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Chapter 3

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Two Associations

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My grandfather.

I always knew my grandfather was different but I had always adore him. He was funny and humble, but had a lot of secrets.

My parents sometimes worry about him since he suddenly disappeared at times. Other times we wouldn't even hear a single news about him. He would be gone for a few days and then would just turn up at the front door out of the blue. We had all grown used to it since no matter how hard my father tried to convince him, he wouldn't listen.

"It's better for you not knowing." He would always say as an excuse.

When I was a child, I sneaked up in his room once. And I was scared when I found him taking bandages off his arm and saw a long gash across it. I stayed on my spot, peaking through his slightly opened door. He didn't see me there and I didn't bother to ask him about it since this might upset him.

In any case, in the third day of class, I wasn't surprised anymore to find him gone early in the morning before I left to class. My mother just assumed he was out for a walk early that day.

On the other hand, I figured Konoha Academy was not that much different from my former school, except the students seemed to know some things which I couldn't relate to. Like that Mortis Organization they often talk about. I tried to ask Hinata about it, but she only said it would be cleared during my school orientation. I wanted to ask her more but I thought she might just get irritated so I didn't, anyway. Ino was quite of a nuisance so I didn't dare ask her, either. And Ten Ten was also too busy with her paper works.

Anyway, it was Wednesday and my first class was Physical Training again. We wore white shirt and black sweat pants whenever Kakashi-sensei take us out on the training grounds to perform activities.

The class lined at the open field. The weather was good that day and the temperature was warm.

The others were just minding their own businesses as they waited for Kakashi to start the class. I could see Kiba tackling Naruto down on the ground. They were having childish rumble again like what they always do. Hinata stood quietly next to me and Ten Ten was stretching her arms and legs. I also had a quick glimpse at Sasuke, who was waiting and eyeing the equipment that Kakashi was grouping together before the start of the session.

Kakashi finally stood in front of the whole class with his arms crossed together. There was a pile of long, wooden sticks before him which were placed in a huge basket.

"Good morning."

The class hushed to hear him talk.

"We're here to teach you actual attack and defense. As I've explained in the last meeting: observation, reflexes, and a quick wit are the most important thing which must be used in order to succeed. Some of you have been in training starting on their first years, so I would just like to suggest to please go easy on your partners. We don't like show-offs." he said. He pointed at the huddle of wooden sticks in front of him. "Now, get up on your asses and get one stick each and we'll start the first activity."

I looked rather puzzled as I got one for me. Attack? Defense? Why would we exactly need to learn them? I understood that it might be of help for self-defense, but I thought there were more things we could learn instead of it. And besides, I was never good at physical activities.

It didn't take long and all of us were given a partner to train with. And, unfortunately, I got Ino.

The task was to demonstrate both attack and defense. And soon the class was busy with it. Ino had started attacking me and I kept on telling her that I wasn't used to that sort of thing. I had never even hold a wooden stick since I was a child.

"Oh, come on Haruno, you're better than that!" she smirked as she continued to lunge toward me. I countered her attack recklessly, but then again, she regained her position and sprang at me once again.

I lost my balance. But before I could feel the rough surface of the ground hit me, a pair of arms suddenly seized me, pulling me back up to stand.

I hastily turned around and saw a pair of really round eyes staring back at me. It was the guy with a bowl-cut hairdo whom I remembered called Rock Lee.

"Thanks." I uttered.

"That's all right. You should watch your steps more." he said a bit tensely as he tried to look down. His hand began rubbing the back of his head.

Ino only watched the two of us with a sly smirk, placing a hand on her hips.

"Well, isn't that cute?" she teased.

Rock Lee suddenly turned magenta.

"Well—I'll be going back to training anyway. See ya—" he hurriedly said, turning around and heading back to his partner, Neji. He and Rock Lee were training a couple of feet away from us.

And when he was well out of earshot, Ino slid next to me and whispered. "I think he likes you."

"You talk too much."

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I knew there was something odd about this school. I thought about this as I patted a face towel on my face and sat next to Ino on the nearby bench.

