AN: 3,000+ views. I love you guys. You're just AWESOME!!! Thanks for being so patient with me. I know it's been over a month, and I'm pretty sure a lot of you wanna kill me. But here's what happened, so you understand my reasoning. Okay, I told you I was sick, well it's safe to say I had mono. So I was way too tired to write a chapter for a month, considering I couldn't get a pass for classes except for PE, =.=0 Then, when I finally got over it, I had finals. I know. So when I actually had internet and was well, I was too busy with studying. Then I got to go home, but I don't have internet here because our wireless broke. So now we've either gotten our router fixed or I'm mooching of someone else to load this up. So I hope you'll forgive me with this awesome chapter I wrote for you guys. ^.^ I want to thank all of you guys who have been reading along with me and waiting for this new chapter. And to everyone who wished for my good health, thanks a lot. It really helped me get better.
And to Me and Gaara 4ever, I'm really glad you liked it. ^.^
And to Thomas Drovin, You're feeling would be correct. ^.^
And to Repentless Wind, Yeah, sorry for the cliffie without updating in a while. I just want to say, not my fault though. ^.^ And I'm sure you're gonna love this chapter. ^.^
And to Azura Soul Reaver, Of course she does. She's the only one who can. ^.^ Ain't that right, Grim Speck?
And to Gaaras1Girl, Kankuro should come to his senses soon. YAY romance. But I'm gonna put that part of the story on the back burner for a little while. You'll know why. ^.^
And to GrimSpeck18, I've decided to write you a special Christmas gift. I know mine will be your favorite of this year.
And to Setsuna Noyamano, I do plan to continue with it. If I don't my closest friends have already threatened to take my life. ^.^ And the plot is already completely typed up, so I if I stop, my sis can continue if she chooses. ^.^ Although, it'll probably be more ANGST!!!!
And to dantesfreezer, When I read that, I was like O.O, because I haven't heard that quoted since sophomore year. It was a huge joke in my class.
And to Rachel, I'm very happy you think so. And yeah, Neji just gives off that gay vibe to me.
And I don't have my list anymore of new favoritors, but I wanna welcome you guys to the group. ^.^
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or its characters etc. You know the drill. Oh, and Kirigi belongs to Thomas Drovin, which I'm very grateful he's letting me use. Thanks a bunch!!!
Chapter Four: Aneko/Katsumi
Tsunade walked out of the hospital room, rubbing the sweat off her brow. Why were there always weird hospital cases during the Konoha Fright Festival. It was her least favorite time of year, being a doctor. Last year someone came in from being mauled by a wolf, and the night had held a full moon. The year before that, a man was shish-kabobbed with a wooden stake from his wife's Halloween costume, which was a vampire hunter. After that instance, she had told the man to make a mental note not to tick his wife off again. But this was her first time having a patient in the mental ward for this night.
"Do you know what is wrong with her?" Sakura asked her teacher. The rest of the group had gone home due to how late it was. Not many of them wanted to stay up past 3:00 in the morning.
"Well, we got her cleaned up," Tsunade started. "The blood she was covered in was animal blood, not her own. And she's really tormented by this Katsumi girl. Whoever she is, we need to keep her away from Aneko. I want security detail surrounding the village. I don't want this Katsumi girl getting in."
"Yes ma'am," Sakura nodded. "Who should I give the orders to?"
Tsunade paused, and looked down to the floor in thought. "Kakashi Hatake, Neji Hyuuga, Hinata Hyuuga, and Sasuke Uchiha. And warn Gaara, he might want to help with the security. But be sure to run it by Lord Naruto first. Him being Hokage now, he needs to make the final decision."
Sakura nodded, then headed out to fulfill her duty. It didn't take her long to find Naruto, Kakashi, Sasuke, Neji, and Hinata. She just went to the Uzumaki Household, and voila, they were there having evening tea before they all turned in. As were Gaara and Cordi. "Ah, everyone I need is here," Sakura sighed with relief. She admired her stroke of luck. She then explained the orders from Tsunade to the leaf-nin and the Kazekage. Throughout the entire explanation, Naruto kept a straight face, nodding along to show Sakura that he was following along. "What do you say, Lord Hokage?"
"Please, Sakura. We've been friends for eleven years. You can call me Naruto," he stated, rolling his eyes a little at his friend's over-politeness.
"As for the security detail," he continued, "I completely agree. Kakashi, I want you at the North Gate, take Fred with you for assistance if this Katsumi shows up. Neji, you'll be stationed at the East Gate. Take Roxanne with you for the same reason. Hinata, take the West Gate with Ronni…"
"Naruto, if I may," Gaara started, leaning forward in his seat, "since Suna is to the west, I would like to patrol that gate, incase anything happens towards that direction, since it is possible to see the desert from there."
Naruto nodded his reply. "Alright then, Hinata you will take Gaara with you…"
"And me," Cordi replied. Gaara and Naruto furrowed their brows at her. "If I'm right, you were going to have Lynne watch the South Gate with Sasuke." The Kages' nodded their heads, agreeing with what Cordi said. "Well, I am also a part of that group, and from Suna. It only stands to reason that I watch the West Gate with Gaara. Send Ronni with Neji instead, so the protection detail is still balanced.
