Ch8
"Speech"
'Thought'
speech within a story
The Story (Part1)
"Kaito! Oh please don't die on me Kaito!" a teenage girl wept against the setting sun. A war had just ended between the country of lightning and fire, lightning had lost and through the few who had survived, the girl held her future husband in her arms. The others had left, partly because they saw no hope in saving the man and the partly perhaps, because they did not wish to.
"Yori…ko…I don't know how much longer I will last," the man whispered as blood dripped from his forehead.
"No, you're going to be fine! You must live, at least until our child is born!" tears poured as she desperately gripped his clothe.
Kaito gave a quick chuckle and placed his hand upon her head without a word.
A few shadows appeared in the distance. "Split into groups of twos and start looking!" an order was heard.
"Damn, I think they're Konoha ninjas," Kaito lowered his brows angrily and looked up at the direction. He could see two figures moving swiftly to them. "Yoriko," he whispered, "Get out of here before they catch you."
"But…"
"Listen, I don't know what they're doing back here but if they find you and decide to capture you then I can't help you," he said , keeping a glare at the approaching figures.
"No, I won't leave you!" she said with a determined voice.
"Stop acting valiant at a time like this. You must go, remember that you now hold the two lives that are dearest to me," he smiled.
"No, I won't!" her clutch came tighter upon his chest.
"Damn it, you hav…too late," Kaito breezed out.
"There's someone there," a voice of a woman notified, "Let's go an take a look."
Yoriko looked up with uncertainty as the two figures approached them.
"Those are," the second ninja narrowed his eyes, "Lightning Shinobis."
"I believe you're right," the woman replied.
The two stopped before the Yoriko and Kaito. Yoriko placed herself between Kaito and the two foes, panting heavily, still not yet fully recovered from the battle earlier.
"Shall we finish them off?" the man asked.
The woman looked down at the teenage girl, glaring furiously with eyes of determination. "Does he need help?" she asked pointing to Kaito.
"Eh?" Yoriko blinked slightly dumbfounded.
"Tsu..Tsunade-sama!" the man gasped, "They're lightning Shinobis!"
"What about it?" Tsunade shot a disgusted glare across at the shinobi, "the war is over, these individuals are now no different from you or I. We were fighting the lightning country, not its ninjas. When someone is in need, whether one of us or not, we must do all that we can to help that individual, that, is the Konoha way. ---tightens her glare---and if you can not see that, quit being a ninja."
The man looked down shamefully and whispered, "I understand."
Tsunade lowered her height to match the sitting girl and gave a gentle smile, "If it's alright with you, I would like to take a look at your friend there."
There was something about the woman's smile gave Yoriko the feeling of trustworthiness. With a small nod, she lowered her dagger and shifted aside. Tsunade examined the man, who also looked back at her with a sense of admiration and gratefulness. She collected her chakura to her palms until a faint glow was seen and placed it upon the man, one hand on his chest, and the other upon the wound on his head.
"Thank you," Yoriko whispered.
Tsunade turned her head with another soft smile, "you're welcome."
The young teen looked with amazement as color returned to her boyfriend's face. "If you wouldn't mind me asking," Yoriko said shyly, "Could you tell me how your healing works?
"Well, I can't share with you much at all because that would be revealing the techniques of our country," Tsunade replied and looked at the girl's face fall into disappointment, "But I guess I can tell you a really basic one." She finished off. The girl's face immediately brightened.
"You see," Tsunade began, still keeping her hands where they are to continue with the healing, "The way healing works is that you sacrifice a small bit of your chakura to your patient. By forcing in access chakura to your patient's, you increase its flow to the mitochondria of his or her cell, thus increasing the cellular division frequency. If your patient is lacking in chakura, which most of the time will be, then form a layer of chakura with yours to prevent it from scattering from the wound. Once the wound is healed then the patient will regain his own chakura by himself."
"I see," Yoriko listened intriguingly.
"Well," Tsunade sighed getting up, "He should be fine enough to keep his life. You can take him back to a hospital now. I still need to go look for some of our survivors if there are any," she smiled and hand signaled her companion to get going
Light furnished its way gently upon the leaves, bringing a soft sparkle of emerald glow that traveled to the soggy ground from the morning dew. A thin layer of mist formed as vapors condensed before they can make their hasty retreat to the heavens that awaited them. Naruto gave a long stretch of his back and a few cricks upon his joints and looked about the scene. He was still at the hills where he had sat last night. With a tiring yawn, he turned his vision to the general directions where the others were.
