"Guilty Until Innocent"
By: Shadow and Janime
Tsunade looked over at the woman as the group of four headed towards the hospital. For all outer appearances she did look like every man's fantasy brought to life with her pale exotic features, the colder than ice eyes drew one in, but the way she moved seemed as fluid as water yet with the deadly precision of a highly skilled fighter. She certainly did not look anything like a mother of a teenage boy!
The buxom blonde inwardly frowned. As far as she could tell this was no kind of jutsu like she used to look young. Hidama looked to be in her mid-twenties when she should have looked to be in her late-thirties or even mid-forties. Jealousy was a nasty emotion.
Said woman looked at her slowly and the Godaime just had to look away. Hidama said nothing but sighed very softly. She could see this woman cared for her kit but to her it wasn't enough. Now they were on their way to see what happened to Iruka and possible meet her kit's mentors. Speaking of which…
"Who are Naruto's mentors?" she asked, brushing her bangs from her eyes with a slender finger.
"Iruka you already know. When Naruto graduated genin he was teamed up with two of his classmates: Sakura Haruno and Sasuke Uchiha," she explained. "Their mentor was Kakashi Hatake, a highly skilled Jounin and one of the best in the village."
"The Copy Hound." Hidama waved her hand when the hokage looked at her. "I've heard of him. Continue."
"Well after the Chuunin exams Naruto passed but then things began to go to hell in a hand basket. The Sandaime was killed but my old teammate--Jiraiya--decided to look for me and took Naruto with him. Things were going crazy but just when we thought things had finally settled this comes up." She paused in the middle of the street and turned to face the pale woman. "If you're really his mother why did you leave? Why didn't you at least come and visit?"
"That really is none of your concern but I have been watching him from afar. Do you know how much it hurt to have to watch my son grow up with the narrow-minded bigotry your precious village bestowed on him? Do you want to know how many times I wanted to take him away and burn this place to the ground? Do you want to know how many times I wish I could dance in these bastards' blood for their stupidity?" the woman said coldly, making Temari and Kankurou shiver at the sudden chill that seemed to surround her. Even Tsunade could feel this icy chill and took a step back. "I do not need to explain myself to you but Naruto knew that deep down inside he had a loving parent." Hidama moved closer until both women were nose to nose, her icy blue eyes staring into Tsunade's light-brown depths.
"It makes me wonder what Kazuo-kun would say or think if he could see what Konoha had done to his only child." Not giving the blonde a chance to reply Hidama walked past her, moving straight to the hospital. Kankurou didn't even look at the older woman as he followed her but Temari looked at her with a slight frown on her eyes.
"If you really cared about Naruto's well-being he wouldn't have risked his life to come all the way to Suna seeking help," she said bitterly and hurried to catch up with the others. Tsunade could only stand there, rubbing her bare arm. That woman--Hidama--scared her to the very core of her being.
--
"Where is he?"
"… I'm not sure, my lord."
"You idiot! How could you lose him?"
"The fox knew his opponent's weak spot."
"You have no idea what getting kicked in the balls feels like."
"Thank the darkness I don't have any."
"Enough! Both of you get out there and find him! Use whatever measures necessary, I don't care! Just bring me that boy. The power of Kyuubi will be a great benefit to our clan."
--
Naruto slurped the last of his ramen then sighed contently as he relaxed against the pillows Minoru and Gaara had put behind the blonde patient to prop him upright enough so he could eat.
"That was good," Naruto smiled and placed the bowl on the rolling tray next to his bed. "More please."
"Remember what Teijo said," Minoru gathered everything off the tray, "you eat too much and you might pull the inner stitches."
"Yeah, yeah," Naruto grumbled and sipped the water from the cup Gaara handed him.
"How can you eat that all the time?" the red head couldn't help but ask.
"What? The ramen?" The blonde just gave him a big grin. "How can you not like it?"
Minoru smiled as he left them alone to chat. He was actually surprised to see their feared leader so at ease with the other teenager but he was also glad. Even since that day people still feared him, refused to see the human soul within. He shook his head as he took the dishes to the kitchen.
Naruto sighed, letting his head fall back. If he concentrated he could see the bars that held the kitsune imprisoned, could see the glowing red eyes looking back at him, feel the warmth he threw off. But it wasn't the same warmth he felt earlier.
"Gaara..." He wanted to ask but instead push the thought back."Why is someone trying to frame me? Why didn't that guy kill me instead?"
