Chapter 27: My life
There was the sound of shuffling and a unique clutter from the Camera's microphone, the video was little more then a blur as the device was rotated and shifted around. Finally when the rotation stopped, the blurry picture became clearer as the camera's lens automatically sharpened. It settled on to the image of Shikamaru's face as the boy held the camera outward in his hand towards himself, frames appeared in the corner of the screen, a blinking red light at the lower right side of the camera's screen with the letters 'REC' adjacent from the time '8:00AM' and date. And lastly the readout of a full battery lay underneath it.
"I am unsure exactly how this situation I am in came to be exactly." Shikamaru said, somewhat narratively. "I have been 2000 years out of place for about 3 months now, and a lot of things have taken place before I began this recording. I don't know what will happen next, but I've decided to keep a record of everything that transpires. I don''t know what propose this might hold later, that is in part why I am doing this, but this is the beginning of it. And to the best of my ability I will capture everything that takes place."
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By this time the snow had all but melted outside, the temperature was considerably warmer, it felt to be about 55, and an even warmer breeze swept through the city. The sky was as clear as a perfect summer day, large white clouds drifted through the sea of blue peacefully on the warm winds . The sun was bright overhead, filling every part of Konoha with the golden light and heated rays. By all rights, except for the wetness of freshly melted snow, this was a near perfect day.
Konohamaru would have been angry at that before, that the world was going on as perfect as ever while he was grief stricken. But he wasn't grief stricken today, like many others here were, though he was disappointed that the snow was gone. The boy stood clad in a black suit that made him look somewhat mature, one similar to the ones Sasuke and Naruto,who were standing on either side of him, were wearing.
Konohamaru looked around from where he stood at the head of the large cemetery shrouded in fields of grass that seem to take in the sun happily, everyone had on some type of black, dressed in their finest and looking their best. Then he turned his eyes back toward the head of the crowd in neat rows stretching as far back as his height would allow him to see, where his Grandfather's funeral was taking place, and the first thing his gaze was drawn to was the large black casket. Many of the what had to be the hundreds of people were crying silently, it was morbid and depressing. It felt even more out of place for him since he was the only person here that wasn't sad, sure he was dishartened at his grandfather's demise, and the air here was depressing, and hard to breath in. But he wasn't sad.
Shikamaru and Lee, who stood side by side at Konohamaru's left, gave each other similar glances. Shikamaru took note of this, turning the camera in his hands towards the boy for a moment acknowledgingly. "Hey, what's with Konohamaru?" Lee whispered, his eyes fixed on the boy. "He looks kinda...out of it."
After that Shikamaru kept his vision ahead where the body of Sarutobi lay in a preverbal tomb of flowers, all different colors that surrounded the casket. "He's been like that for a while, I don't know what it is."
Behind Naruto and Sasuke, Iruka, Gai, Asuma and Kakashi stood faithfully, and they were amazed at how their attention was drawn away from the funeral. But it couldn't be helped, the living tended to draw attention more then the dead. Iruka leaned slowly to the side, whispering softly to Kakashi who stood next to him. "Am I the only one who noticed Konohamaru's not crying?"
"No." Kakashi whispered back, he too was wearing a black suit, but still managed to keep on his mask without anyone noticing either way. "But, one doesn't have to be entitled to cry at a funeral."
"But this is Konohamaru." Iruka sighed. "He's still young, and sure he doesn't have to cry at his Grandfather's funeral but he..." Iruka's voice trailed off, he couldn't quite come up with the way to say what he wanted.
"Could at lest show some emotion?" Kakashi offered.
"Yeah, when have you known Konohamaru to not be sad at a time like this?" Iruka asked. "Let's face it, he isn't the type that has much self control."
Another warm breeze swept across the cemetery, through the rolls of tombstones surrounding the area. "I guess he finally got some then."
Konohamaru stared at his Grandfather's body resting in the casket enshrined in flowers, and it was all to real. He looked past that to the person speaking, one of many speaking for a president, though oddly enough Konohamaru didn't hear a word of it. He was looking strait at the person, watching their lips move with spoken words, but he heard no sound. '...Huh...' Konohamaru looked up at Naruto and Sasuke who for once weren't paying attention to him, then around at the mass of gathered people and couldn't hear any of them. Curiously though his ears picked up the slight breeze of wind that blew across his face.
And he didn't care, he didn't care about anything..
He just continued to stand there among the mourning crowd, feeling out of place being the only person who wasn't sad.
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Beep, beep, beep
That sound, that faint sound that seemed to be so far away. As soon as his cloudy mind became the lest bit conscious he became aware of that sound, it was like drifting up from the deepest depths of the ocean and finally after an eternity he was nearing the surface. For the longest time he'd been blocked out, in darkness, in silence... in silence for the most part. Some times he could hear traces of distant voices , but other then that he was trapped in a dreamless sleep, the barest traces of in the back of his mind telling him he was alive and nothing more.
Beep, Beep, Beep
But suddenly he was bombarded with images, a nightmare. Coming at him so fast he could barely comprehend them, they seemed to seer the edges of his mind as they passed by, and the pain just got worse and worse as more and more of the images flooded his head.
Beep, Beep, Beeeee
Ebisu bolted upright in the bed, his body damp with sweat, his breath harsh and ragged, and his heart pounding in his ears. The sound was only over powered by the dead pan, constant tone of a monitor near by he was connected too. "K-Kono. Konohamaru!" The man looked around frantically, his blurry eyes were hurt by the harsh white lights around him, forcing him to shut them and falter back on to the bed in weakness.
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Konohamaru burst through the door with a released sigh, tugging down the tie around his neck as he walked into the Uchiha living room, tossing the fabric side as soon as it was unwrapped.
