Naruto Fan Fiction!
Adventure! SI-OC!
(Title)
"A Song for Them"
A/N: So, I've been spending a lot of time managing my Narutoverse time-frame and I was quite surprised to see just how soon the Chuunin Exams are coming. Maybe 4-5 more chapters. Maybe sooner? We'll see.
DISCLAIMER: -Is not buying it- Didn't I say I was sorry? What'll take to get you to forgive me? ...I've got cookies~
WARNING! RATED M! For [REDACTED] and also [REDACTED] ...troll.
Formula Arc,
Chapter Twenty-One: "Our Normal"
"I am a Ninja." "No, you're not." Did you see me do that?" "Do what?" "Exactly." -Anon and Friend
Perspective:
空 (Sky)
Sora, April 12th: Southern Shopping District
Mission: 'Find Lost Pet Tama!'
They were beginning to really annoy me.
Ever since Team Seven met up this morning, the boys have been competing in every little thing. From searching for our lost dog to just walking. It was as they stared kicking up dust in their wake that I knew today was going to be a long day.
Sasuke and Naruto were ruthlessly searching the streets and alleyways for any sign of our lost Shih Tzu while Kakashi-sensei and I asked around. Well, Kakashi asked, I held up a page with the dog's description and a 'Have you seen this dog?'.
The tension between the boys was so thick you could cut it with a kunai. It became annoying very quickly. But what's even more annoying is that I have no idea what brought it on! I did notice Duckie was being sulkier than usual but I figured he just woke up on the wrong side of the coffin this morning. His bad mood affected Naruto's and in turn Naruto became more boisterous and loud and the louder he got the moodier Sasuke became!
It was like a really annoying feedback loop.
These past few weeks Duckie hasn't been as broody as much and the Hero hadn't been trying to upstage him at every chance. But now... it's like they reverted back to how they were in the Academy.
Squabbling little boys.
"A-HA! FOUND IT 'TTEBAYO!" Rang through the street, drawing odd and irritated looks from bystanders.
Scarecrow and I turned to direction the Hero's voice came from, Duckie was headed that way too. Walking around the corner I saw my best friend was standing by a couple garbage cans and was holding-THAT IS A HUGE FUDGING RAT!
"Uh, Naruto-" Scarcrow didn't get to finish before the blonde turned to Duckie, a smug grin on his whiskered face.
"See, Sasuke? Ehehee... guess this means that I'm the better-OUCH! AHHH-AHH-AHH! IT'S BITING! IT'S BITING! GET IT OFF!" He started panicking and flailing his arms, waving around the rat as well. First to react, Sasuke did a roundhouse and knocked the vermin further down the alley. It bounced off the wall before hissing at us and scurrying away.
I went over and took Naruto's hand in mine and inspected the wound. It was bleeding but it didn't look too bad, unless he starts a fever he wouldn't even have to go the hospital. It'll heal so fast it won't even scar.
"Eh? How is it, Sora-chan? Am I going to be okay?" Naruto's face was scrunched up with worry. The same guy who stabbed himself with a kunai is worried about a little bite. I gave him a very unimpressed look as answer.
"Nice going, loser. You found a rat." The Uchiha taunted, his trademark haughty smirk was absent though, I noted.
As I was getting my sealing book for the first-aid kit, the hand in my grasp pulled away. I frowned at Naruto, annoyed. I hadn't finished patching him up yet.
The blonde spun around with a scowl. "And what have you found?! Huh, bastard!"
It was Duckie's turn to start scowling. Scarecrow was quick to try and head off yet another argument today, he'd been mildly successful thus far and I was rooting for him. As awesome as it would be, I can't just will the boys to get along with my magic chakra influencing.
Which reminds me, I should really look up that medic aura-thingy Scarecrow mentioned the next time I visit the Archives.
The ex-ANBU waved his gloved hand in that odd habit of his, like he was trying to shoo away the animosity. "C'mon boys, there's no need to fight... how about we all step back and take a breath. We still have a mission to complete."
Sasuke began to turn back down the alley. "Kakashi's right. It's pointless to continue searching together like this. We should look in separate districts, that way we'll get this over with faster."
"No, that's really not-" Sensei tried.
"Fine then! We'll just see who's better at searching 'ttebayo! First one to find the Shit Zoo wins!"
"Tch. Shih Tzu, moron. And it's not even a competition against you."
"Please, you two. Try and-" Sensei tried again.
"IT'S ON, YOU BASTARD!"
And after exchanging one last dirty look with each other, the two boys stormed off in different directions. Leaving me alone with a poor, neglected Kakashi.
"...get along." The silver-haired man finished with a sigh.
His grey eye landed on me and I gave him a pitying half-smile. I know what he's going through. I've been dealing with those two for years now, it doesn't get any easier.
"What now? Are you going to run off on your own too?" he asked dryly. I shrugged and came to stand beside him.
'I'll do the searching and you do the talking?' I offered.
He shrugged as well, pulling out his guilty pleasure book as we walked forward.
Another reminder, I need to figure out a way to get my hands on certain illicit reading material without my dear teacher finding out.
