This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Naruto, which is trademarked by Masashi Kishimoto. Everything aside from the original characters are created from the wonderful mind of Kishimoto.
Most of the following unrecognizable are original characters of mine, please bear with me I am still in the process of making the character profiles for an even better visualization.
Comments, suggestions, criticism, even just simple messages are welcomes, please feel free to message me anytime.
Thanks for reading!
Chapter 17:
It was a beautiful day in the spring, and no better place to spend spring other than in the village of Konoha, where in spring littered everywhere, even in the senses, spring was all that there is. The leaves were at their greenest and the sun was shining bright, giving way to a clear blue sky.
Kakashi stood in the middle of the Namikaze household garden that Kaede loved so much and watched as the clouds get swept by the cool breeze. Today was the day the Namikaze was opened to their friends, welcoming a cesspool of emotions flooded his entire senses and thoughts, but wanting was for sure, he could not wait for tomorrow; for tomorrow, was the beginning of the rest of his life with the person whom he chose to spend it with.
"Kakashi, I thought I'd find you here" Misaki said, walking towards him, dressed in a very elegant kimono she was going to wear for the ceremony.
"I thought you were going to be with Kaede until the ceremony" Kakashi said as he averted his eyes from the skies to the red haired kunoichi approaching him with a smile.
"Well, Naruto arrived, and I wanted to give them some time alone. Biological or not, she's the mom I have known all my life, and despite not being able to raise Naruto, I know for sure he feels the same way" Misaki explained looking thoughtfully at the swimming koi in the pond.
For a couple more minutes passed in comfortable silence, the wind sweeping gently in their memories, for this truly was a day that would be ebbed in their memories.
"I guess this means I'll get to call you dad now?" Misaki said with a teasing smile on her face. Kakashi blushed under his mask and sweat dropped.
"You, you don't have too, I mean you can, it's just that, argh, what I mean is if you want to, you don't have to force yourself" Kakashi said, stuttering as he struggled with his choice of words. All that ran inside his mind, was what kind of father he knew his sensei was, and how he had big shoes to fill in, if Misaki was ever going to consider him being her father.
"You know, Kakashi, I know who my parents were, and I know who my father is, and I'm proud to be his daughter, but even so, despite not needing to, you were there for me, in the toughest and happiest of my life, and for that I'd be eternally grateful to the gods above for giving you to us. I guess, even without knowing I already have considered you as my father a long time ago, and after this day, it would be a great honor to be called your daughter" Misaki said, smiling sincerely as Kakashi, and for a moment everything stopped for Kakashi. Ever since the death of his father, he thought there would be no family of sorts for him, but then came Team Minato, in which he also lost later on. But now, he felt exactly the same as those time wherein he knew he belonged, that he had a family behind him, each step he took, which ever direction he went, always there to support him.
"How did you know who you're parents are?" Kakashi not sure if he was overwhelmed with Misaki's declaration of his fatherhood or Misaki's revelation of being aware of her genealogy.
"Well, it doesn't really take an Orochimaru-level of thinking to piece the puzzle, mom already said that she's biologically my aunt and she was raised by her only sibling, and his wife, a wife who matter of fact resembled me so much, especially the rare red hair that was carried by a certain clan, whose name my twin brother carries, if that doesn't help it, Jiraiya dropping hints from time to time did quite a lot of helping, Misaki raised several handful of scrolls given to her by Jiraiya, consisting of scrolls inherited by Kushina and scrolls written by Minato.
Kakashi stretched out his arms to the girl, no the young lady in front of him and engulfed her in a warm hug, trying to hold back the tears in his eyes as Misaki reciprocated the gesture and buried her face in his chest.
"Yo!" the moment was only cut off when Naruto exited to the gardens, making the two figures separate themselves and look in his direction. Looking at him, then to the figure behind him.
"Another things Jiraiya is especially fond of is surprises and grand entrances apparently" Misaki smiled at the wide eyed Kakashi.
