Disclaimer: Well, I must say that I don't own Naruto, but I do own Aria and other characters that I include in my story, plus the general storyline.
Note: Thanks so much to all of my reviewers. You guys make my day and I'm glad you enjoy the story!
dream/thoughts
"speech"
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Aria was being held by two tracker assassins; they were forcing her to look ahead at her burning home. She began to plead with them, knowing that her parents were about to be led out next to be executed before her. Her pleads fell on deaf ears as they always had and the assassins looked ahead with dead eyes.
Suddenly, Aria's head was forced up and she saw the other assassins leading their victims sullenly. Aria's eyes widened in dread and shock when she saw who is was. There, being led in a single line was team seven. The ninjas were lined up side-by-side, their terrified expressions cutting fresh wounds into Aria's heart. Bile rushed forward into the young female assassin's throat, but she managed to choke it down. Suddenly, a tall, dark figure emerged from the flames of the burning house and walked toward her. Taking Aria's chin gently in his gloved hand, the man forced her to look at his flaming orange eyes.
"You serve me, young Seer. No matter what frivolous code you have dedicated yourself to; your life is mine forever." The master assassin's expression turned to one of feigned regret. "I'm sorry Seer, but you knew that getting attached to people is forbidden." The man spun around on his heel and proceeded to cut the throats of Sauske, Naruto, and Sakura. The teenager's bodies fell to the ground, blood staining the ground a treacherous red. Lastly, the master assassin came to Kakashi and put the dagger to his neck, Kakashi looked at Aria with a blank and dead expression before the dagger sliced across his throat. Kakashi's head rolled to the ground, his eye still staring up at her with a heartbreaking look.
Aria couldn't tear her gaze from Kakashi's face. She began to tremble violently and the tracker assassin's grip on her loosened, allowing her to sink to the scarlet earth. Suddenly, she opened her mouth and let out a bloodcurdling scream.
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Kakashi had woken up long before Aria and was studying her with admiration. The girl had slumped over sometime during the night and was now resting her head against Kakashi's shoulder. Her body was pressed up against his and a soft, peaceful smile was placed on her lips. Carefully, Kakashi tucked one stray hair behind her ear and smiled under his mask.
In a moment, Aria's face changed from one of peace to pure terror; she began to tremble and beads of sweat formed at her brow. Kakashi frowned; the terrified expression on her face didn't suit her at all. A scream from outside the tent made Kakashi's head snap up.
Aria's eyes shot open as she recognized the scream. Sakura. Panic set in as Aria whipped out two of her daggers and slashed the side of the tent. She dully registered that she had been leaning against Kakashi as she lunged forward and out the tent. Unfortunately, sunrise had already come and gone and white-hot pain shot through her eyes as they explode from the sensitive color of deep violet to a glowing gold. Without pausing, Aria ran towards Sakura's tent, blinking away the pain. The assassin fully expected to see the master assassin to step from the young girl's tent, holding Sakura's beheaded body; instead, a pink blur shot from the tent and barreled toward Aria, who only just moved her daggers to avoid running the girl through the stomach. Sakura ran straight into Aria and clung to the older woman's waist, trembling with fear. The assassin did a mental check on the younger girl to make sure it wasn't a clone or a deception, finding no trickery; Aria untangled herself from the girl and dove into the tent.
What she found was not at all what she had expected. A huge, hairy spider was perched on Sakura's pillow, looking straight at her with its many eyes. Aria stooped down and plucked the arachnid from the pillow and held it up, inspecting it from every angle, trying to decode any type of trick. It was a normal spider, not even poisonous...
Numbly, Aria stepped from the tent, still shaking uncontrollably. Sasuke, Naruto, and Kakashi had joined the women outside and were all looking at her strangely. At the sight of the spider in her hand, Sakura screamed again and jumped behind Naruto who looked dazed. "What's going on?" Sasuke asked.
When Aria didn't answer, Sakura turned to Sasuke "I…woke up to find that thing crawling on me." She panted. Sasuke looked at Sakura strangely.
