Forgotten

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Naruto (Shippuden). This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal

Chapter 12: Children of the Snow

It's been three days now since Kakashi was incapacitated after overusing his Sharingan. Yuki, or, to be exact, her clone, has been watching over Team 7, although, most of the time, they were out training by themselves as instructed by Kakashi. Yuki's clone was also responsible of ensuring their client's safety while he was completing the bridge. It spent most of her day on the construction site gazing at the sky. At night, the real Yuki would return and check on Kakashi, make sure he was recovering well and discussed the current situation with him.

"I haven't found anything yet, but the more I think about it, the more suspicious I get about that Mist ANBU." said Yuki as she examined Kakashi's eye.

"Same. He didn't follow the normal ANBU's procedures nor did he look the part. From what I know, the Hidden Mist doesn't usually let ANBUs work on their own, let alone such a young ANBU."

Yuki nodded: "I think you'll be able to move around starting tomorrow. You should be able to take over tomorrow. I'll try to gather more information about Gato and, possibly, that Mist ANBU, if I can trust my intuition. It'll be easier on me than to have my chakra split in half to do the search. Clones are really not my specialty."

Kakashi sighed. He didn't mind getting some more rest, but this was no time for relaxing. He closed his eyes as a sign that he wanted to sleep and that he needed that sleep if she was going to force him to work tomorrow morning. Yuki stood up and left the room silently.

Not that she had diagnosed insomnia, but Yuki could never fall asleep when something was bothering her nor did she need a lot of sleep either. Her missions have led her to require very little amount of resting time. Knowing that Kakashi would take over tomorrow, Yuki decided to head out starting tonight to find out more about this infamous Gato, and perhaps some of the ninjas he might have hired to hinder the construction of the bridge.

As she was putting her shoes on, she saw Naruto and Sasuke heading back from the forest from their training. They were panting as they reached the entrance to the house. They were covered in dirt, there were leaves in their hair, their clothes were torn here and there and they were bruised and scratched by branches and falls. Yuki's first reaction was to touch her face to ensure her mask was on. For a second, she was frightened by the idea that her face was revealed. The mask was there. She then sighed at the two boys' appearance. She gave them sign to sit next to her. Naruto immediately obeyed. Sasuke seemed reluctant to come closer.

"Let me just heal your wounds before you head to bed."

"Thanks!" said Naruto cheerfully.

Sasuke did not say anything and just sat down. In the past few days, he and Yuki did not speak much to each other. Yuki began healing Naruto's wounds.

"How far into your training are you?" she asked. They were training tree climbing without using hands. The purpose was so that they would have better chakra control. From there bruises, Yuki could tell that they fell from quite high.

"It's coming along! We almost reached the top, didn't we, Sasuke?"

Sasuke didn't answer. He just smirked. It wasn't a smirk that showed confidence, but rather one that showed anger.

"That's good. It's not easy to learn about chakra control." said Yuki as she gave one last look to Naruto's wounds. They healed very fast. Yuki wasn't surprised by it, after all, Naruto was special. "Your turn, Sasuke."

Naruto stood up so that Yuki could tend to Sasuke's bruises. They were just as bad as Naruto's.

"Oh, by the way, Kakashi will be able to supervise you starting tomorrow. I'll take my leave tonight." Yuki said as she began her healing process.

"You are not sticking around?" asked Naruto.

"I'll be around, investigating, but we might not see each other. I mean, my mission was only to lend you guys some support. Nothing more. We don't exactly have the same mission." replied Yuki without looking at Naruto. She was solely focused on Sasuke's wounds.

"But if we are in trouble, then you'll help?" asked Naruto.

"I guess that would be part of my responsibilities."

"Are all ANBUs just this cold?" asked Sasuke to Yuki's surprise.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean all the ANBUs I've known so far are cold-hearted souls with no other words coming out from their mouths but responsibility, mission... Is that all that matters?"

"Are you talking about Itachi right now, or about me?" said Yuki angrily. "Because if you are badmouthing..."

