Chapter 4
Kurai was gone by the time Senjo awoke. Kohaku was sitting out on the balcony, staring at the street and the people walking by. "No work today?"
"My repair crew is off for the day, but we start again at sunrise tomorrow to fix the last of the houses. What about you?"
"The hospital staff said I could have a day off, but they'd send a runner if they needed my help calming anyone."
"I still can't believe they trust us enough to have you working with the injured. Aren't they worried you'll twist their minds against Konoha?" Kohaku teased.
"I guess not. Must be my innocent nature that lets them trust me."
"Senjo, you are anything but innocent." When the other girl didn't respond, Kohaku looked over to see her head down and shoulders slumped. "Hey, what's wrong?"
"I had nightmares again. About that night." Senjo sat next to her friend, leaning against her shoulder and feeling safe for just a moment as Kohaku embraced her.
"Want to talk about it?"
"That requires thinking about it more. We both have our demons, Kohaku. Lucky that ours just have names that aren't easy to forget."
"Kurai has his own demons to deal with. Everyone does."
"Gaara doesn't count. But- Oh, I see." They were silent for a moment, both focusing on the people walking by. "Where's Kurai?"
"His crew was scheduled to fix the wall surrounding the village today. Then he said something about finding a place to train for a bit."
"Oh."
"So, what did you find out about Naruto?"
"You're not going to believe it, but I trust my source."
"Why's that?"
"He trained Naruto for the month between the Chuunin fights. And from what I saw, he's a pretty powerful ninja."
"I wonder why he'd take an interest in a goofy kid?"
"Naruto's no ordinary kid, Kohaku. There's a reason why he beat Gaara, and why he's the only one who could."
Whack! Kurai's leg connected with the trunk of the tree, and he frowned at the slight twinge that raced up the limb. He hit the tree again, ignoring the pain as he focused his mind on becoming empty. It was a trick he'd nearly perfected, and it helped him focus on the task at hand rather than anything inconsequential. Again and again he attacked the wood, switching to his fists every now and then. And all the while, he tried to get Senjo's words out of his head. "Gathering information with a perverted old man? She swore that they just drank, but what if-"
'You owe me.'
"Senjo learned everything from her mother, but she promised never to go that far. I know she wouldn't intentionally go back on her word, but-"
'I was with a perverted hermit all night.' Kurai narrowed his eyes and kicked the tree one last time, putting all his frustration into it. He heard the wood splinter and felt it give a little. The trunk had indeed cracked, but not enough to topple it.
"Senjo is mine, and no one else's."
"You're pretty good against unarmed trees," a slightly familiar voice said. "How about trying those moves on a real opponent?" Uchiha Sasuke stood at the edge of the clearing, a smug look on his face. Kurai returned the smirk and flexed his arms and legs to loosen the joints.
"Sounds fine. But until I find a real opponent, I guess you'll do."
Kohaku sat with her mouth hanging slightly open, staring at Senjo as the girl finished explaining what she'd discovered. "You're right, I don't believe it."
"Just think of the power he has. And from what I saw, he's only just begun to tap into it. The Shukaku never had a chance when Naruto became its opponent."
"Still, that kind of power in a human body is dangerous. Who would do that to a child?" Senjo frowned slightly, rolling her eyes.
"Our Kazekage, for one. But you're right, this village doesn't seem to be the type to do that. Unless they had no other choice."
"Why not give the power to an adult? Surely one of the Jounins at that time could've handled it."
"Well, who would suspect a little blonde-haired kid to have the Kyuubi? He wouldn't be as big a target as a regular ninja."
"True. And speaking of targets, I have a favor to ask, Senjo."
"Sure, what is it?" Kohaku was silent for a moment, trying to figure out how to word her request. She could always force the other girl to help her, but she didn't want to have to resorts to threats- at least not yet.
"I want to do something to help that girl Sakura. She's going through what I did, and I don't want the same thing to happen to her. We need to show that Uchiha kid what he's doing to her."
"Kohaku, you know as well as I that we could get in serious trouble if we tried anything. How were you planning on convincing him, anyway?
"Your Seiryoku akuma (Forced Nightmare Technique)."
"Absolutely not! I hate that technique, you know that! It can warp people's minds if I'm not careful, and it has the possibility of killing them. Why-"
"Because I don't want to see some other kid turn into Tansei. I couldn't do anything to help him or myself back then, but I'll be damned if I'm going to let anyone else suffer like that!" Senjo stared at her friend, seeing the tears that threatened to spill over. The look in her eyes was equal parts anger and compassion.
"Kurai was right. You do feel guilty."
"It's not guilt, it's empathy. I know what Sakura is going through, and I have a way to help her. But I need your help, Senjo. Please, I don't want to see her hurt like I was. I know Sasuke's capable of doing what Tansei did, and I want to stop it before he even gets the idea in his head." The silence stretched on for a good five minutes, Senjo staring at her lap and Kohaku clasping her hands together in what looked like prayer.
"All right, I'll do it. But we need to make sure that no one else interferes. We'll take him somewhere in the forest after we knock him out. And then after it's done, we leave him for someone else to find."
"Deal. Now let's go. I have a pretty good idea of where to find him."
Back in the clearing, Kurai and Sasuke circled each other warily. That the Sand ninja had no visible weapons in no way made the fight easier. He was a Chuunin with at least a year's experience behind him. "So why wasn't a Genin team sent? Did your village have no use for you?"