"It's a spider. You've fought bloodthirsty ninjas and you're afraid of a spider?"
Sakura shot him a fierce look "They are so gross, spiders just sneak up on you from nowhere and creep onto you before biting into you flesh with their fangs." she retorted.
Naruto looked at Aria and suddenly appeared in front of her. "You guys, I don't think Aria's breathing!" he shouted, pressing his face inches from the assassin's. "Breath, Aria!" he screamed.
"A…spider." Was all Aria could manage, "It…was…only…a spider." She continued dumbly. Naruto nodded and reached for the creature in Aria's hand, making to crush it. Quickly, Aria's clouded eyes cleared and she jerked back her hand. "It is okay, Naruto, I'll just put this away from camp."
Adrenaline was coursing through Aria's blood and her heart was pounding so hard that she thought that it would simply stop. If she didn't move, her mind would break and insanity would overtake her. Without another word, Aria turned and crashed through the bushes and ran. When judged herself to be far enough, Aria let the spider down on a branch and watched for a moment as is scuttled into the leaves. Suddenly, Aria fell against a nearby tree and took deep breathes, trying to calm her mind, body, and soul.
The only thing that Aria truly feared in life was the Master Assassin. She had escaped his grasp and was the only one to ever have done so and lived. The reason that she had abandoned her home was that the he had threatened her with a torture worse than death itself; he had wanted her eyes and expected her to give them willingly. For the transplant to be successful, Aria would have to be alive during the surgery and would not be able to take any type of drug. She had panicked and fled. The one of the guild master's many powers was that he was basicallyimmortal; he wouldn't be able to die of natural causes and would always be hunting her.
If the Assassin's Code didn't forbid her to commit suicide, Aria would have plunged the dagger in her hand into her own heart years ago. After what seemed like an eternity, Aria's breathe became more even and her heart calmed down, letting the risk of heart attack pass. Aria now faced a battle between her commitments to the Code that she was sworn to follow and the instinct to run as fast as she could far away. At last, her mind won out over her primal instincts and she straightened. Right, the first goal was to keep her charges safe; she would not let them get into danger. Perhaps after she arrived in Konoha she would do something differently, but until then she would guard them with her life.
When Aria stepped back into camp, she found all four of the ninjas still frozen in the same positions that she had left them in. In a flash, Naruto appeared in front on her. "Are you okay?" he questioned.
Aria let out an exasperated sigh and pushed Naruto away firmly. "Naruto, have you ever heard of something called 'personal space?' I swear that if don't stop acting like your sensei, one day some girl is going to pummel you to the ground."
Naruto opened his mouth to answer, but Sasuke cut him off. "Kakashi-sensei, what happened to your tent?"
Everyone turned to look at the huge slash that had marred the cloth. Aria colored a bit and put her hand behind her head. "Uh, um, sorry about that. Here, I'll patch it up before we leave." Quickly, Aria turned to her pack and pulled out a thread and needle. Before anyone could react, the assassin dashed over to the tent and narrowed her gaze on the rip; she expertly stitched the cloth together, careful not to leave any weak spots.
Kakashi watched in amazement, still trying to comprehend what had happened, one minute the girl looked like she had seen death itself and the next she was stitching up his tent. "Go start breakfast." Hecommanded the three young ninjas. When he felt them leave, Kakashi walked quietly over to the young woman who was now working on another rip on the other side of the tent. "What are you doing?" he asked.
"You have a few weak areas in the fabric, I'm just reinforcing them." She answered without breaking away from her work.
"I see…" Kakashi answered thoughtfully before deciding to ask the question that had been plaguing his thoughts all morning. "What are you afraid of?"
The sliver-haired ninja watched as Aria faltered in her work and miss the fabric. The woman's hand began to tremble slightly, but otherwise, Aria's face remained stoic. "What are you talking about?" she asked so quietly that Kakashi had to lean closer to hear her.