"I'm not sure," Gaara said truthfully. He hated not knowing things when it concerned someone he considered a friend and as family. "And I don't understand the murders in Kohona either."
"I guess I really pissed somebody off," the blonde forced a smile. "Or Kyuubi did and No-Face found out he's inside me."
Gaara looked off to the side in thought. Naruto could be obnoxious, annoying, and pull off downright idiotic stunts, yet deep inside the blonde had a heart of gold. But to frame him for murder…?
"Excuse me."
The two boys looked over to the doorway and saw a tall woman standing just inside the room. Her mouse-brown hair was gathered into a long braid ending just past her waist. She wore loose-fitting pants, black sandals, and sleeveless top of a deep maroon. Around her neck was a black chocker with a horizontal figure eight stitched in silver.
"I'm sorry to intrude, my lord," she bowed respectfully.
"It's alright, Taka," Gaara nodded. "You may enter."
Taka approached almost silently. She looked at Naruto, bowed her head slightly and smiled. "So you're the new patient everyone's talking about."
"Word travels fast," Naruto grinned. Why is she looking at me sideways? Then he saw the discoloration in her left eye.
Taka noticed where his attention was focused. "Not a very good match, are they?"
"Sorry," the blonde apologized, "I didn't mean to…"
"It's alright," she smiled. "It's been almost five years now."
"Taka is our village caretaker," Gaara started. "She helps in the hospital and those who are homebound."
"Homebound usually ends up as babysitting," Taka looked at the red-head. "However, everyone seems to be in good health and in no need of calling on me. So then," she turned back to Naruto, "I'll be your caretaker until you're healed."
He couldn't help but frown at the idea of needing a baby-sitter. He was 18 years old, practically a man! Still... He looked at his splinted arm then up at her. "I'll accept but under one condition."
"What's that?"
"Teach me everything you know. I want to become stronger so next time I meet No-Face, I'll make him regret ever hurting those I care about."
Taka looked at him. She had heard what had happened to the blonde and that a murderer was on the loose so she wasn't that surprised. And it would be something different than just watching over someone until they were healed. "Alright but once you're fully healed. I don't want Teijo getting after me if he finds you back in the ER."
Naruto nodded and held out his right hand. "Deal."
Taka grasped his hand firmly.
--
Hidama looked over the area Sasuke had brought her to in the woods where he and Kakashi found Naruto's backpack. She crouched down next to one of the dents in the earth, gingerly touching the outer edge and pulled back, studying the orange-red on her fingertips.
This isn't from this area, Hidama thought as she rubbed her thumb and fingertips together. Her eyes traveled over to the bloodspot on the ground by another tree, her heart aching and her resolve for locating her son's attacker grew stronger.
Hidama stood up. "Was there anything else?"
"Kakashi-sensei found a seven-pointed shuriken," Sasuke answered.
She turned her head quickly, realizing too late that she may have given herself away. "Seven points?"
He narrowed his dark eyes at her, his sharp sight catching her sudden emotion. "Yes. All of the surrounding villages used four points."
"I'm aware of that." Seven points? No it can't be them! But... "There were no witnesses whatsoever?"
"No. The bodies weren't found until early afternoon, evening latest. Whoever killed them knew their schedule well enough to know when they would be alone, their defenses completely down." He paused and asked her something that had been on his mind. "How's Naruto?"
"Alive and still determined as ever. But I know he can't wait to come back." She looked around the forest, looking for anything that could have been amidst. Save for the residue and the weapon this attacker was very precise. She nodded to the boy. "Let's return."
Sasuke nodded but when she walked past him he spoke up. "You know who the shuriken belongs to. I saw it in your eyes." He didn't have to look to see that her entire body had gone tense. "You're hiding something."
"Not hiding but I do know who it belongs to. I refuse to believe it though."
"What are you talking about?"
"The only people who used this... were destroyed about 50 years ago. I should know." She headed back to the village. "I helped take them down."
Sasuke froze and just watched as Hidama continued to walk back to the village.
She helped destroy them? But if that was fifty years ago then how…?
"Are you coming?" Hidama's question brought the ninja boy out of his shock.
Without answering verbally, Sasuke followed.
--
"This is a very strange compound mixture," Hinata said as she stared at the glass tube holding the orange-red powder they managed to extract from the dirt and tree bark Sasuke had brought back. "Nobody around here uses anything like this--at least not that I know of."
"That makes two of us," Sakura sighed as she closed the large text book and rested her head on the worn cover.
Tsunade walked into the room wiping her hands on a towel. "Iruka's fever has gone down and his breathing has improved." She looked at the girls. "Nothing, eh?"
