- Only Half -

"It's been three days." Sasame groaned, she didn't know it would take this long to fix Osanai. "He's such a burden."

"Give him a break, I don't think he really wanted this to happen." Genka yawned. Even though it was late in the morning, she had just recently gotten out of bed. The big, plush, comfortable bed that was in each guest room at the Abunai mansion had refused to let her go. "I mean, I wouldn't want to be in a coma. It doesn't seem like a whole lot of fun."

"The doctors put him in the coma..."

"You get the point though." Genka sighed and waved her hand.

"Where's Mei?" Sasame looked around in the living room, she was nowhere to be seen. But this house was a place one could easily get lost – or lose oneself – in.

"She's... I don't really know where she is." Genka vainly mimicked Sasame in looking around the room.

"Yo!" Came the voice of the only male that had accompanied them. "Looking for Mei-chan?"

"Why couldn't we have gotten a decent man to come with us?" Genka twitched violently. "I would have settled for almost anyone but you, Jiraiya."

"That's a little harsh..." His eyebrow went up a little. "But anyway, Mei is out shopping right now."

"Really? I figured she'd be at the hospital by now." Sasame scratched her chin. "If something like this happened to... the guy I like, I'd want to be with him a lot more than that."

"Different people handle situations in different ways." Shuuzen offered. "Some people feel that they should be supportive and try to visit him in the hospital, like you, Sasame. Then there are others who feel the need to stay by his side no matter what, that's more like Hinata. But some people can't handle the feeling of being with their loved one at a time like this, so they try to distract themselves with other things."

"As expected of Shuuzen." Jiraiya nodded and stroked his chin. "Well said, well said indeed."

Mei was spending her time at the market, gathering various foods and ingredients. She was going to attempt to make dinner. It might be difficult with one arm but she was going to try anyway.

"Ah! Mei-chan!" She heard a somewhat familiar voice call out to her.

"Hm?" She turned around and saw the same blonde man from Osanai's room. "You're... Arashi-san?"

"You remember me!" He exclaimed happily. "That's good, I hate introductions. So I hear Osanai-kun..."

"Um..." She sighed slightly, "He's in the hospital right now."

"Ah, that's good to hear. How's he doing, still out of it?"

"Yeah, he's in a coma right now while Shuuzen-san and the doctors try to find out what's wrong with him."

"Ah... Shuuzen is a great doctor, and if she's with a team of other doctors, then there's a one-hundred percent chance he'll wake up."

"Thanks for that." She smiled happily.

"Thanks for what?" He faked a clueless expression then grinned. "Nah, don't even think about it."

"Hey, can you carry one of these bags for me?" She asked, leaning her head toward her good arm, which was slightly overloaded with groceries.

"Uhhh..." He stared at the bags for a second. "Sorry... but I um..." I'm a ghost...

"You won't carry an injured girl's bag?" She asked grumpily.

"It's not that... I just, er..." He took a step backward. "I'll explain later. But right now..."

"And here I thought you were a nice person." She stuck her tongue out at him. "Nyah."

"I am a nice person." He argued in vain. "Normally, I would take all your bags. Really, I would. But right now, I really shouldn't."

"Is it a matter of life and death?" She asked suspiciously.

"Uhhh... Sorta." He was a little hesitant to answer. "But not really in the sense you're thinking of. Sorry..." It's because I'm dead... is that a good reason?

"Hmmmmm..." She eyed him, making him shrink nervously. "You're hiding something from me. Your body language says it all."

Now that's ironic. He laughed inwardly. I have body language, just no body. Technically speaking. "I'll tell you later, I just can't carry your groceries for you..."

Mei wasn't buying it, but she didn't have much of a choice. She just paid for her food and left the market, followed by Arashi.

"So how's he doing?" He asked curiously. "I haven't had a chance to come down here and check on him until now. I was wondering if..."

"I haven't told them anything." She confessed with a deep sigh. "I don't even know what to tell them. I mean, should I just say 'he's been sick for a long time, but he's been hiding it.'?"

"Well, you don't have to say it like that. You don't have to say anything at all. It's your choice; you can respect his wishes by keeping his secret, or you can betray his trust but possibly help save his life."

