A/N: It's been a while, I know. Thanks for your patience (whomever is out there). Please enjoy and review!
CHAPTER VI
KICHIRO
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Sweat dripped from Kichiro's chin, creating a small puddle in the dirt-laden ground. His arms and legs felt tight and burned from exertion as he sat back against a tree and let the breeze cool his drenched body. Two hundred one-armed push-ups and four hundred squats. A new record, one that he had only achieved to take his mind off of his father's troubling implication that Sosei had become the very thing that he had apparently left Konoha to stop. Frowning, Kichiro shook the thought and sweat from his head and stood to his feet and flexed his fingers. Feeling returned to his hands and arms and the Uchiha exhaled.
Kichiro created three Shadow Clones that circled around him. He cracked his knuckles and smirked at his clones.
"Bring it," he said.
The three rushed him and attacked in a coordinated fashion that Kichiro read easily with his Sharingan. He tossed one of his clones over his shoulder into another and whirled into a haymaker that caused the third clone to disappear in a puff of smoke. The other two rose to their feet and nodded to each other. With a quick burst of speed, the split and attempted a pincer movement on him. Kichiro clenched his jaw and raised his arms to block the hits from his clones, before lifting his elbows into their faces.
Once again, there were two puffs of smoke as the clones disappeared. Kichiro let out a small exhale, stretched his arms and dropped down to stretch his legs until he heard a satisfying crack.
"Impressive." Kataki's voice carried over the airways into Kichiro's ears. The young Uchiha turned and saw Kataki's brown eyes looking at him. Kichiro grabbed a rag wiped the sweat off of his face, covering the fact that he couldn't control his blushing.
"Not exactly," he said softly. "It's pretty easy to predict what your clones are going to do." Kataki leaned against a tree as Kichiro went to pick up the shirt he had discarded before beginning his training.
"Why don't you train with someone else then?" Kataki asked.
"Because I'd have to hold back."
Kataki scoffed. "Oh, get the fuck out of here. I've seen you fight, Kichiro. You're strong but I'm sure I could take anything you dish out."
A laugh formed in Kichiro's chest and he almost let it out. Kataki had seen him fight to incapacitate with several inhibitions to avoid doing too much. He had never seen him go all out, with his hand forced to kill an opponent. Kichiro's role on their team had always been as the medic, a role that his father hadn't been too keen on. The thought alone made Kichiro slightly upset and seemed as though Kataki picked up on it because he moved closer to him and touched his shoulder.
"Hey, you alright?" he said, a touch of softness to his voice. Kichiro looked up at him and sighed staring into his eyes before averting his gaze.
"Yeah," he replied, a bit more gruff than he had intended. Kataki chuckled.
"You know for a shinobi, you're a terrible liar...Shitchiro." The smirk on Kataki's face was so reminiscent of the boy from the Academy that had always been better than Kichiro and had tortured him relentlessly that the Uchiha wanted to punch him in his jaw. Though the way he had said it reminded of the young man in front of him that had helped him grow stronger and been there for him. The person he…
"There you guys are." Setsuka's voice sawed through the rails of Kichiro's train of thought and the brown-haired girl walked through the trees with a serious look on her face. Kataki quickly turned to her and Kichiro swallowed and stood up.
"What's up, Setsuka? You look...concerned," Kataki said. Kichiro had to agree. Setsuka's normally bright face was noticeably dark with worry.
"We're being called out again," Setsuka said.
Kichiro shook his head. "Was there another attack?"
"No," Setsuka said. "We're a part of the team tasked with finding your brother." Kichiro suddenly felt cold. They were going after Sosei. They headed immediately into the village and when Kichiro got into the Hokage's office, he had only one question.
"Why are you sending me if you think Sosei attacked Kiri?"
The Hokage's eyes were understanding but stern. "Because you are a shinobi and I need you to perform your duty."
Kichiro balled his fist. "Lord Hokage, I...can't. I can't kill him." Naruto's eyes widened and then he smiled and shook his head.
"I'm not asking you to. I want you to bring him back. I've assembled this team of people that he knows and is close to because I don't want him to think that we're hunting him like a missing-nin. Find him and bring him back."
Kichiro felt a weight lift off of his shoulders and tightness around his temple fade. He closed his eyes and bowed his head. "I won't fail, Lord Hokage."
Naruto nodded. "Move quickly and be safe."
Kichiro returned the Hokage's nod and turned quickly to leave the office. Outside, Kataki, Setsuka, and Mirai waited for him. His former sensei's face was a canvas of concern. The young Uchiha feigned a smile.
"I'm okay," he said. "Is it just us?"
"Apparently," Kataki answered. Setsuka's mouth twisted.
