Amidst the Hate: Chapter 37
"I can't believe she was here all along...right under noses…" muttered Mito. Her mother, Jiraiya, and Kakashi decided to bring the children back to the house, where they waited to hear word about the fight...or for Anza to break down the door hunting the redhead.
"Me neither...how are you holding up? Finding out that the person you've been dating is your sister…" asked Sasuke, who was doing his best to stay composed, but it was hard to when your best friend, training partner, and first crush was still alive after all evidence pointed to her being dead.
"How do you think?!" she snapped, her eyes flickering red.
"Hey, calm down. If you're too agitated, you can't think straight." tried Kushina, but it had no effect.
"Calm down?! She's been lying to me! My twin has been using me right from the start! Our...our relationship was a farce so she could get a chance to kill you, mom! How can you tell me to be calm?!"
"Because I understand why she wants to kill us, and you should too, more than anyone else. Anza believes Minato and I abandoned her...and we did, in a way. We weren't there to bring her back when we should have, and to a nine year old...that's devastating. Please, wait until you hear her side of the story before hating her. Isn't that the least you can do?"
"But that doesn't just make her lying to me okay! She...she knew what she was doing when we started dating, she didn't even try to stop it! Anza tricked me!"
"Maybe so...or maybe-" A large explosion sounded from outside, and the windows in the living started to shake. "Wha...what was that?!" Immediately, she, the Toad Sage, and the one-eyed jonin stood up and burst out of the house, where they saw in the distance a huge cloud right over where the stadium was. "An explosion that we could feel over here...I bet that was Anza, Minato wouldn't use something so strong in the middle of Konoha."
Jiraiya nodded. "I agree...but why was it so high in the air? Surely she would have aimed at Minato instead…"
The realization hit her. "She was…"
Kakashi glanced at her. "What do you mean?"
"Do you remember the other project he started? The one that he had me help with and only tested on toys before the Chunin Exams came about?"
"The Deflection Barrier? Are you saying that he set it around the stadium?"
"Yes...and if it worked...that means she was in the air when she did whatever to cause that blast...and was hit by it."
"But something so powerful would severely injure her...this isn't good…"
"No...no it is not…"
Behind them, Minato came out of the other side of his teleport. "Hey…"
His wife turned the fastest. "Minato! What happened? Who's blood is that on you? Is Anza okay?"
"This isn't mine, she barely touched me during our fight, but right when it was about to end, she decided to risk her life by using as much biju chakra as she could. After one failed assault, she jumped into the sky...and fired a Bijudama onto the new barrier. I got her to the hospital, but she's...not doing so well. A lot of blood was coming out of her mouth, I think some of her internal organs are damaged." Due to his close proximity to the front of the house, he hit it out of frustration. "Family shouldn't have to fight family, much less to the death...which she was fully willing to do. Our little girl was willing to die...just so she could have a better chance at killing us, Kushina. How can we fix that?"
She went up to him and wrapped him up in a hug. "I don't know...but we have to try, right?"
"Yeah...come on, let's go inside. If you three are here, then the kids are here, and they need to know about this too." The other three agreed, and they walked back into the house.
-a couple hours later, Konoha Hospital-
The Hokage and the full-blooded Uzumaki were looking through a small window on a door, looking into the room with their white-headed daughter strapped to multiple medical devices in it. "Tsunade...what was the extent of the damage?"
The Sannin lifted up a clipboard with all medical information on Anza. "Your lucky I was still in Konoha when you got her here. She has multiple internal injuries, which include six broken ribs, a broken right arm, and several ruptured organs. Her chakra coils are also extremely strained, if she were to perform...say...a Great Fireball, she would extend her time being bedridden by three days."
"Damn...but she's going to make it, right?"
"All signs point to it. I'm doing my best to fix her up, and her body is helping with that as well. Her Uzumaki blood is accelerating her recovery. Not as much as Kushina, Mito, or even you now that you have the Kyuubi, but still surprisingly fast. I give her...a week before she's able to walk around. The only thing that worries me though is that she hasn't responded to anything we've done, but it's probably just her body forcing her to rest while it heals."