Kakashi's hand shot forward and grabbed Aria's. In one movement, he swung her around and smashed her into a tree, pressing his own body flush against her. Kakashi lifted his headband to reveal his red eye so he could take in her reactions more closely. There was a haunted look in the assassin's eyes that he hadn't noticed before and her skin was pale. There was only way to make her better...and that was to make her angry.
Aria had been caught by surprise and was mentally berating herself mercilessly. She should have been paying more attention to her surroundings, but instead she had been thinking about what she feared most. It was true then: fear clouds the judgment and mind. Now this idiot had her pinned again. The adrenaline rush had already dissipated and with it her strength. "Let go of me."
Kakashi smirked behind his mask and looked her in the eye. He knew that her strength was gone and for that matter, his students...perfect. "No, I don't think I will." He answered nonchalantly. "At least until you tell me what has you so afraid; any fool would know when an assassin such as yourself shows fear, there is a good reason for it." Aria leered at him and suddenly spit in his face.
That was disgusting. Kakashi thought with a scowl. Oh well, it gives me an excuse…
Kakashi pressed his body harder against the girl, watching with some satisfaction as a spark appeared in her golden eyes. Wiping his face with one hand, Kakashi leaned closer to Aria so that he could feel her warm breath beneath his mask. "Hmmm, this feels nice, since you won't tell me the information I need, I think I'll be content with this." Kakashi saw as Aria's eyes widen and her arrogant look disappeared for a minute but then it flickered back to life.
"I don't have to tell you anything, ninja. You forget that if you lake advantage of me right now, my oath is shattered and I will kill you, along with the rest of your little friends without a second's thought."
"No, Aria, I didn't forget that little detail; I'm better than that and I won't ever take advantage of you, but we will remain in this position until you tell me what I need to know."
Fire was practically pouring out of Aria's eyes as Kakashi spoke. "Fine, you really want to know?" she spat, venom dripping with her words "I left the Assassin's Guild a few years ago and the Master Assassin has been hunting me ever since. He is the ONLY thing that I fear."
Kakashi looked at her strangely but did not release his grip. "You're afraid of a man who calls himself the 'master assassin?' We can help, Aria, when we get to Konoha you, me, a few other ANBU ninjas can take care of him."
Aria's eyes widened in shock and she began to tremble more violently beneath Kakashi's body. "No." she stated quietly.
Kakashi looked at the fear that had suddenly come back into her eyes and felt his heart be engulfed with hatred. Who did this man think he was, hunting down Aria? "You seemed to forget Aria that you have to do what I say."
Suddenly, Aria felt a surge of energy and she quickly took Kakashi by the shoulders and flipped him around to their positions were reversed. "No. I honestly don't care what I swore. NOTHING and I mean NOTHING will ever make me go actually seek him out. This man has power beyond your wildest dreams and knows how to use it. There are worse things than death, Kakashi. Torture would be a blessing to what this man does to those around him. If even TRY to make me seek him out, I will kill you. It will be the best thing, believe me. I would be doing you a mercy."
Aria was panting and her face was white. Trying to FIND the master assassin? That is the dumbest of all stupid ideas that have ever been unfortunate enough to pass through the minds of men. Aria slowly backed away and turned back to her work, hands still trembling. "I'm sorry Kakashi, but there are some things that should not be spoken to anyone. You hide your face, and I hide my past. We should arrive in Konoha a little after noon if we leave in an hour." With that, Aria began to shove all her things into her pack.
After a moment, sonorous laughter filled the camp. Aria turned around to see Kakashi laughing so hard that tears filled his eye. "I can't believe that it worked" he said between fits of laughter. Aria narrowed her eyes at him, only succeeding in making him laugh harder.
"What worked?" Aria demanded.
"Making you mad, you're back to your stubborn, wonderful you." Kakashi cracked an eye open and looked Aria hard in the eyes.
"You did that to make me angry?" Aria seethed. "Are you insane? I could have killed you!" Kakashi simplykept laughing and finally fell to the ground.