Naruto and Sasuke followed wearily after him, both of them were starting to get worried though they were slow in reaching that point. Naruto unbuttoned the jacket to the black suit he wore, then as it fell open he focused his attention on the top buttons of his collar. "I guess I can get not wanting to be all depressed at the funeral, there had to be like 500 people there, and all those cameras watching him. I guess I wouldn't want all those people seeing me like that either."
"The funeral was over an hour ago." Sasuke noted, taking off his suit jacket all together and setting it on the newly repaired stairs. Then he comfortably pulled the bottom of the white dress shirt from where it was tucked neatly beneath the waist of his pants. "What about now? There is something not right about him."
"Really?"
Naruto and Sasuke turned around with a startled flinch, finding Konohamaru standing there, his shirt completely open now. He seemed to really want to get out of that suit. "Konohamaru, uh..." Naruto stumbled nervously over his words, but he didn't get a chance to finish what ever statement would come.
"You guys worry way to much." Konohamaru shoved his hands in his pockets and walked towards the couch with slow steps, his eyes tilted upward toward the ceiling. "I'm fine, really."
Naruto didn't buy it for one second, "You just watched the only family you have die in front of you. And Orochimaru killed him." Naruto said, almost in a matter of factly tone. "No, your not fine, you can't be fine." Naruto folded his arms and shook his head stubbornly, he refused to believe it.
"Naruto! I'm alright Damnit."Konohamaru hissed in annoyance, sitting down on the couch and letting his body relax from standing on his feet for 3 hours. "I don't know what your worrying about anymore, I am not crying or all depressed."
"That's the point really." Sasuke sat down beside him, loosening the top button of his shirt with one hand. There, he finally said it, it's what everyone was trying to avoid saying since it wasn't really the kind of question a person would normally ask. "Why aren't you sad, he was your grandfather, and like Naruto said the only family you have left was just murdered. Your not grieving at all."
"Maybe I'm over it." Konohamaru snorted, his annoyance growing, showing clearly on his face.
"Or maybe your not." Naruto sat down beside him, looking down at him sternly. "Come on, I know you. It took you much longer then this to get over your parents."
"I cried, now I'm over it." The boy shot back defensively, his voice a loud yell. "I don't have to be sad all the time, I can be ok too! I'm allowed to be fine!" Was that all the recognized him by, always being sad and crying for one reason or another. Was it that bad that they had come to expect it and grew worried when he didn't?
Naruto looked uneasily towards Sasuke, one second he was annoyed and the next he's screaming. With a tired sigh he pushed himself off the couch, continuing to work his way down the shirt, prying more and more of the buttons open as he went. "Sure, whatever. But I know you Konohamaru." Naruto said, pointing to him accusingly. "Your not alright, and it's stupid to pretend to be when you don't have to." Naruto spoke from experience, it was harder to fake being ok when you actually had people who were concerned about you, it only made you bitter with frustration. And besides, he knew Konohamaru, who had a tendency to repress things and ignore them.
"Will all of you stop worrying about me!" Konohamaru shouted, his face contorted in annoyment and anger. "I'm not a little kid anymore Damnit! If I say I'm fine, then I'm fine! He's dead, he's dead ok! There is no use dwelling on the past." Some words he picked up from Itachi a number of years ago.
"Tch." Naruto just shook his head and walked off, treading over the newly repaired wooden floor boards and up the rebuilt stairs. "The Sasuke thing doesn't work for you!" And Apparently he picked up on where Konohamaru got those words, he was half right anyway.
Konohamaru folded his arms and closed his eyes stubbornly. "Whatever."
And Sasuke couldn't help but watch in mild horror as he saw a smaller version of himself starting to grow. 'Konohamaru...' What brought on this change? Konohamaru had to be sad about his grandfather, he had to be...right? "Konoha-"
Ringgg
Sasuke was interrupted by the ring of his phone, which was surprising since no one ever called this house, why would they, no one knew anyone actually lived here anymore. He'd forgotten he even owned one. '?' "What the hell?" Sasuke stood up and walked over to a table against the wall beside the kitchen door where a phone rested. Clearly suspicious he slowly picked it and held it to his ear. "Hello?"
Konohamaru looked back curiously over the back of the couch. "Who is it?"
"It's Iruka..." Sasuke listened curiously, and Konohamaru just waited, wondering what could possibly be the reason for the man to call. Sasuke's face grew a slightly more serious expression when he finally did hang up with out a word.
"What was it?"
"It was for you, He said Ebisu is awake."
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Konohamaru came to a quick stop down the white tiled corridors of Konoha General, the same hospital he'd been taken to after his rescue from Orochimaru, the top rated hospital in the country. The white dress shirt under his suit's jacket was buttoned up roughly, his appearance was some what hasty since he didn't have time to change. An anxious energy coursed through him, an energy that made him want to move as fast as possible, making him unable to be still or slow, an unexplained feeling that could only be relinquished by the sight of his body guard in his eyes again.
Naruto and Sasuke followed curiously behind him, watching as Konohamaru stopped at the door with the numbers '4477' engraved in golden letters on the large wood. The boy slowly pushed the door open and walked into the brightly lit white settings of the copiously clean hospital room, a rather large room actually. "Ebisu...?" Konohamaru paused cautiously in the doorway as his eyes drifted upon the bed.
There was a man laying there, a white curtain drawn halfway around his bed to farther block out the sunlight from a window, a white blanket drawn up to his chest, an IV in his arm and a tube down his throat connected to a breathing machine. "Oh man, he's in rough shape." This was Naruto's first time actually coming to see Ebisu, he didn't know how bad his injury's were nor did he know the extent of them, only how he obtained them.
"Yeah he is isn't he?" A voice agreed from behind the curtain, and just as soon the white barrier was drawn back. And there Ebisu was, sitting on the edge of another bed, dressed in the conventional hospital gown and clearly not liking it. Aside from that he seemed just as normal as ever, not even a mark left from the uncountable number of bullets that had been shot through every part of his body. "You would have thought they could have given this guy his own room but it's Konoha general, what can you do?"
