The seductive Kunoichi Fuuka is back from the dead! She wants to take revenge on the blond-haired brat who dared to expose her best-kept secret and defeat her in battle years ago. Much has happened since then but the story of the attractive woman, whose beguiling charm had brought many strong opponents to their knees, also continues...
Fuuka's Last Kiss
Chapter IV - Shadow
"I guess I have no choice - let's make it a quicky, shall we?" - Fuuka
Fuuka stood in the middle of a crossroad. It was dark although it was bright outside - only a little light reached the hole where she was. A dubious place in the shadows which denied the rays of the midday sun entry.
Behind the Kunoichi stood two masked men. Their nondescript, dark clothing contrasted sharply with their flamboyant white masks.
Sai - the presumed leader of this mysterious group - inclined his head towards Fuuka, but without looking directly at her.
"Wait here - I'll be right back."
She obeyed - not that she had any choice.
Although Fuuka essentially relied on the use of her arsenal of Nin-Jutsu skills for combat, as far as Tai-Jutsu went, her skills were far from bad. Those crooks who harassed her last night had to learn that the hard way. Nevertheless, this didn't help the battered Kunoichi much in her confrontation with these masked Shinobi.
Fuuka was overpowered and brought here, wherever 'here' was.
Suddenly, she heard a comparatively deep female voice that seemed to come from the end of the hallway in front of her.
"I had a feeling we'd meet again."
From the shadows, two bright, red eyes suddenly glared at Fuuka. The disembodied eyes approached her.
"After all, you've always been pretty stubborn and very hard to get down, especially when you set your mind to something."
Fuuka felt as if those eyes could capture her innermost being. She shuddered, but the voice seemed strangely familiar to her. Then, silence for a few seconds.
"Who - Who is there?"
The figure emerged from the shadows. She could immediately identify the woman's long, straight dark brown hair, her spherical earrings, and her Make-Up.
"Fuen!"
The dark red lips smiled subtly while her strange red eyes suddenly 'circled', thereupon losing luminosity and taking on their natural blue color.
"It's been a while."
"That's right. I thought I was the only one from our group still alive."
In contrast to Fuuka, Fuen's appearance had changed; she wore a dark purple dress that clearly showed more of her figure and skin than the previous one. Most noticeable was a black tattoo that ran from her left shoulder to her breasts, depicting a lion of some sort.
"I thought the same of myself until my people told me of the presence of a person in Konoha. The description looked suspiciously familiar."
Fuen lifted her chin slightly. Her lips were adorned with an arrogant smile.
"How is it that you are standing here in front of me even though that blond little boy had beaten you back then?"
Fuuka pulled a bitter face. She disliked this statement, even if it was true. Fuuka together with Fuen, Fudō and Furido pursued a common goal at that time and formed a team together but they never understood each other as comrades or even friends.
"You said it yourself; I'm not that easy to get down. And don't worry..."
Fuuka ran a hand through her hair and smiled smugly.
"... he'll learn his lesson soon enough. I'll make him understand how to respect women."
Sai stood silently a step behind Fuen, listening intently to the two women's words.
"You just spoke of 'your people,' what do you mean? Who are these guys?"
Fuen raised her eyebrows and placed a hand under her chin.
"They're Anbu from Konoha, but unlike regular Anbu, they don't report to the Hokage, they report to me."
Fuuka made an incredulous face, though she tried not to let Fuen see her amazement.
How on earth did she manage to build this up?
Fuen was considered the intellectual figure of the group even then. If it weren't for Fuen's strategies, many plans wouldn't have worked. Cunning, resourceful and intelligent.
"This is the headquarters of Root, an underground organization of the Anbu from the village."
Fuen held her hand over her mouth as she chuckled.
"You must have a lot of questions. You've been absent for quite a while, after all. Where have you been hanging out, Fuuka?"
"Do you know how long it took to restore my body?"
"I can imagine."
"That boy is going to pay for it!"
"Oh yes, I'm sure of it."
"How? How did you manage to build up all this?"
"I didn't build up anything. I took over."
Fuen nodded to the two Anbu behind the red-haired Kunoichi. They instantly disappeared.
The trio started to move.
"You should already know Sai."
Fuen pointed at Sai. The young man with pale skin still kept a respectful distance from the two women, but he apparently interpreted the mention of him as a signal to come forward and join the conversation.
"He meant you gave a couple of hapless scoundrels a good run for their money last night."
Fuuka gave Sai a curious look.
"Wasn't he the guy you told me about back then? The one who supposedly had made such an impression on you?"
"Yes, that's right. It's him. And nothing has changed about that. He still impresses me."