"Well, you are doing a traditional wedding ceremony, Jiraiya fashioned himself as a stand in parent, considering he's like your grand-sensei" Misaki mused with a light smile.
"Jiraiya-sama, it's an honor-" Kakashi began but Jiraiya was having none of it.
"Kakashi you old dog, moving up the wedding in such a short notice, eager to start a family eh, tell me how many kids are you planning" Jiraiya cajoled obnoxiously effectively embarrassing Kakashi.
"That's what I have been asking them for so long, kids. Well at least now we can finally say the unspoken thing." Misaki smiled.
"It's about time!" Naruto egged on, placing an arm on Misaki's shoulder.
Meanwhile, Kaede sat in her room, Kaede was a bundle of nerves dressed in a beautiful bridal kimono from head to toe.
"Excuse me" a familiar voice said from the other side of the screen and opened to reveal Tsunade herself.
"Sensei!" Kaede stood in shock, Tsunade had already said that was not going to be able to attend the wedding due to some duties.
"What can I say I had the old geezers hold the fort while I'm here to stand as a parent to a person I already consider my daughter" Tsunade supposed, acting all callous and detached, hint the word acting. Kaede felt tears began to form in her eyes, she never really met her parents and didn't really go without the love of one under Minato and Kushina's care, but Tsunade came as close to a mother figure, not really caring about keeping her pristine condition, well pristine, Kaede threw herself towards Tsunade who caught her in a matronly hug.
Jiraiya was busy drilling Kakashi a hole of embarrassment for Kakashi to bury himself in when something breathtaking completely caught his attention. There Kaede stood wearing the specially made wedding kimono Misaki had made for her. She looked every bit as beautiful with her hair arranged in an elegant style, adorned with pins and jewels Misaki had saved up specifically for this occasion. Misaki silently walked herself next to Naruto and wrapped an arm around her brother's as they watched the two-stare unbelieving at each other.
Kakashi forgot to breathe the moment he laid eyes on Kaede standing like the goddess herself, of how lucky he was to just receive a single glance from this woman, much less spend the rest of their lives together, sharing the first and last glance of the days to come, for the rest of their lives.
Kaede stared at Kakashi, her heart beating erratically underneath layers and layers of clothes. She wasn't graceful and despite the way she dresses herself and fixes her hair, she was hardly a woman, she was aggressive, and violent, with a temper that could rival the fifth hokage, but still this man before her, a man she admired for many reasons, stood before her ready to take her in his life.
Naruto and Misaki chuckled in amusement as they watched Kaede and Kakashi blatantly stare at each other like love sick fools, perhaps they are love sick fools, but who could blame them, they are both people who spent their lives living for others wellbeing, they deserved to be happy and to live happily in each other's arms.
"It's a beautiful thing isn't it, two people promising to spend their lives together, relinquishing the rights to live as individuals, but binding themselves to the other" Misaki said with a solemn smile on her face as she watched Kakashi finally take steps, slow but sure steps towards Kaede who followed his every moment.
"They're both lucky, to have something only so few holds, I am very happy for them" Misaki continued, making Naruto look at her in deep thought. Misaki might not even say it out loud, might not even act it, might even go as far as display the contrary to hide how she really feels, but Naruto knew her better than anyone.
"I promise, you'll get to have a day like this too," Naruto said, interlacing his fingers around Misaki's grinning wide as Misaki looked at him.
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After the ceremony at the shrine, the guests transferred themselves to the Namikaze household that was opened in public for the first time, it was an intimate event with only friends and family, but the opened gate of the Namikaze-Hatake Household invited well wishers from the village, even some outside the village, usually Kaede's clientele from making clothes to the ones she and Kakashi had helped through out the years, together and separately.
The event was all in all an amazing success despite the fact that they had to cram a year's worth of preparation in one week, but Misaki, together with Naruto and their friends manage to pull some strings, well a lot of strings to make the wedding possible, it wasn't as perfect as Kaede originally planes, but at the end of the day the definition of a perfect wedding all comes down to marrying the person you love.
