"Hey, guys, you're seeing what I'm seeing, right?"
Sakura was very sure of what she was seeing. But she wanted to make sure that her pack could see this too- just in case she was going insane at the tender age of ten years old.
She was staring intently at the history book on her desk, all the while she felt Chouji and Kiba begin to crowd her on either side. Akamaru craned his neck from his spot sitting on her lap to get a better view of the book, then yipped in surprise.
"Yeah, you're right boy. That's Kuzu's village symbol." Kiba murmured softly as he moved his hand so his fingers ran over the black-and-white picture of Takigakure's prized Tree of Life.
"So... Does that mean that Kuzu's from Takigakure?" Chouji asked in awe, "Did... Did we finally figure it out?"
Four years of their lives, they had been kept in the dark about the Old Man's true origins. For four whole years, the three of them- Akamaru had entered the picture only two years ago, and, so, had only been able to mull over the mystery for that span of time- had tried to figure this mystery out by asking the man himself. But never had they received a straight-forward answer.
Takigakure's village symbol was certainly unique- which wasn't a surprise. Every symbol had to be easily distinguishable, after all. Still, to Sakura, the symbol looked like two upside-down lightning bolts that were positioned to be perfectly parallel to each other.
"There's no gash running through the symbol, though." Kiba murmured through pursed lips, leaning onto Sakura's shoulder as he crossed his arms over her head. "I thought the gash was part of it, Pinkie."
So accustomed to Kiba, the pink haired girl did not mind being used as a stand. She merely shrugged softly and scratched Akamaru's chin. "It was a long-shot for the gash to be part of the design, Kiba. Our theory wasn't correct, then. Bummer."
"Why would Kuzu scratch out his village's symbol?" Chouji huffed, sounding as perplexed as Sakura felt. "There must be a reason. He never does anything without having a reason to."
The four of them fell into a heavy silence as they began to think up of possible reasons for Kuzu to have done such a thing. But before they could truly voice out any of their thoughts, Shikamaru and Ino walked into the Nara's library and immediately made the three of them unwilling to speak any further about the old man.
For four years now, the three of them had kept the old man they had met in a bar to themselves. Undoubtedly, their friends and families knew they were hiding something. But whenever they were asked anything, they deflected the questions and sometimes even resorted to flashy distractions to change the topic of conversation.
Sakura's parents hated it, but they had already accepted that she would never speak about her pack's biggest secret. So they didn't ask her about it anymore and instead focused most of their attention into trying to convince her to give up on wanting to become a kunoichi.
Stupid, she knew. But her parents were civilians. They just didn't understand her as much as they thought they did.
"What're you three so focused on?" Ino questioned with a clearly unimpressed glint in her eyes.
Sakura still didn't understand why she didn't like her or Kiba. Just like she didn't understand how hard it was to understand that their pack was not one of three members, but four. But Ino was one of Chouji's oldest friends, so she and Kiba still put up with her to keep their best friend happy.
Akamaru growled at being left out, but soon jumped out of Sakura's lap and onto the desk. He then walked over to the right edge of the book and nosed the pages, beckoning Sakura to turn the page. The girl did so and then the pup settled onto the right page, intently reading the left page.
"It's kind of obvious, Yamanaka." Kiba rolled his eyes as he stretched back and stepped out of Sakura's personal space. "We're working on teaching Akamaru how to read and write."
The blonde scoffed and crossed her arms over her chest, rolling her own eyes. Shikamaru, who stood only a couple of feet behind her, at least seemed intrigued enough at the seemingly preposterous idea to quirk an eyebrow at the Inuzuka.
"Read, I believe. But write?" He questioned, which earned a broad smile from Sakura.
"Yup! Inuzuka dogs are the most intelligent of Konoha's canines! Teaching him this wouldn't be a stretch- and would totally come in handy in the future."
