Legacy of the Will
Chapter 5: The Rabbit Runs, the Bush Clover Grows Thorns
A/N: Hope you enjoy the latest installment. I had a lot of fun working with this section of the story. Sorry if it's a bit short, I know I said I was developing a problem, but I wanted to stay on topic this chapter and it just sorta turned out this way.
Usakuro leapt through the Konoha forest at insane speed. Easily faster than the kunoichi who summoned him, and leagues faster than the genin under her charge.
He was, however, being pursued. The messenger rabbit was too dangerous to let escape, so two figures chased him relentlessly.
Because of that he ran so fast they barely saw the black blur that was Usakuro. But they weaved handsigns quickly and blasted out a fireball at the rabbit.
'Not quick enough, baka!" He said as he quickly leapt over it and several senbon flew from his whiskers.
"Cascading Hare Senbon Jutsu!"
They got hit in the arms and yelped as the hare sent out a blast of lightning that attracted itself to the senbon, blasting them backwards into the trees. As the smoke and taste of metal entered their mouth, they saw the rabbit disappear out of the horizon.
Haru sat by the fire, as it flickered dancing light around them. Kaori returned with some scrounged food and gasped as the fire nearly went out. She quickly tended it and got it back to be roaring.
She sighed in relief and looked at him with an angry glare. "Haru! You can't just let this flame die out!"
"It was fine. The wood could burn a while longer," he reasoned.
"You can't just expect one thing to keep a flame going! It has to be given new fuel, tended to and kept alight!"
"Okay…you're right. I'm sorry. I was just…thinking about something."
"What is it?" She sighed and handed him some of the food she scrounged in an attempt to preserve their rations.
"The fight. They focused on getting to Ryouichi. Why? Weren't you and I the bigger threats?"
Kaori thought about it. "Now that you mention it, they mentioned that he would die in there for sure."
"Exactly. That cat guy mentioned that it locked him in his mind. With all the pain that entailed." Haru stroked his chin thinking deeply.
Kaori thought of something and her eyes widened. "What if the jutsu seals you in your nightmares? And the longer you stay the more you die?"
Haru's sweat at the thought. "Ryouichi definitely is the most emotionally vulnerable of the three of us. The question is, how did they know?"
Kaori and Haru looked into each other's eyes. Understanding in their revelation.
"Okami-kun!" They both let out.
"They've been watching us this whole time. Waiting to determine who was most susceptible to the genjutsu to weaken our numbers. Tsukiko-sensei was probably just a lucky hit;"
Haru slammed his fist to the ground. "Damn it! They've been ahead of us from the start! I'm so stupid!"
Kaori placed a hand on his shoulder. "Neither me, Ryouichi, or Tsukiko-sensei noticed either. It's not just your fault Haru."
"It is my fault! I'm supposed to be a great ninja! How am I a great ninja if I can't even see the obvious?!" He looked downright distraught, his eyes going red from the tears welling up.
"To be fair, you yourself pointed out that we were out in the open about Okami-kun." She gently reminded him.
"I…I should still have been better." He quietly spoke, looking down.
"Why? Why is being great so important to you?"
"It's…it's nothing." He looked away.
"Haru…" She sternly spoke as she raised his head and looked into his eyes.
"I said it's nothing." He fired back forcefully.
She sighed and nodded. "I'll take the first watch…you rest."
He nods and hesitantly lays against a tree. As memories of the past filled his head, he felt it was heard to sleep.
Four years ago…
Haru entered his home, and his father grimly sat drinking sake.
"I'm home!" Haru said. His father looked over;
"Hello Haru. Sit down."
Haru worriedly sat down in front of him.
"I need to leave Konoha for a while." He sighed.
Haru's eyes widened. "W-What? Why?"
"Money, son. We don't have any. I'm going to work in one of the Fire Daimyo's mines. Good enough pay. Enough to support your mother and you."
"B-But I'll graduate from the Academy! I'll become a ninja!"
"Face it son, you're the son of a tailor and a grifter. There's no future we can give you as a shinobi. You're just a regular villager. I appreciate your determination, but there's no way I'm getting out of this."
He patted the boy's head and stood up. "I just wanted you to know before I leave. Maybe I'll see you one day, Haru." He walked away.
Haru sat there looking at his shaking hands. 'I can't be worthless…I don't care what I am…I don't care if I'm not a natural prodigy. I refuse to be nothing!"
Present Day
Haru rolled onto his back, looking grimly at the leaf covered sky. 'I refuse to be nothing…I will be the best ninja. And I will make sure my father comes home.'
