A.N.
Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters do NOT belong to me. Naruto belongs to Misashi Kishimoto.
Sayuri and any characters that have not and will not appear in the manga/or anime are completely original.
Reviews are welcomed and encouraged! Thank you!
"Oh course I'm agitated! I didn't want to come in the first place. I was perfectly fine with going home and taking a nice shower and going to sleep. Instead you two dragged me out here! When are the two of you going to understand that things are not like how they were when we were kids! We're not the same Team Seven and I am not a part of Team Seven anymore! Now I would really appreciate it if you left me out of your get togethers from now on!"
"What the hell Sayuri!" Naruto started eyes narrowed at the brunette. "You're just as part of Team Seven as the rest of us! So why don't you tell us why you're really angry!"
"Excuse me…"
"What!?" the two feuding ninja turned to an older man peeking out behind his apartment door.
"W-We're…" He took a second to steel himself. "We're trying to sleep. P-Please could you perhaps take your fight somewhere else."
"Oh of course!" Sakura faked a smile. "We were just leaving…right guys." She turned to the two actively glaring daggers at each other. "Naruto…Sayuri…" she said through gritted teeth trying to keep her own annoyance at bay.
"I'm getting the hell out of here. Enjoy your team bonding." The brunette leapt over the railing landing on her feet and stalked off. In the distance she could hear Sakura quietly scolding Naruto but she really couldn't care less. She was livid. How could he just up and leave like that?!
It's not like he owed you any explanation. You made it clear that you didn't want anything from him. She stopped in her tracks watching a street light flicker. "So then…why do I feel so terrible?" she asked herself.
Fear
"Woah hold on!" a man yelled as he was slammed against the wall. Three ANBU loomed over him, and he could have sworn that the one on the right had glowing red eyes.
"You're Tomoya Kisa, right?" the one in the middle spoke. Tomoya's black eyes shifted from one ninja to the other. He turned to his right but a katana suddenly struck the wall just a few centimeters from his nose.
"Don't. Try. Me."
Tomoya gulped and sat back. "Yeah…That's me. Listen if this is about me defecting, I promise I haven't done anything bad."
"I don't believe you." One of them leaned down, crow mask covering his face. He pulled out a piece of paper and held it up for him to see. "Especially if you're working for him." Tomoya's eyes widened at the picture of Naoki. "You know where he is. Tell us."
"I-I don't know! He always contacts me. I never contact him!" He almost screamed when the man's katana pressed against his neck.
"You'll have to do better than that." The man in the middle leaned down, rooster mask peeking out from his hood. "We got a lead and they told us that you two are associated. I suggest you start talking. Karasu here isn't very patient."
"No…I-I promise I don't really know. He's always moving around. He never stays in one spot for more than a couple of days."
"Take a guess." The man known as Karasu ordered.
Tomoya gulped. "I-I heard that he was in the outskirts of Lightning. I only did a couple jobs for him I promise!"
"And those would be…?" the one wearing the dog mask asked with a wave of his gloved hand.
"I-I…" he glanced down at the katana pressed against his neck. "Would you please…?"
Karasu huffed and pulled back enough to give him room to breathe. "Talk."
"Yes! I uh, gathered weapons for them on my first job. The second one he wanted me to deliver a package to a tall bald man I never got his name. The last job I-I lured a woman out in to the woods." He yelped when the katana pressed against his neck once again, the stinging sensation scaring him.
"And what happened with her?"
"I don't know! I was just given a paper that told me where to take her, that's all!"
"How many times did he give you that particular order?" Tomoya looked up at the man with the dog mask.
"Uh…"
"I'd answer truthfully if I were you." Said the man with the rooster mask darkly.
"Two times."
The three ninja glanced at each other, then Karasu spoke again. "When was the last time you did a job for him?"
"Last week. He-He sent a messenger told me to scout a village by the Hidden Cloud."
"Did he want something in particular?"
"He wanted me to investigate a woman."
"He told you who?"
"He sent me a picture."
"He's at it again." Their attention turned to Karasu for a short moment before Tomoya was yanked to his feet and slammed against the wall by the man in the Rooster mask.