"Well, at least he looks cute enough- even though it's stupid to think a dog can read, much less write." Ino commented offhandedly, then made her way deeper into the vast collection of books and scrolls sheltered in the Nara Compound's most prized possession- their exclusive library. "It's a perfectly fine day and you guys are wasting it inside of a stuffy and boring library. Aren't you supposed to be the first ones excited to run around the Village? Shouldn't you be out causing mayhem or something?"
Sakura chanced a glance to her left at Chouji. The Akimichi was smiling awkwardly at Ino, fiddling nervously with his fingers.
She couldn't stop herself from sighing and softly shaking her head as she stood up from the desk.
"You're right, Ino. Wanna help us with a score?"
Their thieving ways were an open secret at this point. Everyone knew they did it- but nobody had ever caught them in the act. And because they were now smart enough to get away from the scene of the crime without leaving any evidence, no one could scold them or even call them out on their mischievous ways.
Kuzu really was a great teacher.
"I'm not helping you steal meat again." The girl's face pinched inwards in disgust, "I had to throw away a whole outfit cause I couldn't get rid of the smell of wet-dog and putrid blood."
Sakura didn't hear Kiba audibly groan, but she may as well have. She didn't need to hear her best friend to know how unamused he was with Ino anymore- she just knew.
"Well, in our defense, Kiba did tell you to steer clear of Enenra. He's feisty." Her best friend shrugged, then offered a cool smile. "Would you rather spar? It's been a while since we've practiced together."
Now Shikamaru groaned audibly, "Because you three have a monopoly over spars. Why do you think Iruka-sensei only has you guys fighting against Sasuke and each other at this point?"
"Talking about Sasuke," Ino crooned, immediately receiving simultaneous eye-rolls from Sakura, Shikamaru, and Kiba. "What?! You can't tell me he hasn't gotten cooler! And so much more dreamy~."
With a shake of her head, Sakura made her way towards the Miscellaneous History section of the library and began to look for more books on Takigakure- now that they had a lead, they needed to chase it down to its very end.
Ino babbled nonsensically over Sasuke this and Sasuke that, all the while she forced herself to ignore the annoying blonde. Kiba and Akamaru were undoubtedly biting their tongues to now howl out in despair, all the while Shikamaru was regretting having been born into his life. Chouji, like the sweet-heart he was, would most probably be the only person actually listening to Ino.
"And he likes girls with long hair! I'm a shoo-in! I've got the longest hair from all the girls in the class!"
This caught Sakura by surprise.
Long hair, huh?
Maybe she should cut it- she had always liked the way Kiba's mother's hair looked.
"You'll have an assignment this week. You're to create your own mythological story- taking into account what we have learned on this chapter on the Hidden Village's unique myths. You will be working in teams and you will be able to make your own group- yes, Sakura, I am aware that you will be with Chouji and Kiba."
Kiba growled at Iruka-sensei's words, even as Sakura lowered her hand and sighed in relief, as he made a show of grabbing Akamaru from the top of his head to lift him up in the air, "You're forgetting a student, sensei!"
The scarred chunin smiled awkwardly as the pup barked at him, calling attention to his equal importance in the three students' pack. "Of course. Akamaru is also a part of your group, I'm sorry for forgetting."
Akamaru barked with a quick jolt of his head, nodding with relief at being considered the student he was. And now that Kiba was also relieved to hear this, he lowered his pup down and placed him back on his head.
"I'm going to give you this weekend to able to write your stories. And, excluding Akamaru's group, everyone will be in a group composed of three students." Iruka-sensei continued to address the rest of the class, even though some students began to whisper to each other about possible partnerships. "The only real rules to this assignment are that the work you are to hand cannot be taken from any of the existing myths. And, believe me, I'm a teacher for a reason. I will know if you have taken a past story and changed a couple of names around."
"As if that'll be difficult." Kiba whispered to Akamaru, who barked in agreement.
"The Old Man will definitely have something cool!"
Kiba nodded at his best friend, very much sure of the fact that, yes, Kuzu was the man to go for whenever in need of a kickass story... Just, this time, they'd tweak the story a bit to not get into too much trouble with their teacher.