He nodded in understanding. "Thank you. I wouldn't want anyone else being her doctor."
"It was mainly Shizune who worked on Anza until the blood stopped flowing. Now if you excuse me, I need to continue work on her. She still requires utmost attention." Jiraiya's teammate moved past the married couple and slipped into the room.
Sasuke let out a sigh of relief. "She's going to be okay…"
Fu huffed. "Of course she is going to be fine! It'll take far more than this to kill my sister!"
"So you didn't think at any point she was going to die?"
"Nope!"
He scoffed. "Liar. You looked terrified when Minato told us she was hit by her own Bijudama."
"...you can't prove that."
"I saw you! It's even recorded in my Sharingan!"
"Still can't prove it!"
"Settle down, you two. This is a hospital, you should be a little more quiet for the patients and the medical-nin." said Kakashi.
"Sorry…" they both muttered, and he eye smiled.
"Good. Now, there isn't much else we can do but wait for her to wake up, so I think I should take you back to the house. Is that alright with you, sensei?"
"Sure. I have to see the other Kage off anyway while also getting their recommendations about the chunin hopefuls, and a bird came with a message calling for a meeting with the council, and I want to get that out of the way as soon as possible, so it would be for the best."
"And me and Jiraiya will be in that meeting as well, since the subject is most likely Anza, so could you also stay with them until we come back?" asked Kushina, getting him to nod.
"Of course, not a problem."
The former jinchuuriki saw an opportunity. "Ooh, does that mean you can teach me something?!"
He held his chin in thought. "Hm...no."
"Why not? I'm as good as any genin!"
"Because I don't want to at this time. I only finished doing one on one training for Sasuke three days ago, and I don't want to do it again so soon."
She noticeably deflated. "Aw...I guess I'll just wait until Anza is up and about to take my training to the next level...damn, now I have to get used to calling her Anza instead of Menma...I just got used to that one…" The silver haired man let out a chuckle at her gripping, and like he promised, he took her, Mito, and Sasuke out of the hospital, leaving the pervert sage, his student, and the redhead alone.
"I thought the day we reunited with Anza would have been a happy day. Instead...we get a changed girl, close to the original, but still different in ways we can't even imagine." commented Jiraiya, with a solemn tone.
"Yeah...it seems like yesterday she was a smiling bundle of joy who just got caught pretending to be Naruto with her sister...and now…"
"And now she hates our guts." finished Minato, getting Kushina to sigh.
"I hope we can mend things with her…I want this family to be whole again."
"Me too...me too. Let's get out of here, we still have things to do." They shared one last look into the room, and they followed Kakashi out.
-later: Hokage's Office-
"You sure you need me here? You can handle those two just fine." asked the former Third Hokage.
"You are part of the council, and this a meeting called by two members of it, so I would say so. Besides, your advice and knowledge have helped me immensely, and I would like your opinion on whatever Koharu and Homura bring up." answered the blonde.
"I see...I can do that. I was hoping for more of that retirement, though…I'm getting too old for this shit."
"Don't worry, this shouldn't take too long." Footsteps sounded from outside, and the door opened, revealing Hiruzen's old teammates...and a certain old war hawk. "Danzo...what are you doing here? I thought I dismissed you from the council."
"Homura and Koharu asked me to be here. They said I could have something worth saying."
"After what you've done, you think I'd listen to you?"
"I don't care what you think of me, I came here to give my advice and be done with it."
"Fine. Take a seat." Since there was only two other seats, Danzo decided to stand, letting his old friends take over the remaining chairs. "Now let's get to the point, why did you call this meeting?"
"Anza, Lord Fourth." said Homura.
Instinctively, he rubbed his temples. "Of course it's the reason, what else would it be?" He sighed, and put his hand back down. "She hasn't been in the hospital even a day and you are already trying to decide her fate."
"She's just too much of a risk."
"Risk to what?"
"Konoha."
He narrowed his eyes. "My daughter is NOT a threat to the village, Homura."
"Isn't she a threat to you?"
