I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.
Breach
Ryuu opened his eyes and groaned. He seriously regretted being an ANBU. After his fight with Tomu, he had spent a full month in a coma. Then, he had spent another month guarding the border of the Hidden Leaf Village while he recovered from his near-death experience with help from Yugao. Now, he was lying on his bed about three hours after getting there. he had slept a half hour. For three nights in a row. Coincidentally, killing Tomu hadn't helped his mental state any. He was unable to sleep. Though, he no longer was in danger of losing control, as far as he could tell, he was in danger of dying from lack of chakra. He had replenished a fair amount of it the day before with food pills, but without rest, his body would build up a resistance to it. And he knew it.
"You're not doing any better Ryuu," Yugao stated, stepping out of the shadows in one corner of his room. "It's been more than a month. Let Tsunade help."
"No," Ryuu growled. "I don't need it. I'll get better."
"Bull shit," Yugao said flatly. "In our line of work, you kill every day. You can't let old wounds close if you tear them open so often. I know you're still hurting over Aeron. And the scientists that tried to take your eyes. And the other children you were pitted against. And Aeron's brothers. And Deidara. And Itachi. And Fu. And Shisui. You don't let go. You can't. You bury it as deep as you can. You pray for forgiveness. But you don't forgive yourself. That's why you can't let go. God has forgiven you."
"Don't start Yugao," Ryuu growled standing and putting a handful of food pills into his mouth, as was his routine now. "I'll be fine."
And with that, he was gone. As were the clothes he had had set out beside his bed. Ryuu stopped outside Tsunade's office and knocked.
"Come on in," Tsunade spoke up from inside.
He stepped through the door and was greeted with a smile from behind stacks upon stacks of papers and scrolls. The smile was genuine but tired.
"Hello Ryuu," Tsunade smiled. "Awake already?"
"Can't sleep," Ryuu stated. "Again. What's my job today?"
"Border again," Tsunade stated. "Barrier detail this time."
Ryuu nodded, knowing that she was talking about the barrier around the village that would alert the village if anyone tried to invade. He turned to leave but she stopped him.
"Ryuu, after this mission, I'm ordering you to report to Inoichi for mental reconstruction," Tsunade informed him. "You cannot continue the way you are. You need help. Or you will die."
"I don't need help," Ryuu stated. "But I'm not going to disobey a direct order. I'll be there once this mission is over."
Tsunade nodded and Ryuu left. He headed to his post, stopping just inside the barrier and looking around. There were several other shinobi around him and it was clear that they were not expecting to be attacked any time soon. Just as he was getting ready to relax like the others, something breached the barrier. He knew only because he could see the barrier, and saw the barrier deform when the person hit it. Except, they were very high. Too high to have jumped. He turned, eyes following the person easily, allowing him to make out a woman with shoulder-length orange hair and an Akatsuki robe. A moment later, she disappeared into the village and five men, four of them with orange hair and one of them bald, all wearing akatsuki robes, scattered, the woman likely doing the same. Ryuu took one step forward before explosions began to go off. A moment later, a pair of massive orange and black centipedes with a metal spike down through their heads began to rampage through the village.
"Shit!" Ryuu growled.
Just as he stepped forward, one of the Akatsuki members landed in front of him. It was the bald one. His arm had been separated at the middle of the forearm, revealing a string of small metal rods with rounded ends, likely the explosives that had gone off in the village.
"Well well," Ryuu growled drawing his trench knife and Fu's knife. "You're barely even human."
The man simply smiled at him, firing several rockets. Ryuu flipped aside, out of the way of the explosives which blasted massive craters into the village. The other shinobi attacked the Akatsuki member from behind but he spun, his extended hand batting them all aside and crushing their bones on impact, all but one of the men suffering impaled lungs on impact and the other suffering a broken neck, all dying.
"Damn," Ryuu growled. "Strong. You don't seem like you're the leader type though. You seem more like a distraction, and a damn good one. No, the leader is probably here for Naruto. Shame you found me. Now you die."
The man raised an eyebrow at Ryuu but Ryuu simply charged at him. He swung his arm at Ryuu, firing rockets at the last second, but when they exploded against Ryuu, all that hit the ground was mud. A moment later, Ryuu stepped forward, slashing at the man. He ducked under it, arm retracting, before spinning and taking a swipe at Ryuu. Ryuu ducked under it, slashing again at the man. Again it avoided them before multiple jagged blades sprouted from the man's right forearm on all sides, reaching out past his hand. He swiped at Ryuu but Ryuu ducked under it then stood, slashing upward at the man. He stepped back, the knife missing by a millimeter, then he threw a punch. Ryuu waited until it was a millimeter away before using the Body Flicker Technique to avoid it. He reappeared behind the man, slashing but the man spun, catching Ryuu's left arm and crushing his forearm. He shouted in pain, slashing at the man's arm but he released Ryuu and jumped back. Ryuu growled in frustration then began to flicker. Three more flickering images of Ryuu appeared around the man and he spun, hand swiping through them all harmlessly. Then, his right shoulder was ripped open, bits of metal flying into the air. He snorted in amusement but instead of trying to stop Ryuu, he punched the ground. A shockwave shot out around him, Ryuu jumping over it, just as the man spun toward him, punching him and sending him crashing through several buildings. He began to stand but just as he did, one of the two centipedes exploded out of the building behind him, the top half of the building crumbling on top of him.
"I expected more out of the great Ryuu Uchiha," the woman stated as she stepped up next to the bald man who nodded. "Let's go. We have a job to do."
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