"Now, you'll have the rest of this period to discuss over your project. Once lunch has finished, I expect you all to have a clear idea as to what you will be doing."
After offering a couple more guidelines Kiba didn't bother paying any attention to, Iruka-sensei set them loose. Without sparing a single second, Kiba jumped over his schoolmates' desks to reach Chouji, all the while Sakura walked towards them like a normal person.
As they waited for Sakura to get to them, Kiba took a moment to get a good look at his friends. They were still the same pack members he'd been with for the past four years, just older and with slightly different wardrobes.
Chouji still preferred knee-length shorts with a predisposition towards green, although now he had added a set of goggles on the top of his head, leaving his hair to jut outwards in sharp spikes. Sakura now tended to wear either the baggy shinobi-style pants (that Kuzu had gotten for all their birthdays but refused to admit to having done so) or shorts, along with plain colored, sleeveless shirt and a dark jacket wrapped around her waist.
Her hair was long now and always kept in a neat ponytail, kind of like Hana's, but she had recently begun to contemplate cutting it as short as her friends. The only reason she hadn't done so yet was because her parents didn't want her to lose her 'beautiful locks', even though she had tried to explain to them that long hair was a liability on the field most of the time.
His own style of dress hadn't changed much. He still wore ratty hand-me downs with parchment covering holes and a large jacket that helped cover up most of the clear fixes. But he now had a prized set of pants and shirts (that Kuzu had undoubtedly left him!) that he kept hidden in his closet for the days the Old Man came around.
Once Sakura was with them, Kiba smiled wickedly at both his friends. "Old Man."
Sakura shook her head and crossed her arms, "We don't even know if he'll be coming during this weekend, Kiba."
"Old Man." He answered simply, which earned an exasperated sigh from her.
"Fine. Chouji and I'll come up with a backup plan- just in case he doesn't appear, like he has for the past three months."
Kiba frowned at her now and crossed his own arms. "You need to learn faith, pup."
"I'm older than you." Sakura grouched, prompting Kiba to lean towards her with a cocky smirk.
"Yet you're still a puppy."
She glared and seemed prepared to answer, but Chouji interrupted them both sighing and grabbing Akamaru from Kiba's head. "Yeah, boy, we're the only sane people here. Kiba and Sakura are far gone in their joint insanity."
Akamaru barked, telling Kiba that he didn't actually agree with Chouji, he knew he was very much sane, but the Akimichi gave him snacks and he wanted to stay on his good side. Kiba, immediately, growled back that he was a weak traitor, but soon straightened up and motioned at Chouji's notebook.
"We may as well look like we're actually thinking up of something..." He murmured, then pointed at the Akimichi, "So sit down and write the list of weapons and supplies we'll need to spend a weekend camping in our headquarters."
Chouji sighed at the idea, but still sat down and began to write. Sakura rolled her eyes at Kiba's orders, but soon began to tell Chouji things they would be needing if they were serious about surviving out the whole weekend.
That Friday afternoon was much like any other. Once they were let out of the Academy, the four of them ran to their headquarters within the Forest of Death to begin to prepare for a weekend of training and studying. This time around, Sakura led the way, seeing how she was most excited to get back to work on creating the poison Kuzu had left a formula for them to use on weapons. But, after years of following the same path, they all knew what steps to take and what routes to avoid- so it was only normal they took turns with this too.
When they were a couple of feet away from their make-shift wooden treehouse- which they had built with the help of his and Sakura's fathers-, Chouji noticed that there was something that felt off about the Forest. It was as if everything was... Well... Quiet. No animals could be heard. The wind barely blew. It was all rather... Still.
When they reached their headquarters, Chouji was immediately able to see just what was so off about the day.
"About time you brats got here. You've kept me waiting."
"Kuzu!" Sakura gasped at the front of their procession, immediately breaking into a sprint to try and jump onto the old man.
Without turning around to face them, Kuzu took one step to the side and effectively allowed Sakura to fall to the ground below.