Konohamaru's eyes illuminated far beyond what anyone had ever seen him reach, his face was in steady disbelief, it was like he'd seen the dead come to life. "E-Ebisu!" Konohamaru smiled greatly and ran over to the man, not so lightly diving unto him and tackling him back on to the bed as he wrapped his arms around the man and hugged him with every ounce of his strength. "Ebisu! Ebisu! Ebisu!"
Ebisu smiled lightly, wrapping his arms around the boy and hugging him gently, looking down at him with an almost interest in his eyes. The boy was squeezing him as hard as he could with his face buried in his chest, clearly not intent on moving anytime soon. 'Konohamaru...' Ebisu ruffled the boy's hair slightly. "Yeah, it's me..."
Konohamaru gave Ebisu one last, tight squeeze before he finally let go and forced himself to stand up, still smiling wildly. "I can't believe it! You look...you look, amazing! You look better then before." Maybe it was because he finally started to pick up on these things, like the subtleties of appearances and surroundings. He just attributed it to growing older.
"Yeah." Ebisu pushed himself up on to his feet and stretched his arms above his head, he was so stiff, but something like that was to be expected after laying dormant for 2 and half months. Honestly he thought it would be much worse, when he realized how long he was out that was.. "I feel better then I ever have, if you can withstand being shot a hell of a lot of times, I would recommend it."
"You remember?" Konohamaru asked.
"Everything." Ebisu smirked with amusement as he looked towards the door where Naruto and Sasuke stood with a mild confusion, Naruto in particular. "Don't just stand over there looking stupid, come over here!"
Naruto was so completely stumped he could do nothing but nod and obey, Sasuke right behind him. This was so strange! Where was that look Ebisu always gave Naruto, the discerning comments, he was smiling at him for goodness sake. And even more strange yet, his bandana and glasses were gone. "Y-You...You..." Naruto stuttered almost completely stupifyed, to the point where he could do nothing more then point at Ebisu's head until the words finally came. "You have hair! And Eyes!"
"Huh?" Ebisu subconsciously ran a hand through the short, black strands of hair that always seemed to stay hidden, as elusive as Kakashi's mask. And the dark eyes looked up at Naruto curiously, "What? You thought I was bald?" When he saw the expression on Naruto's face hadn't changed he knew what answer he would get. "Well I'm not."
"I have to admit, this is really unexpected." Sasuke wasn't nearly as dumbstruck, but he was throughly amazed, he'd actually seen Ebisu, he'd read his chart, he knew how many bullets they took out of him, and where. "I didn't think you would live, I didn't think you were even still alive."
"Yeah, I guess..." Ebisu looked up thoughtfully, nearly 3 months... "I don't know about you guys but I'm ready to sneak out of here, I never liked hospitals much." The man immediately began looking around for some clothing.
"Shouldn't you wait until they discharge you?" Konohamaru asked. 'If I had to wait, he should too!'
"Tch, you only live once, and I don't have time to waste sitting around in a hospital." Ebisu said, rummaging around in a nightstand near his bed. "There is so much I have to do, So much I have to catch up on."
Konohamaru looked back at Naruto and Sasuke who could only look indifferently or shrug. But still, Naruto was confused, who was this guy that looked like Ebisu and why was he so nice? Maybe that coma did something to him? Or maybe the shots in the head he took...Yeah, that was it.
"I hope you brought me some clothes." Ebisu stood upright and grunted in annoyance. "At lest they didn't steal my wallet, Is anyone else here besides you guys?" The man asked, Konohamaru shook his head.
Naruto rubbed his head, still somewhat off balance. ."We didn't uh...bring-"
"We can stop and buy you some clothes." Konohamaru announced bluntly, still grinning wildly.
"Yeah, ok, I guess... Might as well, I don't feel like going back to the White house just yet, it way too loud, I'm sure your grandfather can do with out me for a little while longer..." Ebisu found his bandana and glasses sitting in a drawer and familiarly dawned the two objects he was most notarized for wearing.
Konohamaru and Naruto glanced at each other and Naruto rubbed his head almost nervously. "That won't be a problem."... 'Aright Konohamaru,do you want to tell him or should I?'
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It was a short process, taking a half hour at the most. They managed to leave the hospital with Ebisu without incident, somehow no one noticed them. And of course afterwords they had to buy Ebisu some clothing, Sasuke just drove where he was instructed,which also hadn't taken too long, Konohamaru was entrusted with the job, since he already knew Ebisu's size and what he'd like the best.
It was awkward though, Ebisu had questions, who wouldn't have questions after being in a coma. Though all of them were reluctant to answer at lest some of them, the eventually told him what had been happening with Orochimaru and the Sound, of Zabuza, all but one detail Konohamaru seemed to avoid despite being fine as he was saying, though he promised Naruto he'd tell the man.
Sasuke pushed open the unlocked door to his home, Konohamaru and Naruto following behind loyally. Ebisu lagged behind slightly, and finally stopped completely at the door way, looking around nervously, and his body was tense enough to match. "No way, I can't."
Naruto, Sasuke and Konohamaru paused, looking back. Well, they could see why he would be reluctant, this house did give off a rather unwanted vibe. Bad things seemed to happen here. "It's ok." Konohamaru said reassuringly.
Ebisu took a deep breath and stepped inside, he felt kind of silly, being a grown man and so nervous about coming into a place where Konohamaru walked into so freely. But still, he couldn't help himself, this house just didn't feel right, it was really creepy. Ebisu tensed visibly, this house, this place, it was so weird to actually be inside of. And it was so quiet around here, and deathly still. There was a reason Sasuke didn't comeback to this place, so why were they all here now?
"You see, it's just a normal house." Konohamaru said. "No blood, no ghost, nothing jumping out at you, nothing creepy about it."
"So this is where your hiding out now." Ebisu said, clearly addressing Konohamaru as he looked around absentmindly, though on a clear edge. "I never would have suspected it." Man, he didn't want to be in this house.