He looked over at Ryouichi, his glazed eyes lightly shedding tears as his muscles tensed in pain. 'You always reminded me of that, Ryouichi. You made me remember that promise every day. You're just like me, but you weren't even born in Konoha. But you still try. Like a stubborn ox, you just don't let up.'
Haru extended a hand to Ryouichi's face but stopped himself. 'I felt so weak. As if by you defeating me, it meant I really was worthless. That I wouldn't amount to anything, not because of my birth but because of what I was. But now look at me. My comrades are dying. My mission is failing. But I can't do anything…all the ninjutsu I tried to master isn't going to do anything.'
He resumed looking at the stars. Tears began to form in his eyes. 'I guess…I really am worthless…'
Kaori hugged her legs looking over at her team. A vulnerable Haru, a dying Tsukiko, and Ryouichi. The boy who approached her all those years ago for help with his taijutsu. Kaori shivered as the cold breeze hit her face.
She was a Hyuuga. She was supposed to be able to protect her comrades. She was supposed to be strong. But even now, though she graduated nearly at the top of her class, she was powerless against true danger. She was powerless to protect Ryouichi, she was powerless to save her sensei.
Tsukiko coughed, and Kaori grabbed a small flask of water to help her wet her hoarse throat.
"Thank you, Kaori," she weakly said.
"Of course. It's the only thing I can do right now," she lamented.
"Kaori…don't beat yourself up…those were Jonin…there's nothing you could have done."
"That's the problem, sensei. What do I do against them? They're far stronger than me!" She hopelessly looked down.
Tsukiko grabbed Kaori's arm, her labored breath slowing as she calmed herself. "Power…isn't everything. Stop using these," She poked her hands. "Start using these," she poked the girl's heart and head.
"How am I supposed to, they have to be so much smarter than us." She looked into her teacher's eyes.
"Don't focus on what they may be…focus on what they are. Be creative, be intelligent. Let your instincts guide your mind. And you'll find that you can accomplish more than you think."
Kaori thought to herself. Her heart hardened into steel, shielding her weakened resolve. And she nodded determined. "Okay sensei. I promise I'll do my best."
"That's a good girl...I believe in you two. Usakuro will be back, you just need to stay calm and keep us out of danger."
She nodded. "Rest up sensei, save your strength."
Tsukiko nodded and slowed her breathing to a crawl then began her meditation once more.
Minutes became hours, became the morning. And soon, Kaori and Haru agreed to move. Kaori, with the superior strength of the two, carried Tsukiko. While Haru carried Ryouichi.
The two barely managed to get further into the forest, finding a cave with a dead end they could safely hide in. With Kaori using her Byakugan to ensure they weren't followed.
Using their supplies, they made a soft padding for their incapacitated teammates. Kaori somewhat doted on them by keeping them covered up and comfortable. Haru noted that she didn't usually do that, and assumed she was doing it as a way to calm herself.
She gave a sigh of relief. "Okay. This should be safe for at least a little while. Hopefully Usakuro can still find us."
Haru thought to himself before nodding. "He should be able to. We just have to make sure the relief team doesn't take long to get here. We may need to move further out of the forest so they can arrive sooner."
Kaori nodded back. "That makes sense." She stood before a thought came to her. "Hey, aren't we pretty close to where we were supposed to be investigating anyway?"
Haru taps his chin. "Yeah. We are."
"Hm. We should investigate it ourselves." Kaori gave a dead serious look.
"W-What?!" Haru looked rather nervous.
"You heard me." Her seriousness didn't waver.
"There's only two of us!"
"So? It's obvious what's going on with Ryouichi and Tsukiko-sensei. They wouldn't have attacked us without such certainty…"
"…if they didn't know exactly what we were doing." Haru's eyes widened as he finished her revelation.
"Exactly. This was a deterrent. And there's nothing we can do for them anyway. We barely even inconvenienced them last time. If they wanted to kill us, we'd be dead already."
She grimly looked in his eyes. "They clearly intended to let those two die then finish us off…so…we should complete our mission. It's all we can do, and what they'd tell us to do. We need to stop sitting around and feeling sorry for ourselves. We need to stand up and be the ninja we said we'd be."
Haru looked at the floor, before his fist tightened and he looked at her, before nodding silently. "You're right. If we're ninja, we aren't acting like it. We have to put the mission first, since we can't do anything to help our comrades."
Kaori crouched down. "Okay, so how do we want to do this?"