"You said he sent a messenger correct?" Tomoya gulped and nodded. "Karasu." He nodded to the man who stepped forward lifting his mask. A gasp died in his lips at the sight of the infamous Sharingan comma marks spinning rapidly around the black iris.
XXX
"Come on Sayuri!" the girls cheered when she landed a blow on Lee.
"You can do it Sensei!" a couple of the boys yelled.
Behind the group of students was Tenten shaking her head at a loss of what to do. Their sparring matches always turned into a spectacle for the children. She supposed it couldn't be helped, Sayuri had been training with them nonstop for two weeks now, and even with the added weights she was getting faster. A loud yelp coming from the Marihasha made her flinch as the girl was kicked in the abdomen. Tenten watched how instead of falling back the girl landed on a handstand, pushing off of her hands in Lee's direction fists pulled back. Lee however caught her by the wrist just as she was about to punch him and, using her momentum, slammed her unto the ground.
"OK!" Tenten clapped her hands the two ninja in the middle of the field turned their heads to the woman. "I think it's time for a break."
Lee pulled Sayuri up a little too fast and was quick to catch her when she stumbled. "You have improved spectacularly, Sayuri!"
Holding her head the young woman smiled. "Thank you Lee-sensei." The young man laughed having given up on telling her to just call him Lee. The children seemed to love the idea that a ninja like Sayuri considered herself their equal and it only helped to motivate them more so it wasn't all bad.
"Sayuri, can you help me with my punches?" one of the girls that swarmed around her asked. Smiling, Sayuri was about to answer when she looked up at the sky. The rest of them followed suit, eyes on the eagle that flew in circles. Stretching her arm out the bird landed to rest as the heiress took the piece of paper tied to its leg.
"Sayuri?" Tenten was the first to ask watching the girls calm face turn into a frown.
"I have to go." She bowed to Lee. "Sorry, but I'll have to cut training short today."
"Not a problem." The man smiled and waved her off.
She sprinted back to the village taking to the rooftops as soon as she hit the center. Moriyo had sent for her only telling her to go to the South gate, but nothing more. The closer she got the more nervous she became. In order to get there, you had to go through a forested area and that was something she was not comfortable with doing on her own. She landed at the beginning of the trail and felt her throat go dry. It was then that she remembered that the times she had been in the forest she had always had company. This time...her ears began to ring as she made herself walk forward. The wind rustled the branches and she felt herself break into a cold sweat, the pounding in her head getting stronger the further in she went.
A twig snapped and her blood ran cold, she stumbled back until she hit something solid and she spun around, fist drawn back only for it to meet bark. Sayuri hissed as she drew her hand to her chest. She began feeling lightheaded when she realized she wasn't breathing properly. Squeezing her eyes shut she willed herself to slow her breathing down.
"It's nothing. You're not there. You're in the village. You're-" a woman's screams made her pause and she looked around. The scream came again, and she felt the trees closing in on her when she recognized who it belonged to. "Aunt…Kaminari…?" she whispered. "I need to get out!" She looked around her again trying to find the trail. "I need to get out…" she told herself and began walking, feeling her heart in her throat with each step. It's all in my head…It's all in my head…
"Sayuri?" Moriyo's voice broke through her mental fog. The woman's bright orange eyes settled on her in surprise. "What are you doing here?" The younger woman looked around, realizing-in relief-that she'd gotten out into the clearing of the gate.
"What am I doing here?" she repeated the words sinking in. "You asked me to come!"
Moriyo's brows rose in shock. "Are you alright?"
"N-Yes!" Sayuri took a deep breath. "Yes." She repeated calmly.
Moriyo remained quite observing Sayuri's stiff posture before replying. "What do you mean I asked you to come?" She asked slowly waiting for another outburst.
The young woman pulled out a slip of paper and handed it to her. Taking it, her eyes lingered on Sayuri for a second before turning to the paper. "What…? I didn't send this."
"Your eagle gave it me."
"That's not possible."
Sayuri frowned and looked at the gate. Two other ANBU in full gear stood beside a covered body. Eyes widening, she ran to the ninja stopping only when she saw black hair peeking out of the top. She felt her heart skip a beat in fear. Sasuke! She pulled the sheet off and nearly sighed in relief. It wasn't the Uchiha, but…
"What…the hell is this?" Sayuri asked turning her mismatched eyes on the ANBU head.