"Heh, Heh." Konohamaru lifted his hands behind his head and smiled. "I know, it's genius. Wanna take a look around?"
"Sure, whatever."
When Sasuke entered the living room he wasn't surprised to find just about everyone there, everyone being the usual crowd. Gai, Kakashi, Iruka, Shikamaru still holding his camera, and Lee nurturing the sapling as always, and somehow Asuma wasn't here at all, which seemed somewhat odd because when he'd seen them all lately, Asuma was always apart of the group. It must have been at work. "If you want to see him there he is." He announced indifferently, setting his car keys on the table and walking off toward the kitchen.
Ebisu stopped curiously to survey the crowd, he wasn't expecting to see all them here. Though he was happy somewhat, to see some familiar faces, it was enough to make him forget how he felt about where he was for a while. "Hmm... I'm lost, what are all you guys doing here?"
"I see no one explained anything to you." Iruka walked over to Ebisu and looked over him curiously, the same friendly smile he always had shining brightly. He had helped carry Ebisu back, he knew just how bad a shape the man had been in. He was sure the man would die while they were moving him, and to see him now... "How are you feeling?"
"Just fine...except I'm a little confused at some things, what the hell is going on?" He asked in the most polite manner one could ask that type of question.
"I have to admit, your recovery is amazing." Kakashi sat lazily on the stairs, though still looking over Ebisu with the same keenness he saw everything. There wasn't a mark on him, he never saw anything like it. "I guess since you practically have been dead over the past weeks, it's understandable your a little lost. Naruto, Sasuke and Konohamaru didn't fill you in?"
Ebisu folded his arms and snorted, there were just so many things wrong with what had been going on, and Konohamaru's involvement in it all. "Yeah, that's what I'm confused about."
"Geez, it's only been a few weeks but it seems so much longer." Gai said with a smile, "You look truly miraculous, but you just woke up, should you really be up?"
"Heh." Ebisu smiled lightly. "I feel fine, don't worry about me. Besides, I've been out of it for too long, what kind of body guard am I?"
Konohamaru.
Ebisu must have been worried, considering the last time he saw the boy he was pushing him down a vent to avoid capture by enemy's. Konohamaru never expected him to wake up, no one had really, how relieved they both must have been to see each other again... "Hey, what happened to the wall?" Ebisu asked, looking back towards the door curiously.
"Actually, there was a monster or something that got in here..." Naruto said, shrugging lightly as if he was to lazy to go into detail..
"What the hell was it that did all of this?"
"Oh, it wasn't all from that thing." Konohamaru told him, "Some of it was from those guys from the Sound."
"Yeah...It's never dull with you guys is it?" Ebisu spoke with even more nervousness then before, it was this house, this kinda stuff never happened when Konohamaru was hiding out at Naruto's apartment. "Speaking of Sound, I wonder how Sarutobi's doing, things must be getting pretty bad around here."
Gai glanced over at Iruka, then down at Konohamaru who immediately looked away when Ebisu brought up the subject, they seemed to be thinking the same thing. "Well, I'm glad to see your alright." Gai said, slipping his pockets and standing up from the couch. Seeing that the man was about to leave, Shikamaru and Lee stood up too from the spot on the ground where they had been. "But things are a bit hectic around here, I have to get back to work." He told the man, heading for the door, managing to call back. "And get some rest." Before he, Shikamaru and Lee disappeared beyond the outside.
"Yeah, he's right, I have to go too." Iruka said remorsefully, following Gai's exit, he was Sure Ebisu would be fine on his own. Besides, he probably wouldn't stick around here long anyway. He didn't seem to like it much.
Being the last to leave, Kakashi wordlessly stood up and slipped past Ebisu, but not before inconspicuously dropping the latest version of his favorite book into the man's hands, who gave him a thankful nod and slipped it into his own pocket.
"Geez, you two are both perverts..." Naruto could only shook his head discerningly before heading upstairs, he really wanted to get out of this suit.
Ebisu simply adjusted his glasses and let his gaze fall upon Konohamaru who let himself fall tiredly back on to the couch, finishing unbuttoning the white shirt for the second time. It seemed they were the only one's left, which was somewhat of a good thing, his only motive was Konohamaru. "Konohamaru, what the hell!"
Konohamaru could probably take a guess at what Ebisu was mad about, he most likely wouldn't have been wrong. "What? What?"
Ebisu stood over him and folded his arms, looking on him chastisingly. "What the hell are you doing?"
"What? I'm not doing anything wrong!" Konohamaru said defensively.
"The hell you aren't! What are you doing in a situation like this? This is exactly the kind thing I was suppose to keep you away from."
"You are so over reacting." Konohamaru sat up slightly, the open shirt fell open, freeing his chest. "I know it's a lot to take in, a lot of changes and stuff happened since you've been asleep, but things here are working out."
"Really."Ebisu rolled his eyes, sarcasm clearly filling his voice.
"Yeah." Konohamaru nodded, pushing himself back on to his feet again. "With all the resources we have all together, we can stop whatever Orochimaru tries to do."
"Oh, is that what your trying to do now?" Ebisu asked, "You always were too impulsive and stubborn for your own good, what are you trying to do, is this about revenge or something?"
"No, no." Konohamaru shook his head. "With all the stuff we stopped already, we saved a lot of people. We can still save a lot more people." Orochimaru already took away so much of what he had, at the very lest he wanted to stop him from doing it to someone else.
"Yeah, sure, you can save a lot of people. Except maybe yourself."
"What?"
"How many times have you almost gotten killed since I..." Ebisu's voice trailed off oddly when he came on the subject, but he quickly found his words again. "This is too dangerous or you, hell, if you don't get killed, your gonna end up screwed up for life. "
"I'm not a little kid anymore, and come on Ebisu, it's not that bad around here." Konohamaru said, though he was worried he wasn't convincing enough.