"It's sure is a hot day, isn't it?" Ino sighed as she stretched her legs. She kept glancing at the set of guys at the drinking fountain.

Sasuke was drinking at one of the water stands and Naruto was trying to squirt water toward Shikamaru and Chouji. They were laughing at that spot.

"Do you usually do this kind of activity?" I asked, still patting my face dry.

"Yep. It's part of the training program." Ino replied.

"Training program?"

"Excuse me, Haruno?" I looked up and saw Kakashi stood next to me. His eyes beamed at us.

"Sensei?"

"If you don't have any more classes this afternoon, you can meet me for your school orientation. All new students are required to attend it." he said. "But you'll be oriented individually since you're the…err…only newcomer in the senior level."

"Oh, okay. What time will that be?" I asked.

"Is four o'clock all right?"

I nodded.

"Four o'clock then. Meet me at the Utopia building, ground floor, near the middle hall. You'll be meeting the headmistress, too. It's part of it."

I nodded, again.

"See you then." he bobbed his head to both Ino and I. "If you'll excuse me, good day ladies." And then he turned around and walked off.

My next class was Creative Writing. Ino and I had to bid goodbye to both Ten Ten and Hinata since we had the same course and we share almost the same subjects.

Creative Writing, however, seemed like the opposite of Physical Training. In our first class, we spent the whole time moving our asses here and there, while in creative writing, we spent the whole time just sitting on our seats and writing.

And as four o'clock came, I hurriedly went off to the Utopia building. I was on our meeting spot in a few minutes though I couldn't see any sign of Kakashi yet. Thus, I only stood there and leaned against the cold white wall.

I looked around and found a restricted corridor at my right. It looked empty. I watched at the entrance of the building and saw students hanging out at the school grounds. Some were eating at the benches, some were on their way home, and there were some who were putting up booths for the coming Organization Day—a special day where students were free to choose whichever groups or clubs they would like to join.

"Been waiting long?"

I turned around and Kakashi stood behind me. I didn't even notice his arrival. I didn't hear any sound of his footsteps.

"Sorry, I'm a little late." he grinned. He motioned toward the restricted corridor, which was dimly lit, and asked me to follow him. "The school head is waiting for you in the Mortis Org quarter."

"Can I ask why it has to be in the Mortis Org quarter?" I asked curiously as we walked along the shadowy corridor. The area had this different atmosphere compared to the other corridors of the school. The walls were thicker and there were fewer rooms around.

As far as I know, the other student organizations were located at the other building.

"You'll see." Kakashi said as we turned right.

We arrived at a wooden door which Kakashi opened, revealing a stair which led underground.

"As you can see, this place is restricted. We keep it secret from outside visitors." Kakashi said as he led the way down.

It was colder and a lot darker. We finally landed in front of a metallic door. There was the name "Mortis Organization" written in a black stencil across the door, like graffiti. And a few inches below it read in yellow and red colors: 'Restricted. Keep out.'

Kakashi turned the doorknob and pushed it open. He entered inside and I followed suit.

The room had no windows and had a few computer screens in a variety of sizes giving light to the room. There was also a giant map of the country posted on the wall at the side. A massive rectangular table lay at the center of the quarter, and in front of it was a huge, wide and flat monitor screen. A woman stood before it and turned to us when we entered.

"Haruno Sakura's here, Tsunade." Kakashi said.

She had long blonde hair tied in low pigtails and was wearing a white coat like those used by medical staff. Her lips were thin and the color of roses. Her brown eyes landed on my features.

"I suppose you still haven't met our headmistress Miss Tsunade?" Kakashi said to me as an introduction, gesturing at the female ahead of us. "She's also the head of the school clinic."

I bowed to her. "Nice to meet you, Tsunade-sama."

She nodded back. Her eyes still examining my appearance.

"I'm familiar with you, Haruno Sakura." She motioned us to sit at the table as she settled herself on one of the chairs.

I sat and Kakashi positioned himself against the wall at the corner instead.

