A couple of reminders, since I know it can get confusing and forgetful when reading an oc story…

Miyu is Michi's 12-year-old sister, his oldest one.

Airi is Michi's 8-year-old sister

And Aoi is Michi's 4-year-old sister.

Also I posted a new group pic of my Team H on my deviantart page, if you wanna check that out. Alright that is all. Just some clarity if anyone has forgotten.

Stirring Emotions

Chapter 34

It was the next day when Sai and Saryie were having lunch that Sakura came to retrieve Sai. The Hokage had requested the two to meet at her office. Sakura didn't divulge any more details than that as the two headed to the Hokage tower, cutting Saryie's and Sai's lunch short.

Sai told her that he would see her later when he can. Saryie agreed and waved them off as they left. She pursed her lips in thought, wondering if the Hokage was sending Team Kakashi out on a mission again.

Saryie finished her food, not sure what she should do for the rest of the day. That morning she had already tried practicing her new jutsu but it still wasn't complete yet. Saryie began to walk out of the restaurant and took a slow look around the village.

She felt like sparring…. But she didn't really have anyone to spar with. Lee and the rest of Team Gai had been sent on a mission right after the night out at the Karaoke restaurant so he wasn't available. She could just go bug Michi, but he wouldn't be very willing and it would be a good hour hassle before he would put up a fight. Azumi was out of the question… she would be more attentive in how Saryie's new jutsu was coming along. Plus, Azumi wasn't much for hand to hand combat for good lengths of a time.

Saryie sighed as she continued her pace down the street, trying to think of anyone she knew that was available. A loud commotion soon caught her attention as she rounded the corner.

"I dare you. Say that again!"

Saryie looked to see Miyu standing in front of 3 older boys that were smirking at her, tauntingly.

"Or what? What's your fancy jutsu going to do? Blueberry head," one boy remarked, in a mocking tone.

Miyu lunged at him but the boy was quick on his feet and dodged Miyu's attack. The boy's other friend was not so lucky as he took a punch to the nose.

With one kid on the ground holding his bloody nose, Miyu turned around to find where the boy who taunted her was. Miyu looked left and right only seeing the boy's other friend until the boy whistled from above Miyu's head.

He stood with his feet planted firmly on the side of the building using his chakra, looking down at her.

"I'm up here, Blueberry," the boy mocked, sticking out his tongue.

"How about you come down here so I can kick your butt," Miyu called, angry, clenching her fists.

"Nah, I rather not waste my time. Come on guys let's go," the boy called as he began to run along on the side the wall.

The other two kids began to follow after the older boy. The one who got knocked off the ground, wiped the blood from under his nose with his sleeve while getting up.

"Hey come back here!" Miyu shouted in protest.

The boy Miyu had punched earlier brushed passed Miyu roughly, hitting her shoulder.

"You better watch yourself," the boy spoke lowly.

Miyu grabbed him by his shirt, angry. "What was that?"

Saryie stepped in then, knowing Miyu was going to cause more trouble.

"Hey, enough," Saryie spoke, calmly, holding up her hands.

Miyu glanced at Saryie, letting the boy go as the boy ran off in the direction of his friends. Miyu huffed and dusted off her shorts as she looked away from Saryie.

"What are you doing here?" Miyu questioned, with an attitude.

"I just happened to be walking by," Saryie mentioned, casually, analyzing Miyu.

"Well next time don't butt in," Miyu stated as she began to walk away, still mad.

Saryie followed after her and came up alongside her.

"Who were those boys?"

"Didn't I say don't butt in?" Miyu scoffed, annoyed as she looked away from Saryie, picking up her pace.

"Were they picking on you?" Saryie asked, curious, finding it rather easy to keep up with Miyu.

"NO! Just butt out of it," Miyu said defensively.

"Then why were they messing with you?" Saryie persisted.

"Because they're genin now!" Miyu answered loudly, her annoyance showing on her face. "They were classmates of mine that got to graduate early because they passed their exams and now they think they're all better than me," Miyu stated grumpy.

"So you were trying to show them that you could still beat them up?" Saryie inquired, evenly, raising an eyebrow.

"You sound like my mother now. I don't start fights. I finish them. He said he could beat me yet he won't come and face me in a fair fight," Miyu said, her eyes narrowed as she marched down the street.