Happy but overwhelmed, Misaki hid away in the comfort of the roof where she watched everybody celebrate Kakashi and Kaede's wedding.
From the newly wedded couple who sat side by side, laughing and having the time of their lives sharing this occasion with their most cherished people, to Jiraiya and Tsunade who were having a drunken conversation about everything that revolved around them being old and denying it. Naruto who was spending time with friends of his age.
"Are you supposed to be sulking on the roof?" Sai's monotonic voice approached Misaki as he took his place beside her.
"I'm not sulking, I'm just celebrating in a different fashion" Misaki smiled back, hugging her knees closer to her as the cold night wind past them.
"You know sooner or later your mom would come looking for you," Sai pointed out.
"I know, just grabbing some air, catching my breath, everything down there is a little…overwhelming" Misaki shared, her voice unintentionally shifting into a melancholic tone. Sai shifted in his seat, getting a little more comfortable next to Misaki, letting her play with her own thoughts.
"You're trying not to think about him are you?" Sai verbalized his speculation, and when Misaki didn't answer, instead wrapped her arms around herself tighter, he knew he had hit the spot.
"When Itachi left, he left me with a huge me something that made it all so real, like a bitter cold reality, so that's why even though it was painful, it was easy to realize that he was never going to go back. With Sasuke, even now it seems so surreal, one moment he was there, and next he's not. I know that's he's probably never going back, not on his own accord, but a part of me, a wishful part pf me believe, like any day now, I'd see him magically appear and somehow things would be back to the way they were" Misaki shared.
"May I try something that I learned from books?" Sai asked Misaki out of the blue, making Misaki look to him in curiously, like Naruto, Sakura and the rest of the gang she had not been safe from Sai's experimentation with human contact, and frankly she was a little scared of what he was planning to do next.
However, before Misaki could even ask Sai what he was up to, she found herself frozen in shock as Sai pressed his lips against hers, he had his eyes closed and it looked like he was taking this scenario in a more scientific experimental angle more than anything, but beneath the awkwardness, Misaki could feel his earnest and sincere emotions on the kiss.
After a few eternal short minutes, Sai moved back to give Misaki some space, but close enough to observe her emotions, up close.
"Sai, what, why did you do that?" Misaki asked confusion drowning her senses and thought process at the moment.
"I read it in a book that even though it's a pretty risky move, it's the most effective way of letting the person you like aware of your feelings, and it also attests if the person you like, likes you back" Sai answered with a smile, but even though he elucidated what he meant with the kiss, it did nothing to alleviate the situation, as a matter of fact, Sai's reason only made Misaki even more confused. Thousands of questions sky rocketed from Misaki's mind and she knew she had to find a way to calm her nerves before she suffocates.
"I'm sorry Sai, this is a tad bit overwhelming, I-I have to go" Misaki let out with an uneasy smile, a smile which Sai returned calmly.
"It's okay, the book said that the action would incur several outcomes, one of which is happening now, but the books says it'll take time" Sai said, and Misaki merely nodded before rushing down hiding amongst the guests.
The very next day, Misaki was helping both Kakashi and Kaede pack up for their honeymoon. The king of the Land of the Crescent Moon Kingdom, King Michiru had heard about their wedding, but was heartbroken that he couldn't come, so he made up for his absence by taking full responsibility of the honeymoon in the land of the Crescent moon Kingdom itself.
"Can you believe it, who would have thought that we both knew king Michiru" Kaede exclaimed but her gushing stopped when she saw Misaki staring blankly at the clouds from inside the window.
"Misaki, Misaki, MISAKI!" Kaede had to thump the top of Misaki's head just to get her attention.
"Ow" Misaki muttered, rubbing the targeted area with her hand.
"You were spacing out, is something on your head?" Kaede asked, pulling Misaki to sit on the foot of her bed beside her. Misaki hasn't been herself since the wedding reception, she disappeared for some time then returned with a completely different attitude. When she returned from wherever she came from, she had automatically, as if by design went straight to Naruto and didn't leave his side for the rest of the night. Kaede was sure Naruto noticed something but didn't pry because he knew his sister would tell him in her own time.