"I assume you know why you're here, Haruno?" Tsunade asked as she rested a hand on the table. There were some folders scattered on it.

"For the orientation?"

Tsunade nodded. "First of all, I would like to extend my welcome greetings. As you know, there are only several selected students who can enroll in this academy. This is exclusive after all."

She paused. "Do you know why this is exclusive?"

"No. Not really." I answered.

She stared at me for a moment, then took a sip of the small glass of what I'm guessing was a liquor from the table. I only watched her. I had never met a school head who drinks alcohol in school.

She looked back at me. "Haruno, I wonder, do you ever thought that what you see in your everyday life aren't really what they are?"

"Do you mean if I'm hallucinating?" I said slowly, looking blankly down at her fingers that were quietly tapping the shiny table.

"You might be unaware of it, but this school is exclusive because it holds an underground society."

"What society?"

Tsunade took a folder from the pile on the table. She opened it and placed it on the surface between us so I could see. There was a picture of a man with long, black hair and a very pale skin. His face resembled a snake, making him look far less like human. Even in the picture, you could see his yellowish eyes. A deceitful smirk was spread across his face. Some information and profile were clipped underneath the image.

"His name's Orochimaru." she said, noticing the odd look on my face. "He's one of the country's most wanted convicts."

I just listened.

"The government has been after him for years. He's considered as a mad scientist." she continued. "Too intelligent, in fact, that he had found a way to breed different life forms and experiments years ago."

I still listened.

"And these experiments resulted to what we call—" she paused for a moment, appearing to be having second thoughts about something. Then, she uttered. "Demi-humans."

"Demi-what?"

Tsunade grabbed a remote control from the table and pressed it toward the vast monitor screen in front of us. I heard her cursed something under her breath. And if had heard right, I just thought my grandfather's name was mentioned.

There was a flash on the monitor screen and an image of transmuted people appeared. Some of them had abnormal skin colors, and what appeared to be thorns growing out of their larger than normal bodies. They lied unconscious on a table, as if they were being studied like dead animals. There were weird black marks around their bodies, perhaps indications of blood clotting inside, or they had been severely beaten. The whole image was a little blurry, as if it was only a stolen shot from a low-quality camera.

I stared at the screen.

"These are the results of his experiments. A breed of what we call as demi-humans."

I remained noiseless for a moment, unable to understand clearly what she was saying.

"Sad to say, this is not a joke, Haruno." Tsunade said, noticing again the weird look on my face.

"Demi-humans have been roaming around the world for years. It became usual in our world." Kakashi unexpectedly spoke from the corner. He looked composed on where he stood, though there was a hint of concern in his voice. Apparently, he was listening to the whole conversation. "Some of them hide in alleys and deserted places. Some of them even stalk the streets secretly."

I looked from the screen to the school head. I was a little stunned, but was perplexed and curious about what they were going to say next. Surely, it must be a joke.

"I don't get it."

"Let's put it this way, these demi-humans were produced decades ago, and in the present world, they are everywhere." Tsunade said. She tossed her hair over her shoulders. "Of course, they multiply and their numbers grow everyday. The government didn't want this news to be spread out in the public because it will result into uproars and panics, so they have kept it a secret for years up to this day. They figured it's the only way for people to get on with their everyday lives. This may cause chaos, after all.

"And I'm not surprised at all that you don't believe in what we may be saying. You've never known about them ever since you were born, I suspect, just like everybody else outside of this school and the whole movement. That's because it was part of the government's plan: keeping it away from the public."

"Demi-humans are after the annihilation of the human race." Kakashi cleared. "They believe it may be the time for a new class to take over the human world. Their primary targets are people with high rankings, namely government officials."

"Have you ever encountered any strange individuals, Haruno? Like animals you've never seen before?" Tsunade asked after perhaps sensing that the news wasn't totally sinking in my head.

I shook my head and only looked down after it, not bothering to speak about anything. I didn't really know what to believe. The whole thing just seemed so… dubious. I always felt like there were other things out there, but I had never really witnessed it with my own eyes.

