Chapter 8

Time Passes in the Land of Waves

Arashi relaxed on the pier, reviewed her scrolls, and sorted out her research plan while she waited on Team 7 to return. It gave her time to think over their situation and methods to assist with looking after Tazuna. She considered teaching Inari how to swim to apologize for her foul mood. No one had confronted her, so she assumed he never told, or his family did not care. It did not justify her behavior, but he needed to learn that telling people they were going to die was rude.

By the time Kakashi was approaching the house, the kunoichi was bored enough that she met him at the end of the pier, where it connected to the land. The sight of him hobbling along with his crutches made her feel a combination of amusement and sympathy. As much ash she disagreed with his apparent lack of concern for the Genin, she recognized his desire to do a good thing for the Land of Waves.

She also had a hunch he did not need the crutches as badly as he let on.

"So, how are they doing?" She asked.

"They're managing." He replied. "Has it been uneventful here?"

"I nearly drowned the kid." She admitted. "But, other than that, nothing happened."

"I think it will be a day or two, at least, until they make another move." He ignored her comment. "If we're lucky, Zabuza and his accomplice will try to conceal their failure until they can make another attempt."

"Or they'll lose their pay."

He closed his eye in a smile. "Exactly."

"If we're really lucky, it'll turn out that the masked boy really was fetching Zabuza's corpse and was uncomfortable disposing of it with us standing right there."

"Mhm."

"But, the kids – how are they doing? I'm betting Naruto needs a lot of work and Sasuke's catching on fast."

"Well," he paused. "You're half right."

Arashi blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Sakura caught on like a natural. Naruto's dead last, as usual, but Sasuke's not that far ahead of him."

"Wow. He really isn't like his br – erm," she looked away and cleared her throat. "Not, uh, not like some of the Uchiha were."

The conversation fell flat. It had been a long time since she had slipped like that. She turned and began walking back to the house. The hollow knock of the crutches kept pace with her. Heat radiated from her face – conflicted and embarrassed.

"You're not wrong." Kakashi broke the silence. "Anyway, Sasuke and Naruto have a lot of work to do. I think their rivalry will be all the motivation they'll need."

A wave of appreciation washed over her, and she glanced over at the Jounin. "Once you're feeling a little better, I can try to give them advice and possibly coach them a little."

"They might listen."

She exhaled a puff of breath through her nose. "You never know."

Upon entering Tazuna's home, it was past dinner and they had retired to other portions of the building. Arashi settled into one of the chairs at the dining table.

"Take a seat." She prompted him. "I have questions."

"Mah." He gave her a withering look. "I should probably rest."

"Sit." She repeated. "I'm trying to figure out how I can help you recover faster."

He settled into a chair across from her with a sigh. "If you insist."

"Thank you." She unrolled a scroll and pulled out a pen. "I tried to stimulate your tenketsu to see if it would help you recover."

"Tenketsu are miniscule. How have you tried to stimulate them?"

"Well, I flooded your system with my own chakra and tried to chart out where they are. As I found them, I tried to flush them, in a sense. My thinking was along the lines of how to ease over-stressed muscles – you can help by stimulating them with a massage." She explained. "It's not a perfect method and I doubt you'll notice much, if anything. I'm just curious."

"I see."

"So, I was curious if you've noticed anything strange."

He shrugged and pulled out his book.

"Very engaged." She commented, dryly.

"I can still answer."

"Alright."

She went through a list of general questions from physical to mental to emotional. He answered each with a bored yes or no. Nothing indicated anything out of the ordinary was happening to him. She wrote down each piece of information. It was her intention to be thorough.

Before long, it was late. The Genin were still out training. Arashi took a moment to scan the surrounding area – if she was to be honest, she was more concerned for them than she was Tazuna and his family. Despite her interest in the scroll in front of her, she was distracted by worries nipping at the edge of her thoughts. She was worried about over exertion and she worried about someone going after them while they were unguarded. She glanced at the Jounin from the corner of her eye.

Ibiki-sensei never would have put us in this situation.

A grin settled on her face as she skimmed over her notes. There was something thrilling about working on her research feet away from her test subject without him being aware of what she did. She intended to tell him at some point, but she wanted to save it for a different time.

It's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission, if my brother is of any example.

She took a deep breath and focused. While subtle, she could perceive the clash that was happening between her chakra and his. Hers, having an air affinity, had the upper hand. It flowed into his system in wisps while his affinity crackled in defiance and tried to push back. It appeared to have a harmonious juncture until she searched for the most miniscule resistances she could find.

"You're being quiet." Kakashi commented.

"I figured you would appreciate being left alone to read."

"Mah."

Is he trying to start a conversation or something? She stared at him. "Yes?"

"Which one of them dropped me on the way here?"