"You should have seen yourself. I thought for a minute that your head might explode." Aria let out an enraged yell and rushed straight at the man. Kakashi soonrealized that he might be in forbodily harm if he didn't get outof there quickly,and quickly dodged the rampaging red-head; he stopped laughing and jumped up to the trees, followed by Aria.
"Get back here you creepy pervert!" she screamed.
Kakashi had seen the look on Aria's face and had no intention of slowing down. Suddenly, the three students appeared and Naruto and Sasuke jumped up in attempts to save their sensei. Aria literally ran straight through them. "I'm going toKILL him!" she growled.
At last, it took all three of the students to dog-pile Aria, and even then, she continued to kick and punch, catching Naruto accidentally in the face. "What did you do!" Sakura screamed above the mighty curses that were now sprouting from Aria's mouth.
"I just had a little talk with her…" Kakashi explained innocently.
"A LITTLE TALK?" Aria screeched. "THAT PERVERT PRESSED ME AGAINST A TREE AND DELIBERATELY INVADED MY PRIVACY JUST TO MAKE ME MAD. WELL GUESS WHAT? IT WORKED!"
Sasuke looked at Aria, then at Kakashi, and then back again. "Alright, the only way to settle this is for Aria and Kakashi to have a fair fight. Aria, you have to promise not to kill or do any permanent damage to him, do you promise?"
"You bet, I'm going to enjoy this." Aria replied instantly. Quickly, all three students scrambled off the young assassin and too much of Kakashi's dismay, watched her charge head-on at the Copy Ninja. Aria was past the initial anger and suddenly honed in on Kakashi, analyzing every movement of every muscle. She watched him prepare to move to the left, even though he was feigning to the right.
Instantly, Aria turned and brought her leg back into the man's stomach. Kakashi's eyes opened wide as he fell to the ground. Aria had the look of a machine and was acting without anger, empathy, or anything at all; the assassin came at him again and unsheathed her twin daggers.
Kakashi took out his kunai and blocked the series of vicious attacks; she matched him skill-for-skill and Kakashi still had the impression that she was holding back. Not having any other choice, Kakashi stuck at her face. Aria obviously had seen that attack coming and easily spun out of danger, sending another kick at the man's stomach.
Aria watched Kakashi dodge the kick and sent a few punches his way, catching him in the chest, jaw, and arm. Instantly, she dropped to the ground and sent a round-house kick at his feet. When the ninja dodged those attacks, she rushed at him again, getting past his defenses. Not wanting to make any mistakes, Aria preformed a series of attacks that resulted with Kakashi on the forest floor with Aria's two daggers crossed against his throat and her knee on his spine.
"Stop, Aria, you won!" Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura yelled in unison. They hadn't needed to worry because Aria had already sheathed her daggers and was hulling Kakashi up.
"That was amazing!" Naruto exclaimed when he saw that Aria did not have the intention of shredding his sensei into ribbons. Suddenly, Naruto leaned down and plucked something from the ground. "Hey, what is this thing?" he asked.
Aria turned around and saw what he was holding, instinctively, Aria moved forward to take it from him. "Naruto, don't press-" her warning was cut off when Naruto's finger pressed the cool, black surface and a blinding light filled the clearing. Luckily for the four ninjas, their eyes weren't as sensitive to strobe light and so they only saw white spots for a moment. Aria, however, fell back in; pain coursed through her eyes. The assassin fell to the ground, clutching her eyes and pressing her head against the cool earth. Damn.
A firm hand pressed down on her shoulder. "Aria, what's wrong?" Kakashi asked in a shaky voice.
Aria looked up and opened her eyes, team seven all took in a collected breath; Aria's eyes were as white as a new snowfall. Hearing their gasp, Aria offered a feeble smile and waved them off. "It's no problem; I'm just going to be blind for a minute. Go get breakfast and pack, I'll be there in a minute."
"What are you talking about? We aren't going to leave you in middle of the forest blind!" Sakura shouted. Aria turned her gaze toward the sound.