Kaede could see the conflict in Misaki's eyes, as her frown deepened, this has been the first time Misaki ever had the trouble of revealing her feelings from Kaede and Naruto.
"Last night, Sai confronted me about my feeling regarding Sasuke,"
"Did he force you to say anything?" Kaede asked immediately going full on mama bear mode.
"No, as a matter of fact, he was the first one I felt really comfortable sharing how I felt about it, probably because he didn't have any personal connection to Sasuke, so he would have this unbiased opinion about him. But last night, he kissed me and I think he just confessed that he likes me, and it's not like he's attractive, but I'm just a little confused right now" Misaki finished, leaned in her head low.
Kaede didn't know if it was correct to be feeling excited that Misaki was sharing boy problems, but her situation is slightly, no completely different, but if it's one thing Kaede was very sure about, is that Misaki would find a solution to whatever her problem is.
Kaede wrapped Misaki in her embrace, comforting the girl, fondly remembering a time where Kushina did the same for her when she was very young.
"Misaki, these problems, need the kind of answers that you will only find within you, I know you'll be able to get by, and remember whatever your decision may be, I'm with you, always" Kaede cooed brushing her hands on Misaki's long red hair.
"Thanks mom now let's get you set up before the ship leaves without you" Misaki cheered, helping Kaede with her packing.
"Ready to go" Kakashi entered the room, just as Misaki and Kaede were wrapping things up.
"Yup, enjoy your trip and don't forget me and Naruto's souvenirs" Misaki bid her goodbye as a carriage, by the courtesy of king Michiru stopped in front of the Namikaze-Hatake household, making Kakashi sweat drop, embarrassed to be treated, well like a king.
"Remember, Misaki, if you need any help-"
"I'll find a way to figure it out" Misaki hugged Kaede before shoving her into Kakashi's arms inside the carriage.
"Off, Misaki you little brat!" Kaede grumbled and squirmed from the inside, thankfully the carriage had moved.
"Make tons of babies, Misaki waved good bye and watched as the carriage disappeared from her sights.
It was a few days into Kaede and Kakashi's honeymoon, and things has been pretty mellow and calm, too peaceful as their home was quiet and empty with only her in it. Naruto joined Jiraiya on after he set out again to help with more of his training, and Kazuhiko and Team eight were sent into a mission to check in on a hideout that was believed to be one of Orochimaru's. Misaki was sitting outside the porch reading alone when an unusual gush of wind carrying an unusual amount of petals neared her. She held out her hand and surely enough the petals formed in into a scroll on the palm of her hand.
"Ayako" Misaki frowned and quickly opened the note, with nothing but the lone kanji in the middle that says assemble. Misaki infused the petal paper with her lightning nature chakra frying the note into dust.
Tsunade was waiting on the what news Kazuhiko and team eight would be reporting back about the hideout their men had suspected to belong to Orochumaru. She could have sent either Kakashi or Kaede, but both were occupied on a mission, so her next best bet, Kazuhiko, who even at a young age had shown immense promise with strategy and battle, something he probably inherited through the Sarutobi line, but in any case she sent team Yamato as reinforcement, with the absence of Naruto, she had elected Misaki in her place. All in all, the day had begun relatively normal until Sakura, together with Sai rushed in her office carrying a folded note.
"Tsunade-sama!" Sakura rushed to her table and placed the folded note on her table.
"What is this?" Tsunade asked placing her tea down to open the note.
"We were checking if Misaki was available to join us for the mission, but when we there, her house was sealed with this note attached." Sakura explained, Tsunade opened the note and read the kanji written in Misaki's hand writing.
'I'm sorry for leaving in such a rush, but there is something I just need to do' Tsunade read, in all the years Tsunade had known Misaki, she had not done a single thing unless it was absolutely necessary, and like her parents, her loyalty remains in one place, the village and Naruto, so if she had to leave in such short moment's notice, it was because she had to.