Saryie smirked and laugh inwardly…. She had been there… Well sometimes it still felt like she was there. That she had to prove she is stronger than anyone else thought she was.

"I get it Miyu… I really do," Saryie spoke, empathetically with a smile.

Miyu glanced up at Saryie, analyzing her face. "Oh yea? So you won't tell my mother or my brother about this then?" Miyu questioned, her tone less hostile.

"Not if I don't need to," Saryie answered, cheery.

"Hn."

Miyu kept her pace steady and still looked rather pissed off as she turned her attention away from Saryie.

"Would you like to spar?" Saryie asked, friendly.

Miyu stopped short, giving Saryie a questioning glance.

"Are you serious?"

"Yup."

"Ok, then," Miyu agreed as Saryie said great.

Miyu followed Saryie to the training fields. Saryie told Miyu to come at her with everything she's got and Miyu did just that. Saryie was able to block all of Miyu's attacks. Miyu wasn't bad at taijutsu but she wasn't fast. Saryie stayed at normal speed with Miyu as she lightly counterattacked.

Miyu soon broke out a jutsu that Saryie had never seen before. It looked like an adaptation to reptilian armor jutsu, however it covered only Miyu's hands to her elbows but the reptilian skin had spikes. Saryie had never seen Michi use that type of jutsu before and had to be careful as Miyu charged at her with more energy than before.

Saryie being curious in the midst of battle, performed a substitution jutsu without Miyu knowing and let Miyu think she was able to strike her. Saryie saw a smile illuminate Miyu's face until "Saryie" poofed into a log that was splintered.

Saryie stepped out of the trees then as Miyu's jutsu faded.

"Not bad," Saryie stated with a smile. "You're definitely not like your brother. He wouldn't spar with me for this long."

Miyu smirked as she raised her head high. "Its cause he's a lazy shinobi. I'm surprised he passed the academy," Miyu remarked, a bit bitterly.

"I'm more surprised that you haven't passed yet," Saryie commented, her eyes serious as she looked at Miyu.

Miyu crossed her arms and huffed. "It's cause of stupid Iruka-sensei. He doesn't think I'm ready."

"And do you know why you're not?" Saryie asked, her tone serious.

"Some stupid stuff about cooperation and collaborating nonsense," Miyu expressed, with her head turned away stubbornly.

Saryie took a moment to analyze the young girl's features. "Why do you want to be a shinobi, Miyu?"

"What do you mean why?" Miyu asked incredulously. "Being a shinobi is awesome. I would get to see the world and kick people's butts along the way."

"Being a shinobi is much more than kicking people's butts," Saryie stated, her tone low. "Your brother may be a bit lazy, but he puts his life on the line not to kick someone's butt, but to protect the people he cares about. He understands teamwork and collaboration. Even if he complains daily about everything he has to do, he will be there and give his all to protect this Village. Iruka doesn't think you're ready because you're always looking for your next victory with others and not how to work alongside others. It's great to be motivated and want to grow to be stronger… just… make sure you're doing it for the right reasons" Saryie spoke, carefully.

"Tch, and here I thought you were cool for once," Miyu remarked, offhandedly as she turned to leave.

"Where you going?" Saryie asked, concerned.

"I'm heading home," Miyu called, annoyed as she left.

Saryie sighed as she pursed her lips. She decided to give Miyu space, hopefully she would think through what Saryie said. Saryie didn't want to be rude to her; she could understand Miyu wanting to be the best but… it's also important to rely on others and to make friends.

Saryie let her mind wander as she did a few training exercises to strength her endurance and muscles for the remainder of the day. When the sun was about to set, Saryie decided it was time to head home.

Once she was home, she briefly took a shower and put on a pair of lounge-around clothes. She was drying her hair and wondering what the Hokage had wanted with Sai when she heard a knock on her door.

After placing her damp towel down on the counter in her bathroom, Saryie headed to her front door. Her hair was still damp and it began soaking the back of her shirt as she opened the door.

"Hello Saryie," Sai greeted with a small smile. "Is this a bad time?" Sai questioned, noticing her pajama shorts and grey shirt.

"No, not at all. Come in," Saryie mentioned as she stepped aside.

Sai came in without hesitancy, taking a look around her apartment that was slightly disorderly.

"So what did the Hokage want?" Saryie asked, bluntly.