Her heart skipped a beat. "Huh?"

"I have a bump on the back of my head. I know I fell forward when I lost consciousness."

"It probably happened when you were fighting Zabuza."

"It didn't."

"Huh – quite the mystery, isn't it, y'know?"

They fell into a routine.

Arashi would wake around the same time as Kakashi, which was earlier than she would have liked, to ask him the same general questions. After getting that out of the way, she would do a scan of his pathways before clearing him to go about his business. She expected pushback from the Jounin, but he complied with minimal complaints. When she prefaced it with the intent to help, he was a more or less willing patient. It stood in stark difference with how her teammates had acted when she would want to try something on them.

After that step was done, they all gathered together for breakfast with Tazuna's family. Despite the stress of everything going on, they were amicable. Tsunami kept herself busy with chores around the house, Inari remained a recluse that only emerged for food, and Tazuna was either out with Arashi in tow to work on the bridge or he was resting for the next day. The Genin continued training. The two boys would be at it from early until late. Sakura would join them for a while but was far enough head of them that she was free to help with looking after Tazuna.

This morning Sakura tagged along to guard the bridge builder with Arashi.

She's a smart girl. Arashi thought to herself. A little combative, doubtful, and insecure, but definitely not stupid. She had good grades and has better reasoning skills than the boys. With some experience and a firm, guiding hand, she might make something of herself someday.

The medic turned her attention to the bridge and the men at work. Tension was thick in the air. It was not hard for her to spot the fear in their eyes as they kept to themselves. From what she could tell, the structure was close to being done, but she understood that the old man's estimate of a couple weeks, at best, was a hopeful thought. She estimated they would be there for a month at their current rate. In normal circumstances, she would have thought that the fear would quicken their pace like whips at their heels.

But that's not what's happening here. Everyone except Tazuna hangs their heads like dogs beaten into submission.

Sakura yawned and broke Arashi from her thoughts.

"Not very exciting is it?" She asked the girl.

"It's really not." Sakura replied.

Tazuna picked up on their short exchange as he picked up a beam of wood. "Oh? I see you have company today. Where are the other two?"

"Training." The Genin replied.

"Then why aren't you with them?" He asked.

"I surpassed them." She gloated. "Kakashi-Sensei told me to protect you."

The old man blinked in disbelief. "Really?"

Arashi shot him a nasty look, but he did not notice it. Before they could continue with their conversation, a man approached Tazuna from behind. She eyed him with suspicion but recognized him from the previous day.

"Tazuna, can I talk to you?"

The man forgot about the two kunoichi and turned to face him. "What's wrong, Giichi?"

"I've been thinking it over." Giichi began. "This bridge we're working on." He mustered his courage. "I want off the job!"

"Why?" Tazuna asked, his voice a mixture of angry and surprised. "Out of nowhere like this? You of all people!"

"Tazuna, we go back a long way. I want to help you, but we can't take this risk. Gato will have us assassinated if we don't stop, and if you die it won't just be this one project. We could lose everything!"

The two men stared at each other for several, tense moments.

"Please, just give it up." Giichi pleaded. "The bridge isn't worth it."

"I can't do that." Tazuna replied. "This bridge belongs to all of us. It's everything we've been working toward, for our entire city. When it's finished, it will bring trade and commerce and affluence to us. It will put our little Land of Waves on the map!"

"But, we're talking about lives here. Your life!" Giichi argued.

"It's afternoon now already, isn't it? Let's call it a day." Tazuna turned to walk away. "Oh, and Giichi? Don't' come back."

With that, Arashi stood and followed the bridge builder with Sakura on her heels. She made a mental note to speak with Giichi.

He was arguing for Tazuna's life. He might know of some rumors that could be useful.

On the To-Do list for that day was a trip to a grocery store.

Arashi knew that she would have to escort either Tazuna or Tsunami on a trip like this, but it made her uneasy. There were no shinobi in the area to worry about, but they were in a crowd of people where a non-shinobi hitman could blend in with no issues. Without showing her discomfort, she kept an eye on everyone that came near. Just from a short would through the market area, they passed children that appeared to be homeless, a thief running with food while a storekeeper chased him, and a man wearing a sign stating, "Will Do Any Job." The sense of defeat that saturated the construction zone made more sense now that she saw the state of the community.

With a frown, she closed the distance between herself and the bridgebuilder to loop her arm with his. "Just to make sure I can watch you better, Tazuna-san."

He gave her a skeptical look but nodded. "Appreciate it."

Sakura followed behind, taking in their surroundings. Arashi glanced back at the girl a time or two to check how she was holding up. She wondered what the girl thought of everything.

I assume this is her first time out of the village. Probably the first time she's ever seen poverty like this.