In the dead of night, Haru and Kaori snuck to an open field. It was full of the scars that battle wrought, destroyed trees, cracked earth, and singed plant-life. They head closer into the area, quietly noting the stains of blood to themselves. They managed to get quite a ways in before they realized they were about to trip a trap, so they stopped themselves.
"Someone doesn't want this place investigated," Kaori said.
"Well, we knew that much. And not so loud!" Haru hissed.
She nodded slightly startled by the hiss. They continued to investigate, finding a few scraps of arrows and other such evidence. Soon they had also found dried poison, and a few special kunai that could be filled with poison.
"The ones who attacked us were definitely here." Haru nodded to himself.
"No doubt. The question is, what are they here for?" Kaori sat down, having used her Byakugan for a lot of the investigation.
"I think it's safe to say that they may be working with someone. But to what end is either of our guesses." Haru looked around before looking at the land again.
"Hey Kaori? You didn't look too much at the ground, right?"
"That was your job. I looked for irregularities with chakra, and the ground is pretty dead of that."
"Look again. Right here." He gestured with his foot to right in front of him.
She nodded. "Byakugan!" Her veins bulged out around her eyes as they contracted and intensified as chakra filled them. She noticed quite quickly that there was a faint chakra source where Haru was pointing. She then walked over and kicked it, getting an "Ow!" as a response.
"Okay usually the ground doesn't say ow." Kaori mused as the camouflage technique the young Iwa shinobi was employing undid itself.
"Y-You're gonna kill me, like the others, aren't you?" He asked.
"I don't remember killing anyone here. Someone clearly did though. So, I would start talking." Haru looked at him, but he turned his head.
"Look, I'm in a very bad mood. My friends are dying in a cave, I'm waiting for a talking rabbit to bring reinforcements to save my dying friends, and a guy in a cat mask is the reason I'm in such a mood."
He crouched down and whispered very carefully, bringing out all the intimidation he could muster, which, evidently meant emulating Ino. So, he drew a kunai and pointed it at the ninja.
"So, you better start talking or my friend here will use her Byakugan to find all of your sensitive points and help me rip the nerves out with this kunai. And trust me, no medical-nin alive will undo what we use this to achieve. None." He smiled cheerfully looking into the boys terrified eyes. "And that's just if we're nice."
The boy sat up and was sweating mad. "Okay! Okay! We were tasked with infiltrating the Leaf village! We were supposed to ascertain your military situation! To make sure you were following the peace treaty!"
"And…what happened?" Kaori sternly said.
"We got near a town, Yukiha! And when we got closer here, we were attacked! You Leaf ninja knew we were coming! But before we could warn Iwa, you killed us all!"
"Clearly not everyone since you're alive." Haru mused.
"I was injured…I hoped hiding would let me rest so I could run back to Iwa. But…I guess not." He sadly said.
"The Leaf didn't send those ninja. At least, as far as I could tell."
"Then the guy in the cat mask must be a faker." The boy said.
"What do you mean?" Kaori cocked up an eyebrow.
"There's an old Iwa legend, from during the Third Shinobi World War. About a man who wandered the great war and killed countless of us with poison. And he
"You mean that cat guy was a Leaf ninja?"
"Yeah. Nekuro of the Pestilence. He and his brother were special assassins during the Third War. Afterwards his brother became a missing-nin, while Nekuro stayed. As far as I know, he's still a member of the ANBU, right? Part of their black ops squadron?"
Haru and Kaori looked at each other hesitantly. "We don't think so. Tsukiko-sensei mentioned that guy tried to kill Hiruzen."
"I guess he might've tried to follow his brother. Either way, if the Leaf didn't attack us, then you must not have had been intending to hide something." He struggled to stand, and Kaori and Haru helped him.
"I need to return to my village and report my mission's failure and our attack. The Tsuchikage would want to know that one of your village's great threats has gone rogue."
"Wait! Before you go, what sort of abilities did they all have? The one's who attacked you?"
"Hm. Nekuro is a poison specialist. It's said that only the most knowledgeable people could counter his poisons. But he was nowhere near as good as Lady Chiyo from Suna. He had a strong archer with him, two women who were incredibly fast, and another man."
He scratched his head. "The man seemed way too weak to be even considered, but then he unleashed genjutsu on us. He killed my squad leader in seconds. I saw his heart begin to bleed before my sensei…he…well, let's just say despair was his last thought."
"Okay. Thank you." Haru and Kaori nodded as the Iwa ninja started to run off.
Kaori, puzzled, looked at Haru. "It doesn't make sense. Why would rogue Leaf ninja operate so close to Leaf territory?"