"No. When she and I fought, I dominated her. All I got were a few scratches, while she's now in what looks like a coma. She's not a threat to anyone, despite her huge hatred of me and Kushina. And to further my previous point, she said in front of thousands that she wasn't working for the village's downfall, and waited until the entire stadium was evacuated before starting the fight, showing she cares for the innocent men and women of Konoha. Then there's the fact that she subdued Gaara when he was about to go berserk. She could have just sat there and waited for Rasa to do it, but she responded quickly and subverted the threat. As far as I'm concerned, this 'discussion' is over."
"But what about the blatant assassination attempt? Or the deception of her superiors?" asked Koharu.
"Treason of the highest order, punishable by death." answered the bandaged elder before Minato could open his mouth. "Do you see the issue?"
"You're asking me to execute her?"
"Yes. It's the right thing to do."
"What do you mean it's the right thing to do?!" asked an angry mother. "You want to kill a little girl whose only crimes are stealing pills, hiding her status as a jinchuuriki, and a failed attempt at Minato's life?"
"Anza is too consumed by her hatred to want to work in Konoha's best interests, so we need to be rid of her."
"That's your whole argument?! The same one that you made for the Uchiha?! For months she worked for Konoha's benefit, completing any mission Minato gave her team, with the best possible results every time! She even helped free a country!"
"She was manipulating you, earning your trust so she could stab you in the back."
"If I may say something?" interrupted Jiraiya.
"Yes, you may." said Minato.
"Danzo, I'm not entirely sure she was. After she won the exams, she distanced herself from everyone, even Fu, Sasuke, and Mito. When Minato went over to see what was wrong, I used some chakra to hear what they were saying, and she only asked him to go away. In that spot, she had a prime opportunity to kill him there, but she didn't. It was only after he said that he and Kushina would always be there for her that she went off on him. And before that, she could have tried to kill them while they slept, the easiest and quickest way of assassination, but she didn't. I think during the months she masqueraded as Menma, she was also trying to forgive them, but couldn't bring herself to do it when reminded of their 'abandonment'."
"That would make sense...during our match, when she used Susanoo, it seemed to be tied to her emotions, since when I said I was proud of her it flickered as if it was going to disperse, and she looked so conflicted."
"That still doesn't change the fact that she has committed treason." said the one eyed man.
"I think that's enough out of you, Danzo. I know how all three of you feel." He turned to his predecessor. "What do you think should be her punishment?"
"I'm not sure...she has committed treason going by the laws we've established, her rage seems to consume her when it's bottled up inside...but she also has worked hard for Konoha, even saying she's a loyal kunoichi while she tried to kill you. Maximum punishment would be death, and just below that would be life in prison. If you can get her to let go of her hate, then I would say you should give her a parole period, but you are the Hokage now, whatever you say goes."
"...then...I guess this meeting is done. I will not be making any decisions until after Anza has recovered enough to move about."
"We hope you make the correct choice...for Konoha." The elders got up and left at Koharu's statement, and the Yellow Flash let his head hit the desk.
"I really don't like talking to them...they just make everything more stressful."
Hiruzen chuckled. "You're telling me? I've been working with them for the majority of my life. I used to have brown hair before they became my advisors."
"I hope I don't start to rapidly age...anyway, I think the day is over. The sun's setting, so let's all go home. Sensei, Hiruzen, care to join us for dinner?"
The elderly man waved off the offer. "That's kind of you, but I will have to decline tonight. I want to rest after the events of today."
"I understand, so do I. I can't wait to just rest on the couch for a few hours…"
"I'll come over. I won't pass up on an offer of Kushina's cooking." said Jiraiya. With that course of action set, Minato locked up the office for the night, and went home with his father-figure and his wonderful wife.
-a few days later: Anza's Mindscape-
Most would expect a place that's supposed to hold memories would look like a long twisted corridor where the only definitive way out is up, but when you can go into your mind at any point, you learn how to make it less...soulless. Fake sunlight streamed through giant behemoth trees that you couldn't wrap your arms around, and into the closed eyelids of an unconscious white-haired jinchuuriki. The offending heat forced her to start moving, but not get up. She simply turned her body so that the rays of light didn't hit her eyes, but giant footsteps started to resound around the forest, inching closer and closer to her. 'Guh...fiiinneee...I'll get up...' Groggily, Anza sat up, and rubbed her eyes out of habit. When she took in her surroundings, she was a little bit confused. "I...don't remember going into a forest...last thing I recall is...a giant purple ball...the same one I fired…" The loud *thuds* soon came to a stop behind her, and when she turned, she was greeted with a tall blue beetle, a fiery red ape, and a steel-grey turtle. "Oh, hey Chomei, Son, Iso. That explains where I am."