"It's...been so long since we've seen him." Kichiro dipped his head.
"Yeah…"
Mirai waved her hand. "Let's move. We can talk about this while we're on our way to the coordinates." Kichiro looked around, suddenly aware of the multitude of potential prying eyes and ears walking through the hallway. Frowning, he agreed with his sensei.
In a unified move, the four disappeared in a Body Flicker and the next thing Kichiro's feet touched was a tree branch and he burst through the trees behind Mirai. Flanking him, Setsuka and Kataki both seemed to look at him at the same time.
"Yo," Kataki said. "Are you okay?"
Kichiro frowned. "Yeah, I told you that already."
"But you're crying," Setsuka said. The young Uchiha felt a weight in his chest lifting up into his throat and head. The tears said more than he could. After five years, he'd finally be seeing his big brother again. Kichiro didn't know how he'd feel when or if he'd actually see Sosei again. Part of him was filled with joy that he was alive and the Hokage intended for him to stay that way. Another part of him still held an oddly sad anger because Sosei had abandoned him when he needed him the most. His protector and confidant had left him alone.
Kichiro struggled to pull his tears back and put his mind back on the mission. Retrieving Sosei and bringing him back to Konoha against his will would prove extremely difficult, especially if he thought that they had been sent to kill him. Kichiro knew that Sosei held a special place in his heart for he and Setsuka but everyone else would receive his full wrath. It'd probably be up to him to confront his brother verbally to disarm him and see if he'd come back willingly. That would be the hard part.
Mirai's raised fist caused the team to stop and Kichiro instinctively activated his Sharingan. His sensei went to the ground and after a quick nod to Kataki and Setsuka, Kichiro followed her to the forest floor and into the underbrush. As Kichiro listened, something was clearly off.
"I don't hear anything," Setsuka said, her voice nearly inaudible. Kichiro shook his head and looked around. They hadn't reached the coordinates that the Hokage had reported was the latest sighting for Sosei. Mirai had stopped them early for some reason and the only reason that registered to Kichiro was that there had to be a trap.
Mirai made a hand sign and pressed her hand against the ground. Her eyes slowly widened. "There's two…"
An explosion shook the ground that Kichiro, causing trees to fall down and the earth to split. The Uchiha rolled away and Kataki dove with him. Kichiro quickly scanned the area. "Up in the trees," Kichiro whispered. Kataki nodded to him and his eyes shot to the right.
He drew the bow from his shoulder and knocked an arrow and drew back. Chakra flowed from his fingers into the arrow and when he loosed, the arrow sliced through the air and split the targeted tree in half. Kichiro darted forward instantly, charging chakra to the soles of his feet to move faster. He had the black cloaked figure in his sights as they fell. His fist balled as he prepared throw a punch.
Kichiro heard a click and he punched through air. Frowning, Kichiro immediately felt that the world around him was slightly off. He remembered sparring sessions with his father and Mirai, how they had taught him to pinpoint holes within a genjutsu with the power of his Sharingan. The blurry wavelengths of the atmosphere around him caught his eye and with the power of his eyes, he straightened them and broke through.
The first thing he heard was Kataki yelling as he fired another arrow in Kichiro's direction. The Uchiha barely had time to dodge as he quickly rose to his feet and raced to Kataki. When he was in range, he dispelled the genjutsu, just before Kataki could let loose another chakra arrow into his chest.
He grabbed Kataki by his shoulders and jumped away with him into the bushes. Kataki shook, almost violently and Kichiro stared into his eyes. "Snap out of it," he said quickly and quietly.
Kataki nodded and rose to his feet. "How many?"
"There's one we have to deal with right now." Kichiro's eyes traced through the trees. He thought he heard Mirai and Setsuka off in the distance fighting someone, but he knew not to trust his ears. His eyes were his greatest weapon and defense now. "They're using sound-based genjutsu. I think they're making clicking noises to initiate it."
"So, how do we deal with it?" Kataki asked. Kichiro shook his head, even though he did know a couple of rather extreme ways to disable his hearing, including bursting his eardrums. It could work but healing himself would be an issue, however, his mother could do it easily. If he wanted to avoid that wait, he could use a loud noise instead. The only issue Kichiro had now was, he had never fought without his hearing before. If he took this chance, his eyes would be his greatest weapon and defense.
"I have an idea. If you see them, fire," Kichiro said. Kataki gave him an odd look then nodded. In the trees, Kichiro could make out a figure garbed in black with a blank white mask looking down at them. In an instant, the figure was moving, zigzagging through the trees as he made his way down. Kichiro predicted the figure's movements and slid his feet backwards to plant himself into the ground. The figure may have thought he was moving too fast for Kichiro to perceive because he never strayed from his straightforward path. He was in for a rude awakening.