It was my idea to search by the Meat Market. It wasn't until two in the afternoon when we finally came up with a lead on the missing Shih Tzu, Tama.
"Well now that you mention it, I did hear some barking coming from the alley this morning." The Butcher pointed to the side-street along the building, I bowed in thanks and headed around back to begin looking for any signs of a fluffy ankle-biter, Scarecrow following at a leisurely pace behind me.
While checking the ground next to the stone building for tracks I heard something shift from behind me, I turned around and saw nothing immediately out of the ordinary. I glanced at Kakashi-sensei, it seems like he'd heard that too because he was watching me now. Just standin' there, watching.
I frowned when I realized that he was trying to be teacher-like and was seeing how I'll react to this.
Or maybe he was just being lazy and watching me be attacked by an alley cat seemed amusing.
I had an unsettling feeling it was the latter. I gave the dirt street a wary once over, again not finding anything unusual. On a hunch, I gave a low whistle. And in response, I heard a whining come from the side of the street.
It was small and pitiful and broke my heart then and there. When I looked back at Scarecrow his eye had widened and his brow raised as he stared at the side of the street the noise was coming from.
I cautiously walked closer to the sound. I was confused when I standing in front of a tree, it's roots were gangly and lifted out from the ground, I could see there was a hole of sorts underneath. That's where the sound was coming from. I got onto my hands and knees and shaded my eyes, squinting into the dark and I could just make out a dirty fur coat curled in on itself.
Two dark eyes met with violet. "...ahwoo?"
It was a puppy!
It tried moving closer but it looked like it was caught in some old fish netting or something from one of these garbage bins, the poor thing! Slowly, I reached under the roots with a kunai and carefully cut the pup free before gently lifting it out from the hole. By now Kakashi-sensei had come to stand next to me, he leaned down.
"Hmm? It's seems you found a Shiba inu, a pup by the size of it." He observed. I looked at the pup again, it was covered in filth but I think it's fur was a soft red, a sort of strawberry blonde.
Shiny dark eyes looked at me before a small tongue began licking my fingers. Awww... I was fairly surprised that it wasn't biting or trying to get away like most animals would do when I get near. Now that I think of it, Kakashi-sensei's ninken didn't react that way either! Maybe something's changed?
Scarecrow straightened up, "It's definitely a dog, but sadly not the one we're looking for... c'mon Sora."
Frowning, I set the pup down and bushed the dirt off of me as I stood. The pup began to move but it faltered in it's steps and fell back on it's hind legs, lifting one of it's paws and whining again. Ahhhh... it stings my heart so bad.
I looked up at my teacher with wide, pleading eyes. We weren't really going to leave it like this, were we? Nooo... Kakashi is a dog lover! He can't turn a blind eye to this!
The ex-ANBU caught my look and sighed almost inaudibly, he begrudgingly stowed his book in his back pocket before crouching down. Yeah, right. No matter what airs he put up, his chakra told me that he'd been just itching to get a look at the puppy.
"His front paw has a gash..." He murmured, inspecting the pup gently. He 'hm'd' and in one swift movement, lifted the pup with one hand and settled it in the crook of his elbow, being mindful of it's paw.
'Where to?' I asked as he started walking.
"To the animal clinic, there's the beginnings of an infection in the wound."
I quickly followed after him, my brows pinching together. 'But what about the mission?' Not that I wasn't totally fine with this new plan of action. But the boys were still out there. Sooo...
Kakashi's eye curved up into a smile. "Maa, I'm sure Naruto and Sasuke can handle it. You saw how excited they were when they chose to ignore me and ran off."
Well, okay then. Do not slight Sensei.
We traveled to the East side of the Village where there was more land and trees and the buildings were spread out, it was also where Inuzuka compound was located.
It's a well-known fact that the Inuzuka love their furried partners, what's a less known fact is that their love for animals wasn't limited to dogs. The Inuzuka were lovers of all kinds of animals, and as such avid animal lovers, it was only common sense for one of them to open up a animal clinic and shelter.
When the large grey building came into sight, I followed right behind my Sensei as he completely bypassed the front door and instead went around to the back, where the kennel was located.
This was a bad thing. For me, at least. There have only been a handful of times I have visited the Inuzuka clinic -when we were young, Kiba would sneak the boys and I in to play with the strays sometimes- and it has never ended well.
As soon as I stepped through the back door, all heck broke loose. All the cages began rattling and all the animals started barking, cawing, screeching, howling bloody murder.
Whatever I thought had changed, had decidedly not.
"The hell?" I heard Scarecrow say as he stared wide-eyed at the hectic display.
It wasn't long at all until the double doors leading to the waiting room busted open and a familiar Inuzuka woman came stomping through, brunette ponytail whipping back and forth as she walked. Inuzuka Hana placed her fingers in her mouth and whistled so loud it drowned out all the other noise, reigning in the animals. I had to cover my ears to stop from going deaf.
Her narrowed eyes scanned the room until they landed on me, she scowled, stretching the red markings on her face. "Scarf-chan! I've told you before that you can't be back here, it upsets the animals!"