"A warning." The ANBU gathered around the body, face burned off and mutilated, his tattoo covered by a glaring 'X' carved into his arm. "Let's get him to the hospital and figure out who he is before we bury him." Moriyo instructed the team. The ninja nodded and knelt down by the body and began to pick it up when the sound of metal cutting air caught their attention. One of the men was struck in the back of the head while the others moved out of the way just in time. Sayuri back flipped avoiding several kunai only for her back to collide with a tree. Eyes widened at the sight of a line of kunai heading straight for her before she dove out of the way.
"Head for the trees!" Moriyo ordered. Acting on autopilot, Sayuri pushed herself up and rushed into the forest losing track of the other ninja in the process. She landed on a tree branch when her hand met the smooth texture of a paper bomb.
Gasping she moved out of the way as the branch exploded, the force of it pushing her further out causing her to miss another branch letting her fall to ground hard. She cried out in pain, sitting up to hold her shoulder. Her fingers grazed the injured area and she hissed. Pushing herself up unto her feet when she finally noticed that no one was with her the panic slowly sinking into the pit of her stomach.
"Moriyo!" she called, turning in place trying to find her former sensei. "Moriyo!" she called again, voice raising an octave.
"I found you." Her breath caught at the sound of the sing song voice.
XXX
"What are they? Triplets?" a blonde man in his mid-twenties with sharp purple eyes shifted from one man to the next all of them looked the same with exception of their eyes on had brown, the other green and the last blue. It had taken two weeks but the messenger finally came with a new mission for Tomoya.
"They work with me." Tomoya answered smoothly. "They're from Hidden Grass, they want in with Naoki."
The blonde frowned. "Naoki doesn't let other people do his recruiting."
"Trust me, they're amazing!" Tomoya waved his hands in the air in a grand gesture. "When Naoki sees them in action he'll want to take them."
He's not buying it… Hajime's voice echoed in their heads at the three young men stood stock still behind Tomoya.
You don't know that. Diachi replied trying his best not fidget as the blonde man approached them.
Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the messenger the closer he got to him. He won't need to buy it. The blonde man stood directly in front of him when his arm reached out to keep him in place as his Sharingan bled through the transformation jutsu.
Hajime and Diachi looked around them keeping watch around the dark forest. The night only made the red of the Sharingan stand out even more than was necessary. They watched the blonde man slump in a trance like state, while Tomoya stood frozen looking at nothing but the trees in front of him.
"Now, what's your name?"
"Itsuo."
"Good, you're going to take us to Naoki."
"Right." Itsuo replied and began to weave a couple of hand signs. "Please hold on to me."
"So he didn't come here by conventional means…interesting." Diachi muttered as he placed hand on the blonde's shoulder.
"Wait!" Hajime called. "What about this guy?" He pointed to Tomoya who stood rooted to the same spot.
"Walk back to the village and turn yourself in."
The two ANBU watched in awe as the man robotically began walking. Their eyes shifted to the Uchiha who silently placed his hand on the messengers back.
"And here I thought the sharingan was only good for copying moves." Hajime grumbled. As soon as they all were holding on to Itsuo they felt a sharp tug from the reverse summoning. The four men landed in a thick forest area, eyes darting anywhere trying to get a hold of their location.
"Itsuo where are we?"
"Lightning Country."
"So much for avoiding the Raikage…" Sasuke and Diachi turned to Hajime who shrugged. "What?"
Diachi sighed. "Let's get moving."
XXX
"Sayuri…" she felt a hand on her shoulder and a sharp smell cutting through the haze. "Sayuri, it's Sakura. You need to wake up now." She groaned but opened her eyes only to squeeze them shut at the sight of the bright hospital lights. "There you go..."
"Sakura?"
"It's alright, you're at the hospital. What's the last thing you remember?"
"I…was with Moriyo-sensei." She sat up and held her head. "What happened?"
"That's what I'd like to find out. Moriyo told me that you've had trouble sleeping after the war."