Sai smiled at her after this statement. Fuen returned the smile, then stopped. She turned to him and put her arms around his neck. The older woman kissed the clearly younger Shinobi passionately on the mouth. Fuuka couldn't help but frown at the sight - even though the scene should seem anything but unfamiliar to her.
Sai continued speaking for Fuen.
"I found Fuen in the forest. She looked pretty bad. She was lying there, badly injured - with severe internal bleeding, half a dozen broken ribs, some crushed organs, and so on."
"That little bitch!"
Fuen alluded to the pink-haired girl who had inflicted those numerous blatant wounds on her with just a single, incredibly powerful punch in her chest.
"Merely by a rotten trick, she was able to defeat me!"
Fuen was very skilled in the use of Gen-Jutsu and could complement it with the handling of poison, as she showed in her fight against Sakura when she combined the two. This made her illusion even more realistic and deadly... But Sakura was ready for it; she used an antidote to nullify the effects of her poison – and her Jutsu consequently. She let Fuen lull herself into deceptive safety to get close enough to the Kunoichi, who specialized in ranged combat. Then the girl decided the duel in her own favor.
Sai finished the story: Fuen survived. She was brought to Konoha by him and he took care of her - furthermore she was accepted into the Anbu organization - they thought her good relationship with the feudal lord and her excellent strategic skills might be somehow useful. Fuen and Sai were both artistically talented. Both used ink and brushes not only for painting and drawing - they were their weapons. The introverted boy fell in love with the narcissistic woman and stood up for her. But it was primarily due to Fuen's acumen and intelligence that she was able to work her way up through the ranks of the organization until she rose to become the personal advisor to Danzō Shimura - the leader of Root. When Danzō was killed, the organization officially disbanded. But in secret, Root continued to exist - led by Fuen. The woman studied every secret of her predecessor, no matter how heinous they were. That was how she learned of the stash of Sharingan eyes Danzō had collected for himself after the massacre of the Uchiha clan. A single pair of eyes had remained in the collection, and Fuen did not hesitate to make this powerful tool her own.
Suddenly, another Anbu appeared and approached Sai, whispering something in his ear. Sai looked to Fuen and nodded.
"The toxin is ready."
"Hehehehehe."
Fuen laughed, visibly pleased by this news.
"Hmpf - very good, prepare everything."
"As you wish!"
Sai and the other Anbu disappeared.
Fuuka crossed her arms in front of her chest as she gave the Root leader an expectant look. Fuen turned back to her.
"You want revenge... And I'm going to make sure you get it!"
"How so?"
"It would be easy for us to get to the Hokage, but then what? He'd still be far too strong on his own, for any of us - except you."
Fuuka tilted her head, puzzled by this assertion.
"Your Jutsu is the key. Not only can your Reaper kiss leave any opponent, no matter how strong, completely defenseless and helpless but, most importantly, you're also able to absorb his hidden power."
Fuuka narrowed her eyelids.
"What 'hidden power' are we talking about? What do you know about it?"
Fuuka knows from her own experience that there is a hidden power within the boy. A malevolent force that makes even her blood run cold.
Fuen raises her eyebrows again.
"Furido had lied to you back then, Fuuka."
Fuuka thought back to that conversation she had with Furido, after her first confrontation with Naruto:
"Furido, didn't you notice anything about that boy with the blond hair? He seems to have... the same energies as Sora."
Furido looked at Fuuka for a while, as if weighing something.
"What makes you think that, Fuuka?"
"When I went to grab his Chakra, I felt that something was different about it - strange, disturbing. That feeling... it was horrible... while absorbing it... it - it was like I was burning from the inside. Doesn't Sora also possess a similar power?"
"Sora is unique. Whatever you think you saw or felt, it certainly has nothing to do with him."
He knew about the connection between those two but he didn't tell me?
Although Fuuka seemed to be lost in thought, Fuen continued.
"Inside the Hokage's body is the source of Sora's powers - the Kyubi. Furido had managed to transfer some of the Kyubi's Chakra to Sora. The Kyubi nearly destroyed the entire village, had the Fourth - Minato Namikaze - not prevented that."
Minato? Minato... The name sounds familiar somehow - but from where? How do I know that name?
"Just imagine what you could accomplish with that power..."
Fuuka licked her lips at the thought.
"With the Hokage dead and the Kyubi in our hands, no one will be able to stop us!"
Another Anbu suddenly appeared out of nowhere in front of the two. He knelt and bowed his head.
"What is it?"
"Preperations are set, Fuen-sama!"
"Good. This time we'll finish what we have started.."
Fuen smiled and gave the red-haired Kunoichi an euphoric look.
"... finally."