hair and moved it out of the way even while recognizing her spastic chakra that seemed to suffocate the room in a desperate attempt to find something while fluctuating violently.
Nagisa caved in one herself suddenly extremely weak. Kisame was forced to grab her before she face planted into her own sick. He didn't bother waiting for her to catch her breath, bursting from the arena and heading to the med room. Before he even made it Nagisa seemed to be coming back to herself. Her eyes were no longer covered and she was muttering the jinchūriki boy's name like a mantra.
The medic was there to receive her. Kisame laid out her limp body on the exam table and watched the med-nin run his glowing palms up and down her body.
"What happened?" the man asked.
"A seizure, I think." Kisame watched Nagisa's face. She was still breathing heavily and her skin was drenched in sweat. There was even a little bit of drool dribbling down her chin from her gasping mouth. Kisame wiped it away before also getting her sweaty bangs off her forehead.
"Was she using ninjutsu? Or any other large form of chakra?" Kisame shook his head in a negative manner. Her pink eyes were disconcerting now as her sudden episode had caused a few blood vessels to pop, bleeding white to red. The medic stepped away with a puzzled expression.
"It looks like she's suffered from a huge amount of chakra exhaustion. Odds are the sudden loss of chakra caused her system to stop working properly. A good meal and rest and she should feel better. She has high levels of calcium in her blood as well. Make sure to decrease her dairy intake. And perhaps easy up on the training. A break is always good for young bodies. Besides that there is nothing I can do."
Kisame thanked the med-nin and picked Nagisa back up. He made it back to their room, shutting the door with his foot. He gave her a quick bath to rinse off the sweat before slipping her into night clothes. The girl was useless in helping him and the smallest of acts seemed to exhaust her. Kisame tucked her into bed before leaving. He was back as quickly as he could manage with a lukewarm soup.
He noted Itachi was now in his room, standing above the girl like a grim reaper. A single look from the Uchiha and Kisame answered the questioning gaze.
"Seizure due to chakra exhaustion." Itachi gave a soft nod before moving out of the swordsman's way. It was all Kisame could do to keep Nagisa awake while feeding her. When she had gotten halfway through Kisame finally relented and allowed her to pass out. He plopped the bowl on the nearby nightstand and let out a huge sigh.
Itachi sat down in his armchair while Kisame fell down on the bed.
"I guess Zabuza finally learned some patience," he finally chuckled. Moving his head so he could watch Nagisa sleep soundly. Her mouth was open slightly showing off a hint of sharp teeth. "He never would have put up with all this stress when I knew him." With a little smile Kisame threw himself back up only using his abs and chuckled. "Did you ever imagine being a mentor would be this hard?"
"Hn." Kisame snorted.
"Have you even thought of students, Mr. Eighteen-year-old?" The dull look Itachi gave Kisame had him throwing back his head and laughing.
Tsunade watched the steady rise and fall of Naruto's chest as the boy continued to slumber on. A fire crackled between them casting shadows around the campfire. But all Tsunade needed was to see the rise and fall, nothing more.
"If you look any harder you'll wake up him from the burning," Jiraiya whispered. Tsunade wanted to tear her eyes away from the boy in order to scowled Jiraiya for the snicker in his voice. Always joking, her Jiraiya.
But this wasn't the time for jokes.
Tsunade's eyes narrowed.
"Have you felt it?" she asked, voice no louder than a breath. Soft enough to make sure both students remained fast asleep. After being in the trenches with Jiraiya for so many years she was able to tell when Jiraiya got serious. It was in his body language. No longer leaned back in a nonchalant way but rather a stiffness to his spine that made him a little more erect. A couple more wrinkles would appear around his eyes, the same wrinkles he had his entire life for really they were more expression lines than age marks. And his chakra, something as familiar to her as her own, would become sharper. No more light bouncing of flames but something hot and wicked.
"It?" he questioned. Tsunade pulled her knees into her chest and propped her chin on them.
"When I was healing him…there was…something else." Jiraiya was no longer slouching.
"What did it feel like?"
"Like white blood cells." Tsunade's lips flickered upwards at the blank expression on Jiraiya's face. "I told you he had damage to his heart. When I was healing it I was attacked. All of a sudden my chakra was swarmed by something fierce. And it wanted me out. It was like being caught up in a current, battered from all sides." Jiraiya's eyes moved to Naruto's sleeping body.
"But then…"
"Then what?"
"Then I made it to his heart and I started to heal it. And it was like a 180 for the chakra. Suddenly, it was trying to pump itself into my own. Like it was trying to help."
Jiraiya made a choking noise that sounded suspiciously like a burst of laughter. Tsunade finally tore her eyes away from Naruto. The repulsed look she sent his way had him choking back his laughter and giving her a mirthful smile.
"That wasn't it. I think you met one of his teammates. Though how her reach came this far when Naruto said he hasn't been able to get in contact with her since the incident…" Tsunade's face fell and in the blandness voice she could manage,
"Teammate? Incident?" The smile that curled Jiraiya's lips had Tsunade's heart swelling. It had been far too long since she'd last seen that dorky smile.
"Let me tell you a story."
Nagisa barely caught the bag in time to stop it from hitting her in the face. Kisame walked in through the door all his teeth on full display.
"Pack a couple things. We're going on a mission."
"Mission?" she parroted while watching Kisame walk to his dresser.
"To Kumo. Now come on, we're leaving in an hour and we still have to have Itachi remove the seal." Nagisa was on her feet and at her drawer in a couple seconds. "Pack light." It only took a few minutes and Nagisa was packed after she tossed on a new pair of pants and shirt with a fresh fishnet undershirt. Kisame packed just as lightly.
Nagisa face was indignant when Kisame went through her bag. With a node he bent down and without so much as a by your leave, strapped a new thigh holster in place and a hip pouch. She recognized her old weapons when Nagisa looked.
"Let's move out."
They met Itachi at his room. The seal was an easy thing to remove apparently for all Itachi did was poke her in the chest and shoot a burst of chakra through her system. Nagisa felt the seal break, suddenly noting a weight lifting off her bones that she hadn't noticed previously. Once the weight was gone Kisame handed over a cloak. The cut was similar to his own only hers was a stone grey and had no clouds. It covered her from chin to shin and was warm.
She was thankful for that because the second they left the building a deluge thundered down around their heads. Kisame plopped a straw cap down on her blue hair and gave it a tap.
"Keep up Peaches."
Nagisa trotted after the two adults, sparing a final glance at the building she had been held in for the past few weeks.
After all, she was never coming back. Not if she had anything to say about it.