"Yes, you goddamn idiot! You're lucky to be alive after sustaining all that damage!" yelled Chomei, and his mighty voice caused the wind to whip around her, sending her hair into a craze.
"You don't have to yell, you know."
"I think I do! You weren't even ready for two biju chakras, let alone three! And you went ahead and used three! Do you realize how much damage has been done to your body because of that?!"
"No, care to fill me in?"
"Um...I'm not very good with human anatomy...but I DO know that with that three-fold...let's call it 'version two' cloak put a MASSIVE strain on your coils. I tried to shrink them, but I kinda...maybe made it worse, so it'll probably be a few days before they go down to 'normal' size."
"That sounds bad...but I'm probably not going anywhere for awhile, since I'm sure the Bijudama did some extreme trauma to my body."
The Yonbi raised a brow. "You think? You've been knocked out for days."
"Oh...well...I hope I haven't had to use the bathroom...I'm going to try to wake up now. If I can't, then I'll probably just reappear here. See you...whenever." Her body visible started to fade, then Anza was gone from the 'biju sanctuary'.
"...I'll race you guys to the ocean." voiced the beetle.
"If you fly again, I swear by our holy father…"
"Hey, you use the branches as swings! And Isobu can roll into a ball! It's a fair race!"
"...I think he's gone already."
"What?!" The Nanabi looked around, and his other brother was indeed already rolling away in a cloud of dust. "No fair!" The two went after him, in a race that would cause untold calamity onto tree kind.
-Konoha Hospital-
This time, there was real light to disturb the girl from her sleep. Her purple orbs opened, and was momentarily blinded by the brightness in the room. 'Yep...it's a hospital...go figure…' In a test to see what was damaged, she tried to move her arms, only finding the one on the left to move at her call. 'Great...right arm broken again...'
"What the...hey, you're awake!" an excited male voice said from her left, and Anza barely could turn her head to see the boy sitting in a guest chair.
"S-Sas...uke?" Her voice was surprisingly raspy, a sure sign that Son was right about the 'days' thing.
"Yeah, it's me. How are you feeling?"
"Like shit...but then again, I took my...most powerful jutsu right in my face...is this a mask?"
"It's suppose to help you breathe. You were having some trouble when you first got here."
"I bet…" They settled into an awkward silence, neither really knowing what to say. "So...how...how's Mito?"
"Not...well. She's really angry at you."
"I figured as much...there's...probably nothing I can do to have her forgive me."
"What were you thinking, deciding to date your sister willingly? You must have known it was going to, at the very least, confuse her."
"I knew...but at the time...I needed a way to not reveal myself, and her believing I had a crush on her gave me the perfect way out...but sometimes...when you pretend something is real...it takes a life of it's own."
Puzzlement was easily readable on the Uchiha's face. "What do you mean?"
"I know what I feel...and it shouldn't belong in my heart...but it does, and I can't change it. Mito...isn't just my sister anymore, not to me. She's...the object of my affection." She let out a sigh. "Not like it matters anymore...in a few days, I'll be gone. I'll either be executed or locked up in the tightest cell for all of eternity."
"What are you talking about?! Your dad won't let either of those happen!"
"Sasuke...listen to me. What I tried to do was treason, and the people will call for my death. They love their Hokage too much to let anyone live after a failed assassination."
"But your dad-"
"'But my dad' nothing. He knows what I've done to countless people, and I'm going to be punished for it...whether or not I'm able to fight it. Please...stop trying to say otherwise."
He grit his teeth, but relented. "Fine. I'm going to go, I really shouldn't be here."
"Why? Are people not allowed to visit me?"