And besides, I didn't know it was their type of school orientation. It was far from what I had in mind.

Hence, the quarter was soundless for a moment.

"In order to take control of the dispersal of demi-humans, the government has created secret units that would terminate the new formed race." Kakashi continued. "Thus, the Mortis Guild and the Mortis Org were formed."

I looked back up. "I've heard the students talk about it."

"Let me explained it to you further."

Tsunade pressed the remote control once again. The screen flashed and an insignia of a pair of commas swirling together around a small dot in red-blood color showed on the screen. The words "Mortis Guild" written underneath.

"The Mortis Guild was formed nearly a year after the dispersion of Orochimaru's experiments." Tsunade introduced. "This is composed of skilled recruits that are willing to work for the government. Trained with different weaponries and skills. We call the members of it as Rogues. Their primary task is to take control and annihilate demi-humans."

"Actually, most of this school's staff are from it." Kakashi interrupted, a small grin spreading on his face. "And your grandfather, too."

I turned from Tsunade to Kakashi.

"You're Sarutobi's granddaughter, aren't you?" Tsunade spoke.

"You know my grandfather? But he's—"

"He's one of the guild's best rogues."

I paused and tried to recall some of my grandfather's situations when I was a child. They were mostly consisted of the moments when he just suddenly vanished and would never be heard of for days.

"He usually leaves the house without telling us where he's going." I murmured.

"That's because he works with us. He has been in the guild even before you were born." Kakashi chuckled, who seemed to be recalling his moments with my grandfather as well.

"And I assume he's not at home this morning, too?" Tsunade guessed, her face twisting in a crabby expression, and her eyes staring sarcastically at nothing in particular.

"How did you know that?"

Tsunade sighed. "He can be a chicken shit sometimes." she grunted, her eyes rolling. "I supposed he guessed that you're going to be oriented today and ran off to save himself from clearing things out to you. He, of all people, is responsible to tell all of it to you."

"Why would…" my words only trailed off.

Come to think of it, it may be an explanation to of all my grandfather's odd actions.

I saw him injured once, but I didn't had enough courage to ask him about it. He was more of a private person, and he didn't want a lot of people knowing about his problems, even to my parents. As a child, he had been a good grandfather to me—always making me laugh with his silly jokes. But he never did speak much about his life.

"Nevertheless, there's also a positive effect from these experiments." Tsunade explained. "Some of the experiments resulted on other positive human potentials—and we call them as advanced bloodlines. We take them as gifts, rather than curses. It has been passed on to generations. Like that of the ones in several of our students here. But bloodlines are not exactly inheritable, it can be acquired from the environment—born naturally from the chemicals' side effects."

"Listen, Haruno," Tsunade continued, clasping her fingers together. "You were supposed to be enrolled in this academy years earlier. I don't think your parents know about the whole situation, either. Sarutobi didn't want any of his relatives to be involve in our world as much as possible, and the only reason why he decided to place you here was because he suspected you have a bloodline."

I scowled. It was preposterous.

"And how would he know that?" I asked in almost a dark laugh.

Now, I was quite aggravated. What did I do to be part of all this stint? I wasn't even aware of what was going on until now—even if they claimed it to be true.

"Just because you're not feeling anything strange doesn't mean you don't have a bloodline. He's good at sensing it. And he assumed that you still haven't discovered it." Tsunade spoke. "It might take a while for a person to know that he's—well—different. As I've said before, it may and may not be inheritable. Some people just attained it from their environment."

"But what if my grandfather assumed wrong?"

"People who have bloodlines are preferred to be part of the Mortis Associations. But those who don't have them, but have the skills to be members, are also accepted—as long as they are willing to partake in the society." Kakashi bluntly said. "It's really up to you if you still want to be in this school or not, Haruno—if in case, you really don't have a bloodline."

"It's your choice if you want to enter in the Mortis unions. A student isn't required to be a part of it once they are enrolled in Konoha—except if you have a bloodline. But if you're plain normal, it's all optional." Tsunade clarified. "Not all students in Konoha are members of it, to make things clearer. A lot of them wanted to be in this school in order to help us in different ways, such as informing us other valuable reports. They also appreciate the school's standard, anyhow."