Kiba howled with laughter as Akamaru yipped in harmony, all the while Sakura groaned from her spot splayed out among dirt. Chouji winced at the fall, but knew that Sakura was too tough to allow one trip to actually hurt her.
"Y'see, Pinkie! I told you the old man'd be here ta help us with our homework!"
Kuzu continued to face the large tree they had utilized to build their treehouse, at eye level with the rope they sometimes climbed when they were too tired to walk up the trunk of the tree. A couple of seconds later, he turned around and looked down at Sakura, then prodded her with his foot. He didn't say anything, just poked.
Sakura groaned momentarily, then rolled onto her back and threw her arms to either side of her.
"I am now one with nature. Sakura Haruno is no more. This is my home."
Chouji smiled at his friend's theatrics, but Kuzu merely grunted and shook his head.
"What do you need now? And are you willing to pay?"
In between both questions, Chouji swore he heard Kuzu inhale sharply- as if in pain. But the man was standing up so straight and looked so normal, that he couldn't help but think that he may have imagined the sound.
"We need to come up with a myth." Kiba offered as he walked up to the Sakura, bending down to grab her bag and begin to rummage through it for her wallet. "So just give us any story you got, dude. Anything you say'll sound like a myth to Iruka-jerk."
Once he had found Sakura's wallet, Kiba opened it and began to count her money, all the while the old man continued to look at the interaction with a mostly unreadable expression on his masked face.
"We can buy you dinner- Kiba, what have I told you about taking my wallet?" Sakura scolded, only to receive a shrug from the Inuzuka.
"I always pay you back... Eventually."
Chouji finally walked up to the small group and sighed at his friends, then smiled up at Kuzu. "It's great to see you again, Kuzu."
The man grunted for a moment, then jutted his chin in the direction of their treehouse. "Yours?"
Chouji nodded, more than aware that Sakura and Kiba would be too enthralled in yet another of their arguments to gave the man any proper answers.
"Not bad." He commented offhandedly, then began to walk onto the large trunk of the tree. "Go find me some food. I'll tell you the story once I've eaten."
The Akimichi nodded, even though Kuzu wasn't looking at him, then turned around to relay the information to his bickering best friends.
"Fine, you mongrels want a story, I'll give you one."
Out of his full repertoire of experiences, Kakuzu knew that there were at least a dozen different stories he could tell that would amaze the children. But there was one specific tale that kept popping up in his mind- and it wouldn't leave him alone.
It hurt to remember the story.
But these children didn't know who he was. So they would never know that this was a true story that had happened to him. They would be too amazed by the happenings to ever actually question them- they would believe that he had heard this story in passing and he wasn't the protagonist in it.
After they had brought him food, Kakuzu had eaten in solitude as the children ran kata on the ground below. He had taken this time alone to mull over possible stories... And try to ignore the pain emanating from his whole body.
The last bounty he and Hidan had accomplished had not been an easy one to complete. It had left them both terribly wounded... And for the first time in a decade, Kakuzu had been forced to replace one of his hearts.
Maybe that was the reason why this specific tale kept replaying within his mind.
Now the children and furred mongrel were sitting crossed legged in front of him, all the while Kakuzu stood with his back propped up against a wall. Even though the treehouse had undoubtedly been built by children, it seemed that they had received help from knowledgeable builders- it was sturdy and safe. The architecture was odd, for the entrance was a hole in the very middle of the wooden floor, but Kakuzu didn't question it, seeing how the rope that led up here was tied on the ceiling just above the hole.
The treehouse was on the comfortable side, small enough to not have needed too thought before constructing, but large enough to fit a man of his stature comfortably while he sat. When he was standing, he had to hunch his shoulders and lower his head to not graze the top of his head with the ceiling. And it was decorated with a couple of trinkets and pictures- and these all had some kind of emotional significance to the children.
Kakuzu did not take note of the fact that there were some rather beat up targets laying on the far left corner of the makeshift building. Just like he didn't notice the way the three mongrels were wearing matching necklaces and bracelets.
No. He did not note that at all.