He was a little kid..."That's not all of it." Ebisu almost wished he smoked right now, he needed some bad habit to work off all this uneasiness, or at lest something that would calm him down some. "I know it sound strange when I say this...but...when I was asleep, I saw some things, a dream maybe, but whatever it was it sure as hell woke me up. It was about you...I have a really bad feeling about all of this."
Konohamaru looked up at the man curiously, he knew Ebisu and his feelings tended to be right, maybe because he knew his body guard had experience, and a lot of it. "Why? What do you think is going to happen?"
"It's not about what I think is gonna happen, it about..." Ebisu didn't usually marritt dreams as a viable source to take heed from, but this one was different. It was so real... and he never had a dream that actually hurt before, not to mention it did come to him in a coma, that had to be special. "It's more about what I saw...It was you, in some kinda trouble... and someone, someone familiar, and Orochimaru, I know I saw Orochimaru. And, there's a guy standing behind you."
"There was a guy standing behind me in your dream?"
Ebisu sighed and pointed over Konohamaru's shoulder. "There's a guy standing behind you."
Konohamaru turned around, and was mildly surprised to see Zabuza standing there. "Zabuza?"
Zabuza? Ebisu immediately recognized that name. "Zabuza? Zabuza the devil, from the Mist country!"
Zabuza ignored Ebisu. "I'm looking for Kakashi." He could tell by the silence that followed his question that Konohamaru wanted to know why. "I need to talk to him." He said with clear annoyance in his voice.
"Oh, he just left." Konohamaru said, "I think he's going back to work or something like that."
With out a word and with his answer gained, Zabuza walked past the two, ignoring the almost piercing look Ebisu was giving him. He walked casually out the door, leaving it unclear how he got in with out being noticed in the first place.
Ebisu folded his arms, looking at the boy as if he couldn't believe he was actually saying this to him. "Konohamaru you can't be that naive, I taught you enough to know a situation you shouldn't be in when you see one."
Konohamaru sat up and looked around, trying to figure out something convincing to say. This situation wasn't that bad, he didn't want Ebisu to think he was too stupid to know when and when he couldn't handle something, or shouldn't be involved at all. Sure he'd been traumatized more then once after Ebisu went into a coma, and put in really dangerous situations that he probably...most likely wouldn't have been in if he'd stayed out of this place like Ebisu had been trying to do. But he was fine, he was doing ok here, really.
Ebisu folded his arms and looked down on the boy with the same chastising look. "So, this is the type of people your around now, one of the world's most notorious terrorist?" How exactly did this all come to be? Why was Zabuza in Konoha, why was he even in this house, what the hell is going on around here?
"It's ok, he's a friend, he's working with us."
"Zabuza? Konohamaru, do you even realize what's happening? You've made a deal with the devil."
Konohamaru smiled, trying his best to lighten the situation. "Oh Come on Ebisu, Your completely over reacting, it's not that-"
"Zabuza isn't the only devil I'm talking about." Ebisu sighed harshly, he couldn't believe Konohamaru was that completely oblivious! The man simply threw up his hands in defeat and walked past the boy, he couldn't believe how bad this had gotten for his charge.
Konohamaru blinked questioningly, quickly going after the man. "What? What did I do?"
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It amazed him how easily it was for him to simply walk down the street, maybe it was because he was in a different country.
Zabuza almost casually moved down the thawed out streets of Konoha, his ever present awareness monitoring everything in perception. Maybe it was because he was in a different country, he could never be so liberal back in Mist, but here not as many people recognized him. That umong other things wrong with this place, like large dent in the police force caused by Orochimaru's general, and a dead president that had yet to be replaced. He was sure they were working on it.
Zabuza wasn't particularly compelled to help Konoha, only it seemed to be a magnet for Orochimaru. He'd gotten more consecutive encounters with those in the wake of Orochimaru in the last 2 and a half months then most of his time after...after Orochimaru killed...
Zabuza stopped, staring ahead with clear aggravation showing in his eyes. And he waited... watching silently as the small flow of people surrounding him thinned until the street was practically empty.
"So, how long are you going to follow me?" There was no response to his inquiry, he was talking completely to himself.
Or so it seemed at first, when Zabuza didn't move from his spot for nearly a full minute, some one finally slipped out of an alley way between two stores. Stepping into the bright sunlight of the open. Zabuza looked over him carefully, it was a man, with a clearly strong build, dressed in a pair of blue pants and a black button down shirt that currently was open to fit the weather. Blue hair extended down just past ear length and matching eyes looked over Zabuza with the same carefulness. From what Zabuza could see he wasn't armed. "I see you noticed me."
"Why the hell are you following me?" Zabuza asked, it was clear from his voice that he wouldn't ask twice.
"I needed to see if you were who I thought you were." The man said.
"Then I suggest you forget me." He snorted before walking away. He couldn't just kill him, then he'd never hear the end of it from Kakashi, and Iruka even.
"Don't you want to know why I'm looking for you?" The man asked with some amusement.
"Not really."
"I think it might interest you." The man said, not even bothering to chase after Zabuza, if the man wanted it then he'd just have to wait.
"Really, and what would that be?" Zabuza paused, who the hell was this guy?
"Your after Orochimaru right? You know, he has a lot of sources in this city, and I know one of them for sure."
That peaked his interest, he looked back at the man, folding his arms suspiciously. "And why are you telling me this?"
"Simple, you want Orochimaru dead right? Well, so do I."
Zabuza shifted his eyes away almost distractedly. "And who might you be?"
"My name is Mizuki. Touji Mizuki" Mizuki introduced himself.
"And, Mizuki, if you want Orochimaru dead, why don't you go after him yourself?"
"Heh." Mizuki smirked, "A smart person knows what he can and can't do, and my desire to see Orochimaru dead is much greater then my pride."
"And what makes you think I'm going to listen to you?" Zabuza asked, this could just as easily be a trap.