"Then it's an easy choice!" She exclaimed. "His life is more important. I made a promise not to tell, but if telling them will save him then..."

"A promise is an important thing, Mei... You shouldn't make such a decision so quickly." He chastised her gently.

"So, should I just wait and see what happens?" She asked slowly.

"Not necessarily." He grinned cryptically. "If you don't come forward and tell them, you might put his life in jeopardy."

"So I should tell them?" She was getting both confused and worried by now.

"I didn't say that. He might get better without you telling his secret. There's really no way to know, is there?"

"Then..." She reduced her pace to a slow walk and stared at the ground. "Which one is the right choice?"

"There is no right choice. And there is no such thing as a 'right choice'." He answered, his voice was slow and clear. "In life, there are only wrong choices."

"Only wrong choices?" She looked at him strangely. "Then there's no such thing as a good person?"

"I wish it were that simple." He shook his head slowly and looked at the sky. "It's so unorthodox, and it goes against what we've always been taught ever since we were small children. The truth is 'sometimes two wrongs can make a right'."

"What are you saying?" Her voice was dripping with confusion.

"I'm saying exactly what it sounds like. There's no right or wrong. There is no solid, definite line between them. There is no grey area. It's all just black, but sometimes adding more paint can wash it all away and make it white again. You should always make the choice that you feel is the right one." He smiled. "The important thing is that it was your own choice, instead of hiding and being indecisive for your whole life."

"Then what's the difference between telling them and keeping his secret?"

"There is no difference." He answered seriously.

She was speechless. It wasn't because she was surprised or afraid, she just couldn't think of anything to say for a few moments. "I think... I might understand."

"Tell me what you think."

"What you're saying..." She started hesitantly. "I shouldn't worry about what happens. It's more important that I do what I think is right. I should follow my heart."

"You got it." He grinned and congratulated her. "You know, what I just told you... That was something his father once told me. Osanai-kun's father, that is. He was an extraordinary man."

"But he died with regret, that's what you told us."

"That's true." Arashi nodded. "But I think..."

"You think?"

"Well... thinking about it... You like O-san right?" He grinned knowingly.

She laughed nervously and shrunk down a little.

"Well, I think that his father will be able to rest peacefully because of you."

"Why me?" Mei looked a little surprised.

"You're softening Osanai. Because of you, he might see life a little is sick, yet he continues to give everything to help people around him. He always seems happy, and he does goof around and have fun. But he believes that the purpose of his life is to serve, and that he himself is less important than everyone else. I'm not saying that it's bad to help others, but he needs to live for himself, too."

"Yeah." She agreed, mumbling quietly.

He laughed a little. "I'm sure you'll made a good choice."

"You said there's no such thing as a good choice..."

"I did not!" He defended, grinning and holding up his hands. "I said there's no 'right choice'. I didn't mention anything about good or bad choices."

"So the whole lecture you gave me... was pointless?"

"Of course not!"

"We're finally here!" Naruto cheered as they walked down the boarding ramp. "Oi, Tenkou!"

"What?" He called back from the ship's deck.

"Make sure you don't leave without us!"

"Sure thing." He nodded and waved. "Have fun finding your guy!"

Naruto and Hinata made their way past the surprisingly busy group of tourists. Skiing season in the northernmost peaks of Snow country, that was the reason for most of the people there. But Naruto and Hinata were looking for someone – anything but that would have to wait until their mission was complete.

"Where do we go?" She asked curiously, looking out over the pure white landscape in front of them. The majority of the area around them seemed very hilly, there was very little flat land anywhere.

"Ryoku's house is over there." He pointed off in one direction.

Hinata's face turned a little blue when she saw what he was pointing at. "He lives... there?"

"Deep in the mountains." Naruto confirmed. "It's a bit of a walk, but we can do it." That was an understatement. The tiny speck that was Ryoku's house was several miles deep into the mountains, where the snow was falling heavily and the wind seemed to be able to lift a small human.