I didn't say anything after a moment.

I needed a moment to think.

"Anyway, we have always been in Mortis Guild since they recruited us. But its base is located in another area. The society has limited members. Only those that can meet its requirements can be part of it. You can be either skilled, or have a bloodline. Both young and old are affected."

"And that's the thing why Mortis Organizationwas also created." Kakashi informed from the back.

Tsunade switched the remote control and a new image materialized on the screen once again. The same insignia was shown, except its color was now black, and underneath it said "Mortis Organization."

"Mortis Org, on the other hand, is formed for the younger ones, such as students like you." discussed Tsunade. "Since there're a number of your generations that have bloodlines and have superb skills, this organization was formed. The government decided that it's best if we'd hide this alliance inside a real school, instead. And thus, earlier training for the students and future Mortis Guild members are given."

"Several of your classmates are official members of it. We call them as rogue students." Kakashi hinted.

Different pictures and profiles of Konoha students came into view on the screen. I recognized some of them as my batch mates. And, surprisingly, the person who was on top of the list was the well-known Uchiha Sasuke, along with Shikamaru, Gaara and Neji. Naruto, Rock Lee, and the others were there, too. I was even astounded to see Hinata's picture and profile down on the screen as well.

"I see you already know some of them. Uchiha has always been one of our best assets." She added when she noticed me staring at his side of the screen.

I quickly looked away embarrassingly.

"Any student of Konoha is free to sign up for the Mortis Org, but not all of them can become official members of it. There're certain requirements that you need to meet and that includes excellence in different skills. There're still trials that have to be given. And as I've said earlier, you don't really need a bloodline in order to be in it, you must just have the superiority. Although we advised that all students who have bloodlines should be part of the organization so they will be taken care of, even if they're not that outstanding in terms of skills and abilities. Mortis Org, of all the student organizations present in Konoha Academy, is the most prized and secreted society. It's what makes this school special."

I sat there and looked at the symbol for a long while, trying to understand it. And after it, I looked up back at the blonde school head.

"And what if there would be a leak about this outside?" I inquired.

"We have assigned teams to take care of it. Most of the time we pay the witnesses to shut up."

At that moment, I felt something stirred.

It was not everyday a couple of what appeared to be respected people bring you inside a restricted room and introduced you to a new world. An underworld, I may say. But it was not something I could shove aside easily.

Maybe I had to see it to understand.

"We'll give you time to consider all of this." Tsunade said softly after a few moments, leaning back to her seat and allowing herself a few more last sips of her drink. "We don't expect you to respond immediately. You should consult your grandfather about it, I advice. He can clarify the circumstances more clearly to you. He's been hiding them all for your safety, after all. Let's just say he has his abnormal ways."

There were so many questions roaming inside my mind I didn't know where to start.

(To be continued…)

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A/N: Bloodline is a different concept in this story.

And for a simpler explanation of the two Mortis Associations, I've lined them up for you in case you didn't exactly understand:

Mortis Guild - A government society composed of skilled recruits which purpose is to take control and eliminate demi-humans. People who have bloodlines are wished to partake in the society for assistance and further advantage. Although one doesn't have to have a bloodline in order to be in it. One should only possess the skills which are required (such as expertise in various weaponries).

Mortis Org – a secret school organization under the authority of the government in Konoha Academy for students who might be future Mortis Guild members. Its main purpose is to train its members as early as possible since the skills which have to be learned are more difficult and challenging for the average students. Taking control of demi-humans are also one of its primary target, thus, its members are also assigned to terminate them.

Demi-humans – considered as half-humans and half-demons. They were the results of Orochimaru's experiments for new life forms. They are after the annihilation of the human race, believing that the world needs a new breed of rulers.

Bloodlines – considered as the positive effect of Orochimaru's experiments. Rather than turning into demi-humans, the other people who were contaminated gained exceptional aptitudes (Such as the Sharinggan, Byaakugan, etc.)