They turned to enter a store and walked by a kid sitting next to the door, dirty and unkempt. Sakura paused to look at him before following Tazuna and Arashi in.

Once they were in the store, the state of the economy was more apparent – there was next to no food available in the store, but it was not crowded. It did not appear that an influx of customers had cleared supplies off the shelves. The medic released the old man to peruse through the produce and found that most were aged or came from a poor harvest.

Makes sense, I guess. They're so remote and impoverished that it's not like they can afford trading for more food when they have a bad year.

Although she did not want to admit it, seeing everything as it was made her appreciate that Kakashi had chosen to see the mission through when she had offered him an easy out. She was gradually forming a measure of respect for Tazuna, as well. He was rough around the edges, a drunk, and needed to discipline his grandson, but he was putting his life on the line for his Land. That was something she could understand.

From the corner of the eye, Arashi noticed a man moving toward Sakura. Her fingers settled on a kunai and she shifted her weight to be ready to intervene. He did not have a weapon and his eyes were set on the girl's pack.

A thief.

She hesitated to see what the Genin would do. The man moved to slip his hand into the bag, but she shifted at the land second and he copped an accidental feel.

"Pervert!" Sakura shrieked as she round house kicked the man to the ground.

"N-no," the man groaned from his prone position. "I didn't mean…"

Arashi left the kunai in its place and smothered a laugh behind her hand. Tazuna's eyebrows shot up and he gave the girl a surprised look. They quickly grabbed what they could from the limited options present, paid, and left.

Once outside, Tazuna commented, "Well, that was certainly a surprise."

"I'm proud of you, Sakura-san." Arashi told her. "Never let anyone grab you like that or steal from you, y'know. Put them on the ground each time."

"What's with this town?" The girl demanded.

She was about to continue complaining, but a small child blocked her path and held out his hands. At a loss, she dug through her bag and dropped a handful of candy into his palms.

"Wow!" The kid grasped them like they were dearer than gold coins. "Thanks!"

They watched him disappear into the crowd with a smile that spanned from one ear to the other.

"It's been like this ever since Gato moved in." Tazuna explained. "We've become a city of slackers, cowards, and fools. That's why the bridge we are building is so essential! It will become an emblem of courage. Maybe the people who've taken the path of least resistance will be willing to walk the road of courage and dignity again. If we can only complete it, I truly believe that our city and our people can become what they once were again."

Arashi placed a hand on his shoulder and gave it an encouraging squeeze.

Once they were back, Arashi checked on Kakashi by poking her head into the room he was in, giving him a quick look over, and then going to the kitchen to assist Tsunami with getting dinner ready. A sweep of the area let the kunoichi know that Sasuke and Naruto were still training and there were no enemy shinobi in the area to garner concern. She figured she could make herself useful – Tsunami was the nicest of Tazuna's family and she felt that it would be unfair to force her to care for all the shinobi on top of her own family. She was not the best cook, but she could use a knife and wash dishes.

As they were finishing up, the boys found their way back to the house. The smell of food drew everyone to the dining room table and the medic found herself encouraged by the sight of them all doing well. Kakashi was carrying only one of the crutches at this point. All of the seats were filled, which left Arashi and Tsunami out, but they were content watching everyone eat until a space came open.

"Boy, this is real fun!" The old man laughed and rubbed the back of his head. "I can't remember the last time I shared a meal with so many people!"

Kakashi was already done with his food – no one saw him begin or finish. Arashi squinted in his direction, but he did not notice. Even with his sharp nose and nice jawline, she wanted to believe he was ugly. It made her feel more comfortable with him.

He caught her scrutinizing him and gave her a flat look. She stared back for a moment, until the sound of Sasuke and Naruto gorging on their food caught her attention. The food had been placed in front of them a few minutes prior and they had already emptied their bowls and eaten the bread.

"More, please!" They both yelled as they stood from their seats.

Arashi's eyebrows knit together in minor distress and embarrassment.

The boys looked at each other and glared before promptly vomiting on the floor.

"Stop eating if you're just gonna hurl it back up!" Sakura shrieked – specifically at Naruto.

"No – I have to eat!" Sasuke wiped vomit from his mouth.

Naruto looked up with watery eyes. "Yeah, because even if we make ourselves sick to do it, we have to eat if we want to get strong, y'know!"

The medic rubbed her temples. "Before you get another bite of food, you both will clean your messes up."

"Neh, but, sis!"

"Naruto-kun," She hissed. "Don't you argue with me."

Sasuke smirked.

"And you!" She pointed at him. "Get to cleaning!"

His expression soured, but he did not argue.

She stood over them as they cleaned their mess up and then made them help with finishing the dishes, so Tsunami would be able to eat and not worry about getting everything back in order. Once they had everything back in place, the boys returned to their seats while Sakura stood in front of a picture on the wall.

