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 20: Tears of Snow
The Root's headquarters was dark and cold. It was hidden away. It was always isolated from whatever was happening in the village. During this time of utter chaos, it was no different. Not many knew where it was. It was deep down under the village. Yuki often brought messages from the Hokage to Danzo, the leader of this branch of ANBUs. She knew, better than anybody else, her way around the Root's headquarters.
She was greeted by a Root ANBU upon her arrival. He seemed to be about her age judging by his height and voice. He had very pale skin and dark hair. Although she couldn't see his face, she did not doubt for one second that he had no facial expression. It was part of the traits that most Root ANBU had.
"It's an emergency. I need to see Danzo now."
"He is not here at the moment." the ANBU replied.
"Is he not now?" asked Yuki sarcastically as she tried to push the shinobi aside. He did not move one inch.
"I will take a message for him."
"Move."
"I will take a message for him."
"Fine. We need you to help us fight against the invaders and I am not asking for his permission. I demanding that help."
"We would help, but we did not receive an order from Danzo-sama to do so."
"The village is being destroyed as we are speaking and you are waiting for Danzo's order to do so? That is the biggest piece of crap I've heard all day. Move, I'll make him give that order."
"As I said, he is not here at the moment. I will let him know of your request when I see him"
"Ha, as if! He probably heard me already. This is probably your actual mission: to stay put and not get involved with the village's problems."
"Why should we get involved if we haven't been ordered to do so?" the ANBU asked Yuki as she turned around ready to go fight.
"Because this is your village too."
She left the headquarters, angry that she seemingly had just wasted her time.
She was now back at the arena where she spotted Kakashi alongside with Gai against dozens of Sound shinobis. She knocked a few out on her way to talk to Kakashi. She did not hold back at all. She was usually one who controlled her emotions well. However, she no longer could at that point. Her blood was boiling because she was unsure of whether this village would survive or not. She remembered how at one point she did not care much for the village. She felt like it was some sort of prison holding her in. Yet now, she can call it home. She remembered that conversation she once had with the Third. She then glanced over at the barrier again. It was still up. It had to mean that the Hokage was still alive... so was Orochimaru. As she was distracted for a second, a ninja plunged towards her with a katana at great speed. Kakashi deviated his trajectory with a kick and allowed Yuki to have some time to move out of the way.
"Don't start daydreaming now." he told her.
They dodged a few attacks and went on the offensive.
"I heard you went to see Danzo. Seeing how frustrated you are, he must have said no."
"I didn't even get to see him. I was stopped at the door. I couldn't allow myself to waste anymore time, so I came here right away."
"I mean, you can fight like 100 men."
"I don't know if that's enough though."
"Whether it is enough or not, all we can do now is give it our best."
"That's the best thing I've heard from you since we started, Kakashi!" yelled out Gai. "Yuki, we can handle the situation here. You should head to the main gate. We got news that they were in need of some help. A three headed snake is ravaging through the village from that gate. There's not enough men there right now as there are infiltrators everywhere..."
Yuki disappeared before he could finish.
"That was quick." said Gai to Kakashi.
"She could have gotten there faster if she wasn't trying to be polite and listen to you." he replied.
Yuki arrived at the main gate. It had been taken down. The walls were nothing more than stacked pebbles. There was dust everywhere and a disgusting scent of blood lingering in the area. This was when Yuki wished she was as proficient in medical ninjutsu as Tsunade. There were still a few battles happening upon her arrival. Most of the enemies have already ventured deeper into the village. Yuki immediately came to the aid of the few that were still battling the foreign invaders. As they finally won the battle, Yuki then moved on to healing the superficial wounds that the shinobis had. They briefed her on the situation:
"We were guarding as usual when this giant snake attacked us. It had three heads. We couldn't defeat it, so we called for reinforcement. However, before they came, Sand shinobis and Sound shinobis began to attack us as well. We just weren't enough men."
"It was a mess at the stadium too." Yuki told them. "We really are short on help right now."
"Who would have thought the Sand would betray us."
"I don't think they were aware of the situation. Something tells me Orochimaru alone is behind all of this. You should be fine now. The wounds are closed, but you are in no condition to fight. Your mission is now to ensure the safety of the villagers. Help everyone get to the bunkers."