"Auuu..." She curled her arms around her a little. "If we walk there, we'll freeze. Scientists will thaw us out in a few hundred years and use our cold, lifeless bodies for research."

"Hehe..." Naruto scratched the back of his head. "I guess you're right. I never thought about it, but normal people can't take the cold as well as Ryoku and I can."

"So what do we do now?" She half-whined. "You can't leave me here."

He laughed a little more. "You act kinda cute when you're freezing."

"..." She glared at him for a second. "It's cute to you, but It's no basket of kittens on my end."

"Well..." He looked thoughtful for a minute. "How will we do this, I wonder...? I need some brain food!"

Within five minutes, they had found a restaurant that sold ramen. Hinata downed the hot broth and noodles at a pace that could rival Naruto on a slow day. The warm restaurant felt good, and the hot food even better. "So what now?" She asked once she was satisfied by the warmth her dish had to offer.

"Well, we obviously can't walk, no matter what we do." He sighed.

Hinata slumped over and groaned lightly. After a minute or two, she spotted another couple that seemed about the same age. What caught her attention were the skis that the couple had just leaned against the wall while they ate. "Do you think we have enough money to rent some skis?"

"What, you want to ski to his house?" He asked, a little surprised. "I don't think that's even possible."

"No, not that." She shook her head and smiled. "While we're here waiting for some kind of idea, we can always have some fun too."

"Um... I guess it's okay. But I don't know how much it'll cost us. It's kind of a rich person's vacation activity, we might only be able to afford even one." He thought out loud. "But don't you think we should be a little more focused?"

"Stop saying things that I would normally say." She ordered.

"But... we had enough fun on the boat." He argued. "And that was when it wouldn't make any difference to the length of our trip. But skiing?"

"Shut up and let's go to the slopes!"

"Um..." He groaned. "I have a bad feeling about this. Speaking of which... why am I the one being rational?"

"Because you were in this place for almost a year, there's nothing special or new to you." Hinata answered. "But in Konoha, we get a half-decent snow only once every few years. This is all so exciting for me!" She had a broad smile plastered to her small face.

Naruto shut up and smiled broadly. "That's not fair, but... if it makes you happy."

"This is it...?" Kiba stared up at the towering falls. "This is where the entrance used to be?"

"When we were attacking, we were able to get past it without too much trouble, we also burrowed tunnels underneath the mountain to get in behind them." Neji ensured. "And with my Byakugan, it should be a simple feat finding the correct path through the waterfall."

"But this much..." Hanabi stared upward, trying to find the top of the waterfall. "If we mess up... the base of the falls is like a giant blender..."

Akamaru whined and backed up a little.

"Uhh..." Kiba scratched his back. "Neji, first look inside the mountain and tell me what you see."

"That's not a bad idea!" Hanabi quickly agreed. "Just to be sure."

"You guys are just afraid of dying..." Neji glared at them. "You're hopeless."

"Of course we're afraid of dying!" They both yelled in unison.

Neji sighed. The whole situation was hopeless. "Whatever..." He grunted and went through the hand seals. To say that the seals were second nature to him would be a critical understatement.

After a few seconds, he gasped and dropped his jaw. "That's impossible..."

"What's impossible?" Hanabi asked impatiently.

"The village..." He hesitated for a moment to think of the right way to say this. "It's alive! They... did Konoha's attack even have an effect on them? If anything, they're better off than before we attacked."

"What do you mean?" Kiba was confused like he had never been before.

"The best way to tell if someone is a Shinobi is the state of their chakra system. If they have a strong and developed system, they're most likely Shinobi or someone else who uses chakra." He explained. "And fifty percent of the population here has a highly trained chakra system. And there are hundreds – no, thousands of them!"

"Hey. Neji?" Kiba poked at his friend's shoulder. "How many of them are about to jump on top of us?"

"Eight..." Neji counted. "Damn, I didn't notice that."

"Yeah... here they come." Kiba sighed. "Looks like we'll be having an interesting time here."

Part of the falls diverted for a few seconds, making a path that anyone could follow easily. Seven Waterfall-nins jumped out of the opening in the blink of an eye and surrounded the trio."