Sayuri turned to the pink haired medic. "It's nothing. I've just had a lot on my mind."
"Moriyo-sensei also said she found you throwing kunai and screaming at someone to get away from you before you fainted."
"I'm just sleep deprived."
"Sayuri," Sakura sighed. "You just told me it was nothing…Look, I know we're not exactly close, but, I've known you long enough to tell when something isn't right with you. You do know that several ninja developed PTSD after the war. It's nothing to be ashamed of-"
"I don't have PTSD." Sayuri cut her off, sliding out of the bed. "I'm fine. I just need more sleep, that's all." She turned to leave but Sakura was faster, gabbing her by the arm.
"I know I can't force you to do anything, but…" she pulled a card out of her pocket and pressed it against her palm, folding her fingers over it. "When you feel ready to get help you can go here." Sayuri stepped back holding the card in her hand.
"Right. Thank you." The auburn haired girl answered and headed to the door but paused when she opened it. "You're a good person, Sakura." She said over her shoulder surprising the medic who smiled kindly at the young woman. Once outside Sayuri allowed herself to look at the card. "Mental Health Clinic…" she shook her head and pocketed the card. She knew she needed help, but she wasn't willing to put her career on hold just for a few therapy sessions. There were more important things for her to do.
XXX
Itsuo laid unconscious behind the three young men whose attention was on the hidden cave on the side of the mountain.
"It's not heavily guarded." Said Hajime eyes on the sole guard at the front.
"He probably thinks no one is smart enough to find where he is." Sasuke replied, casting a glance up at the darkening sky. The sun was about to set and it was about time they got a move on. "We'll be going in blind, considering Itsuo has no knowledge of the layout but the mission remains the same. Take out whoever gets in the way and eliminate Naoki."
"Easy!" Hajime joked.
Diachi nodded. "He's priority."
"Let's go."
The three ninja quickly scattered, taking out the guard at the entrance. The man's body barely hit the ground when they rushed in. Noticing the marble floor, they muffled their footsteps with their chakra as they went through the hideout. The three sliding to halt at a fork.
"You two go ahead, I'll take out whoever comes through here." Diachi ordered. Sasuke moved quickly down the passage on the left while Hajime went through the right. Diachi took a deep breath and slowly released it, crouching down low to help propel him upward, flipping over so that his feet met and stuck to the darkened roof of the cave.
XXX
Sayuri stared down at the purple scroll in the middle of her kitchen table. Her hands clenched and unclenched as she struggled to figure out the best thing to do. Finally, after ten minutes of indecisiveness she snatched the scroll and opened it only to let go immediately at the sound of the loud pop. She stepped back as the smoke cleared revealing a small purple snake.
"How can I be of assistance?"
Sayuri blinked at the summoned reptile on her table and forced herself not to cringe. "C-can you get in contact with Orochimaru?"
"Yes."
Sayuri inhaled sharply. When Orochimaru took her and Sasuke to his hideout during the war and gave her that scroll she never thought she'd actually use it. She had actually laughed at the audacity of it. But now...There's a first time for everything…even for asking the snake for help.
"I need you to give this to him, tell him that I…" she hesitated. "That I need him to check and see if he recognizes any of this writing." She held a roll up white paper. "Tell him that it's for a sealing jutsu."
"Is that all?" it sounded bored, forked tongue slipping out between words.
"Yes."
"Give it here." It opened its mouth and she bit her lip to keep from cringing as she placed the rolled note in in its mouth. "I will give it to him immediately." And with that the summoning was gone.
"I hope I didn't just make things worse…" she mumbled to herself and almost screamed at the knocking on her door. She froze in place then realizing that the person on the other side of the door couldn't see her so she let her shoulders slump in relief.
"Sayuri?"
"Naruto?" she wondered. After what she said a couple of weeks ago, the last person she'd expect to be at her door was the blonde hero.
"Open up. I know you're in there! I can sense you!"
"Damn." He might not be able to see through walls but the sage technique he's mastered and perfected is just as annoying. Neji came to mind at that thought and she grimaced. "Sorry, Neji." She whispered to herself and walked to the door.
"Sayuri!" the blonde stepped back, tilting his head to the side. "Hey…"
"Hi." She shuffled her bare feet feeling the cold winter air enter her home.
