Ch. 15

Rain poured down over the city. As water dripped down the towering skyscrapers, it highlighted the sharp edges the city had grown accustomed to. Every flash of lightning gave the towers in the city a distinct look of power and elegance. The towers stood proud with a sharpness that could not only be seen, but somehow felt.

The man standing on the balcony of the highest tower looked out over the Hidden Rain Village with a stern look. Curiously, his face didn't show pride at the city now under his control, just pure conviction. He was around the same height as Naruto and dressed in all black combat gear. His stance communicated not only elegance, but power. The rain splashed against his face as he took in the sight of the land now under his control. As he looked out over the city, he felt a familiar presence behind him. He turned around to see a small white snake looking up at him. The snake slowly transformed into a man…..Orochimaru. The man turned back around to face the city and said in a firm, but slightly inquisitive voice, "What do you want?"

Orochimaru looked out over the city before responding, "It's time to set things into motion."

The man was silent. After a pause, he turned to Orochimaru, "Is that all?"

Orochimaru smiled and responded, "Yes...that is all…."

The man continued to look out over the city. Orochimaru gave him one last glance before saying, "You know, you don't have to look like Sasuke all the time. The disguise has served its purpose. The Rain is confident in your leadership. Even if you reveal you aren't Sasuke, they will follow you." The man paused then turned around and released his transformation jutsu.

He had piercing eyes, but they weren't as piercing as Sasuke's. His hair was strikingly similar to Kakashi's, but jet black. It was different in that it stood up straighter because his Hitai-ate wasn't dropped to cover one of his eyes. His right eye was a Sharingan and his left eye was a Rinnegan. Unlike Sasuke's Rinnegan, his Rinnegan had no tomoe.

The man turned around and simply stated, "That's not the only reason I wear his face." Orochimaru smiled, then looked at him, "Ah yes, I forgot about your infatuation with Naruto. I suppose you're hoping to lure him here with this facade…" The man stayed stoic-faced.

Orochimaru studied him, then said, "You still haven't shared your plans regarding him…"

The man did not respond. Orochimaru was slightly annoyed but decided to give the man a word of caution anyway. "Be very careful. You may be planning to lure out Naruto, but if you keep up this façade, Sasuke will be knocking at your door soon."

"I have countermeasures in place for that. As a matter of fact, I'm surprised he hasn't come here already." His tone showed that he was a calculating man, meticulously examining every possibility and preparing accordingly.

Orochimaru looked down as he put his hand on his chin and thought to himself that it was strange that Sasuke hadn't tried to put an end to this rumor.

The man said in a simple voice, "If he isn't here, the only explanation is that he's aligned with someone who's coming here…"

Orochimaru turned to him, "You think he's aligned with Konoha?"

After a short pause, the man said in a voice filled with conviction, "I know it…"

Orochimaru looked back up at the man and said, "In any case, do as I said. We strike soon."

Orochimaru turned around, then looked over his shoulder, "Make sure to get some sleep, things are about to start picking up."

The man turned and looked out over the city once more. "I'm changing some aspects of the plan. I'll confirm the details with you later."

Orochimaru gave him a glare, "Excuse me?"

The man looked over his shoulder and said in a cold voice, "You heard me." then turned back to the city.

Orochimaru paused, then hissed back, "Don't forget your place, Hikan…"

Hikan kept staring out over the city and didn't even acknowledge him.

Orochimaru made a face of suppressed anger and before long, he had turned back into that small white snake and slithered down a sewer grate.

Naruto was still asleep when he heard his alarm go off. He scrunched his face in annoyance, then turned it off. He opened an eye to glance at the clock on his nightstand. 5:00. He decided to wake up a little earlier than he usually did since him and Sasuke would both have to use the bathroom to get ready. He sat up on his bed then let out a loud yawn. He walked over to his drawer, grabbed the clothes he usually wore under his ANBU armor, then decided to check to make sure Sasuke hadn't snuck off somewhere. He headed towards his room door and as he opened it, his mouth dropped in astonishment and his eyes went into wide circles. There in the middle of his living room was Sasuke. He was meditating with his eyes closed in a sitting position and he already had on his fighting clothes. The clothes Naruto had given him to sleep in were neatly folded and resting on the couch. Naruto thought to himself, 'I swear that guy is nocturnal…' Then he realized that he had woke up slightly earlier than necessary and had lost around 15 minutes of sleep for no reason. He scrunched up his face in annoyance then turned around and stomped into the bathroom and slammed the door. He wanted to ask Sasuke some questions, but he was too annoyed at the moment. Sasuke simply looked at the door, gave a slight grin and went back to meditating.