I gave the older woman an apologetic look but her dark eyes didn't linger, they swiftly met with my teacher's indifferent gaze before zeroing on the wounded pup. Without any prompting she stepped over and plucked the pup from Scarecrow's care, taking it to the next room. I went to follow her but stopped when Kakashi nudged me, I looked back at him questioningly and he nodded towards the waiting room.
Right. The pup is in good hands now, I don't need to crowd Hana-san as she works. We waited on the surprisingly comfortable chairs in the waiting room for about a half an hour before the Inuzuka veterinarian came back out, wiping the sweat off her forehead. I must've looked equal amounts eager and anxious when I stood to meet her because she chuckled when her eyes met mine.
"He's going to be just fine, Scarf-chan. There was a minor infection on the front paw but I've cleaned it and am treating it with antibiotics. He also was running a mild fever but I expect it'll be gone in no time." I let out a heavy sigh of relief.
I felt amusement in Scarecrow's chakra as he came to stand next to me, "Thank you, Hana-chan." he said. Huh? Hana-chan?
The brown-haired medic smiled slightly when she regarded my teacher, then she turned back to me. "It's a good thing you got him to me when you did, Scarf-chan. It could've been a lot worse. He should make a full recovery by next week, you can come by get him then."
Oh, wait no! He wasn't mine! I waved my hands back and forth and shook my head in the negative. Scarecrow spoke for me. "It's a stray we came across while we were searching for another lost pet."
Hana-san nodded in understanding and an idea struck me, I nudged my sensei with my elbow and he looked down at me curiously. 'Ask about our missing dog.' I signed.
One silver brow raised and he turned back to the brunette vet. "Say Hana-chan, has anyone brought in a black and white Shih Tzu to the shelter recently? Probably with little ribbons in it's fur."
A thoughtful look crossed her face as she raised a manicured finger to tap at her bottom lip. "A Shi Tzu, huh? Y'know I think someone might've brought one in last night. Let me go check. Don't move, Scarf-chan." she added, I scratched the back of my head sheepishly.
As it turns out, Kakashi and I ended up finding Tama the Shih Tzu before the boys after all.
Sora, April 13th: The 'Golden Treat'
No, no, no! If I use a Wind character then it'll just react against the Water character and I'll end up freezing the subject instead of saving them! Yet, I have to use a Wind manipulation string so the subject doesn't suffocate while the seal is in use. Ugh! Sometimes seal theory makes me want to tear my hair out.
I end up stuffing another chadango in my mouth, taking a moment to savor the sweet green tea taste on my tongue.
Haah~
...sweets always make things better.
I was only half-heartedly keeping a ear on my surroundings and heard Takara-san greet a customer. I was mostly focusing on the papers in front of me. Now, how am I going to get around that pesky suffocation problem? I can't even begin working on applying any Yin chakra for healing and sustainment if the outer barrier is going to fail and kill the subject.
"Oh! Sora-san!"
I heard my name. Glancing up I see a familiar pair of green eyes and head of pink hair.
Sakura? She was standing at the counter alone, probably waiting on her food. I blinked in surprise when I finally noticed Sakura's unusual appearance. Like the last time I saw her at the library, she wasn't wearing her hitai-ate or her hair ribbon to hold back her bangs. Her long pink hair was tied in a low ponytail that hung over her shoulder and her bangs were instead swept to the side and behind her ears. She was wearing a knee-length red skirt and a sleeveless white shirt.
This certainly didn't look like the Sakura I knew Before.
Again, I felt a pang in my chest as I'm reminded that this was an irrevocable change that I actually had no control over. A reminder that the future I knew has changed.
And I still don't know whether for good or worse.
I lifted my hand in greeting, ignoring the pit in my stomach and tried to smile in a friendly way, she quickly stepped forward to stand next to my table. "It's a surprise running into you here." she blinked. "I mean... not that I'm surprised to see that you like sweets-Not that I'm saying it's obvious you like sugary foods! You look like you stay in good shape! Very muscular! Sugar is great for building muscle mass! It's also really delicious! It's a wonder why more people don't eat it and I am going to stop talking now."
She finally stopped babbling, cheeks aflame and as pink as her hair. I was smiling genuinely now. How have I never noticed how adorable she was before?
Takara-san came out from the back, a tray in her hands. "Here is your anmitsu, Haruno-san."
"Ah! Uhm... Thank you very much." As the pink-haired girl pulled out money for her food I turned back to my drafts. Suffocation. Freezing. Right, annoying.
I heard someone clear their throat and I glanced back up curiously, Sakura was staring resolutely at the tiles on the floor.
"Would you maybe... mind if I eat lunch with you?" she asked shyly.
Lunch? With Haruno Sakura? The same girl that used to hide my satchel bag and shoes in the trash because she thought I was trying to steal Duckie?
Well... weirder things have happened.
Nothing immediately comes to mind, but I'm sure they have.
I gestured at the seat across from me and a grateful smile stretched her lips, her Grounded chakra bubbling with delight, washing away any unease I had previously. She settled herself at the table and I pulled a spare paper forward to make conversation. This was a social lunch now.