"Hey... they're from Konoha..." One of them realized. "What are you doing here?"

"Have you seen-" Kiba started, but was quickly cut off.

"We're asking the questions here!" Another one interrupted. "What is your purpose of coming to our peaceful village? You've already attacked us once, isn't that enough for you?"

"Listen, we're not here on village business." Neji explained a little. "It's a simple mission, we're just looking for some people. The last sighting was somewhere around this area."

The guards seemed to relax a little, but they definitely didn't seem like they would let the three away without a more elaborate explanation. "Tell us the purpose of this mission."

"If you're allies of them, please don't misunderstand." Neji warned. "We aren't looking for them for Konoha, this is a personal matter of our employer, Hyuuga Hanabi-sama."

One of the guards nodded. "Go on..."

"The people we're searching for are Hyuuga Hinata and Uzumaki Naruto." Neji revealed. "Under normal circumstances, we wouldn't tell you anything at all. But this is a... special situation."

"You're looking for them?" They all looked a little shocked. "We've never seen them!"

"Your lie is quite obvious..." Neji said with a sigh. "You're protecting him, and that means he must be inside this village. So if you'll please let us in..."

"No!" The apparent captain of the group sternly denied entrance. "We won't let people like you in."

"You weren't paying attention, were you?" Neji growled. "In case you didn't notice. Both Hanabi-sama and I are Hyuugas!"

"Hinata is my sister..." Hanabi told them. "I thought she was dead for over a year... until just recently when our father was murdered."

"S-sister?" the captain hesitated a moment. "Hyuuga Hanabi... the heir to the Hyuuga main family."

"Thanks for reminding us. We'd almost forgotten." Neji groaned sarcastically. "Are you going to let us in or what?"

"Uh..." The guard started to sweat a little. "If I don't allow you in, what happens then?" We can't beat the Hyuuga heiress AND her bodyguards. That's like suicide!

"We..." Neji thought for a second. "Technically... we don't have any evidence that the ones we're looking for are in this village, and we're also on a peaceful mission with no permission to start hostilities."

"Neji!" Hanabi yelped. "What are you saying?"

"But what reason do you have to detain us?" Neji asked with a smirk.

"Um..." The head guard couldn't believe how stupid that question was, and it was supposed to sound smart. "Kid... you guys tried to kill us all a while back."

"Oh..." Neji realized that the man had a point – and he wondered why on earth he hadn't figured that would be the reason.

"But..." The guard looked a little thoughtful. They had all relaxed by now, neither side expected a surprise attack.

"Hyuuga Neji..." A deep voice sighed. "Don't worry, guys. I'll handle him."

"Yes sir!" The guard obeyed orders. "Jiraiya-sama, please don't do anything too rash."

"J-Jira..." Neji couldn't believe his ears. It was simply inconceivable, how could Jiraiya be working with Waterfall? It must be a different Jiraiya... it must be.

But after a few moments, a dramatic cloud of smoke exploded in front of the Hyuuga team and the guards disappeared. In their place, a lone man stepped from the dust. White hair, tattoos on his face, it was definitely...

"Jiraiya!" The Hyuuga boy blinked once to clear his eyes, in case his vision was impaired in some way. But it was true, this was the Jiraiya. "W... Wha..."

"Neji..." The legendary man frowned at the team. "Hanabi, Kiba. I'm afraid you three must leave now... or you'll-"

"Be forced to leave?" Neji chuckled. "That's not much of a threat."

"No, that's not." Jiraiya agreed. "But that's not what I was going to say."

"Huh?"

"Leave now, or you'll be killed." His head leaned forward ever so slightly, just enough to bathe his face in an intimidating shadow. "I cannot allow anyone to interfere. It doesn't matter what your intentions are. If you want to help them or to destroy them, I don't care. But you, as Konoha-nins, must never get close to Naruto or Hinata until they come to you."

"What?"

"Right now, you are an obstacle. You should go peacefully and never seek those two again. The lives of three children are a small price to pay for their cause. You don't understand the situation. This is something so huge that I doubt Naruto and Hinata even know the full scope of it."

"We're not as weak as you think..." Neji growled threateningly. "And it's four against one."