"There once was a seasoned ninja that was sent on a mission by his Village's elders." He took a pause to create a severe ambiance for the story, all the while thinking of the best vocabulary to use to make this sound more like a myth than an actual occurrence, "He was told this would be a most noble mission- it would bolster their Village's standing among the shinobi nations and it was the most important mission to complete. He was not told that it would be a suicide mission. He was not told he was meant to have died."
"No way! Stupid Village elders!" Kiba interrupted with a growl, "They're always bad guys!"
Kakuzu knew there was a story behind the thought. But he didn't prod. Instead, he breathed in and forced the anger bubbling within him to subside- these kids were not the elders. They did not earn his wrath.
"The Ignorant Ninja went on the mission, unaware of the betrayal. He traveled across the lands until he reached the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Once at the border of the newly created Village, he came face to face with the God of Shinobi himself- Hashirama Senju: the target of his mission."
There was a collective gasp from the children. Kakuzu closed his eyes and allowed himself to remember the kind smile and, paradoxically enough, harsh words told to him by the First Hokage- I don't want to fight you. But I will if I have to. Please, turn around. There's no need for a battle tonight.
"The fight was over before it had even began; but the Betrayed Ninja still attempted to defeat the Shinobi God, even though he knew his fate. Hashirama Senju decimated the Betrayed Ninja within the first seconds of their bout- but this is not where this story ends. Hashirama was as generous as he was powerful, so he allowed the Ninja to escape. And, so, the Betrayed Ninja returned to the Village: a failure."
A heavy silence fell over the five of them after he had said this, voice grave. Now he opened his eyes and looked over the children, taking note of the truly flabbergasted faces of the children.
"The plan the elders had hatched to kill this ninja had failed, but the Betrayed Ninja was not spared from any further pain- this is not a story with a happy ending. He became a pariah within his Village; a loser with no shot at redemption."
"What?" The pink haired girl gasped, eyes wide. "That's not fair! He was set up for failure from the beginning! That's-"
"If you want to stop me from telling this story, it's your money you've just wasted." Kakuzu cut in bluntly, leveling her with an unamused glare.
Immediately, she squeaked and covered her mouth with both her hands, and made a show of keeping quiet.
Kakuzu shook his head at her theatrics, then sighed as he remembered where he had left off in his story.
Once he had recalled his last words, he continued with his story, "He was insulted and ostracized- and a seed of unimaginable hate was planted within his heart. This seed was fertilized and nurtured by the passage of time and the scorn of the ninja that refused to work with him. But it bloomed into a poisonous climax when the Betrayed Ninja overhead a blind member of the Council of Elders talking about his failed assassination. So full of rage- blind and thoughtless and scornful- the Betrayed Ninja broke into the Village's most secured vault and stole their most prized forbidden jutsu. Under the cover of night, he escaped from the Village and performed Enma's Absolution. One of the most dangerous forbidden jutsu they had documented."
The brattiest of the boys gasped in awe, his eyes twinkling brightly as he leaned forward in excited curiosity. "What does that jutsu do?"
It shatters your body and pollutes it with the air of the dead themselves. Then, a Shinigami, after your soul has journeyed through all of the planes of hell and fought with the fifty Warlords and you have defeated them all, will pull your soul out and stitch your shattered body back together. You then become a demonic rag-doll, bound to eternity to create a collection of hearts and souls for Lord Enma and the Shinigami.
Kakuzu didn't say any of this. Instead, he offered a much tamer explanation.
"It grants a limited-form of immortality. But you must pay a high price to achieve this end." He answered gravely, feeling the burning of the four masks on his back. "He spent the following three years of his life training his body and mind, preparing himself to take revenge on the Elders that had used him as little more than a disposable tool."
His throat seized as flashes of the mangled bodies of those despicable elders began to appear in his mind. And he closed his eyes once again, allowing the images to permeate his whole consciousness, even as he tried to regain some modicum of control over himself.
After a couple of seconds of tense silence had passed, Kakuzu crossed his arms over his chest and cocked his head to the side. "Tell me, what do you think the Betrayed Ninja did?"