Placing my pen down on the paper I found I had no idea what to talk about.
Well...
There was a mutually awkward silence on both our sides for a solid ten minutes as we ate sweets.
Oh! Idea! I wrote, "I didn't ask the last time, how did your parents react to the news?" Emerald eyes landed on the page and she flushed, her chakra swirling with embarrassment.
"It... it turns out that I really overreacted. When I got home and told them, the first thing my Dad did was hug me. After I, ah... stopped crying, my Mom sat me down and told me that it didn't matter that one man considered me a failure. It didn't matter because she still believed that I was capable of doing anything I put my mind to."
I smiled. Sakura's Mom and Dad sound really cool.
"They told me that I didn't have to go back to the Academy if I didn't want to, and that I had as much time as I needed to decide what I wanted to do with my life. So... after a couple days of sulking, I chose to check out the medical program at the hospital." Sakura was beaming by now. "I am now a learning nurse practitioner of Konoha's Medical Corps."
That's really, really cool. "Are you happy?" I asked and her smiled faltered. Crap! I hastily added, "Sorry! Too personal. You don't have to answer if you don't want to."
"No, no, that's not it. I..." Sakura paused, a thoughtful look on her face. It was awhile before she spoke again, slower this time. "I'm... definitely not where I'd thought I'd be, but... I think... that I am. Happy, I mean. I like treating people at the hospital, helping them. I like the responsibility that comes with it..."
Her beaming smile was back, and what a lovely sight it was.
"Tell me more."
She blinked, looking confused but still smiling. "About what?"
"About it all. The hospital, what do you do there? Is it interesting? What kind of people do you work with there?" I scribbled excitedly. Sakura became increasingly flustered the more I wrote but her chakra warmed all the same.
I didn't figure out the solution to the Stasis problem that day.
Sora, April 15th: Training Grounds Three
Team Training Day
Wheezing-Need-AIR-SOON!
I roll to the side onto my hands, and I see Naruto stick his fist where my gut previously was. Cerulean blue looked towards me and I saw him grin, whiskered face sweaty and flushed pink with exercise and pure joy. The Hero really does like sparring too much, the little training junkie. I think this is the longest I've lasted during a spar in a while.
I push off the ground and jump back to put distance between us. It was fairly pointless as Naruto gave me no time to catch my breath as he charged forward again, swinging. Double-Chocolate-fudgeballs!
Terra gasped. Such language! She mocked. I was so not in the mood to amuse her at the moment I was a bit busy trying not to-
-Moving my hand to deflect Naruto's fist to the side, grabbing his wrist to keep him still, counter with throwing a punch at his head. He lifted his arm to block my punch, he was still grinning like he was having the time of his life.
Making use of my longer legs, I reach down and hook my boot around his ankle and pull, letting go of his wrist at the same time, he let out a shout of surprise as he tumbled backwards. I still had no time to catch my breath as Naruto rolled to the side and kicked his feet out, sweeping mine from right underneath me. The jerk. I was drained of energy at this point to react in time. I hit the ground with a irritating 'thud!'.
"That's enough for today!" Kakashi-sensei called out from his comfy spot in the shade.
My body went limp on the ground as I sucked in huge, lung-filling breaths, letting the spring breeze blow over my face. I became very aware of the fact I was sweating like a pig, drenched to the bone practically. Naruto let out a groan and flopped onto his back, I was pleased to note that he was panting as well.
My friend laughed breathlessly, "Ni... Nice job, Sora-chan." I managed enough strength to lift my hand off my stomach and give him a thumbs-up.
Scarecrow mumbled something of a dismissive nature before disappearing. Duckie was gone soon after that and it didn't take the Hero long at all before he bounced to his feet, full of energy again. I was so jealous.
He reached a hand out for me and I waved it away. 'I'll lay here for awhile.' I signed tiredly.
He laughed again before starting to walk backwards toward the gate. "Okay then, I'll be at Ichiraku's if you need me!"
I pushed myself into a sitting position and gave the blonde a bewildered look. 'You just ate!' We had lunch not even a half hour ago! And he already wants ramen?!
He grinned foxily, "Having lunch and having Ramen are two different things 'ttebayo!" then he slipped out the gate, headed back to the Village proper and to his char siu ramen.
I flopped back onto the grass, basking in the perpetually sunny weather of Hi no Kuni. The blue sky was dotted with wispy white clouds and the sun was warm on my skin, the breeze kept the heat from getting too overbearing or humid. It was a really nice day today. So nice in fact, it almost makes me forget about all the danger headed to dear trouble-magnet Konoha.
Almost.
As it is, I still have a lot of things to do before I can just take a day off and sunbathe. Need to research, study, draft and seal a couple hundred gallons of water at some point. Duckie was still waiting on that. I got to my feet and I headed out the gate of TG-3 and walked down the winding road back towards the Village proper, I'd probably start at the library to look up a few things on reference to storage seals then spend a few hours working out the logic behind my Language Processing formulas.
Just as I was passing by one of the other TG's, I heard the tell-tale sounds of someone in the middle of training, if the shouting grunts were anything to go by. It was only because the feminine voice belonging to the shouts was so familiar that I peaked through the gate out of curiosity.