"Naruto, you're awake," Sakura called pushing aside a few branches through the bushes, "I just came by to wake you but it looks like you saved me the trouble."
"Morning Sakura-chan," Naruto gave a smile and got to his feet.
His steps were brisk and full of energy. The large curve formed by his lips was so full of joys and welcome of the new sunrise that Sakura could not help but admire knowing what the young man was going through. For some time now that she had noticed a second characteristic to the boy, which she could not see at first. Behind his idiotic actions and carefree laughter, there was a more intimate side to the boy which she would think she had understood all, only to find another layer underneath sometime later.
Breakfast was quiet that morning. It was one of those rare moments when even Naruto fell silent as he chewed away at his rice ball. Sakura took nervous glimpse of worries at the quiet blond boy which he himself did not even notice. A few moments later, they had finished and packed away the remaining supplies.
"Alright, let's try to reach the boarder by sunset today, let's move!" Kakashi ordered and jumped to the branches and looked back to make sure his team was following.
Kakashi and Sakura lagged slightly behind as Naruto and Sasuke jumped swiftly at the front. "Kakashi-sensei…" Sakura whispered.
"What is it?" Kakashi replied monotone, keeping his sight fixed forward.
"Who is…" she stuttered.
"Who IS…."
"Who is Naruto?" she finished off.
Kakashi turned his head and raised an eyebrow in question.
"He acts like a fool, always clumsy, arrogant, and hotheaded, and so full of himself. His loud, don't know when to quit, and never seems to be down or depressed. But then…sometimes I see him alone and he seems more sad then anyone I had ever seen."
"Naruto isn't as simple as you think," Kakashi replied calmly, "There are things that he knows that some may never be able to comprehend. If you must know a definite description of him then I suppose the only way for me to tell you is that his stupidly wise," he gave a short chuckle.
Sakura looked up at the lad in front of her, exchanging arguments with Sasuke pouting his lips. "Stupidly…wise…" she thought for a while before letting a small grin come to her face.
(Sun glides its way across the sky)
"Hey Kakashi-sensei," the loudmouthed blond shouted back excitedly, "I think that's the border to the country of mist!"
"Well I suppose that's a good thing," replied the masked ninja, "stop at that sign right there."
The group jumped off to the sign which read "Now Entering Country of Mist".
"So, where do we go from here?" Sasuke questioned, brushing the hair from his forehead where a small amount of precipitate had formed from the long day's run.
"Naruto, did your mom leave you where those two old folks' house was," Sakura asked breathing deeply to catch her breath.
"No, all she told me was that she ran through the woods from a sign and saw the light from the house," Naruto explained, "so maybe if we just searched around here then…"
"Sigh," Kakashi shook his head, "Naruto, how do you even know that it was this sign she ran from."
"Oh…right…" said the boy crossing his arms in deep thought.
"Hey wait a sec, you told us that those elderly couple was the parents of a Kunoichi named Yuriko right?" Sakura gasped enthusiastically.
"I see where you're going with this," Sasuke cut in, "it sure will give us a place to start."
"Alright, we'll start with that then," Kakashi gave a nod.
"I don't get it…" Naruto asked scratching his head.
"You told us that there was a Kunoichi named Yuriko whom the sword was trusted to right? If such an honor was to be given to a lady so young then she must have some sort of fame in the country. If we go to town and as where she or her parents may be residing then…" Sakura explained.
"Then we might be able to find them!" Naruto shouted with excitement, "Alright Sakura-chan, that's smart thinking right there!"
"Eh hen!" Sakura gave a short wink.
(At the Mist Village)
"Wow, it sure does live up to its name doesn't it," Sakura glanced from one side to the other at the dense fog that hovered low to the ground.
"I can barely see a city block," Naruto groaned.
"Alright, let's split up and start our search, call if you find something through the headsets," Kakashi raised his hand and with a twirl of his wrist, signaled "Begin"
(Time Passes)
"Did you guys find anything?" Naruto called as his group reunited at a cross section.
"No, nothing. Geeze, you'd think that someone would know something about the wave striker if not Yuriko-san," Sakura gave a disappointing sigh.
"I'm guessing that ever since the sword went missing, they banned any talk about it to not make their village seem weak. You don't want your foes to know that your country couldn't protect its most valued item do you?" Kakashi said in a peaceful manner.
"Hmm, but that means we have no leads, where are we going to search at now?" the blond boy sat down and rested his head upon one hand.
"WAIT, YOU CAN'T!" a cry sounded from the left as the four's heads turned swiftly.