"You kids..." Jiraiya was starting to lose his patience. "I don't really care about anything going on in the world. But this... this is something I would die to bring to pass, and I will support it until my end comes."

"Is it a just cause?" Neji asked quietly. "If it is, then we will help!"

"It is as I said; you are Naruto's obstacle. You are his enemy, act like it. Hopefully you'll live to see the day when you are once again friends. Until then, you must fight against them, for their own good. And when I say fight... I mean fight."

"You... you never spoke of death so easily."

"Never around you, maybe. But I've killed hundreds, maybe thousands. I can eliminate a measly threat such as yours with the snap of my fingers."

"Then why don't you fight us for Naruto?" Neji was both angry and confused.

"Neji... I have nothing against you, and the same goes for Hanabi and Kiba. But you must understand..." The old man paused for a moment to pick the right words. "Those two have injected themselves into the center of the biggest thing to happen to the world since the Great Shinobi War. But so far, their road has been smooth and stable. They haven't fought a true enemy yet. They need barriers to break, obstacles to overcome. If you fight them as their friends, you will not be doing them any favors – you might even get them killed in the long run."

"But why us?" Neji asked. "Why must we be willing to kill our friends and family?"

"Call it a reality check. They've had it smooth-sailing so far, they need a bump in the road before they get careless. They need to realize again that their friends from home are now their mortal enemies. They don't have the strength to kill, but you, Neji, do have that strength. You must teach it to them through battle. Wait for them to seek you, then remind them of the way of a Shinobi."

Neji and the others stood silently. They all understood to some extent, but none of them knew what to do. They only stood there with their heads low while Jiraiya walked into the village.

When he was hidden away from Neji's group, he found Genka and Mei in the tunnel behind the waterfall.

"I guess it's a good thing you came after all." Genka sighed as Jiraiya entered the tunnel. "But right now, we need to find Osanai's medicine."

"Yeah..." Mei whispered. In her head, she wasn't sure if this was the right choice. But everything else inside her screamed that it was.

"Osanai?" Shuuzen was surprised, very surprised. The doctors had tried an experimental treatment and taken him out of the coma, and he had awoken on his own within half an hour. "It actually worked."

"Shuuzen?" He mumbled, still a little groggy. "Where am I?"

"Ah, Osanai." A vaguely familiar voice chimed in from the door. "It's good to see you again."

"You're... Kenta-san?" He blinked in surprise. "But you're the director at that hospital- oh..."

"Your body isn't in the best shape, kid." He bluntly stated. "Your organs are dying and we don't have a clue why. We know that you've had this disease for a long time and at this rate, you'll die within a few weeks."

"Thanks for being straightforward." He sighed. "Only you came, Shuuzen?"

"No, Mei and the others went back to the village to get your medicine. We need to find out what's in it. She said you told her that 'the medicine is the illness and'-."

"'and the illness... is the medicine'..." He was staring at Shuuzen with wide eyes. She promised...

"Is something wrong?"

"No." He shook his head after a few seconds of calming down. "Nothing at all."

"Really..." A middle-aged man sighed. "I never thought I'd see Risuki-chan again."

"He calls you 'chan'?" Ryu giggled uncontrollably.

"I was didn't care back then." Her eyebrows were twitching violently. "Please do not call me that, Atsui-sama." Despite the title she addressed him with, her tone and attitude were less than respectful.

"Ahaha, sorry, sorry." He grinned. "But what exactly brings you back anyway? And I see you've got a new friend too."

"This is Ryu." She introduced him, short and bittersweet.

"Hey... I think I deserve a bit more of an introduction than that..."

"He's my lover." She added nonchalantly.

"That's not what I meant..." He drooped his head a little.

"And he's the reason I'm a normal-ish girl now." She groaned.

"I give up..." He stared at her, a little annoyed at her lack of any tact whatever.

"So..." The man injected. "You fell in love?"

Risuki blushed and nodded. "Yeah..."

"Ahh... so it's true..." He smiled happily, clasped his hands and closed his eyes. "Love truly can change any soul."