In the middle of the forested TG-12, I saw a splendidly familiar head of short navy hair in a soft yellow hoodie. I wasted no time in running through the fate and hugging my dear Hinata!
"Hyah!" ...or at least attempting to.
Unfortunately, as soon as I got within hugging range, my dear friend had spun around and Gentle Fisted me square in the chest. I saw stars and had flashbacks to our Academy days before I hit the grassy floor in a daze.
Hinata gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. "S-Sora-chan! I'm so sorry! I thought that you were Kiba trying to sneak up on me!"
I regret everything. It hurts... everything hurts... wait, why the heck is Dog-boy sneaking up on my Princess?
I lifted my head off the ground to look at her with narrowed eyes and raised my hands, 'Are Kiba's sneak attacks something I should be worried about?' I asked.
Hinata giggled with relief as she crouched down beside me. "I'm glad I didn't hurt you too badly." she murmured instead of answering my very important question.
She reached down a hand for me and I grinned. I grabbed her hand and pulled her into a suffocating hug. I sure did miss my Mouse. She squeaked in surprise but reciprocated the embrace after a moment of gathering back her wits.
Mouse pulled away with rosy cheeks and a shy smile, "I missed you too, Sora-chan."
'Sorry for interrupting your training.' I signed as I sat up properly.
She waved her hands as she made herself comfortable next to me. "No, that's fine! I needed to rest for a while anyway, I've been training for awhile now. Kiba-kun and Shino-kun told me that you were looking for me the other day. Sorry I didn't come to see you earlier, my Team had to escort a merchant to Nishihara Village to the east."
'It's fine, I just wanted to tell you about how our first C-Rank went.'
Mouse smiled delicately as she hunkered down for a story, "Oh, well you can tell me about it now. And then I can tell you about how our first one went. We had to guard an entire caravan."
So I told her all about the mission to Wave and the Search and Rescue we just had. In hindsight, I shouldn't have been so blasé about the things that happened. Hinata didn't take the news all that well it seems.
Her pale orbs were wide as she stared at me and I would've sworn they were going to pop out of her head. "K-K-K-Kidnapped!? And-and chakra exhaustion? Sora-chan, you could d-die from that!" she squeaked.
I waved my hand away, dismissing her worry. 'I'm fine now. It all turned out fine in the end.' Nobody got seriously hurt. Except for Gatō and Fish-head -who's name I learned was Kajika- who attacked us, they're quite dead now.
It was one of those rare times when Hinata's pale eyes conveyed her utter exasperation with me. I grinned unrepentantly at the dark-haired girl, it was nice to be the one fretted over for once.
"Sora-chan..." she said almost disapprovingly. It looked like she wanted to say something more but instead she just urged me to finish catching her up on the antics of Team Seven. When I finished she began telling me about all about what Team Eight has gotten up to these last few weeks.
We ended up talking until sunset, when she told me she had to be home to train with Hanabi-chan. I walked her back to the compound before squeezing the stuffing out of her once more as we said goodbye.
I watched as she disappeared behind the large wooden gates of the Hyuuga compound before letting out a sigh.
It was time to get back to work.
Sora, April 17th: South-Western Housing District
Mission: 'Tend Mr. Hata's Yard!'
I mindlessly swung the hammer, nailing the boards to the fence. I still had a ways to go until I finished. As I swung, my thoughts were turned inward.
'If you think about it, do we really need to attend the Exams? I mean, I could just not show up and claim I got food poisoning. Naruto and Sasuke couldn't attend that way.'
My other half scoffed derisively, One word, Sky-girl. Gaara.
Oh. Right.
Yeah, 'Oh'! The fate of an entire country kinda relies on the outcome of these Exams. Namely on the mental stability of one red-haired Jinchuuriki. Not to mention Whiskers wouldn't have a reason to get his God-father to teach him.
Crap, Jiraiya. Naruto really does need to sign on with the Toads doesn't he? Getting the old perv to teach him leads to summoning, Rasengan, Toads and finally Sage mode.
I sighed, pausing in my hammering. Why do things always have to be so complicated? Why isn't there an option where everyone wins and gets a happy ending!
Sans Orochi-teme and co.?
'Well that goes without saying.'
Inhaling deeply, I look over to the side. Naruto had rushed to fix his side of the fence in an effort to finish before Sasuke and the end result was less than desirable. The fence is in even more need of repair than when we started. Now he was being scolded by Kakashi while Sasuke had moved onto weeding the garden.
Sasuke was still being sulky, his moods seem to have gotten worse though. He's actively pushing us away now. It's got me really worried about him.
Geez... aren't there any right answers to this problem?
Perspective:
友達 (Friend)
Kakashi, April 18th: Jonin Lounge
"The autopsy said what?" my kōhai asked, his astonishment evident.
"It revealed signs of invasive surgical manipulation of the chakra network. Among many other things." I repeated as my eyes rested on the page in front of me. Sadly, I wasn't in much of a mood to read about my favorite romantic duo.