"Not quite," Gaara corrected, thinking about the north and south teams being short one. "Kankuro will go with Kakashi and Temari will go with Sasuke. Now it's even three man teams."
Naruto nodded, then turned back to Sakura and stated, "I want you to find Shikamaru, and have him bring the Kages still in the village waiting for the Jounin exams in a couple days to meet in my office. I need to warn them about the possibility of an attack, and should an attack happen, to remain calm and level headed, which I have no doubt they can do." Sakura nodded then walked out to find Shikamaru. He then turned to the rest of the group and said, "Gather your teams, then set out." They all nodded, then left the Uzumaki household making haste.
Kirigi ran swiftly and soundlessly through the quiet village. Everyone in Konoha had to either be asleep or getting ready for bed, it was so late. It was the perfect time for stealth without being conspicuous or being seen. His training as a young ninja was very useful for times like this. He knew exactly how to keep in the shadows and basically not exist.
He jumped onto the lower roof of the Hokage building, just behind the "Fire" sign. The windows to the Hokage's office ran along this roof. Quietly, his old legs carried him along the thin strip of rooftop to the Hokage's office. Easily, he slid the big window to the office open and crawled nimbly through. He ran a hand over the desk of the recent Hokage, feeling tons of papers littering its top. Kirigi fingered through them hoping the information he was searching for was somewhere in the pile of papers before him. He cursed to himself when he couldn't feel what he was searching for and slapped the desk. Where could it be?
"I'm sorry for calling you all in so late tonight, but …" Kirigi heard coming from a couple yards down the hall. He cursed again, running his hands quickly over the papers again for anything useful. Suddenly, his hands ran over a file on the desk labeled "Aneko." Kirigi couldn't help but grin at his luck. Most likely what he wanted was in the archives. He quickly snatched the file and snuck back out the window, closing it silently.
Naruto opened his office door, standing to the side, letting the other Kages go first. For some odd reason, the other three kages of the five major kages had stayed for the Jounin exams in a couple days. All three looked at Naruto with the same expression: confusion, anger, and a hint of worry. All of them were still in their pajamas, but had put robes on to look decent.
"What is it you needed to tell us?" the Mizukage asked, obviously tired.
"There is a possibility that there might be an attack," Naruto stated, making the other Kages' brows rise in interest. "A young woman in hysterics by the name of Aneko ran in during the festival earlier this evening if you haven't heard. Apparently she was in her condition because of a woman going by the name Katsumi. We are on guard if Katsumi tries to infiltrate in order to get at Aneko again. If she does attack, I want you to stay calm and help us capture her if she comes across your path. Is that understood?" The other kages nodded in understanding.
Then the Tsuchikage stepped forward and stated, "I think I know of this Katsumi you speak of. There was a young woman a couple years back who murdered her entire family with a butcher's cleaver – hacked them to bits. When she was arrested, originally she acted scared and said she had no idea what was going on. But when she was being brought in, she suddenly turned dark, throwing everyone around. She became abnormally strong. We put her in chains and interrogated her. It didn't take long for her to tell us how she did it in graphic detail. She was a complete sadist. When we asked for her name, she said, 'Katsumi. May you fear it forever.' Then, with a sudden burst of energy, she broke the chains and escaped. No one has seen or heard of her ever since. Well, at least not until now. We figured she gave us an alias."
Naruto, intrigued and horrified by the story, asked, "This Katsumi. What did she look like? I need to tell the watch so they can know who they're looking for."
"She had black hair with red streaks, a vibrant left blue eye and a dead right brown eye. Otherwise she looked normal," he stated.
The description got Naruto thinking at full tilt. "Is it possible this Katsumi could be related to Aneko? The description is spot on except for the eyes."
The Tsuchikage thought for a bit, then said, "It's possible, but not probable. We researched the family later. There was a daughter by the name of Aneko, but we couldn't find her, and there was no picture in her file. And no one by the name of Aneko came and requested information on their family." Naruto nodded at the information given. They'd just have to ask Aneko themselves.
Kirigi made his way down to the basement, shedding his black cloak and hiding it in a storage room, grabbing a leaf-nin head band on his way out. He walked down towards the archive's door, tying the head band around his head. He swung it open, holding Aneko's file presently in his hands.
"Yes? How can I help you?" a man asked. He had a gruff voice, but it was a nice tone.
"Oh, I was asked to run this down and file it," Kirigi lied convincingly, handing over the file towards the man. "I was also asked to bring up the prophecy of the five girls?"
"Oh, you mean the Legendaries?" the man laughed, taking Aneko's file. Kirigi looked confused. He had never heard of that name before. "That's what we call them here in Archives. It's because the power they were gifted with is of legendary proportions. I mean, how many people do you know of that would be able to stop an apocalypse?" The man had continued talking while he walked away to file Aneko's information. The footsteps paused for a bit as he put away the file, then continued back, pausing for a little bit again, then proceeded to come back towards Kirigi. "It's can't be morning yet, is it?"