"What do you mean we can't, your cheap store's been owning money to our boss with over 6month late. We've got tired of waiting so we're just going to take what's rightfully our!" a group of men glared disgustingly behind as they exited the store.
"Please, I will get the money somehow but do not take that! That is not even mine to begin with. Take all that you wish but not that!" an old man pleaded as he chased the leaving gang.
"You don't have anything else that of any value," mocked one of the men.
"You should have thought of that before you decided to borrow money from our boss," laughed another.
"Please, take all that you wish, anything else you would like but leave that cross with me," pleaded the old man again as he grasped the man with his treasure by his pant.
"Stubborn geezer, get YOUR FILTHY HANDS OFF," the man raised his hand in a fist and just as his arm came down to deliver his heavy blow, another came swiftly up, forcing it to stop in its tracks.
"If the man wants it that bad, then give it to him!" a pair of angry eyes flared with anger.
The man took a few steps back in surprise, "Who the hell are you!" he demanded.
"His on his knees, begging you for something so small as to that so just give it to him!" ordered the teenage blond.
"Who do you think you are to order us around!" the man said angrily, "I'll teach you, you little brat!" with that, the man made a mad dash toward the young lad.
Calmly, Naruto opened his palm and ducked and readied his favorite move. The orb formed rather smoothly, hovering a few inches from his palm. With one smooth motion, he extended his arm to the approaching man's stomach. Just before the orb made contact, he tensed his muscles, forcing the swirling ball of chakura to explode in a sudden outburst. The shock only sounded no more than a strong gust of wind to the near by crowed that had gathered to watch the commotion but it was good enough to send the man flying back a few meters, winding him in the process.
"You're…a ninja," the man groaned as his comrades dashed in to his aid. "Fine, what ever, take it!" he spat as he chucked the cross behind. "Listen up old man, the next time we come and you still don't have the money, we're going to take the entire house!" he shouted as his fellow gang members helped him up.
The crowed that gathered had dispersed and Sakura made her way to the fallen man. "Are you alright sir?" she asked.
"I'm fine thanks to this young man," he thanked. His facial features was of an elderly man though bits of black hair still shown through his white. He seemed rather thin, even for the amount of seasons he had seen, but his stature as he stood back up seemed strong and valiant. As he picked the small cross from the ground, he breathed out heavily in relief and gave it a tight grasp.
"It was nothing, but what was it that you wanted so bad of?" Naruto turned with a questioning glance.
"Oh this?" he remarked reopening his palm, "It is something I swore to protect. A silly little thing really," he chuckled.
Sasuke narrowed his eyes suspiciously, "Who gave it to you?" he asked.
"A woman by the name of Yoriko I believe," he replied.
Naruto spun around with a sudden twist as his eyes widened of shock, "Yo..Yoriko?"
"Yes, you know her as well?" the man remarked raising an eyebrow.
"I wish to at least," the boy whispered, looking down to the floor.
"Come on Naruto," Sakura called, "we still have to find a place to stay for the night."
The old man looked up pensively at the boy, then jerked his thumb toward his inn. "Why don't you guys stay in my inn for tonight. It's not much but you fellows are travelers right? I won't charge you, think of it as a thank you for your kindness," said he.
"Really?" Sakura gasped, "Oh thank you very much." Sakura smiled with a bow.
"Sure no problem," he grinned.
They walked into the tumbled building. Papers scattered fresh on the floor, some with distinct foot prints left by the men's heavy steps. Tables were flipped to the ground ad drawers had been thrust out and all of its content amongst the dusty of the cold wooden floor. The only thing left untouched was a small shrine behind the front desk of a statue of a bronze Buda, sitting ever so calmly upon its cushion with its eyes peacefully closed and palms open upon it's cross legged knees.
(During Supper)
"My name is Kameao Kenji, and that one serving up your supper would be my wife Rei," introduced the old man.
"Nice to meet you," Sakura tilted her head with a small nod, "I'm Haruno Sakura, the one next to me is Uchia Sasuke-kun, and the id…" she stopped her tongue when she noticed the unusually settled behavior of the blond boy, fighting with his chopsticks. "(Cough) I mean, the blond boy there is Uzumaki Naruto, and this is our teacher, Kakashi-sensei."
"Kenji-san was it?" Naruto interrupted, "Tell me about this Yoriko-san who gave you that cross," he said firmly.
The rest of the team shifted their glance to Kenji who looked about in a confused look from the sudden question. With a small understanding grin, he began.