With everything that was revealed, the coroner had been amazed that the man could even walk at all. It makes me wonder just what Nama Kajika, formerly of Kirigakure had gotten himself into after his defection. Too bad that we hadn't gotten any information from his teammates before the woman had killed the other man and then killed herself with a lethal poison that had somehow remained undiscovered even after she was searched.
I glanced up and saw that Tenzō's face was grim, I could tell exactly where his mind had gone.
"I know what you're thinking, but there's no evidence that it was him." I assured the younger man.
There may not have been any evidence but that didn't stop the uneasiness from settling in my gut. The Mokuton user leaned back in his seat and looked out the window.
"He doesn't leave evidence behind... you know that, Kakashi-senpai. That's why he's still out there."
"He won't be forever. Jiraiya-sama will catch up to him one of these days."
And then he'll be dead because there's no way in hell anyone would be able to keep him locked up long-term. I doubt even Hōzuki Castle would be able to hold that traitor.
Tenzō was still had a distant look in his eyes. "...maybe."
Perspective:
空 (Sky)
Sora, April 18th: Market District's Main Road
They were a bit late this year but the first cherry blossoms have finally opened. The Hanami Festival isn't for another week or two at most, but that wasn't nearly important to me as today's blooms.
I made sure to wear my best outfit for today, a white knee-length cotton qipao and some wooden sandals. I didn't own anything really fancy, a hazard of being broke most of the time, but this would suit just fine. I know she wouldn't mind. I tied my red ribbon around my right arm, letting my orange-pink hair fall around my shoulders. I didn't have to wear my scarf because the collar on my dress was just high enough to cover my entire neck, so I didn't have to worry about people staring.
The streets were busy with swarms of people today, all dressed in different colors and designs. I guess people have already started arriving for the Hanami Festival. It would definitely account for the influx of people buzzing about.
Reaching my destination, I walked into the sunny-yellow building and was immediately met with a dozen different scents and flowers of every color. Walking out from a back room I saw a tall man with an ashy-blond ponytail, wearing a delightfully pink apron that had dirt smudges on it.
Clear green-blue eyes landed on me and a warm smile stretched Inoichi-san's face. "Sora-san. It's good to see you again."
I smiled and waved as I approached the counter. The older man leaned down and rested his elbows on the top. "Same again as last year, then?" He asked and I nodded. "Alright, I'll be back in a minute."
As Inoichi-san disappeared back into the other room again I took a moment to admire all the flowers, leaning down to smell a particularly beautiful bouquet of Gardenia. My musings were interrupted by loud footsteps headed down from the upstairs.
"Tou-chaaan! I'm going out! Shikamaru and Chōji should be coming by to-" Ino came to a stop when she entered the shop, wide, clear blue eyes snapping up and down, taking in my appearance in apparent shock. "Ehhhh!? Zakuro? Is that really you?"
I was quick to put on a smile and wave. If it looked forced, neither of us were going to comment on it.
Unlike Sakura, I don't think anything life-changing has happened to Ino since graduation. So that means she's still a full-blown Sasuke fangirl and I'm still the girl who was placed on the fore mentioned Duckie's team. Oh, dear.
Her shock was replaced with a frown bordering on scowl, "What are you so dressed up for? Trying to impress someone?"
Thankfully I didn't have to answer that because Inoichi-san came back out, carrying a stunning bouquet of flowers. He walked back to the counter and I reached into my ratty woolen satchel and took out my coin purse, getting the money to pay for the flowers.
"Here you are, Sora-san. Red Tsubaki, Cherry blossoms, Botan and your Hamanasu." I placed the money on the counter and set the bouquet in the crook of my arm, with my free hand I gestured to my heart and then to my lips, mouthing 'Thank you'. Inoichi-san smiled and nodded.
Crap, Ino's moving in again. I quickly turn around and just about dash through the door, almost knocking over Shikamaru in the process?
"What the-Sora?"
I spun to face the Nara and the Akimichi standing behind him but couldn't stay to talk because Ino was following me. I turned back around and practically dived into the midday crowd.
I didn't particularly feel like being interrogated today.
Perspective:
念頭 (Mind)
"Soooo... why are we following Sora?" Chōji asked before stuffing another handful of chip in his mouth. That was a really good question, I was just wondering the same thing.
"Shhh! We'll be found if she hears us! And didn't you see how she was dressed? I don't think I've ever seen her try and look pretty the entire time we were at the Academy." Ino turned around, whipping her ponytail in the process. She had a scary look on her face. "She's definitely up to something! I know it!"
Haah... What a drag...
"Ino..." I sighed, "We have to meet up with Asuma-sensei for training."
Not that I really wanted to train. It just happens that I didn't want to be doing this even more. It was probably a pointless effort to remind her now that she's set her mind to it. I just wish she didn't have to get us involved with her craziness.
I would rather be laying in the shade somewhere cloud watching instead of stalking our former classmate.
Sora stopped at a store and went inside, we were hiding around a corner on the opposite side of the street as we watched her browse the shelves. I sighed.
This could go on for hours. For all we know she just dressed up because she felt like it. Isn't that what girl do? She could just be out doing errands and we'll have wasted our entire day following her.