"No," her apprentice groaned without bothering to lift her head.
"We're tried everything we can think of but there's been no reaction whatsoever," the pale girl said. "They're similar to the explosive tags we use but that's it."
"Hmm. Well you two are the brightest medic-chuunins in the entire village, I'm positive we'll find out what this stuff is soon." Both girls smiled at their leader, their energy and determination returning as her praise filled them. Sitting at a vacant seat Tsunade took one of the many medical books and scanned the content. There had to be something there was missing. She had already sent a warning to the other villages just in case, asking for their assistance. They sent word back that they would be on the look-out, relaying information back if they found anything.
But why? Are they trying to get Naruto banished from the village? Do they want to release the nine-tailed fox? she thought to herself, a frown marring her youthful face. Something isn't adding up. It's like we're missing a key part of the puzzle.
Kakashi appeared at the door. "How's Iruka?"
"Improving slowly," Tsunade answered. "And I'll take that over going downhill any day of the year."
"Agreed," Kakashi walked into the room and sat on the counter. He picked up one of the books and stared at it.
"Sorry, Kakashi, you won't find anything from Jiraiya in there."
"I figured," the man laughed lightly and put it down. He took another book and skimmed through. Almost in the middle of the book, he stopped, staring at the picture of a seven-pointed shuriken.
I don't believe it… Kakashi immediately read the passage. "Shadow of the Fallen Moon…"
Tsunade picked her head up and looked at Kakashi. "What did you say?"
"Look," he held out the book.
Sakura and Hinata watched as Tsunade seemed to freeze at the page she was looking at. The older woman finally looked away and sank back into her chair. "I'm surprised I never threw that out," she said quietly.
Kakashi rested the book in his lap. "Tsunade…"
"The Shadow of the Fallen Moon Clan," the blonde woman stared off into space, unable to look at anyone. "It was originally called the Seventh Moon Clan--that's why their shuriken has seven points. But they started dabbling into the dark arts--blood rituals, human sacrifices, selling their souls to darkness."
Tsunade ran her hands shakily over her face. "They attacked Kohona when I was about four-years-old. They say you don't remember many things from that age but believe me when I say that I wish I could forget that day."
The sky was pitch-dark, making it hard for even the most elite to see through. The enemy swarmed into Konoha under the guise of darkness, their black uniforms making it impossible to be targeted. People fell under their hands, death stealing them away. The best of the best struggled to protect the village but even they were having great difficulties.
A four-year-old girl with light blonde hair stood in the middle of the street, terror gripping her rapidly beating heart, watching as those she knew fell with blood staining the ground. The next thing she knew she was running as fast as she could, trying vainly to find her parents. She knew she shouldn't have left their home but she was scared!
"Mommy! Daddy!" she screamed but her young voice was lost over the shriek of metal striking metal and the elite shouting jutsus. She suddenly fell, scrapping her hands and knees in the dirt but she couldn't get up. A seven-pointed shuriken had lodged itself in her leg, one of the many points tangled in the fabric of her clothes. She tried pulling it out or tearing her pants but the sharp blades bit deeper into her young skin.
A man dressed in black dropped before her, his sword covered in blood. She couldn't see his face due to the darkness but she could sense the sadistic pleasure he got from killing those around him. Her eyes widen as he lifted the sword. She tried to scream but her voice was gone. She was going to die!
A shower of shurikens flew through the air, making a sickening thud as they buried deeply in the man's chest, causing him to fall back. The little blonde still couldn't move; she screamed when she felt someone lift her up but instead of being killed--like she thought--she was held against a warm and welcoming chest.
"It's okay Tsunade, just breathe," came a welcoming voice. She looked up into the face of a young man with shaggy, blonde hair and warm blue eyes. Her own light brown eyes filled with tears as she wrapped her arms around his neck tightly. He held her tightly, ready to escape from the attacker as he stood, ignoring the blood that fell in heavy rivers... but he didn't have to.
A flash of metal was all that could be seen. The killer's head and arms fell to the ground with a soft thump, his body followed shortly after. Behind him stood a young woman dressed in deep blue, her hair pulled and bound tightly away from her face but unlike the blonde man she wore a porcelain mask in the shape of a fox with silver and blue markings. She flicked the excess blood from her sword to the side, nodding to the blonde man.
"They're advancing much too quickly. We need to consult the hokage," she said firmly.