"It was some 15 or so years ago that incident occurred. I had been returning from a rather…nostalgic trip to the cemetery. It was the anniversary of my dear father and mother's death. They weren't of very fortunate a couple you see. They're house where they had lived all their life caught on a fire, which they had never told me of what cause, and so, came to live with me. The only thing I recall them saying was something about Yuriko, my sister and a very fine Kunoichi, had come back to them and saved them from their certain demise. I nodded to their comments thought I never took it seriously for I knew that my sister, though as good of a Shinobi she was, had died in the war years before. I merely told them that she was missing in fear of breaking their old hearts. They were very fond of her you see.
"Anyways, I was still quite well off back then and I've decided to find a few men to rebuild their house, just as it was before. But unfortunately, mother passed away before the house could finish and father exactly one year later. Doctors say that it was old age but I knew it was from my mother's death.
"As I made my way back, it began to rain. At first it was no more than a few sprinkles, no more than a needle's width, but within only a few minutes it became a horrid storm. In this country, whenever it rains, the mist only thickens and more dense from the added water content. As you can see, you can already see no more than a block and this is one of the better days. The cemetery is a few way outside this town so I had to walk through the mountain trail you see. Normally, because there is only one trail, that was the road which I followed. But with the fog so thick, I could see no further than the length of my arm. I pondered slightly and finally decided, after seeing that there was no way to get back in such conditions, to find some form of shelter and wait it out. The rain here don't last long and once the rain is gone, the mist clears not long after you see. As I waundered through the mist, I hooked my right arm upon a branch and it tore quite a chunk of skin out of me.
"I stumbled myself upon a small cave and there I waited. Just as I thought, the rain dispersed. It was about 30minutes after that, that the fog had cleared enough for me to see a decent distance and so I decided to make my way out. It was then that 7 figures shadowed behind the wall of vapors. My eyes widened with terror as I realized immediately of what they were, Wolves! They had been attracted by the smell of my blood after the fresh rain eliminated all other.
"My instincts told me to run but my eyes failed to locate a place to run. The only direction that was left for me was back in the small cave where I had sheltered through the down pour. With each back step I took, they crawled up two until finally I had run out of steps to take as my back hit the rocky wall of the cave. The wolves came closer, their eyes focused upon me. I glued my back against the wall, turned my head to the side, and shut my eyes in preparation of my death.
"I heard a growl and my muscles tensed. A 'yelp' I heard, and realizing that I was still unharmed, I opened my eyes. A woman stood before me, holding a kunai in a defensive position.
" Are you alright she asked as she took a quick flip back.
"A gasp escaped my lips as I took her face to my eyes before I replied a yes through the downward motion of my neck. 'It couldn't be' I thought, for before me stood my dear sister whom I had seen dead, for I was the one who confirmed her body within the dead.
"She turned back to the wolves as they snarled viciously and with one quick motion of her hands to her chest, whispered some words which I could not pick up. Then, thrusting them forward, she yelled Kanashibari no Jutsu (Paralysis Technique) I watched with astonishment as all 7 wolves froze on the spot. She then turned to me calmly and walked over with a smile.
" Your arm is curt, let me have a look at it she whispered.
" I obeyed and extended my injured limb. She took a short time examining the damage, then with a quick smile, placed her palm upon the wound. I felt a small tinge, followed by a suiting warmth and when she had removed her palm, my cut had been completely healed."
"Yoriko-san was a medical ninja?" Sakura interrupted.
"Somewhat, she told me that a kind friend she knew long ago told her a bit about it and she had practiced on plants and animals. More details…I think she said something about a medical personal from Konoha but I forgot what that person's name was," the man replied.
'A medical personal from Konoha?' Naruto thought, 'could it be…nah…he did say a Kind friend'
End…
I will end this chapter here. I wasn't planning to update until June20 but then I noticed that this story, I haven't updated for quite some time. Hope you all enjoyed this one
Iris: Thank you, but you know what, I bet if you start writing you would be just as good as me. It just takes practise
Naru-Hina#1: Thank you
Shina-lim: Surprise! Finished this over long weekend faster than what I thought was possible. As you can see from my profile, exams are almost here haha.
Redex: No, I have no problem with constructive criticisms. To tell the truth, I didn't run a spell check either :-P
MelanieStar: I see you've stopped updating too, got exams coming up just like me? Oo;
Arte73: Thanks, this story actually tops all my other stories quality wise so far. I'm glad you like it, I'm trying to tie this in as much to the actual anime as possible, but I think you've noticed that already heh heh.