I'll probably regret asking her this... "What makes you so sure that she's up to something?"
Ino's eyes snapped from spying to glare at me. "The bouquet, duh! Red Camellia mean; to be in love! Don't you understand what that means?!"
"No." I replied flatly. I really don't. And I'm sure now that I regret asking.
"Boys..." Ino rolled her eyes, "It means she's obviously trying to win over Sasuke-kun!"
I frowned as I thought about that. I seriously doubt that's the case. When we were in class, Sora always had a habit of looking at us all like we were just silly little kids, including the Uchiha. And I don't think she's changed that much in the few months since graduation.
"Why not just ask her what she's doing?" Chōji offered. Finally a reasonable suggestion. We'll ask and she'll say some boring, non-Sasuke related reason and we'll finally be able to get on with the day.
Ino scoffed, "She'll just deny it or make up some lie to cover up what she's doing. There's no point in letting her know that I'm onto her."
Chōji frowned, "Sora doesn't lie."
Ino frowned now, "Of course she lies. Everyone lies."
"No. Not Sora." My best friend insisted. It was true though, Sora has never lied, annoyingly enough.
We used to get into a lot of trouble when Iruka-sensei would ask her if we did this or that. She refuses to lie but she can also refuse to answer a question if she wants to. Most assume that she can't speak because she's illiterate or just stupid, so she can get away with just playing dumb a lot of the time. But just because she won't lie doesn't mean that she'll correct someone when they're wrong. The trick is to be very specific when you want a straight answer from her.
Ino was about to retort further but I decided it was best to divert the topic. It's better not to upset Ino anymore than she already is. She likes talking about flowers so maybe this will put her in a better mood.
"So what do the other flowers mean?" I ask, not really caring about the answer.
Ino paused, a thoughtful look crossing her face. "Huh? Well, Cherry Blossoms mean kindness or gentleness. Peony means bravery. And I'm not sure what that last wrinkly one is, I think it's a rose of something."
Love, kindness and bravery? That sounds really sappy, like one of those storybooks Sora writes. I have no idea what 'romantic' is supposed to look like but that seems more sentimental than anything. Sora ended up buying a candle before taking the road out towards the outer forests. Wait... that's familiar...
"Hey Ino, when does the Blossom Viewing Festival begin?" I ask. Is it that time of year already?
"Eh? May 4th. Why?" Her eyes narrowed before a troublesome smirk pulled her lips. "Are you planning on asking Zakuro...? That's a great idea, Shikamaru! You can keep her away from Sasuke-kun! I totally give you my permission! In fact, you should go ask her right now!"
She spun me around and started pushing me towards the other girl. "Woah-hey! I-Ino! Stop pushing me!"
I pried her claws off me before she had a chance to shove me into Sora. Chōji stopped eating, his eyebrows pinching together. "Wait, so... the cherry blossoms have already started blooming?"
Ino scowled, looking annoyed. "Yeah, what about it? Why are you two so interested? Oh! She's moving again! Let's go!"
I shared a glance with Chōji, from the look on his face he came to the same conclusion that I did.
Ever since the Academy, Sora would always disappear on the first day the Cherry blossoms began to open, every year without fail. One year, Chōji, Kiba, Naruto and I had gotten curious and decided to follow her.
...then we decided never to do it again.
As Sora got nearer to the tree-line I elbowed Chōji to get his attention and nodded towards our troublesome teammate, he caught on and we both grabbed one of her arms before dragging her to meet up with Asuma. Ino, of course, fought us every step back, crying about not losing Sasuke-kun the whole time.
It's troublesome, but it's better this way. If she continued to follow Sora, our nosy teammate would end up feeling like and asshole and whine all day about us not stopping her sooner.
Haaah... this is such a drag.
Perspective:
空 (Sky)
As I passed by the large maple trees and headed further into the forest, I was very amused to note that Shikamaru and Chōji began to forcibly haul Ino away when they figured out where I was headed.
Amused and thankful.
It was peacefully quiet as I walked along the small trail. The trees swayed gently as a spring breeze went by. The clouds seemed heavy in the sky today, it would probably rain in a few days.
I reached the end of the trail and my eyes rested on the small shrine I made so many years ago. It was underneath a sprawling Hashirama tree, made up of three rocks spaced evenly apart with the largest one standing upright in the middle. I lowered myself to my knees in front of it, folding my legs underneath me. Laying the flowers on the ground in front of the stone, I moved my lips, as if I still had a voice.
Happy Birthday, Kaa-chan.
I brought you a bouquet today. Inoichi-san had remembered what time of year it was for me so he set them aside for when I came by. It really was kind of him. I'm still not sure how he grows all of these in our climate. I wouldn't be surprised if chakra was involved somehow.
Red carnations, for my love. I will always love and cherish my time with you, my Mother.
Peony, for bravery. You gave up your life to save me, because of that sacrifice I have found the family I have now.
Cherry Blossoms, for your kindness, gentleness and as a symbol of rebirth. I know that you never knew the truth about me in this life, but I pray that you are loved and happy in your new one.