She stopped herself before she said anymore. It wasn't her place to provide explanation to Sasuke. She sighed to release her anger. She saw Sasuke's eyes filled with anger as he heard his older brother's name. She bit her lip and said:

"Yeah, I'm a cold and soulless person who will put my mission above all and for whose sake's? For pathe... I mean for the people who cannot fend themselves. I don't mind killing if that's necessary. And yes, that's what an ANBU is. You are all fixed up now. I'll see you guys if needed."

She left in a whirlwind of snow. She was frustrated, disappointed, flustered. She never felt like that before. Yuki was definitely not ready to see them any time soon again.

It's only been a few hours since she left Team 7. Part of her was worried and uneasy because of the way she left and the possible danger that could be lurking around them. On the other hand, she felt somewhat relieved as she once again had her freedom back. As her thoughts were still on Team 7, she entered a part of the forest that was clearer. The foliage wasn't as dense. There were glimpses of the sun that pierced through the thick clouds. As she crossed that forest, she spotted a shadow that strongly resembled the figure of that boy she had seen a few days ago. He was picking herbs. From the scent, Yuki could tell that those herbs were medicinal. They would help with blood circulation and pain relief. It would, strangely, correspond with the symptoms that Zabuza would have if he did not pass away from that needle that was thrown by that mysterious boy.

Yuki approached the boy steathily in hopes of being able to follow him to, perhaps, his hideout.

"Come out from where you are hiding. I know you are there." the boy said with a gentle voice.

Yuki bit down on her lip. He sensed her presence despite her quite great ability to mask her presence. That would mean that he knew she was present earlier that week during the fight between Zabuza and Kakashi. She stepped away from the tree she used to hide herself. As she walked towards him, he turned around with a smile on his face. His face was quite feminine. He had gentle traits. His smile exuded warmth and kindness. Looking at him like this, he didn't look like a ninja at all.

"I see you are still wearing your ANBU mask."

"And I see you are not quite the ANBU I expected to see behind the mask... that is if you are really an ANBU." replied Yuki.

"I'm off duty today."

"I believe you, but I don't think we are talking about the same duty right now." said Yuki as she was more and more certain that the boy didn't work for the Hidden Mist Village, but rather, perhaps, Gato.

"You don't think I act like an ANBU, is that right?" he asked her.

"Yeah..."

"You don't either. Any other ANBU would have killed me already if they doubted my identity."

"I don't like killing unless it's necessary."

"I believe so to. We actually are quite similar..." he said as he dropped his basket filled with herbs on the ground and looked at the sky.

Yuki could sense that they were indeed very similar. It was not just the fact that they didn't believe in killing, but that boy's chakra resembled her nature type.

"You can sense it too, right? This icy, cold chakra..." said the boy as he now was looking at his hands.

Yuki nodded. They couldn't be from the same place, but their chakras was indeed similar. Seeing how he spoke about his chakra, Yuki could only assume that he had a kekkei genkai, one that related to ice, perhaps.

"Where are you from, really?" asked Yuki not really expecting an answer.

"Do you ever feel cold?" he asked her instead.

"Not really." replied Yuki slightly taken aback.

"Where are you from?"

"Sometimes that's better. Where we are from, I was hated, feared, thrown around like trash. Only when I met him did I find some shelter."

"We? I don't think we are from the same place despite all the similarities. There's also many differences between our chakras. I can sense it the longer I am close to you."

The boy did not reply to that comment. He too could tell that there was a huge difference between the two of them. His own chakra was cold, but warmed by his willingness to do so. It was warmed by his desire to protect the people around him, or more the him he talked about. Yuki's chakra was in nature cold, but it was warmed, not by her, but by the people around her. She was loved more than she loved.

"Well, one of my teammates were hurt. I should really head back with these herbs now." he said as he stood up. "Ah, I am Haku, by the way. I won't ask for your name since you probably won't tell me. Feel free to follow me if you want to know more... that is if you have the ability." He then disappeared in a whirlwind of cold air after giving her one last smile.

"I think I got the answer I was looking for." murmured Yuki as she look at the spot where he vanished.

End of Chapter 12

Thank you for all the support and for reading!

xoxox

Krystal