"Listen to me, I'm going to have to do something to make myself able to see again and I can't show any of you what it is, do you understand? I'll be fine." Aria answered with a smile when she didn't hear anyone move, she sighed, "If you don't leave, I'm going to be blind forever and I really don't think you want that."
At last Aria felt the four members of the squad leave reluctantly. Suddenly, a thud sounded nearby and Aria turned so that she was facing the sound. "What was so important that you decided to blind me, Uio?" A large hand suddenly wrapped itself around Aria's head and she allowed the newcomer to tilt her head back and pour a liquid into her eyes.
The assassin blinked as her vision cleared as if a white veil was suddenly lifted from her eyes. A large, burly face was looking at her curiously and she immediately sat up. "Well, what do you have to say for yourself, Uio?"
The large man put out a large hand and picked Aria up and carried her to a nearby tree and placing her against it gently. Then, he stood and looked down on her. Aria watched him in expectation, having to look up at the seven feet that he stood. "You got yourself caught, didn't you?" He finally said.
Aria gritted her teeth and looked him in the eyes. "Yes, Hatake Kakashi and his team rescued me from death in the river." This was Uio, another assassin that was almost always on her squad during co-missions; he, Hiyu, and Aria were a deadly trio and they had become like siblings. Uio, like the others possessed a certain gifts; he could pass through any type of solid object and was gifted or cursed whichever way one looked at it with amazing strength and a special ability to heal. Despite those abilities, Uio had taken a deep liking to Aria and often acted as her protector, it was strange that he decided to blind her.
"Hiyu told me that you were in the company of that ninja, he also said that he hurt you with his whip. Where is the wound?" When Aria didn't answer, Uio flashed an exasperated look. "If you let me help you, I'll give you news."
Aria's curiosity was touched, but she had to get back to the others and this was just wasting her time. "He hit me on the back, but I used the stuff you gave me a while ago and it's fine. You need to get out of here and tell Hiyu to take a dive off a cliff."
The large man laughed and Aria winced at the noise "I came to tell you that we followed your example and left the Master Assassin."
"WHAT?" Aria nearly screamed "Please tell me that you're kidding, you know what happens to those that betray him." Aria searched her companion's face and, to her dread, a green flash erupted from his mouth.
Uio put up a large hand and his face turned serious "Hiyu and I both know that, but we also know that we can't stand around and participate in hunting out closest friend. After his fight, Hiyu and I decided to leave and find someone to teach us the Assassin's Code." Uio beamed down at Aria, obviously very pleased with himself.
Another flash of green appeared and Aria put a hand to her face, suddenly overcome with the urge to scream at the stupidity around her. "Arg! Uio, you have no idea how happy it makes me that you have decided to join the Code, but what were you thinking leaving the Master Assassin? I joined the Code and was a part the Assassin's Guild."
Uio looked at her curiously "We were hoping that you would be willing to teach us the Code, and I told you that we couldn't stand to hunt you anymore."
Aria shot him a glare "How do you propose that I teach you the Code when I'm supposed to watch over these ninjas? No, I'll give you a location to another member's home and he can teach you, I've got my hands full."
The giant before her looked her over and then towards camp "I could take care of them for you." he mused.
Aria gave her companion a horrified look "No, these people are good and they are innocent...well for the most part. I can't let that happen."
"Aria?" a voice suddenly cut though the forest. Aria instantly recognized it as Kakashi's. Hurriedly, Aria took out a sheet of paper and scribbled some directions on it.
"Here, take this and go. If he finds me here with you, he won't trust me enough to protect him. I trust you, Uio and tell Hiyu that I'm sorry; I wish you luck, now go!"
Aria watched silently as Uio took the paper and stuffed it into his vest before giving her one last look and finally sinking into the ground. Aria watched the place where her friend had disappeared for a moment before getting up and making her way toward camp.
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Ah, I hope I didn't disappoint anyone with this chapter--I really don't like it very much but it's necessaryfor the plot. Anyway, review and tell me what you think!
--Sandsifter