"Why is this picture torn?" The girl asked. "Inari was looking at it through dinner."

Arashi watched as Tazuna, Inari, and Tsunami tensed.

People being ripped out of a picture usually means there was a bad ending of sorts.

After a moment of hesitation, Tsunami answered. "It was a picture of my husband."

"Once upon a time, if you will, our entire city called him a hero." Tazuna added.

Inari shoved away from the table and walked away from the table.

"Inari, where are you going?" His mother called after him.

His response was to slam the door on his way out.

"Inari!" The woman yelled before turning on the old man. "Father! I've told you time and again to not mention that in front of my son!"

She did not wait on a response as she rushed after the boy.

They all sat in silence for a moment.

"So, you're talking about what makes Inari act so strange?" Sakura pressed.

"It sounds like there's a story there." Kakashi pressed.

Tazuna obliged. "The man in the picture was not Inari's birth father, but they were as loving and close as any biological father and son could have been. Inari was such a happy, laughing child back then." Tears spilled from his eyes and he took a few, shaky breaths. "But it all changed after something happened to his father. Our people – especially my grandson – were robbed of the very meaning of courage, because of what happened that day."

All of the shinobi eyed the old man and waited for him to continue. Arashi tried to not look as interested from her spot near the sink, while Naruto rested his head on his arms on the table.

"What happened? What was it? What could have changed your grandson so much?" Kakashi pressed in his laidback tone.

Tazuna took his glasses off to wipe the tears from his face. "Let me start at the beginning and tell you about the man who our entire land called a hero."

"Hero?" Naruto repeated.

"It all began three years ago." Tazuna began.

The next several minutes involved a tale of Inari's stepfather saving him from drowning when bullies shoved him into the ocean – Arashi made herself look busy and hoped that Inari would not snitch on her – and went into explaining that he was a foreign fisherman that was seeking his fortune. His name was Kaiza and he was a man of integrity. It continued into a story about how Kaiza saved a section of their city from flooding by swimming through torrential waters with a rope so they could close a gate to cut off the floodwaters.

Oh, but they couldn't teach the boy how to swim?

"That was when the people are started calling Kaiza a hero. With a father like that, Inari held his head up high – until Gato came to town."

"And the incident that you've alluded to took place." Kakashi commented. "So, what happened?

Tazuna shook as he answered, "Gato had Kaiza put to death in front of the entire city. Ever since then, Inari has changed. Tsunami and everyone in the city's changed, too."

Well, that makes everyone's defeated behavior make a little more sense.

Naruto shot to his feet, tripped, and fell on his face.

Sakura shot an annoyed look in his direction. "What are you doing, Naruto?"

Kakashi sighed. "Don't even think about training any more, today. If you push yourself too hard without resting, it will probably kill you."

Arashi could tell that while Naruto was exhausted and needed rest, he was not near death, but agreed with the Jounin. "You should listen to your Sensei."

"I'm going to prove to him that he's wrong!" Naruto lifted himself up. "I'm going to show Inari that there are still heroes in the world!"

They watched the blonde rush out the door.

"Well, that wasn't awkward." Arashi commented. "Anyway, taichou, is there any way I can see you in the next room to go over a few things?"

He exhaled through his nose at the tediousness of her request and followed her out.

"More questions?" He drawled.

"No, actually. Not for you, anyway." She cleared her throat. "I have a hunch that something's brewing and not just Zabuza coming back after us. I watched an altercation of sorts play out between Tazuna and an old friend of his. I want to go question him and look into a couple things."

The Jounin's interest was piqued. "Hm. What do you think is going on?"

"I'm not completely sure, but he was especially concerned about Gato putting a hit out on all of them. It could simply be because of what happened to Kaiza, but I get a feeling there's more to it. I think Giichi knows something is going on."

"So, you want to go fishing around for more information?"

"Do you not remember who my Sensei is?"

"Fair enough. What's your plan?"

"I'm going to question Giichi for what he's heard and see if I can find any rumors to look into. There's a high crime rate here and I don't think it would be hard for Gato to pay any number of people some pocket change for a hit." She explained. "Depending on what I find, I might be out for only a couple hours or it might be an all-night sort of thing. Do you think you can handle me being gone?"

"I think we'll make it through the night." He replied. "But try to not get into anything too messy. I would feel more comfortable with you being here to keep an eye out for anyone coming this way, but if your hunch is right, then it's worth looking into it."

"Thank you." She grinned. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

And that's chapter 8. Next chapter, Arashi will go on her own sort of adventure to look for information.

I apologize if any of this is rough or rushed – I really don't enjoy this arc and having her present feels almost wrong. On top of that, I'm trying to get a feel for the characters again after being gone for so long.