"No," Kirigi stated, showing his confusion again. "Why?"
"Well, what's with the sunglasses?" the man asked, placing the prophecy's file in Kirigi's hands.
Kirigi couldn't help but smirk as he replied, "It keeps the moonlight from hurting my eyes. Thank you."
"You're welcome," the man said as Kirigi walked away.
What a dunce, Kirigi smirked.
"Do you have a picture of this Aneko?" the Tsuchikage asked as soon as the other kages had dismissed themselves. They had been talking for about fifteen minutes, discussing where everyone would be in case of an attack.
"Uhm, yeah," Naruto replied, thumbing through the papers on his disorganized desk. It wasn't there. He became frantic. Where the heck could it be? Hiding his anxiety, he nervously smiled to the Tsuchikage and said, "I seemed to have misplaced it at the moment." The other Kage did not seem pleased in the least bit. "Why don't we go ahead to the hospital? She's being held there for the night because she hasn't had her psychological testing done yet," Naruto offered, walking around his desk. The Tsuchikage agreed with that, and joined him for a walk down to the hospital.
Aneko sat in her room at the hospital, holding her knees close to her chest. She quietly rocked herself back and forth, keeping herself as calm as possible. She knew if she was to keep Katsumi locked away, she needed to stay in the hospital, a place full of tranquilizers and sedatives incase she got out. Her mental state would be tested tomorrow, and they would find Katsumi during the test. She was sure of that.
Suddenly, her door opened, dragging her attention from her menacing thoughts to the person entering her room. She saw the old man with the fedora and sunglasses step through and shut the door quietly. "Aneko?" he whispered, setting his walking stick against the chair at the end of her bed.
She took a quick breath, then started to scream. It was quickly drowned out with the old man's hand over her mouth, and his other arm holding down her shoulders, completely pinning her to the bed. "Now, now. We don't want to wake the orderlies, do we?" he asked. Aneko's eyes were full of fear, but she stayed still. "That's what I thought," he stated. Aneko's heartbeat increased, and he smiled. "Are you scared," he asked in a harsh whisper? She nodded her head, tears starting to brim her eyes. "Good, be scared. Let that feeling take over your mind," he smiled. What he said didn't get the desired effect, so he then added, "Or I'll kill you for wasting my time." Her heartbeat quickened, but not to the rate he wanted. "Maybe a good rape is in order before, though," he offered in a husky whisper. There. Her right eye suddenly lost its luster, but the left eye gained its.
"Get off me, Kirigi," she growled, then muttering, "You blind bastard."
His grin widened, and he did as she ordered. "Nice to have you back Katsumi. Here are your adrenaline pills. Please, for my sake, remember to take them. I don't think I can handle your whiny alter-ego again," he stated.
"Do you have something better to dress me in, or am I forced to wear this hospital gown out?" Katsumi asked, her short temper flaring a bit.
"Here," he stated, tossing her a bag, which he had hidden well under his jacket. She quickly sifted through it, pulling out a black form-fitting t-shirt that had a red armored breast plate and black yoga pants. She quickly strapped her usual black boots on, then pulled out her black cloak with red clouds decorating it. She wore it like a light jacket, over her shoulders and arms, but left unzipped. She slung her bag over her shoulder easily. Kirigi had put his cloak on meanwhile, then waited for her to finish. "You know, I've already got the main part of the mission finished. You think we have time for the jinchuuriki?"
Katsumi smiled, pulling out her favorite butcher's cleaver and twirling it around in her right hand, and replied, "I haven't gotten to fight yet. Being suppressed by that whelp's conscience for a day has me wanting to blow of some steam. Why not?"
"I can't let you do that," they heard a woman say. They both looked to the doorway to find Lady Tsunade standing there, glaring at them.
"Go on ahead. I can take her," Kirigi stated, grabbing his walking stick and taking a step forward. Katsumi smirked, nodded, and then dove out the open window by her bed. "Why Lady Tsunade, what an honor it is to finally meet you in person. But, I must say, you won't do so well without that diamond on your forehead that held your chakra supply. Do tell, what happened to it?" Kirigi smiled.
"None of your business," she hissed.
Katsumi landed nimbly on the sidewalk, then stood up to find the Hokage and the Tsuchikage standing right before her. She smiled and purred, "My my, you're quite easy to find, my little jinchuuriki."
Naruto shot her a confused look, taking in all of her. The Tsuchikage looked as afraid of her as he had been last time. "Aneko, what's going on?" Naruto asked, eyes narrowed in confusion.
She let out a hauntingly creepy laugh, then stated, "I'm sorry. Aneko's not here at the moment." She brought out her right hand, flourishing the butcher's cleaver, admiring its shine in the moonlight. "My name is Katsumi."
AN: I hoped you found this chapter as awesome as I did as I was typing it. I couldn't help but be excited. ^.^ I know, not a lot of the main characters, but as you can see, everything is setting in motion. ^.^