"Well you listened to me before, why not again?" Mizuki asked with slight amusement, by the look on Zabuza's face he could tell the man didn't know what he was talking about, but of course he didn't, why would he? "I've been feeding you leads for a while now, like Kabuto's break in of that medical research center research center on 94 street a few weeks ago. I'm sure you remember that."
Zabuza paused...what? "You?"
"Yeah, just propagate it through enough sources and I know it would reach you eventually. " Mizuki told him proudly. "The thing is tjat none of my leads have been getting any response lately, so I decided to find someone who I new could handle it. So, why not take one more?"
Alright, this guy was using him, but still, if what he was saying was true, he had been helping him. As long as he got to Orochimaru... Maybe, he'd consider listening to what he had to say. "So what are you trying to tell me?"
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Konohamaru stood in the quiet, empty hallway, his hand grasping the knob of the last door at the end of the corridor. The window to his left was dark, holding only what little moon light could shine through at just the right angle. He slowly pushed it open, peaking inside carefully as the light from the room pierced the dark hallway and met his face upon entry. '...' He saw the man sitting on the empty bed of one of the guest rooms, a book resting in his lap that he looked through almost remorsefully. "Ebisu."
Ebisu barely looked up at him, his eyes steadily focused on the photographs in the scrap book. Konohamaru sat down on the bed next to him, leaning over enough to see what the man was looking at. He was still dressed in the suit from his grandfather's funeral, since he hadn't bothered leaving to change his clothing .
"It's been so long since I've seen this." The man looked over one picture in particular, it was of him and Konohamaru. He could remember when it was taken too, about 2 years ago, Konohamaru was sitting on his shoulders, laughing as if nothing bad had ever happened to him. Ebisu had been trying to cheer him up since it was the day after his parents had to go back to tour, still being on active duty and all. "I can't believe you still have this..."
"Yeah... Shouldn't you be resting or something?"
"Are you kidding me? I had enough sleep to last me for the rest of my life." Ebisu said almost forlornly, his attention still with the pages of the photographs.
Konohamaru looked up at the man, just watching the look on his face... Sure, he ran away from Ebisu a lot, at lest tried too anyway, and he yelled and screamed at the man when he got caught. But even though he didn't show it, he really cared about Ebisu a lot, he was just about the only thing consistent in his life. His mother and father weren't there that much, and his grandfather was the president, in war time, so he was often tied up a lot in work. That left Ebisu, his faithful bodyguard, with him, and he was so much more then that. He was just about a parent, he talked with him, he listened to him, he tutored him, and above all protected him.
Ebisu came to another picture that he took special notice of, one of him as a baby in his father Reedamaru's arms while the man lay bandaged in a hospital bed, Ebisu standing beside him, both smiling happily. "You and my dad were really good friends huh?" Konohamaru looked at the picture as if he hadn't seen it before, though he had, he only hadn't looked at it with Ebisu.
"Yeah..." Ebisu smirked lightly with a laugh not from amusement. "Your father pissed me off so much, the way he died. He was always talking about what he had to do when ever Sarutobi tried to convince him not to be in this particular field of work, he was always saying he was doing his job to protect you. And he had to go and get himself killed... But still he knew what he had to do and didn't compromise, he practically used his last breath to make sure you would be safe considering what Orochimaru was trying to get out him him. I get that now."
"..." Konohamaru just stared at the picture, silently for a while. Now he got it, Orochimaru couldn't get what he wanted from his father and mother, so he was coming after their much weaker son... "Ebisu...there really are reasons why I'm here, you don't understand- "
"I understand just fine." Ebisu said sharply, he slowly closed the book and set it softly aside, slowly rising from his spot on the empty bed. He paced around almost nervously. "Orochimaru, you hate him, I get that. He screwed your life up, just about everything bad that happened to you was his fault. You want revenge."
"No Ebisu, I-"
"Oh come on." Ebisu stopped his nervous pacing and stood in place on the hardwood floors. Looking at Konohamaru firmly beyond the sunglasses shielding his eyes. "You should know better, there isn't one good reason why you should be here, involved in this, your purposefully putting yourself in more danger then you even realize. A hell of a lot more then it should be in. Don't think-"
"My grandfather." Konohamaru announced simply, that was a good enough reason.
His grandfather, where was his Grandfather."What's with Sarutobi anyway?" Ebisu quickly dropped his growing anger, more curiosity replacing it. "Nobody is telling me anything about him?"
"He's dead." Konohamaru said bluntly. "I saw Orochimaru kill him, and he got away, like always. "
Ebisu was silent at first, almost as if he didn't believe it, or was taking it in. He never thought anyone would actually manage to kill the old man, not with as many attempts on his life he'd seen before. So, Orochimaru finally did it... "How did you get out of there?"
"What?"
"You watch Orochimaru kill your grandfather, he had to know you were there so how did you get away from him?"
Konohamaru's mind immediately started racing, scrambling for an answer. "I ran-"
"The hell you did." Ebisu sighed heavily, letting himself slowly drift down into his seat beside Konohamaru. "There were just so many things that didn't add up with where you kept disappearing too. So, do you have a thing with finding Uchihas or am I just imagining things?"
Konohamaru couldn't believe it! How did Ebisu know so much? "H-How did you find out about Itachi?"
"Itachi? I was talking about Sasuke!" Itachi? Itachi! Ebisu almost couldn't believe it, what was with this kid, how did he get in to situations like these? Well it explained some things, there were times when he just couldn't possibly have been with Naruto and Sasuke... But Itachi? "So, your hanging out with S-ranked criminals now too? I bet your friends don't even know...Great, you made a deal with the devil."