"There was two things that the Hokage called me in for," Sai mentioned as his dark eyes bore into hers.

"Two?" Saryie questioned, raising her eyebrow.

"Yes, the first is relatively… somber news, I must warn you," Sai spoke hesitantly, gazing over her features.

Saryie's eyebrows knitted together in confusion.

"The Legendary Sanin, Jiraiya, is dead," Sai stated, bluntly.

Saryie gasped, surprised. "What? How?"

"He was sent on a mission to infiltrate the Hidden Rain Village since there was intel that the Akatsuki's leader, Pein, resided there. Jiraiya was caught and went head to head with the leader and didn't survive," Sai explained.

"The Akatsuki again…." Saryie muttered, a bit angry at the injustice. Sure, she didn't know Jiraiya personally, but he was still one of the Leaf's top shinobi, right next to the current Hokage. He must have not been easy to beat… so how could the Akatsuki defeat him? It angered Saryie. First Asuma was taken by the Akatsuki and now Jiraiya? It wasn't right.

Saryie began to clench her fists, her eyes focusing on the floorboards in deep thought.

"The other news is I've been assigned a new mission. I'll have to leave tomorrow," Sai stated.

Saryie's eyes snapped up to his as her fists unclenched, forgetting her momentary anger.

"Oh? Are you leaving with Team Kakashi then?" Saryie asked, her tone gentler.

"No. I'm being paired up with Yamato and Anko," Sai replied.

Saryie looked intrigued. "What's the mission about?"

"It's classified. I can't say much," Sai answered, evenly to which Saryie pouted.

"Well I hope it goes smoothly for you. Do you know when you will get back?" Saryie asked, probing for more information.

"No I'm not certain. It could take a couple of weeks. It all depends," Sai responded, taking in her pouting face. He took a step closer to her then, his hand carefully lifting to cup her face.

"I'm sorry that I can't say much on the matter," Sai spoke, softly, looking into her eyes.

Saryie sighed as she grabbed onto his hand that cupped her cheek. She interlocked their fingers as she brought his hand down from her face.

"It's okay. I understand. Its cause your Anbu," Saryie mentioned, as she smiled lightly up at him.

They stood there in a moment of silence, taking in each other's expression before Saryie's eyebrows knotted together once again.

"How come the Hokage called you in to tell you about Jiraiya?" Saryie asked, curious.

"Because I believe it pertain to me being Naruto's teammate. Naruto was Jiraiya's student," Sai spoke, clearly.

"Ooh," Saryie said, letting this new information sink in. "Oh my gosh, how's Naruto doing?" Saryie rushed, her eyes wide.

Sai looked a bit surprised by her immediate reaction and looked off to the side as he answered her. "Well… he seemed quite depressed… He was very much unlike himself."

"Poor Naruto. I feel bad for him," Saryie spoke, sorrowfully as she let go of Sai's hand and began messing with her hair.

Sai watched her for a few moments, unsure of what to say. "I'm sure Naruto will be alright."

"Yea, I know… he's a bit relentless. He'll bounce back, I imagine…" Saryie spoke, softly before her eyes narrowed. "What are the Akatsuki after anyway?" Saryie asked, angrily, not really expecting an answer.

"They're after Naruto," Sai mentioned.

"What?" Saryie asked, stunned, turning her head back to Sai. "Why?"

"They are tracking the tail beasts and they're after the nine tails in Naruto," Sai replied, casually.

Saryie's eyes widened with the new knowledge, before her face became serious and she pursed her lips. It was no real secret that Naruto was different. He was shunned and outcast by most of the village. She even remembered her mom scoffing at him back in the academy and told her not to talk to him. But now… after Naruto worked so hard so that people could respect him and accept him… members of the Akatsuki were doing all of this damage to innocent people just to get their hands on the tail beasts. It made Saryie angry. How dare they. Saryie didn't care how strong they were, they had no right.

"They're not going to get Naruto," Saryie declared, determined.

"No, they are not," Sai agreed, seeing the fire in her eyes.

Ok going to stop it there :D um yea this is amidst the beginning of season 8 when Naruto finds out Jiraiya dies, so some spoil alert if you haven't gotten to that part oops. I bet you can't guess what's next can you? :o lul

Stay tuned and please review!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and I do not own Naruto's story plot with Pein. I do own Saryie, Michi, Azumi, and Miyu.