"We'll that puts Naruto on a time table to rendezvous with the team and join you for the mission" Tsunade simply said.
"What about Misaki, is she going to be alright?" Sakura exasperated, and Tsunade returned a confident smile.
"Relax, I'm sure wherever Misaki is, is where she needs to be, and she's alright, so don't worry about her Sakura" Tsunade reassured the pink haired kunoichi, enough so that they she was able to leave without anymore doubts about her dear friend.
Once Sakura was gone, Tsunade leaned on her chair and folded her hands sighing, hoping wherever Misaki was, she was fine.
Of course, Misaki didn't really elaborate on her journey, but Tsunade was sure she was involved in some dangerous stuff, giving vital information as the moment happens, not really giving any hints on where she gets her intel from.
"Well, you sure have pretty strong children, if you were only here to see them grow, you would've been so proud" Tsunade said out loud looking out into the skies.
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Misaki was the first one to arrive at the land of irons, a neutral ground they could congregate in peace.
"As expected, you are the first to arrive, Misaki" the General of the samurais of the land of the iron welcomed her.
"Taisho, thank you for extending your hospitality to our measly meeting" Misaki bowed in respect.
"Nonsense, a student of ours is always welcome here, I trust you haven't been neglecting your training" Mifune gestured to the lone katana on her back.
"Yes taisho, I train with it as I would have when I was still beginning to learn kenjutsu" Misaki answered, all the while the two of them walking inside.
"You can wait here for the rest of your party," Mifune lead her to a small meeting room that was prepared for the five of them.
"Again, thank you taisho" Misaki bowed one last time before Mifune shut the door behind her.
Misaki relieved herself of her things and sat down one the table to patiently wait for the others.
"Damn it, I missed it by a minute" Ayako exclaimed as she opened the door spotting her friend's unique red hair. Misaki laughed at the younger kunoichi's antics.
"Nice to see you too Ayako, how are you and Gaara and the other holding" Misaki asked and at the mention of Gaara's name, Ayako's face instantly became redder then Misaki's hair.
"Gaara is fine, I'm fine, we're doing fine, I mean we're both fine, separately" Ayako stuttered.
"Who's fine?" Natsumi asked barging in the door with Kazumi catching the door before it hit the wall with a loud bang before closing it gently.
"Her and Gaara, separately" Misaki purposely copied her statement.
"That's good that he was able to shape back into health especially since Shukaku no longer resides in him" Kazumi hummed, and in the moment, Ayako realized what Misaki initially meant was their well-being.
"Oh, I mean oh yeah, since the Shukaku has been extracted from him he can now sleep without having the fear of accidentally unleashing him, but he sometimes over-exerts, I guess he sort of forgot that he doesn't have the literal monstrous stamina like he did before, nevertheless he's fine" Ayako shared, almost sighing in relief.
"Well there's only Yoko to wait for" Natsumi slumped on a chair, plopping her feet on the table.
"I wonder what is taking her so long" Ayako worried, to which Misaki placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
"Well, the Land of Water is the farthest from where we are, I'm sure if something is up, she'll notify us ahead of time" Misaki reassured.
"Everyone, we just received a letter from Yoko" Mifune entered handing the written scroll to Kazumi.
"Something came up where I am, I will join you in a couple of days" Kazumi read Yoko's message out loud.
"Oh my gosh is she alright?" Ayako rushed over to Kazumi reading the letter looking for any sign of distress.
"Relaz, Aya, this is Yoko we're talking about, I'm sure she'll be fine" Natsumi stretched on her seat like a cat and began to nap. Ayako was about to spout more reasons for her worry when Misaki raised her index finger pressing it against her lips, before using that very finger to direct a small zap of lightning towards Natsumi, making her gasp in surprise.
"Misaki!" Natsumi exclaimed and Misaki giggled, jumping back and opening a window before making a peace sign and disappearing into the ice-cold storm.
"You're going to pay for that!" Natsumi yelled running after Misaki. Kazumi sighed and face palmed at the two's antics.