Konohamaru simply held his head down, speaking in soft, serious tones. "He saved me... He saved me, Orochimaru almost killed both of us, I never would have gotten out of there if wasn't for him and Kisame." Ebisu knew about Itachi, why not about Kisame too, it was already too late. "And I'm doing fine here. I mean, there were some great-"
"Don't give me that I'm fine line." Ebisu stood up abruptly and began pacing again, an anger and annoyment rising up in his voice and showing in every movement. "I know you better then that, I'm not buying it, and neither are you. Hell, why do you think I woke up?" He probably couldn't dispute the fact that Konohamaru was the reason he woke up out of that coma, he saw him in that painful nightmare of a dream that brought him back to consciousness. "You slipped the track, and like it or not, I'm gonna help you get back on it. I mean look at who you put yourself around."
"Your wrong about them." Konohamaru said, though his voice sounded more distracted then angry. "Zabuza...Itachi, Kisame, they're not bad guys...not completely, they're actually helping." Zabuza was helping, Itachi and Kisame were helping him at lest.
Ebisu lifted his hand to his temples with the start of a headache forming, this was just too much to wake up too. "Ok, So three of the worlds worst criminals are the heros, and you guys are basicly braking the law." They were working with Zabuza, that was bad enough, Konohamaru was practically an accessory to whatever Itachi and Kisame did lately. Not to mention any other little things that may have happened along the way, and there was that little matter of treason...yeah, they were breaking the law alright. "What the hell did I wake up to?"
Konohamaru just rubbed the back of his head and looked away evasively. "Sorry..."As if it was his fault. Ebisu was right, he didn't have to be involved, he didn't need to be involved, because he wasn't doing anything, he was useless.
"You know, I naturally assumed you'd be lost with out me but-"
"I..." Konohamaru reluctantly lifted his head, and his eyes barely found his way to Ebisu's, almost as if afraid. "I am lost with out you." He couldn't describe how much he missed Ebisu, the person he'd been protected by since he was a baby, the person who just about gave his own life to save his. As much as he hated the seemingly unfair restriction Ebisu's presence and job placed on him, he cared about him more then he ever knew he did. He didn't want the man to wake up from a near death coma that was his fault the man got into in the first place, and have Ebisu be disappointed with him, and in everything he did since he'd been gone.
"Konohamaru..." Ebisu placed his hand on Konohamaru shoulder and gave a half smile, no, he wasn't mad at him, he honestly could have expected a lot worse, the boy could have been dead. He didn't have the time nor the will to be mad, or hateful, it just wasn't in him anymore, a lot of things left him. "You just forgot about who you are." With Orochimaru driving him farther and father over the edge every moment, taking away more and more from him...
Konohamaru's eyes fixed on the orbs hidden beneath the man's sunglasses with a desperation beyond what someone his age should have had. "Remind me. I don't know...I don't know what I'm supposed to be doing any more, how...what kind of person am I suppose to be, the... the only thing I know how to do anymore is to wait for what's gonna happen next... Tell me"
Ebisu knelt down in front of him, his hand still planted on the boy's shoulder. "Nah...that's for you to figure out, not me. It's not my place to tell you that anymore. I can tell you who you were though." Ebisu said. "You were a hyper little kid who always caused trouble for your grandfather, who sometimes had to be forced to do what he was told, who kept sneaking away no matter how many times I told you not to run away from me like that... You were a kid who never let anything that happened bother him, who always remand happy, and decent and a good person despite your situation around you that should have made you other wise. And always kept being that person even when he was miserable, which was...well, let's be honest, a large portion of the time."
Konohamaru stared up at the man, watching him and listening to him, his mind completely focused on his protector.
"Despite being an annoying brat, you were always a good person, you always found away to laugh, and you were always smarter then most people could ever realize and give you credit for. That's the Konohamaru I..."
"What?"
Ebisu smile faded away with his voice, and he forced himself to take a deep breath. "That's the kid I knew... I see him around here maybe I'm start believing what you keep telling me."
Konohamaru's eyes drifted away from Ebisu, and a slight slump came into his form, his feet kicking circles above the floor they just couldn't reach yet. "Yeah well, let me know if you do." He was different now, he wasn't just some weak kid who couldn't do anything but stand there and watch while he kept losing the people around him. He wouldn't be weak for long.
"..."Ebisu lifted himself off of his knees and sat down beside Konohamaru, wrapping his arm comforting around the boy's shoulders.
"Why didn't you try and go back, to the white house I mean, you didn't know my grandfather was dead."
"Like I was going to leave you alone again." Ebisu said with a small laugh that quickly faded. "I wonder..."
"What?"
"Do you ever think about...what would have happened if you never would have left Konoha?" He found himself thinking about that a lot since he woke up...damnit, why didn't he get there sooner...
Konohamaru resisted the urge he had to let himself rest his head in Ebisu's lap, even if he wanted to, even if knew the man wouldn't mind, it might even have made the man feel a little better knowing that he hadn't changed to much. That he was still the Konohamaru he knew. But he didn't, he couldn't...He couldn't be that person. "I think about it all the time." Things would be so different if he had just stayed put...
"I guess we both missed that chance." Ebisu said lightly, he hadn't stopped Konohamaru and Konohamaru hadn't stopped himself. Thing would have been undeniably different if he'd stayed behind, if they all did... "Things just wont ever be normal around here."
"Maybe it was meant to be." Konohamaru sighed. "People like us don't get to have normal." It seemed none of them would, not Naruto, not Sasuke, not Iruka, not anyone.
"Tch. There are no people like us."
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Ok, he was a little nervous.
Mizuki shut the door behind him as he looked around the familiar office of his old law firm, which he'd left behind not to long ago. It didn't matter if he stayed or not, at lest that's what it felt like, everyone else had left this place behind years ago. And without them there was no firm.
Mizuki flipped on the light and looked around at the desk before him, surrounded by shelves of legal books, the most defining feature. He could remember when he and Ebisu used to spend hours searching through these books, trying to find any thing relative to whatever case he had going at the moment. '...' Mizuki narrowed his eyes slightly at the thought, the memory.