And finally Hamanasu, your favorite. Just as you described it when I was growing up. I remember you said you missed it, how it used to grow outside your window in your Village. A rugged flower that's grown by the sea, one that can persevere even against adversity. I hope you like it.
I know that you probably can't hear me wherever you are but that's okay, I like filling you in on what's been happening just in case. I've been very busy lately, our missions have been a bit boring, but I'm okay with that. Boring is rare when you're a member of Team Seven as it turns out. The boys keep things exciting enough as it is.
I was actually hoping to get some advice from you, maybe. I've been having a bit of trouble figuring out a problem, Kaa-chan. And well, you always seemed to have the right answer.
My friend Sasuke, the moody one I told you about? Y'see he's going to be running into some problems soon and I don't know how to help him. If I do nothing I might end up losing him and a lot of bad things will happen after that because I'm not actually supposed to be here. I took another girl's place and there are things she can do that I can't. She's supposed to save lives.
But if I do manage to stop it from happening then I have no idea what the consequences will be. And I might just lose everything because of it. There's no guarantee that my friend will even stay if somehow I manage to keep the snake away from him. And just because he doesn't get bit in the Forest doesn't mean that Orochimaru won't get to him some other, more dangerous, way.
Not attending the Exams means very bad things will happen and Sasuke will still be a target anyway. Trying to stop the Snake Sannin during the second Exam means he'll just come another way that I won't know about this time and it might cost other people's lives in the process.
I know he wants a powerful host body to inhabit so he can live longer. Sasuke is his perfect candidate after being rejected by Itachi, Sasuke's more powerful older brother. The only way I can think of to protect Sasuke is to offer Orochimaru a more interesting toy to play with.
I scoffed bitterly at the thought.
What's more interesting than the near limitless power of the Sharingan? Nothing but the Rinnegan, and I wouldn't even be surprised if Orochimaru knew how to create one... using a Sharingan. And it just comes back to Sasuke.
Sasuke would always be a target. He'd never be safe outside the walls of the Village even if he doesn't get the curse seal or leave on his own. He'd be confined to the Village for his own safety and would resent every moment of it until he hated the Village for denying him his revenge and we're all the way back to square one again!
Sasuke's anger just keeps getting in his own way, doesn't it?
Auugh! I wanted to scream in frustration! This is maddening! It just keeps going around in circles! I dug my fingers into the ground, tearing the grass beneath my fingers. Why do I have to know these things!? Why do I feel so helpless to change anything!?
Why-Why-WHY!?
Panting-Gasping-DeepBreaths-
-In and out.
In...
...out.
Breathe...
I unclenched my hands and grimaced at the crescent indentations left on my palms. In my minor panic-attack there I managed to break the skin and draw blood.
I sighed, releasing the rest of the tension in my body.
It's... it's not fair.
Sasuke is going to leave to go kill Itachi and Naruto is going to chase after him and I'll...
I'm... I'm at a loss here, Kaa-chan.
I could really use some help.
I fell backwards onto the grass, I let my eyes gaze at nothing in particular. A breeze swept by, my cheeks were cold and wet. I placed my arm over my eyes and prayed for some kind of answer.
Kaa-chan... what am I going to do?
Formula Arc,
Chapter Twenty-One: "Our Normal"
END
A/N: I'm learning stuff everyday. Like Ikebana! Did you know that Cherry blossoms are also a symbol of rebirth? I found that to be really interesting.
Chapter overview... there was a puppy. Which resulted in Kakashi/Sora bonding time. Somehow, Sakura is an socially awkward duckling after a few months of no Ino, Naruto or Sasuke. There was HINATA! The adorable snuggle-wunnie! Team Ten showed up and there was a Shikamaru POV. Fun times. And it seems like Sora has finally come to terms regarding the Exams, huh?
Fun Fact! All these Pro/Con's Sora and Terra are having are actual thoughts and arguments that have gone through my head each time the problem 'Save Sasuke' arises.
...I have issues, I know.
You guys are so cool for answering these questions of mine. Thank You to xenocanaan, Outcast001, DiabolicalGenius1, Noface, joebob323, 431101134, Dark Rose Charm, Irissiell, Mistress Ann, 7019289, Crystal Blue Butterfly, -Thank you for answering my author questions!- HayaaShigure-kun, Shahzeb and Guest you answered all my silly questions too! You guys are really awesome.
Three words I would use to describe you guys?
Sweet, Incredible and Wookie. 'Coz everyone knows Wookies are awesome.
Author Question!
"What is your favorite genre to read/watch?"
I'm into pretty much anything. Except horror I guess, I don't get scared that easy.
Funny story. When I was seven, my family and I went to a haunted house on Halloween and there were two grown-ass women behind us clinging to each other and one of them pointed at me and said, I quote: "Suck it up! Look at the little fairy princess! She's not scared at all!"
I promptly looked over my shoulder and gave them a 'You high?' look. I couldn't for the life of me understand why they were so afraid. There was popcorn on the ground as decoration for crying out loud!
Heh... Wuv yew all! 'Till next time~
-Nanami