After quickly charging chakra to his fist, Kichiro stepped forward, using the momentum to drive his fist directly into the chest of the masked man. The shockwave sent a burst of wind through the air, shaking the trees around Kichiro. But the way the trees wiggled was unnatural. The masked figure had attempted another genjutsu, clicking behind his mask. Before he could finish the click, however, Kichiro saw one of Kataki's arrows land next to them. With a grimace, he looked up at the figure and could only imagine his horror when he noticed the arrow begin to shine.
The pain in Kichiro's ears trumped any pain he felt in his body as he slid across the ground and rolled into a tree. For brief moment, all he heard was ringing. Then, there was silence. Blood trickled from his mouth and the Uchiha could feel the pain in his side. Kichiro had to move quickly now. His Sharingan traced around the forest and quickly found the man in black on the ground, struggling himself to get up. Kichiro turned his head to where Kataki was and saw that he had his arrow at the ready. With a nod, Kichiro rose to his feet and ran towards the man. Chakra swirled around his hand before heating and igniting into a swirling blue flame. He threw himself at the man in black and slammed his fist down towards him.
Kichiro felt his fist slam into the earth and saw a spark of blue chakra explode. But the man in black was gone. Kichiro whipped his head around to where Kataki was and saw that something had swept him off of his feet. Again, the Uchiha looked around and saw absolutely nothing. Frowning, he ran over to Kataki to check on him. His friend laid on the ground, holding his head. A small gash bled on his temple and he had multiple other small cuts on his body. When Kichiro examined them further, they looked like they were cuts made by senbon needles. Very accurate cuts to tendons and paralyzing points. They were fixable, at the very least.
Green healing chakra formed in Kichiro's hand and he placed it to his ear, waiting a few seconds for his hearing to return to his right and then placed his hand to his left ear and was greeted by a flood of sound. Kataki's groaning at the pain. Setsuka's yelling through the trees. Another explosion that shook the forest. It was a mass of confusion.
"Fuck," Kataki said after Kichiro had healed his wounds. "I didn't even see what the hell hit me."
"Neither did I," Kichiro replied. "I was sure I had him. It couldn't have been one of his sound genjutsu."
Kataki sat up. "I'm telling you, something hit me and someone probably snatched him away. Either way, it's quiet now. Maybe they've made their escape..." Kichiro sighed and looked around. Who or what could have saved that man?
Could it have been…? No, there was no way that it could be Sosei. Kichiro thought. His eyes traced around the ground, scanning the area until he paused and saw sandal prints. A separate pair from his own. They had only taken one step, next to where the man in black had been laying. Kichiro walked over towards them and knelt down to examine them. The footprints were a similar size to Kichiro's own, if maybe slightly bigger. A single strand of black hair laid in the footprint, long and straight. It was longer than Kichiro's and just as jet black. His Sharingan traced over it, seeing only specks of the chakra coloration of its former owner. Then, almost instantly, he recognized the color and his eyes widened.
"There's no way…?"
"Kichiro!" Kataki's voice raised over Kichiro's thoughts and he turned to him. Mirai was standing next to Kataki and her face looked grave. Initially, Kichiro thought that something had happened to Setsuka but there wasn't grief on her face. Just concern. "Come over here!"
Kichiro nodded and ran over towards them. He looked at their faces and frowned. Neither of them said anything. Mirai turned and dashed into the trees and Kichiro followed behind her with Kataki at his back. Mirai led them ahead, pushing deeper into the forest until saw a slight, unnatural break in the trees. Something must have chopped through the canopy. Kichiro's eyes traced down until he saw Setsuka's familiar brown hair kneeling over what seemed to be a body. The Uchiha saw a flash of black hair and his mouth dropped.
Thunder clapped in the sky above and rain slowly started to trickle down from the sky. Kichiro landed on the soggy ground next to Setsuka and carefully looked over the body that laid in front of them. He didn't know whether or not he was crying or if there was rain flowing down his cheek, but he knew he felt as though a hand was tightening around his heart.
The man that laid drowning in a pool of his own blood with pieces of wood protruding from his side was his brother, Sosei. With a few quick hand seals, Kichiro pulled the wood from the man's ribcage and chest and then immediately placed his healing hands over his brother's wounds. After nearly a minute of watching the cells regenerate, Kichiro saw Sosei's eyes slowly flutter open. The man looked around with hazy dark grey eyes at the people that surrounded him before finally landing on Kichiro again. His fingers twitched and his parched lips move slowly as he uttered a single word and passed out.
"Takuma…"