"No, it's just not visiting hours. I snuck in through the window." He pointed to said window, and it was pushed up all the way. "I'll visit another day, I just wanted to make sure you were real. Bye." He jumped out of the room and into the village below.
Underneath the clear mask, she smiled. "Heh...we're still friends...even after all these years…"
-later-
The clicking of the door woke Anza up from her light nap. 'More medics? I thought they said they wouldn't come back to check on me for a few hours? It's only been a few minutes...I think...' It fully parted, and her beloved twin was the reason for the disturbance. "Oh...hey, Mito." The blonde didn't say 'hi', or 'hey', or even 'how are you feeling', she just took a seat in the room, with her hair casting a shadow over her eyes.
"I want you to tell me something. Why did you lie to me?"
"I...take it you mean about who I was?" She nodded. "Because...I wanted to kill mother and father. I knew that if I succeeded, you would hate me, and maybe...if I pretended to be someone else, it would lessen the blow."
"Do you realize how much I missed you? How much Sasuke missed you?"
"Of course...but I didn't want to grow attached to you two again, it would make my decision harder...and it did. I didn't know what to do during the finals. Should I make my move, or should I not? Obviously...I chose the latter."
"So everything was based around your desire to kill our parents? Did I mean anything to you besides a statistic?!" Her voice was starting to rise, despite her attempts at staying calm.
"What are you saying? You mean more to me than anyone…"
"I don't think that's true! You blatantly lied to me about everything! You used me to get close to mom and dad, and as soon as you had a crowd, you tried to kill them!"
"Please...don't think I used you. Maybe at the beginning I lied about my feelings...but that's not how it is anymore."
"And how would I know?! All you've been doing ever since you came back is lie! I can't trust a word that comes out of your mouth!"
"Mito...please...if you have to believe only one more thing I have to say, than let it be this: I know it's a strong word...but I love you, and not just like a sister would. You mean the world to me, and I know I've hurt you, but I hope we can move past this."
Mito shook her head. "I don't think we can. I thought I could have faith in you, but in only a day you've shown that no one can trust you. I...I thought there was a future for us, but it was all fake." She stood up, and made her way to the door. "I can't be here anymore, I'm about to lose it. Good bye, Anza." She left the room, nearly slamming the door as she went.
Anza felt a coldness creep into her heart. 'No...please...don't leave me like this...don't...' A tear escaped from her eye. 'Not when I'm so close to death...'
Chomei could feel the sadness that his jinchuuriki was letting out, and tried to console her. "I'm sorry, Anza. I know how much she means to you, and for her to just...be so cold to you..."
'...I poured my heart out...and she stepped on it as if it was a lowly ant...and I'm going to die...no...no, I won't let them. Chomei...give me a rough estimate on how long until my chakra coils are in usable condition.'
"Uh...I think three more days, with the medics using that healing jutsu. Why?"
'Good! Because soon...we're leaving. Fuck my parents, fuck Mito, fuck everyone! I won't just sit here and let everyone take shots at my choices in life, or let them have the satisfaction of killing me!'
'I...I think she snapped...' "Are you...okay?"
'I'm fine! Just prepare for that night...there is one thing left for me here...and we're taking it.'
-three days later, night-
Anza waited until midnight to begin her escape. For a few minutes, she listened for the sounds of medical-nin's footsteps, and when they lowered to a desirable level, she tore off the mask and pulled the tubes to the equipment out of her body. 'Arm's a little sore, but it's not broken to the point I can't use it anymore. Heh, Tsunade helped me in my escape, even if she doesn't know it. Now, I need to look around for a seal. I vaguely recall father stopping by yesterday, so that means he must have considered the possibility that I could try to escape.' Moving her legs off the edge, she tried to get up, but as she hadn't walked in almost a week, she promptly fell to the floor in a white heap.
"You're not escaping if you can't walk." reminded the monkey, getting her to scoff.
'I know! Just give me a minute!' Using the guest chairs as support, she pushed herself onto her shaky legs, and took the next few minutes regaining the ability to maneuver around. 'Okay, I think that's enough. Now...if I was a seal, where would I be...'
"How 'bout under the bed?"