Things were much different here back then, he could remember everything they had gone through in his place, how hard it was. A lawyer with his own practice, with his own faithful para-legal Kurenai, and Ebisu, who at the time was still in the secret service, helped in whatever way he could. But simply, he was there to be close to Mizuki, and Mizuki had been happier for that then he knew how to express.
'Damnit Ebisu...' He still didn't know why Ebisu did it, why he left like he did, and for that kid, that goddamn kid.
It didn't matter anymore, all that matter was here and now.
And as much as he tried to tell his self he wasn't nervous, honestly he was. Ebisu was awake, he was never planed for, he could complicate things, he would complicate things. Things couldn't help but get complicated when the two of them were both involved. '...' Mizuki felt a silent anger in him that made his hands ball in to tight fist, the hell with that, this would still work! The hell if he was awake, Konohamaru still didn't stand a chance.
'They didn't see me coming, maybe they aren't as good as they thought...' But yet it all came back to Ebisu, he just shows up and once again he was the center of Mizuki's universe, but he was working on that.
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"Ebisu?" Konohamaru was sprawled messily across the bed, his eyes staring up at the ceiling. It was getting late. "Can I ask you something."
Ebisu sat peacefully in a seat across from the bed, watching Konohamaru lazily. He felt like he was on guard duty again, those times after a very large security breach, or when there was a perceived threat that involved the president's grandson. He always had to stay awake all night and keep watch over Konohamaru, it wasn't that boring though, Konohamaru rarely was able to sleep at times like that anyway, not right away at lest. This was just like one of those times, it was late, past 2 in the morning, and everyone was a sleep. It was quiet as usual, not even the sound of the wind could be heard. He could hear Konohamaru breathing from here, even the barest shift, movement the boy made on the turned up covers . "Sure. What is it?"
Konohamaru let his arms come to rest behind his head and he stared out of the window beside the bed. This room felt oddly warm with the lights on after Ebisu had been here with him for as long as he had. It felt like his room at home, before moved in with his grandfather. "Why...Why did you stay with me?"
"Hmm?" Ebisu listened to the silence that filled the gap between them as Konohamaru gathered his thoughts and words. It used to be quiet around this time at Konohamaru's house, all those times he had to stay up and make sure nothing happened to the boy, it was almost as quiet as it was around here. When Konohamaru went to live with his grandfather in the white house, that quiet late at night faded, there was always some noise, some one working, guards, something... Honestly, he missed this quiet.
He could hear Konohamaru's breathes increase with one heavy inhale, then with a soft exhale his breathing returned to the whisper quiet rise and fall of his chest. "I heard you and my mom and dad talking a lot before they died, about this job."
"Huh, so, what did you hear?" He asked, feeling a groggy sense of peacefulness came on to him at 2 in the morning, it could be heard clearly in his voice... Ebisu didn't put it past Konohamaru to eavesdrop, he was always kinda sneaky in a child like way, but he had to take in consideration he was good enough to sneak off to Naruto's apartment all those times.
When Konohamaru heard that half sleep, drowsy tone in Ebisu's voice, he felt somewhat comfortable asking him questions like this. Ebisu was always that much more honest, and something about the thought of Ebisu so near to sleep that he probably could pass pit right afterwords. But in the end, he was the one that feel asleep, since he waited so long to try and talk to the man, and Ebisu never did. "That you don't get paid enough for this job, it's too hard, too much work...That, it's not worth the trouble..."
Ebisu's eyes hid behind the glasses, leaving Konohamaru unable to see what they looked like, to gain a hint of what he thought. He never realized what people meant when they said the eyes were the windows to the soul, but he read so much off of Ebisu's eyes, maybe that was why he always kept those glasses on. "Well, it's true."
"...it is?" Konohamaru looked at the man fully, a sad questioning in his eyes. The silence was louder then ever between the short pause before Ebisu's response that seemed, louder then it was. The darkness crept half way into the room from underneath the door from the dark hall behind it, peaking in from he corners of the room in deep black imprints, from the shadow of a tree outside the window.
"Yeah." Ebisu nodded. "I don't get paid nearly enough, but it is worth the trouble." Speaking truthfully, Ebisu liked when Konohamaru asked him questions in the middle of the night, it was one of the only times he could see just how serious the boy was, truly what kind of person Konohamaru was. Konohamaru told him just about everything, he bared most of his soul to the man, except for those few secrets he kept. And he was keenly aware why Konohamaru did it so late, but it didn't matter, he was used to working late and his perception never suffered from his lack of sleep. And never brought up with Konohamaru talked to him about, it would be easier on the boy if he just pretended like he'd been too sleepy and forgot. He just wished Konohamaru picked better times to do this.
"It is?" The boy asked hopefully.
"Yeah" Ebisu smiled a messy, sleepy smile. "Yeah, it's stressful, and hard. But so is everything."
"Do you... regret taking it?" Konohamaru asked, his voice more serious then most people ever knew it could be. Was it just a job? Was he just an obligation?
Ebisu closed his eyes, Konohamaru would be asleep soon , he always fell asleep. "No."
"Even though you got hurt all those times?"
"Yeah," Ebisu said as if it was so simple, like it didn't require any thought. "Why?"
"Just wondering." Konohamaru let his hand come to his mouth, covering a small yawn. Just wondering... He felt the chill of a cool night against his bare chest past the open dress shirt, gaining some warmth from the suit coat he still had on.
Yeah, just wondering. Ebisu sighed inwardly, he had changed, so much since he was asleep. That happiness, that laugh, that annoying rebelling, it was slowly slipping way, like his childhood, what was left of it anyway. He didn't want to see that happen... this wasn't just a job for him anymore He had been with Konohamaru since he was born, more then his parents had been. This boy had single handedly brought him more trouble then anything else in his life with out even trying... it took him nearly getting killed and three months in a coma to realize that... this wasn't just a job, it was his life. Konohamaru was his life, and no one would take his life... ever
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