"And you?"
"I'll go deal with that snake. I've never been a huge fan of them."
She rushed off towards where the snake was ravaging through the village. Many tried to tie it down, but they were unsuccessful. The only way to fight such a large summoning creature was to summon a large creature ourselves. Yuki knew how to summon at a very young age. Although it was by accident at first, she was now able to summon easily and had developed a strong bond with her summoning animal. She gave sign for the other ANBUs who recognized her to move away, she bit on her thumb and summoned her trusted white friend.
"Yuki... You know snakes are rabbits natural predators, right?" the rabbit asked her the moment he was summoned.
"But you both aren't exactly natural, right?"
"Ha, you're right. So I just have to defeat him?"
"While trying not to cause anymore damage?"
"You are asking too much."
"Can I leave this to you, then? I might be needed else where."
"Go on ahead. I'll return to my safe little nest once I'm done here."
"Call for me if there's anything." said Yuki as she left in direction of the stadium once again.
For some reason, Yuki kept on feeling tightness around her chest. She fought a few Sound shinobis on her way there, but her head wasn't in the battle. She finished them off quickly. She also protected a few villagers from falling bricks and buildings' structures. She instructed them to head to the bunkers. She made sure they found a safe route and were guided by some Leaf's shinobis. She did everything she could, but her mind was still wandering off. The tightness in her chest kept increasing as she got closer to the stadium. She felt uneasy about the situation inside the barrier that trapped the Third Hokage. It wasn't undone yet. The battle was certainly still going on. It somehow reassured her. It meant that the Hokage was still alive. He was still fighting. However, she also felt useless as she was unable to come inside and assist him. She did not want to teleport there right away. She could have, but she believed that fighting a few invaders on her way could help the village a little bit. It wasn't wrong for her to think so. She, so far, has saved quite a few lives and defeated quite a few shinobis.
A few ninjas then blocked her way. It was three against one. The odds were not in her favor, but when were they anyway? She quickly cleared her path by using a large scale water ninjutsu. Yuki always took pride in her ninjutsu and the speed at which she was able to form seals. The enemies rarely had enough time to act against her. However, she has been using quite a few large scale ninjutsus. She was becoming weary. Unknowingly, her eyes began to change in order to allow her to keep up with her current state.
She hated it when those eyes changed. She did not take pride in their abilities. She considered them a burden more than anything. To her, they were like scars, reminding her of the pain she has been through. While some may think that they are a symbol of power, to her, they were symbolic of loss and despair. Nonetheless, in a situation like this, they helped. Her weariness was somewhat relieved and she could proceed to the stadium with the speed and strength that was needed.
She was now only a few meters away. There were still many ninjas blocking her way. Some looked at her in shock. Her eyes were the reason for them to be shocked. Nobody knew of her existence and of the existence of her eyes. If someone did find out, they were now dead. It didn't take long before those who were in disbelief were also killed. It was her secret. It was the secret she wanted to seal away. However, it always revealed itself. That secret could lead to her death.
As she finished her little battles here and there, she glanced over at the stadium once again. The barrier was now gone. She heard some cheering from behind her. It seemed like the snake was gone as well. She should feel relieved. It probably meant that Orochimaru was defeated. However, the tightness around her chest came back. She bit her lip and flashed herself right on top of the roof where the barrier was previously set.
Orochimaru was supported by his subordinates. He was unable to move. He seemed paralyzed and depleted of energy. The Third was there at his feet. A seal was on his body. Yuki recognized that seal. Tears began filling her eyes as she knelt down next to the Third's lifeless body. Other ninjas, including Kakashi and Gai, charged at Orochimaru, but he disappeared with his subordinates.
"That seal..." said Kakashi as he placed his forehead protector over his Sharingan eye.
It was over. The attack on Konoha was over. The enemies were pushed back and defeated. Orochimaru was incapacitated. Yuki held on to the Third's hand. It had gone cold. Her tears began to roll down her cheeks. The sky cried along with her. The village heard of the news. They cried along with her.
It was a long, cold and snowy day just like when he had found her.
End of Chapter 20
Thank you for reading!
xoxox
Krystal