"You met the only Genins we had this year. We were sent to avoid conflicts both here and back home." Kurai rushed forward, fist out in a slam attack, but Sasuke flipped over his head and made to sweep out the other boy's legs. Kurai instead trapped the leg and aimed a kick at his opponent's head. Sasuke caught the limb and threw him, but Kurai got a handful of his shirt and pulled him over as well. Both boys were instantly on their feet, smirks gone and eyes focused on the fight.
"Were they worried about an uprising after the Kazekage died?"
"They were worried that I would challenge Gaara." Sasuke initiated the next attack, jumping into the air and forming seals.
"Katon: Goukakyuu no jutsu (Fire Element: Grand Fireball)" Kurai met the ninjutsu with one of his own:
"Kaze no Yaiba (Wind Blade)." Even before the fire was out, Sasuke had a kunai out and activated the Sharingan. He was behind Kurai and had the blade to his back before he realized he was staring at a clone. "Fuuton: Sakashima senpuu (Air Element: Reverse Whirlwind)." Sasuke was knocked to the ground and held there as the mini tornado wound itself down. Kurai was nowhere to be seen, but he was still close by, that much Sasuke knew.
"Why would you challenge Gaara?" he called out. "Isn't everyone in your village afraid of him?"
"I'm not everyone else," Kurai said as he leapt down from a nearby tree. "I can stand on equal ground with that monster." His eyes flicked to Sasuke's, and he frowned slightly 'He's using his bloodline limit already? Am I really that much of a challenge for him?' Not wasting another moment, Kurai sped towards his opponent, kunai out and meeting the other head-on. Sasuke blocked very well, and he quickly tried to grab a shuriken from his pouch, but Kurai saw the move and bore down with his full weight, knocking them both to the ground. Sasuke got to his feet first, and went into a handstand-kick, pivoting once he was in range. Kurai got first one leg, then the other, but saw the punch just as it connected with his chest. He was airborne for a moment, and Sasuke was suddenly beneath him, kicking this time into his back. Kurai had only a moment before the next hit came, and he formed the short succession of seals almost instantly. "Fuuton: Chiri gufuu (Air Element: Dust Tornado)." Sasuke was caught by the choking wind, but he quickly got to the side and ricocheted off a tree. He was above Kurai now, and by the look on his opponent's face, he was clearly surprised. Sasuke brought his leg down on Kurai's chest, which the latter managed to block at the last moment with his wrists.
"Shishi Rendan (Lion Combo)!" The move drove both boys back to the ground, where they stared at each other for a moment. Kurai was not letting go of his leg, and Sasuke did not have much leverage at the angle he was leaning at. "Why do you fight so hard? Why do you want to face Gaara?"
"Have you ever wanted to defeat someone so badly, that your blood quickens whenever you even hear their name? Have you ever trained, day in and day out, to make sure you were superior to that person? And have you ever watched them and realized deep down, that no matter what you do, you still can't defeat them?" Sasuke's eyes reverted to normal, and he stared down at the older Sand ninja, seeing in his eyes the truth of his own struggle.
"Yes." Kurai was about to sit up, when he suddenly saw Sasuke stiffen. A moment later the dark-haired boy toppled over, eyes closed. Kohaku and Senjo stood over him, and he saw that Kohaku had used the flat of one of her staff's blades to knock Sasuke out. They had been so wrapped up in their fight that neither had felt the girls' presence, and now he glared at them.
"I'm in the middle of something."
"Not anymore," Kohaku stated. "We're borrowing your sparring partner for a little while."
"Like hell you are. I'm not done with him."
"Actually Kurai-kun, I'd say you are. Seems to me that Sasuke won that round. He had you pinned," Senjo noted. She received a growl in response.
"You're interfering. I'm not in a good mood right now-"
"I don't care. There's something we need to take care of, and you getting your ass beat by a Leaf Genin can wait. If you're so upset, go finish knocking down that tree," Kohaku told him, nodding her head at the cracked one he'd been working on earlier. Before he could make a retort, she grabbed the back of Sasuke's shirt and began dragging him away. "Senjo, we're leaving."
"Coming, Kohaku-chan!" The redhead picked up Sasuke's legs, and Kohaku repositioned herself and her staff to get underneath his arms. They walked off without another word. Kurai slammed his fist into the nearest tree, ignoring the trickle of blood from his now-split knuckle.
"Damnit!" He swore to the silent forest. "What the hell are they planning?"
The section of woods the girls found was a fair distance from the village walls, and it didn't look like anyone had been in the area for a while. "Let's get this over with before a patrolling ANBU team shows up," Senjo said as they quickly tied Sasuke securely to a tree. The redhead stared at the boy, absent-mindedly brushing his hair out of his eyes.
"You sure you can do this?"
"I promised you I would, Kohaku-chan. Now I just need a moment." Senjo closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths to calm herself. She had not used this technique since the Chuunin exam, when it had won her her final fight, but left her opponent a gibbering mess. She needed to focus and concentrate on what she wanted the nightmare to contain. Sasuke's mind would fill in the rest, and she only needed to maintain the genjutsu's world from there on. She opened her eyes and worked through the seals, placing her fingers on Sasuke's temples when she was done. The side effect was that she would see what he saw, and she steeled herself for the images that would soon come. "Ninpou: Seiryoku akuma (Forced Nightmare Technique)." Then, there was darkness.