The room came back and Tsunade wiped the tears. "After that, the other nearby clan lords gathered. They ruled for the Shadow of the Fallen Moon Clan to be destroyed. And that was the end of it. There are very few left in Konoha who remember--that was fifty years ago." She looked at Kakashi. "Why do you want to know about them?"
Kakashi responded by removing the seven-pointed shuriken from his pocket and held it up. Tsunade paled and the pain in her leg reacted as if she had just been struck by the shuriken instead of fifty years ago. "Where…?"
"Stuck in a tree root where Sasuke and I found Naruto's backpack," Kakashi placed it beside him.
"But they're dead…" Tsunade whispered.
"So it would seem," Hidama walked into the room with Sasuke behind her.
Kakashi noticed the cautious look his former student was giving the pale-haired woman.
Tsunade looked up at her. For some reason images of the mysterious ANBU in the fox mask appeared. She shook her head to clear her thoughts. "Did you find anything?"
"Other than what you just found out, then no." She noticed the item and moved to grab the shuriken but her hand was caught. "Can I help you?"
"You're holding something back," Kakashi pointed out. "What do you know about this clan?"
"They're the lowest of the low. By the way;" in one swift move she twisted her wrist out of his grasp only to catch his and twist his arm high behind his back, keeping him from moving. With her other hand she picked up the weapon; "I don't like being touched." She then released him.
"Kakashi-sensei!" Sasuke and Sakura stared wide eyed. She had bested their teacher in a single move; they were still trying to beat him after all these years!
The jounin rubbed his shoulder, trying to rub the ache away. He didn't see her move at all but she had enough strength and stealth to seriously injury him. Who was this woman? He watched as she inspected the item, running her fingers along the edges before letting it drop. Even from a short distance it buried one of its points in the middle of the thick book all the way through.
"It's them alright. No one else knows how to make shurikens like this. Light enough to have a hundred thrown at once but sharp enough to rip through the thinnest of armor and padding."
"But why go after Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked softly, nervously tapping the tips of her index fingers together.
Hidama said nothing as she turned for the door. "I'll return within a week."
"Wait a minute," Tsunade rose from her chair. "What about Naruto?"
"As long as he's with me, he will be safe."
"And how do we know that you can protect him?" Kakashi asked.
Hidama stopped at the doorway. Slowly she turned around, and everyone backed away slowly as the pupils of her eyes changed to slits and glowed. "I'm his mother," she spoke, revealing fangs. "No one harms my kit and gets away with it." Then in a flash, she was gone.
Tsunade fell back in her seat heavily, staring at the spot the woman vanished from. Those eyes... She had seen those same eyes a long time ago, when her former teammate betrayed the village. She has the eyes of a demon.
Meanwhile at Ichiraku's Ramen Stand, Temari and Kankurou were waiting for Hidama. They had seen the teacher and felt their anger at whoever hurt the older man increase. They didn't know Iruka as well as Naruto but they knew that he was a good man and that he cared for the blonde deeply. While the older woman went to check out the scene they decided to wait for her here.
Temari set her green tea down, staring into the cup. Who would attack him like that? The Sound Village was gone and it had been peaceful for quite a while. She looked at her brother and watched as he played with the noodles in his bowl. She lifted her cup but paused when he spoke up.
"You think after fighting with Gaara for so long we'd be used to seeing people get hurt, even getting killed and the likes," he said in a low tone as if he was speaking to himself.
"They say it hits the hardest when it's someone you know, but it hurts the most when it's someone you actually care about," she replied, taking a sip.
"Temari, Kankurou." The blonde woman spit out her tea all over the counter and her brother jumped in his seat, nearly knocking the bowl over.
"H-Hidama! Shit, you scared the hell outta us!" he yelled at her but quickly lowered his tone when she looked at him.
"We're going back to Suna but I want us to get there within the hour."
"Are you crazy? It took us half a day to get here even with our charka boosting our speed!" the young woman coughed.
"No excuses. Either keep up or I'll drag you both back." Swallowing they nodded and once outside the village ran as fast as they could back to the Village Hidden in the Sand.
Authors' Notes:
Janime: Hmm…
Shadow: What?
Janime: Just, hmm…
Shadow: is that a good hmm or a bad hmm?
Janime: It's just, hmm...
Shadow: ... Okay. the name Kazuo means "man of peace."
Janime: We're not sure what his real name is so we made one up.
Shadow: So if anyone does have that info, please contact us so we can fix it (but we want proof of his real name, not his title).
Janime: I have absolutely no idea where this fic is going. I'm just here for the ride.
Shadow: Yeah right.