Ryu, Risuki and the still unnamed bodyguard boy who had "tested" them all fell onto the floor in exasperation.

"Hey, Risuki?" Ryu leaned over a little. "Exactly how gay is he?"

"Trust me, he's not gay." She whispered back. "While he may be like this a lot of the time, he can be very scary too."

"Sorry about that." He snapped back into normality. "What was it that you needed from me?"

"A job, actually." Risuki said with a smile. "Is there any way you could line us up?"

"A job?" He pondered. "I know you're very capable, Risuki. But your boyfriend doesn't seem all that reliable."

"He's just new to the slums." She said with a spunky wave of her hand. "He adapts fast, give him a week and he'll be even sneakier and more underhanded than me. And he's not half-bad with a sword."

"Or any weapon, for that matter." Ryu interrupted. "I've mastered almost every weapon in the continent."

"Hmmm..." Atsui rubbed his chin. "Risuki, before you didn't mind killing people at all... but you've changed now."

"Yeah." She looked a tiny bit ashamed. "I don't kill anymore, not since I met Ryu."

"I'm glad." Atsui smiled, surprising all three teens present. "You weren't happy then, but you seem to be now."

"But... what about a job?" She reminded him, then leaned over to Ryu and whispered. "Atsui-sama has a short attention span. Or... he pretends to have a short attention span."

"Ah, yes!" He raised his pointer finger as if he had just remembered something. "You two would be welcome in my army, but I must be careful with the new kid, Ryu or whatever your name was. No offense though."

"Not at all." Ryu dismissed it. "I understand, I have to get used to this kind of work right?"

"Something like that..." Atsui grinned, making Ryu feel a little nervous. He turned to Risuki to find out what he meant, but she was trying to hold back a laugh. "Risuki... what's so funny?"

"Nothing..." She replied lightly. "Nothing at all."

"If that's it, why don't you take them to their rooms?" He asked the black-haired teen that had tested them. "They need to move in. Oh, and I'm expecting some company from a business associate of mine as well, prepare a room for him and his entourage please."

"Yes." He bowed and stood up. "Follow me."

Ryu stood up and helped Risuki to her feet. She was still a little weak from the energy burst she had received from his sword a few days ago, so she leaned against him once she was standing. "Sorry about this... but could you help me to the room?"

"Room?" Atsui was a little surprised. "Just one?"

"Yeah." Risuki turned her head to Atsui. "It's not what you think, I just know how much you love efficiency and all."

Atsui chuckled and sent them on their way. He knew that Risuki could easily make it to the room on her own, but his own heart felt a little warmer to see her so happy with someone. He had a weakness for romance, and as such was the only mob boss you'd ever find who read fluffy novels and watched romance movies.

"So, you still haven't told us your name." Ryu told the tester from before.

"I don't have one." He answered quietly. Ever since they had 'defeated' him, his attitude had been different, not as happy as it seemed to be while they were fighting. And they'd had to wait three days in a hotel anyway, because Atsui wasn't even in town. "I used to have a name, but that was before... I'll tell you later, I need to prepare a few more rooms."

"Okay." Ryu and Risuki nodded.

They got to their room and the nameless teen walked away after giving them the key. They walked in before Risuki slipped out of Ryu's arms and landed on a somewhat soft bed. "You've got a few questions to answer."

"There's not a whole lot to say." He sighed and leaned against the wall. "You seem to have figured out most of it anyway."

"So..." She thought back a little. "The sword isn't just any monster. But it's one of the Nine?"

Ryu nodded.

"And your master created the sword to hold it?"

"Something like that." He nodded, only slightly less easily this time.

"And you're..."

"I'm the seal." He answered plainly. "I'm the part that keeps it in, the physical manifestation of its existence and its presence."

"Wait..." Her eyes widened just a little. "You're the seal? You told me that Naruto has a seal on his stomach... but you don't have one..."

"I am one." He confirmed with a nod and a solemn expression. "Some people would say..."

"That you're not human?" She finished his sentence with a small frown.

"They would be right, too." He sighed heavily and deeply. "Well, only half right. You see... I'm only half human.

Revised on 2-8-2012