All three of the children contemplated their answers. Then the Akimichi slowly raised his hand, and asked, "K-killed the elders?"
"Yeah! Bloody revenge!" The Inuzuka cheered, pumping his fists before turning to look at Kakuzu, "Is he right? Did the Betrayed Ninja murder them all?"
Kakuzu couldn't help but frown at the enthusiasm.
This was a game to the Inuzuka, wasn't it? This was all exciting and a game- far away from reality and incapable of occurring to him. This wasn't real for him. This was just a story.
Softly, Kakuzu nodded. Then he closed his eyes and spoke in a grave whisper, "The Betrayed Ninja slaughtered all of the Elders within the Village. Shinobi and civilian alike, they all tasted the lethality of his wrath. They all fell- one by one- until the rivers within the Village ran red with their blood."
Stunned silence.
Then Kakuzu heard a sniffle from the pink haired girl. "I... I understand they were mean... And that they deserved it... But... But slaughtering them like cattle... That... That's horrible."
Opening his eyes, the man found her actually crying for the despicable parasites that had sent him to his own demise. Even with the sudden spike of anger he felt, he was somehow... Oddly enough... Comforted by this.
The Inuzuka was crass and seemed incapable of understanding the need for sympathy. But this young girl had plenty empathy to make up for his failing. It made sense that these two somehow balanced each other out.
"The Betrayed Ninja's heart was corrupted by the alienation and hate he felt over having failed to complete a mission." Kakuzu explained with a shrug, trying to seem disinterested even when his hearts- all five- clenched unbearably. "He decided that destroying them as they had tried to do with him was justice."
Once again, a heavy silence fell over them.
Then the tattooed boy smiled broadly and stood up from his seat. "This is the perfect story, Kuzu! We'll have the best myth out of the whole class!" After he finished cheering, he pointed at the girl, "Take out all your notebooks and pencils! We gotta get to work on getting this all down! We've got the source, this is the best time to write everything!"
The girl sniffled and wiped at the tears in her eyes, but nodded and pulled out her supplies from the bag the Inuzuka had poked around to find her wallet. After a couple of seconds, she opened one notebook and grabbed a pencil, preparing herself to write everything down.
"Okay, we've got to do some editing." The Inuzuka murmured to himself, beginning to pace from one end of the treehouse to another.
Kakuzu watched quietly as the kids fell into the groove of their usual actions, just allowing them to be free without intruding on them.
"Wait, Kuzu, do we have your permission to change things?" The Akimichi boy questioned respectfully, looking so unbelievably innocent that Kakuzu felt sick.
These children were nothing like the children he had grown up around. They were innocent and blissfully unaware of the horrors that would await them in the career of a ninja.
For the first time since he had met them, Kakuzu allowed himself to admit to himself that he didn't want any of these children facing any of those horrors. He wanted them to steer clear of the way of the ninja. He wanted them to grow old and senile and be happy without ever having to know the feel of another person's blood on their hands.
But they were bred for the shinobi life. Even the civilian had the makings of a great warrior. Their progress in ninjutsu was stellar for their age- even when Kakuzu pushed them to be better.
He wanted the world for these kids. But he knew that hell would be what they received.
With a noncommittal grunt, the man allowed himself to turn his head to the side, against the wall, and closed his eyes. "Do whatever you want. Just don't bother me unless it's important."
They left him alone then and didn't actually bother him at any point. When they formulated a question, they found an answer for themselves. And, quite frankly, from what he heard as he faked dozing off, these kids were doing a well enough job of touching up on the story by themselves that they didn't need him at all.
They were ten years old.
Only two years of this innocent bliss left.
..~..~..
Kakuzu is an angsty man. And this is totally my headcanon for how he ended up being the demonic ragdoll we saw in the anime! Don't steal! I came up with it all on my own.
I'm sorry for taking so long to update this, but I have a newfound muse for this! So I'm thinking at least one more chapter before I fall into my old procrastinating way!
Please review!