"Do you think we should join them?" Ayako asked, looking out to find that Natsumi had melted half of the area chasing after Misaki.
"Well, if Yoko would be here, she'll just divert this to training so let's go, besides somebody needs to stop those two before Natsumi turned the Land of Iron into the Land of Wind" Kazumi shrugged jumping out the window followed by Ayako.
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Few Days Later,
The four of them were sleeping inside their usual quarters, when the door burst open.
"if you have time to sleep in then you definitely have time to train" Yoko raised her eyebrows at her friends, who were all jolted awake at the sudden intrusion.
"Hey, don't look at us, we've been training our asses off for the past few days" Natsumi answered half awake, trying to rub the sleep off of her eyes.
"Well what are you doing in bed then?" Yoko retorted.
"Mifune begged us to have a little rest to the land would have some time to recover from all the damage we've made" Misaki yawned pointing out of the window and into the beaten yard.
"I blame Kazumi, she's been changing the landscape of the place every time she utilizes a jutsu" Ayako moaned from under her blanket.
"I already apologized and fixed the damages Ayako" Kazumi sweat dropped, the only one among the four who looked pristine.
"Well you called in the meeting, I'll be waiting in the small conference room" Yoko placed her things on the empty bed and exited from the room. Natsumi sighed and laid back down, burying herself under her pillows.
"NOW!" Yoko exclaimed, shocking her into preparing for the day.
"It's so nice to see that you're okay Yoko-nee" Ayako rushed to hug the eldest member of their group.
"Is that so? Not long ago you were cursing me into my death bed" Yoko raised an eyebrow, making Ayako sweat beads.
"Is that so, must have been an awful dream I was having" she stuttered covering up with a forced innocent laugh, whilst the others piled in and found themselves respective seats, leaving Ayako to sulk as she sat beside Yoko.
"Now, Kazumi what was your reason for calling us to assemble here?" Yoko asked going straight to her point. Kazumi nodded solemnly took a deep breath.
"One of my informants just outside our borders told me something very interesting about his clients who had been buying the medicine I brewed for her. You know him, a silent handsome young man with black hair and black eyes, dresses in a black cloak with red clouds." Kazumi defined.
"You mean Itachi?" Misaki answered.
"Yes, she says that Itachi is ailed with a sickness that is slowly killing him, severely weakening him, and that he has been fighting his battles for a long while now" Kazumi said gravely, her face devoid of any sign of emotion as she watched the shine in Misaki's eyes disappear and a somber look settled on her face. Everybody stared at Misaki waiting for her reaction to the news. Despite her efforts, it was very easy to tell that the last remaining members of the Uchiha bloodline meant something to her.
"Is he dying?" was the first thing the Misaki whispered once she returned from the deep abyss of her thoughts.
"If my theory proves correct, together with his excessive use of his mangekyou sharingan, then he won't have long" Kazumi tried hard not to choke out the words but still her words came out sputtered, like a broken song, the news heavier in her heart than she originally imagined it would be, saying it was different from hearing it, saying it out loud makes it more real, menacing and inevitable.
"Is there anything we can do?" Misaki stood up, hiding her face in the shadows of her hair, and looked out into the morning skies, all the while fondling her necklace, a memento from the man of the hour. Everybody's eyes shifted from Misaki's back to Kazumi who was staring at the flat surface of the table, eyebrows scrunched together.
"There's away, but I don't recommend it" Kazumi sighed out, she had originally planned to withhold the existence of a possible cure but having to say it to Misaki face to face, she couldn't bear it.
"Let's do it" Natsumi said like she was agreeing to a vacation to the crescent moon country.
"It won't be that simple Natsumi, it's has a success ratio of 90 to 10, and we'll only get one shot. We have to push him at death's door perform the surgery while he's there and pull him back there, know anyone that fast?" Kazumi exasperated, unconsciously pushing herself into a standing position.
"Calm down Kazumi, we're all on the same side here" Yoko said in a motherly tone, gentle, but commanding.