"Either they're cocky, or someone's protecting them. Hiding them away. Still, we were here to investigate disappearances. Which means those Iwa ninja weren't our intended investigation. Those ninja are kidnapping people by Yukiha. But to what end?"
"Gotta be for something good, Haru. Otherwise, they wouldn't need to kill anybody who may find out." Kaori sighed. "Let's get to our hiding spot. We need to get enough strength to move Ryouichi and Tsukiko-sensei."
Haru nodded, and they dispersed.
Ino walked along with Asuma, Shikamaru, and Choji. They were heading to the village Asuma mentioned, and they made sure they had plenty of equipment for the bandits. Ino walked by several flowers and plants, smiling as she recognized them all. Her father had taken her out to the forests of Konoha for years, so she practically knew every name, every appearance, every use of her darling flowers. It was here she spot a bush clover, and her father explained to her what it meant. She never felt so attracted to a way of life before. She blushed as her sentimentality caused her to lag behind.
"So, Asuma-sensei, how long will it take us to get to the village?" She inquired.
"About three or four days, depending on speed. Why?" He took a drag of his cigarette relaxed.
"Well, I was just hoping we'd be back in time for when Ryou-kun and his team returned."
"Heh, relax Ino. I'm sure Ryouichi will be fine with a day or two of R 'n R."
She nodded. "I suppose you're right."
Asuma smiled and ruffled her hair. "Besides! We can get some good training in on the way!"
Shikamaru lazily looked up, slowly dying inside at the mention of training. "Oh brother…"
Choji was snacking on some chips, it had been a few hours since breakfast. And the big ninja needed to maintain his energy for this mission. Not to mention, Asuma had bribed him with them to train hard.
Meanwhile, a whizzing speed blew past the team as they stopped dead in their tracks, seeing at first a fuzzy black spot pass their view, before two humanoid figures. Asuma narrowed his eyes and focused, before suddenly a rabbit landed in front of Ino.
"Are you Yamanaka?" It asked. Startling her.
"A-A talking rabbit?!" She exclaimed stepping back.
"Please stay focused. Are you Yamanaka? You match the description."
"Y-Yes." She squeaked out.
"Okay. Come quick! I need you to help me! It's my master, Tsukiko! She's been poisoned!"
Asuma's eyes widened as Ino suddenly went rather quiet. "T-Tsukiko…w-what about Ryou-kun? Is he okay? What about Haru-san and Kaori-chan?!" She felt her heart begin to race.
"Haru-san and Kaori-san were okay last I saw them. But Ryouichi…he's trapped in a genjutsu. I was sent to gather Inoichi Yamanaka and a medical-nin to cure my master and her apprentice! We've been attacked by S rank class ninja, on our way to the outskirts of Yukiha!"
Asuma looked at Ino, placing his hand on her shoulder. She almost shoved it away, but soon relented and stuck by her teacher, as if her life depended on it. "I know these forests. I can create an antidote from local plant-life, the forest is full of them. And I know the Mind Transference Jutsu. Take me to them."
Shikamaru looked at her. "Don't. It's a stupid idea."
Ino's eyes flared up as she glared at him. "Excuse me?! You think I can't help my friends?!"
"No, quite the contrary, Ino. But you're too attached to the situation. Your emotions can jeopardize them. I've seen you work miracles with that head of yours, but if you're too worried about saving Ryouichi and his master, then you may as well kiss their lives good-bye."
She took a moment. She breathed. She felt her hands shake and the butterflies that were in her stomach turn into wasps. She looked at Shikamaru and then Asuma.
"I can save them. Please, trust me that I can do this."
Shikamaru gave a smirk and walked closer. "Now there's the Ino I know. C'mon, let's go save that knucklehead. Right Asuma-sensei? If this rabbit is any accurate, those "S rank ninja" may have been the bandits we were sent after. Meaning they may have been misled like we were."
Asuma nodded. "Very perceptive, Shikamaru. It seems we need to save our comrades. But we definitely can't beat S rank ninja, so we need to prioritize rescuing Team 3 and returning to the village so the Hokage can send better equipped shinobi after them."
Shikamaru and Ino nodded, with Choji having long since abandoned his chips and been listening intently.
"Okay guys. Are we going, or are we just gonna stand here?" Choji finally said. "Let's go save our friends."
Shikamaru sighed, nodding. While Ino nodded determinedly. "Thanks, Choji."
"Hey, you're not the only one friends with 'em." He smiled.
"Lead the way." Asuma said to Usakuro.
"Right this way, then!" The rabbit said, moving quickly.
Next Chapter: The Flames That Restored a Scarred Heart