"Sakura told me what happened."
"Isn't there such as thing as patient-provider confidentiality anymore?" she hissed exasperated.
"She's just worried about you." Naruto tried to calm her. "I am too…Even though you don't seem to care about us anymore we still care about you."
Sayuri gripped the door knob tighter. "It's not that I don't care about you…It's just…" Naruto waited patiently. "It's just things aren't the same. We're not children anymore."
"Sayuri…" he placed a hand on her shoulder. "We get it. But it doesn't hurt anyone to try and be…you know civil with each other."
She quickly shoved the thought of her and Sasuke in the cabin to the back of her mind. "…Right."
"There's something else…" Naruto pulled from his pouch. "Kakashi-sensei told me to give this to you. He said something about them possibly being able to help and that we could go as soon as we were ready." Frowning, Sayuri took the tan scroll and opened it reading its contents. "What's it say?"
"You didn't sneak a peek already?" she raised a brow at the blonde who flushed red.
"I'm not a kid anymore!" he crossed his arms over his chest, pouting off to the side.
Sayuri chuckled, and shook her head. "They think the Marihasha Temple could have information on the sealing."
"Your clan had a temple?!"
"Yes…"
"That's great! Maybe they can help decipher the sealing and reverse it!" the blonde grinned.
"There's just the issue of me getting there."
Naruto's smile fell. "Oh…" He watched Sayuri's hand wrinkle the scroll. He felt terrible, the war might have been won but it cost several people their lives, as well as their psychological wellbeing. There has to be a way around this! He paused at that thought. "I think I got an idea!" he exclaimed taking her by the shoulders, startling the younger woman. "Meet me tomorrow at the main gate, 8 am sharp!"
"What…but-"
"Gotta go!" and with that the blonde vanished in cloud of smoke.
Her eyes trailed back to the scroll in her hands. "The Marihasha Temple..." she let out a frustrated laugh. "And here I am asking Orochimaru for help."
XXX
Sasuke stood at the center of the bodies of fallen ninja. Their pained groans filled the room, leaving one wide eyed ninja.
Naoki smirked. "ANBU huh…I must have messed up real bad to have Konoha after me. Whatever it is they pay you, I can double it!"
"That won't work on me." He approached the ninja. "You targeted the wrong person."
The man laughed. "And who would that be? I've been all over and I honestly can't remember."
Sasuke growled, appearing before the man in a blink of an eye. Naoki's eyes widened a slow wide grin on his face. "Mr. Uchiha!" he choked the minute he was slammed against the wall, his hands coming up to grip at the arm pinning his throat. "Does this mean…she's dead…"
"No," he added more pressure and watched the man squirm. "But you will be."
"Karasu!" Hajime called as he ran into the room. He paused at the sight of the unconscious men, a dull thud drawing his attention to the fallen rogue on the ground. "Did you…?"
"That was my mission." The silver haired ninja watched the Uchiha quietly walk past him.
He turned back to the body and sighed. He made his way to it, stepping over the uncurious men on the ground and took out a scroll. "And this is mine." He mumbled sealing the body into the scroll. I really didn't think he'd go through with it. The silver haired ninja thought as he stood up and tucked the scroll into his pouch. Well…he stared at the men. He didn't eliminate anyone unnecessary…that's something. The echo of his footsteps was all he heard as he sprinted back to the main entrance. Diachi and Sasuke were already outside, the later with a hawk on his arm.
"We're letting the Raikage know about this place." His friend explained. "We figured it'd be better to let them handle the rest."
"Well, we all got what we came for." Hajime stretched his arms over his head. "Let's head home."
"No." the two ninja turned to Sasuke. "We need to make one stop before we go." Hajime and Diachi turned to each other in confusion.
"Where to?"
A.N.
Just in case someone needs it to be cleared up. They found Tomoya two weeks before the Sayuri incident happened. And while they were infiltrating Naoki's base Sayuri's whole ordeal was happening, these two events were going on at the same time. Just a small tidbit in case it confused anyone. We're about to start moving things up for these two. I hope you enjoyed the chapter!
Please review :)
