Second Year part 3

-Hakudoshi-

"So, when do you plan to ask her out?"

Hakudoshi tensed, his golden eyes narrowing at Tojiro's grin. "None of your business," he said, then quickly mumbled an "I already did."

"Good for you, man! It only took you six months to do it, but good for you. Luckily Hana is smitten with your sorry ass, otherwise you'd have to go to dinner with me," said Tojiro with a laugh.

"Not the worst company, though I'd much prefer to walk Hana home."

"Are you sure? Her mom is… terrifying," shuddered Tojiro.

"My mother is a strong, independent and yes, quite scary woman," came a voice behind Tojiro, making the lanky boy tense.

"Traitor, you knew she was behind me."

Hakudoshi smirked, his eyes dancing with mirth. "The entire time."

Hana smiled, patting the ruffled Tojiro on the back. "Don't worry, half the village thinks like that. The other half knows it for sure. I actually think I'm disappointing lots of people by not being more like her."

"No offence Hana," said Tojiro, his laid-back demeanour returning, "but we're glad you're not. By the way, how's your training going?"

"I'm close to getting my official med nin qualification, though I don't think I'll specialise in people. I'm an animal person, and so far, Konoha has no veterinary clinic. There's lots of summons that get injured during missions, and they don't always get the proper treatment. What about you guys? Going for special jounin, or not?"

Tojiro shrugged. "Yeah, I wanted to take the weapons speciality." He glanced at Hakudoshi, then looked back at Hana with a sheepish grin. "Anyway, I'll leave you guys. I have some… errands to run."

"How about you, still thinking of ANBU?"

Hakudoshi sighed, his hand slipping to grasp Hana's. "Let's talk about something else."

-Sasuke-

Girls, Sasuke concluded, were maddeningly confusing and utterly useless. Not only were they uninterested in becoming better shinobi, they insisted on keeping others from being one as well. Each one of them, except for the quiet Hinata, were the complete antithesis of anything and everything shinobi related. They were colourful; they were loud, they all wore their feelings on their sleeves, cried too much for anyone's comfort, and one could smell their flowery, powdery scent a mile away. How could they ever sneak up on someone? In fact, why were they even in the academy?

Sasuke grumbled and pondered all that on his way to class, the usual gaggle of girls whispering behind him, likely encouraging each other to ask him out. They thought if they pestered him long enough, he would give in and fall in love with them. Like prancing birds, they shoved their perfumed selves in front of him, making his nose itch and his eyes hurt from all the bright colours. Sasuke tightened his fists, locked his jaw and pushed on, hoping to reach his classroom as soon as possible. At least in the safety of that room, he was surrounded by the predators he knew. Better go with the devil you know than the strange, sometimes older girls in the hallways.

With speed that could rival the body flicker, Sasuke entered his class and closed the door behind him, panting. He was exhausted, and the day had barely begun. Who would have guessed that Naruto's presence usually acted like an efficient shield? But since the idiot got stomach sick, likely from eating some spoiled food from his fridge, Sasuke had to brave the day alone.

He was late. With dismay, Sasuke saw that the only free seat was next to Sakura, whose pink head lay bowed over her notes. Sasuke sighed, steeled his nerves, and sat down, noting with curiosity how Sakura tensed. He might have been snappy with her and Ino the other day, telling them just how useless they were and how Kiba's dog made a better shinobi than they did. It was their fault, really for pushing him for so long. Sakura had cried and Ino brushed off his comment with a flick of her hair, still confident that he will see what a good catch she actually was. And now, without Naruto's loud filter between him and the world, he had to face the consequences of yesterday's actions. Ignoring her would be the best, safest approach.

His shoulders relaxed at the decision, confident that the day will pass like any other, when Sasuke realised with dismay that he had nothing to write with. He, the most organised person in likely the entire class, had nothing to write with. How? Why? How could he forge —

The memory of a grinning Naruto twirling his black pen flashed behind his tightly closed eyes.

"That worthless…"

Sakura flinched, suffusing Sasuke's temper. Was she afraid of him?

He looked around, hoping to catch Shikamaru or Shino's attention, but they were all focused on the chakra equation Iruka kept on writing on the board. Ino blew him a kiss then, making Sasuke promptly turn in his seat. He glanced sideways at Sakura. She was suspiciously still.

"Do you have an extra pen?" The words tumbled out of his mouth and Sasuke watched with slight worry as Sakura tensed. She searched through her green bag and handed him a red pen, then turned back to her paper. "Thanks," he muttered.