"If there's a chance to save a life, no matter how small it may be, we take that chance, isn't that your code as a medical nin?" Ayako reminded Kazumi who lowered her head, hands fisting against the table.
She didn't want to do the procedure, she didn't want Itachi to die under her blade, a blade she reserved to save lives. She couldn't bear to face Misaki if that happens, she couldn't bear the thought of losing Itachi, especially in her care.
"Well, I've been known for my speed" Misaki said, her voice pulling Kazumi from her reverie.
"I want to do this, no I need to do this, there are things that I still need to know, so many questions unanswered and only Itachi has them. So I want to do this, but I'm going to need your help Kazumi, will you help me" Misaki added as she walked towards Kazumi, offering an open palm as a gesture of invitation, a gesture the Kazumi returned by shaking her hands and nodding with a determined look on her face.
"It's your call Yoko" Kazumi asked for the mastermind of their little group to decide.
"Before we make our decision, I want you to sit down and hear me on this" Yoko said in a serious tone, her hands clasped on the table as everyone did as they were told.
"The reason why I was held up for a few days because I caught sight of Yakushi Kabuto" Yoko began.
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Yoko was blending in the water bodies surrounding the lands, when she came across a thunderous battle between Konohagakure shinobi, a group of weird men with extraordinary abilities and a … giant tortoise. Judging from the body mass and the undeniable mass of chakra, it was a tailed beast, of course the unusual three tails also gave it away. She caught sight of Orochimaru's glorified lackeys amongst the crowd and scrunched her nose.
It means Orochimaru was behind this gobbledygook, and his minions were doing as he bid, even capturing a tailed beast. But what Yoko didn't understand is why, what could Orochimaru want with this immense amount of chakra in which he knew he wouldn't be able to control.
Numerous queries ran in Yoko's mind, but one thing she knew for certain is that alone she wouldn't be able to do something, but she might be able to find the reason behind it.
And wait she did, as the victory was none to have, but it was safe to say that Orochimaru's party was defeated.
Once their side was defeated, Yoko watched as Kabuto tried to disappear in the wind, and for a moment, Yoko would not have been able to keep up with him if she wasn't so familiar with his thought pattern, a pattern so familiar with his master's.
When they got to the hideout, Yoko camouflaged by turning her whole body into a very clear gel,
"Ninpou: Clear Glass Gel Technique" Yoko whispered feeling the cold take over her body and diminishing her chakra, even her life force into one that would rival a corpse. She followed Kabuto in the snake's den in secret. What Yoko found was extremely uncharacteristic, a helpless Orochimaru sat on in his bed, in pain, barely hanging on to his borrowed life. They talked as Kabuto medicated his master, taking about Sasuke in particular, how far exactly the prodigy has already come, taking out a familiar information card.
"It was the right decision to let him continue with the Chunin Exam" Kabuto said handing him the cup of his medication.
"I suppose, he did well to improve that much, there was no reason to keep him with the Konoha ninja any longer. There's no one who can train him better than I can, no one other than me who can understand the darkness in his heart." Orochimaru pondered.
"As well as pain him in your colors, Lord Orochimaru, isn't that right?" Kabuto smirked.
"Once I have taken over Sasuke's body and acquired the sharingan, the duration of his body starts and I have to make sure there is an ideal vessel to acquire when his body stops being functional" Orochimaru answered.
"And I don't suppose the candidate to be Namikaze Misaki given how many you've sent to abduct her, one even came very close if it wasn't for that Sarutobi prodigy" Kabuto asked, placing a hand on hip.
"Theoretically, she's also an excellent candidate to be my vessel, a genius with an incredible linage, but an Uchiha's sharingan, especially one of the only two remaining is very hard to pass up. Seeing them together, there was no doubt in my mind that a union between them would result in something powerful, the perfect vessel" Orochimaru explaind, Yoko's eyes widened, they had known that Misaki was almost kidnapped by Orochimaru more than once, but she never divulged the reason why, perhaps Misaki herself didn't knew the reason why, maybe Kazuhiko himself purposely neglected to inform Misaki of Orochimaru's motives. Yoko's hands tightened into a fist, this time she had to do something, or else Misaki may be put into a grave danger if Orochimaru finds his way into Sasuke's body.