'Nah, that would be too easy...right?'
"Check it, it's probably there."
She did, and he was right. 'Holy shit...that would have been the last place I would have looked. Thanks, Son!'
"You're welcome."
'Okay, need to make a counter...it's an even number seal, so all I have to do is write an odd number one...easy enough.' Anza bit her left index finger and wrote the counter, making the room glow in kanji before each one shattered in a quiet downpour. 'Gotta move...someone might have seen that.' Squirming out from under the bed, she used one of the Hiraishin markers she put around the village, ending up on the front doors of the orphanage. 'Haruka...I won't let them take you from me...' As stealthy as one would expect out of a trained kunoichi, she snuck in, avoided opening the door to the Uchiha's room by using a shunshin, and eased her way to the six-year olds bed. "Hey, Haruka…" She nudged her. "Hey, wake up for a sec…"
"M-Menma? What are you doing here so late?"
"Close enough. I came to ask you a question."
The Uchiha rubbed her eyes, and sat up. "What is it?"
"I would like to know if you would be interested in going on a trip with me? I'd train you so you wouldn't get bored."
"You would?!"
Anza hurriedly placed a finger on the child's lips. "Be quiet. I don't want the others to hear."
"Oh...but yes! Where are we going to go?"
"Hopefully many places...but I think we'll start with...the Land of Waves."
"Then let's go! I'll start packing, and-"
"You don't need anything, I'll provide for your stuff on the trip. Now…" She scooped Haruka up into her arms. "Stay as quiet as you can. Think of this as your first mission." The little girl nodded, and Anza left the orphanage. In only a few minutes she made it to the wall, almost home free...but like everything else in her life, something went wrong.
"Halt. You're not suppose to be out of the hospital." a voice called from her left, and she turned to see an owl faced Anbu, whose hand was already on his tanto.
"I was allowed to leave today, but I feel asleep, so I got out a little late."
"I would have been notified by the Hokage if that was true."
'Shit, can't convince him to leave me alone...so...' "Haruka, I'm going to put you down for a minute. Don't look at the man in grey, and make sure your eyes stay closed. Don't open them until I say so, okay?"
"Okay…" Once she put her down, Anza checked to see if she still had the seal for her katana, finding it intact, and brought it out. Before the Anbu could tell her to stop this course of action, she also summoned a kunai with her mark on it and threw it between his legs, landing only a few inches behind him. Teleporting to him, she brought her sword up to his neck and cut it in one swift motion, ending the man's life.
She put it back in the seal, and went back to the Uchiha she saw as a little sister. "Are you ready to continue the journey?"
"Yes...but I'm tired…"
Anza picked her up, and put the other girl on her back. "Then go to sleep there. Don't worry, I won't drop you."
"Thank you…" Haruka went limp, and the daughter of the Hokage jumped off the wall and into the forest, but she turned to look at the village one last time.
'I'm sorry Fu...I won't be able to take you with me. They are probably keeping an eye out for me around the house just in case I did escape the hospital, and I can't fight an army of Anbu. We...probably won't see each other again…and for that...I'm deeply sorry. Maybe...you'll find me again one day. I hope so, because I'm going to miss you...' She turned away, and left the village she considered her home.
-the next morning, Hokage's Office-
Minato was doing his duty as Hokage, which, at this time, solely consisted of doing paperwork. 'Seriously?! A stink bomb in the women's restroom?! Why is this even an issue for the Hokage to look at?! Shouldn't the owner of that particular restroom be the one getting this?! ...oh. It happened in the Academy, so technically I am the owner...never mind.' Suddenly, the doors to his office flew open, and three very worried people were in his presence.
"Lord Hokage, Anza has gone missing!" yelled Tsunade.
"What?!"
"Lord Hokage, Haruka has gone missing as well!" yelled Sasuke.
"What?!"
"Lord Hokage, Owl has been found dead on the wall!" the final person, a boar faced Anbu, shouted.
"You have got to be kidding me!"
A.N.: Aaand Anza's gone. Again. I wasn't sure if I should have split this up into two chapters, seeing as Anza herself has just made a reappearance, but I decided to just get to her escape.