Iruka's equation was long, with too many variables and it made Sasuke's head hurt. A cursory look told him he wasn't the only one who had trouble with it. Calculating trajectories in chakra units was hard. Predicting the landing of an enemy projectile with that was… impossible and quite useless. It's not like he would stand in the field and start calculating. It was all instinct and practice. His jaw clenched as he scribbled something on the paper. Beside him, Sakura shifted.

"You made a mistake," she said.

That was a tone he'd never heard before. Was the meek, useless Sakura actually correcting his calculations? How could she know? She never dodged Ino's practice kunai. But there was a shine in her emerald eyes, a certain tilt to her lips. "Where?" he asked.

"Here," she pointed with her pink pen, "then here, and down here." She paused, boldly pulling his paper toward her. "Actually, the whole calculus is wrong. You took a factor of two but did not account for wind velocity, debris and gravity."

Sasuke watched as she pulled a long line over his hard-thought equation and proceed to make small annotations. "Here," she said after a while, "this should help you with the calculus."

"You didn't finish it," remarked Sasuke. Sakura had merely given him hints, correcting what he had done wrong, but left the equation unfinished.

A red flush bloomed on her cheeks, her eyes lighting with indignation. "I can help you understand it, but you will learn nothing if I do it for you." And then just as it came, that spark of life drained from Sakura's face. As if she realised whom she chided her shoulders fell, and back was the demure, blushing girl Sasuke had always seen.

Sasuke almost flinched at the change. It had been nice to have someone talk to him normally, chide him even. Maybe there was an actual personality buried inside Sakura, hidden behind the mask of a supplicant girl.

"You're smart," he blurted, and he meant it. Sasuke thought himself as the best in the class, and he definitely was at the applied exercises, but on paper Sakura took the lead. But… "Why do you hide it?"

Sakura's eyes widened comically, a bitter smile forming on her lips. "No one likes a know-it-all, especially boys."

That's why she never answered questions in class? Her test results were always good. He knew that because Naruto always raved about it, but otherwise Sakura did her best to blend in with the mass of loud girls. Her reason was mind-boggling. "That's stupid," he said honestly, then focused on the neat tips she wrote on his paper.

-Yahizui-

"I have a mission for you." Danzo motioned for her to stand up from the floor.

Yahizui stood, ignoring the throbbing pain in her arm. She pushed her armguards back up to cover the many bite marks, her back straightening. She had yet to find out why Danzo needed her chakra. Whatever it was for, the effect did not seem to stick. Once every two weeks he would call for her. He'd show her a new technique, or a seal, or have her practice something under his supervision, and then he'd have her kneel on the floor, like the obedient servant she was. Yahizui didn't protest, nor did she hesitate. Her master would not appreciate her newly found sense of self, and she didn't want to give him any reason to suspect. And now, as always, she schooled her features in a mask of detachment.

"How may I serve, Danzo-sama?" He loved honorifics, adored to be revered. Maybe that was why he conditioned them, made them all dependant of his approval, yearning for his attention. It disgusted her to still feel that way.

"I have a message for an associate of mine. I need a fast, trustworthy carrier."

A delivery mission? That was a change from the usual assassination missions she got. Delivering a message was a blessing. "I would be honoured, Danzo-sama."

He handed her a sealed scroll and a map. "Leave as soon as possible and bring me his answer." He paused, his thin lips twisting in a smirk. "And Hi, do not wear your mask."

She wanted to ask why. Why should she not wear her mask when they would always don their masks outside the barracks? Root was supposed to remain anonymous, a faceless force that protected the village from the shadows. The code forbade them from showing their faces. So why now? But Yahizui said nothing, merely nodded and tucked the scroll inside her pouch. A good soldier never questioned their master.

Under the night's cover, she left the barracks and headed north to her destination, the land of Rice Paddies. She kept her mask on, the weight familiar on her face, and took the time to put together what she knew of herself so far. She had been born in Wind Country, in a small village which got destroyed, which brought her to Konoha. Her parents were dead as far as she could tell, and she had a guardian in Konoha. She had friends too, two dark-haired boys whose names she could not recall, and others; teammates, comrades, a teacher. And the boy. Naruto was his name. She could remember that now, could recall the warmth and love she felt toward him. There were other bits and pieces floating about, moments in time showing that she loved these people. So why leave them?

Yahizui stopped at the crack of dawn, checking her map once more. The village hidden in Sound was new, small and of little significance when compared with its larger counterparts. But if Danzo had reason to send secret missives to its Otokage, then there was yet some political importance to Sound. She slowed her pace, senses stretched wide to sense any incoming enemies. Nothing. In the pale light of dawn, Yahizui could see a single tall building on the horizon.