"It's as though the destruction of Konohagakure was an afterthought. Well, it's about time for me to begin making your medicine so that you will be able to go through the reanimation jutsu in perfect condition" Kabuto said, cleaning up the used paraphernalia. It was the perfect timing, Yoko thought as she watched Orochimaru stagger even more, he was at his weakest health and he won't be able put as much fight as he originally would have.
When Kabuto left, leaving Orochimaru laughing hysterically in his room, so happy yet so near death, Yoko began to work conditioning Orochimaru's senses by moving from one place to another swiftly, so that when she strikes, Orochimaru won't even know what hit him.
Yoko had created lethal hair like needles out of frozen gel, about to make her move when a lightning shot from the other side of the door leaving Orochimaru with barely enough time to block the attack.
Unfortunately for him, this lightning was a unique form of lightning wasn't going away anytime soon. Especially when his would be assailant from the other side of the door started slicing through the door like a hot knife against butter.
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"In the end Sasuke was able to conquer Orochimaru's transference ritual and walk away victorious" Yoko finished telling the tale of her tardiness, pulling the room into a stand still silence.
"Where is he headed now?" Ayako broke the silence between the five of them.
"I didn't manage to follow him that far, but one thing's for sure, he isn't going back to Konoha…at least not yet" Yoko added the last part in respect to Misaki's emotions when she involuntarily flinched.
"He's not yet done, he's goal wasn't to kill Orochimaru, his goal is to kill Itachi, and he would stop at nothing until he has it" Misaki forced the words out of her throat, fingers tightening against each other as she garnered the strength to continue her statement.
"Sasuke…he…I…" Kazumi stood up and pated Misaki's back as she struggled to get her words out without breaking down.
"Shh, Misaki, it's alright, we know you don't have to push yourself" Kazumi comforted, and everyone chorused in agreement with her, telling her to take things easy and not be too hard.
"No, I have to, I have to do this, I have to say this, maybe this time I'd finally accept it and stop it with the useless internal battle of what ifs and what could have beens" Misaki countered.
"Misaki," Yoko called out to her sternly, she didn't want to have to use her this voice on her, but Misaki could prove herself to be very stubborn, much like her twin.
"I agree that you have to make a decision, but making a decision under emotional duress, it would be wrong and would certainly lead to regret. Right now, you have many things that need your attention, so focus on that, your world doesn't have to crumble down to make this one decision. List down what matter more at the moment, prioritize your goals" Yoko encouraged, hugging Misaki at the end of her sentence, urging the rest of the girls to join them and form a group hug.
"So what's our next move?" Natsumi asked in high spirit.
"Well, I guess we have a dying man who we still need answers from, so why don't we start there" Yoko answered with a smile, right now she believes that receiving answers from the man himself would give Misaki a lot of ease more so that she would even care to show.
"What do you say Kazumi?" Ayako asked, giving her the cutest puppy eyes she can muster.
"Alright, but we have to have him distracted if we want this to be perfect, and Itachi's too smart, if we're the once distracting him without actually causing much damage he'll know something is up and he'll just end up escaping" Kazumi reasoned.
"You're right, but I know just the thing" Misaki smiled pulling everyone back into a huddle to whisper her proposal.
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Ladies and Gentlemen, Chapter 17, Chapter 18, we'll pop straight into Sasuke's side of the story, I was planning to put it in chapter 17, but I didn't expect it to be this long.
What do you think about Kaede and Kakashi's wedding, think they should have waited until after the war? Is it pretty foolish of them to start a family when the war is just about to surge, but in their defense, they probably didn't think it would escalate to a point where it would reach the fourth shinobi war, review or message me, about it, or about anything, I love hearing from you guys, anyways, thanks for waiting. Ciao!
P.S something will happen next chapter I'm sure you aren't expecting, plus a little something about Misaki's power is revealed.