By 5:25 Naruto was fully dressed in his ANBU gear. He muttered a "Good morning" to Sasuke as he walked into the kitchen.

"Morning."

Naruto looked at Sasuke, and in an inquisitive voice asked, "How long have you been up?"

"Since 4."

Naruto's mouth dropped then he mumbled in a voice he meant for Sasuke to hear, "I swear you're nocturnal."

Sasuke slightly grinned as he sat in his meditating stance.

Naruto looked in Sasuke's direction again, "Did you already have breakfast?"

"Yes..…and it wasn't ramen."

Naruto's expression turned into one of restrained anger. Sasuke opened his right eye to watch then grinned. Naruto noticed that Sasuke was just bothering him for fun and calmed down a bit.

Naruto scrunched his eyes, then said, "Fine. But I'm having some." as he started to prepare some ramen. Sasuke once again grinned but kept his eyes closed.

Sakura didn't sleep much last night, but she had finally come up with a plan. She was going to properly apologize to Naruto like Sasuke suggested. She knew it wouldn't be enough to fix everything then and there, but she resolved to take the first step in repairing their relationship. She just had to figure out when. Maybe she could talk to him after the training session if he was alone. She could probably get rid of Sasuke easily enough since Naruto didn't seem to have any qualms about letting him out of his sight. She finished putting on her shoes and set out towards her door like a woman on a mission. She opened the door, and to her shock, Ino was sitting on the ground opposite the door sleeping. "Ino?!"

The blond was startled out of her sleep to find an inquisitive Sakura staring at her. "What are you doing here?"

Ino slowly stood up and looked down at her shoes before replying, "Well…when you didn't answer the door, I figured things must have went really bad between you, Naruto and Sasuke…I knew you were probably hurting really bad, and I didn't want you to feel like you were alone…so I stayed out here…"

Sakura looked in silent admiration at her old friend. After a moment she turned to Ino, "You're a true friend, Ino."

Ino looked down before responding in a far more enthusiastic voice than Sakura was expecting, "You better believe it! Who else would sleep on this roach infested floor for you?!" Sakura let out a smile before responding, "Still the same Ino." Ino let out a small smile and nodded in agreement.

"I have a training session with Naruto now, but do you think maybe we could talk sometime later tonight? We don't have any missions right now so I should be free tonight." Ino quickly shook her head in approval, "If you want, we could meet at that tempura restaurant you like. Maybe at 7:00?" Sakura nodded her head, "That would be nice." After a short pause, Sakura looked at Ino, "Well, I should probably get going. Duty calls…" Ino nodded in agreement and the two went their separate ways.

Neji, Kiba and Shino were on their way to the training ground. They were walking at a moderate pace and there was a very uncomfortable silence. Kiba decided to break it. "So…that was some fight yesterday, huh?"

Neji nodded his head in agreement and Shino simply replied, "Yes, it was."

Kiba frowned at how his comment didn't do much to break the silence, then he tried again with a much more loaded question. "What do you guys think is going on between Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke?"

There was a long pause before Neji spoke up, "I am not sure. Hinata spoke with me yesterday, and apparently, the three of them went somewhere together after we left the training ground…probably to Ichiraku's…"

Shino kept walking at the same pace, but was obviously listening. Kiba, however, couldn't hide his surprise at the statement, "No way!"

Neji nodded.

Kiba hopped onto Akamaru then turned to the two ANBU on his left. "You think they're already on good terms?"

Neji responded rather quickly, "I don't think so. From what Hinata said, it sounded like they looked like a rather broken team. Her observation was that Naruto looked like he didn't know what to do with them by his side."

Kiba turned back and looked forward before replying with a solemn "Oh…"

The three walked in silence before Shino spoke up. "We'll just have to wait and see what happens."

Neji nodded in agreement and Kiba replied in a soft voice, "Yeah, I guess so…"

Author's Note

I hope you guys end up liking the new character and this chapter! Let me know what you think - good or bad! Don't forget, I do enjoy reading reviews and if I see good ideas as to where the story can go, I do listen to them. Reviews are not only very encouraging but they also help me get better. Be sure to drop a follow and a favorite because I will be updating this story consistently. This story will be completed. Believe it!