They built hidden Sound in a valley, the surrounding high hills littered with terrases filled with rice paddies. There were watch towers on every hill, but no high walls, no imposing gates or impressive natural defences. Either they did not fear invaders, or they knew their tiny village wasn't worth invading. Small, hut-like houses littered the valley's bottom, spread nonsensically around a high, modern tower. It was a strange juxtaposition of old and new, rich and poor. Yahizui took her time walking, her eyes trained on the watchtowers. Whoever saw her, if there was anyone there to notice, ignored her presence.

The entire village slept her presence away, making Yahizui wonder if there was anyone there at all. She could feel chakra signatures, yet most were concentrated in the tall tower, with a few weaker ones peppered throughout the houses. As she reached the tower, the door opened and a young, bespectacled man looked her over.

"I see," he said in a haughty voice, then motioned her inside.

With the mask firmly tied over her features, Yahizui followed the man through winding corridors and spiralling stairs. Apprehension crawled up her spine like a million ants, making the hairs at the back of her head stand on end. Danzo had sent her here on purpose, she knew that now, had known ever since she saw her guide's gleaming glasses. The feeling intensified when a heavy door opened and Yahizui came face to face with Sound's leader.

Her muscles tensed, close to seizing as cold sweat broke over her brow. She had seen that pale skin, those gleaming eyes and predatory smile. No name came to her mind, no image to attach to the raw terror gripping her heart, but she knew this man and by the smile on his face, he knew her.

"What a pleasant surprise," he said with a slight hiss at the end. "Daring as well. To send an Uzumaki, his only Uzumaki here…"

With blood pooling in her mouth and the inside of her cheek in tatters, Yahizui stood ramrod straight, fighting against the sudden onslaught of memories. She was standing before Orochimaru, the man who chained her, took her chakra and plunged a hand through her very soul to grab the adamantine chains out. Every instinct, every cell in her body rebelled, screaming at her to run, to leave. And in that agony of indecision she realised this is exactly what Danzo wanted. This mission was a test, an experiment to see whether she was remembering something, and giving into her fear would prove his suspicions right.

"Danzo-sama sends a message," she said in a steady voice.

If Orochimaru saw her blood-stained teeth, he said nothing about it, merely beckoning her to come closer. Yahizui moved on wooden legs, burying her emotions as she latched her mind onto the countless hours of conditioning she'd endured.

The mission is all that matters. Thy target is faceless, thy enemy a mere obstacle to be overcome. There is no fear, only the mission. There is no failure, only the glory of our leader. There is no death.

Her features were expressionless as Orochimaru's spindly fingers reached for the mask, her eyes blank. She fixed her gaze above his shoulder, waiting to be examined, unmoving, as he gripped her chin and turned her this way and that.

"Remarkable how he trains them, don't you think Kabuto?" asked Orochimaru after what felt like a lifetime of picking her apart. "A clean slate, a living, walking puppet." He paused, his hand falling back to his side. "Such a pity. All that fire, gone."

Yahizui's face burned. Her skin itched and crawled, but she kept still, held her voice even. "Danzo-sama expects a response within the week."

She broke down as soon as her feet left the borders of hidden Sound, her breath coming in ragged gasps as fingers dug through her hair. Memories were flooding her, triggered by the raw terror she could still feel creeping up her spine. The mission with her team, the disease which ravaged an entire village and had them bed-ridden for days, the hours spent on a cold, damp floor with her arms stretched uncomfortably above her head. Orochimaru had haunted her dreams, and inhabited every shadow in her room for weeks on end after that, with his presence being the only reprieve.

Itachi. The boy with dark eyes now had a name, the love for him jumbling inside her head with the newly remembered terror. Yahizui spent hours on the ground, calming her breath, going through the memories and arranging them into puzzle pieces to recreate the tableau of her life. She was getting closer now. Closer to what happened at the end, to what brought her here. Yet, the more she learned of herself, the harder it was to be Hi the Root agent, the killer. Her conscience balked at the lives she had already taken. Those she will still take as soon as the order was given.

What if she just… left? Went to the Hokage and said she wanted out, wanted to get back into the village as a regular shinobi. Back to her team, back to Naruto. The thought rooted itself in her mind, burying deep. But Yahizui knew Danzo would not let her go easily.


A/N: Hey everyone! The next update will be a bit delayed, since I am going on a holiday.

Let me know what you think of this so far!