Grey Area
Chapter 7 What Makes a Monster
"Person talking"
'Person thinking'
"Demon talking"
'Demon thinking'
Jutsu, Important names
*A/N After a long wait here it is:
'Twas the day of dear Christmas,
And all was at peace,
Not a sound in my home,
Save the click of my keys.
I rode my brave mount, the Red Bull, to the captor
Who kept my dear muse, so I may bring you this chapter.
After a great battle, I stood proud with glory,
As my hands flew 'cross the board, so I may type out this story.
And now that I've finished, all's left to say,
Is Merry Christmas to all, hope you had a great day!
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, One Piece, Bleach or any part of any anime I may use in this story. If I did, I would be celebrating Christmas in NYC to see the snow.
Ten Golden Rules of the Shinobi
Rule One: Deception is strength. Knowledge is Power.
Rule Two: A specialized ninja is a dead ninja.
Rule Three: Kekkai Genkai don't make a shinobi, the skills make a shinobi.
Rule Four: Turning your back on an enemy is bad judgment, turning your back on an ally is suicide.
Rule Five: Emotions are a great tool. Control your own, then learn to control your enemy's.
Rule Six: There is no such thing as a useless shinobi art. Every technique, if mastered, can kill.
Rule Seven: Don't presume someone as dead, check to make sure.
Rule Eight: Learn the strengths of your enemies, and the weaknesses of your allies.
Rule Nine: Be confident in your abilities, but arrogance leads only to death. Either of yourself or your friends.
Rule Ten: A shinobi sticks to the shadows and kills from the darkness. Do not show off your skills or explain them needlessly.
*STORY START!
* Nami no Kuni, Tazuna's Inn, Roof
Naruto was on the roof of the Inn to get sort some things out. Inari's comment about not knowing the meaning of pain had caused a big enough reaction to flare his bloodline. However it wasn't his emotions that set it off.
"How dare that little shit say that!" roared Kurami from her seal.
"Kurami, you need to calm down," calmly stated Naruto as he tried to pacify his enraged lover.
"How do you expect me calm down when the damn brat..!" she began before Naruto cut her off.
"Kurami! Calm down, your leaking so much killing intent it's affecting my Jouton (Emontion Release)! Had to make a conscious effort to keep the cloak from forming at the table and even now!" he yelled back in thought. Because of the connection provided by the seal, if she was feeling strong enough emotion she could accidently and even intentionally affect his bloodline. It was great in battle, when she could help strengthen his abilities but was very problematic when among allies as it could accidently end in serious injurie.
She needed to calm down.
Now.
"I…" she began before she paused and took a deep breath and calmed herself, "I…I'm sorry Naruto-kun. It's just that… you've suffered more than almost anyone your entire damn life. So for that damn brat to say that, especially when it was my fault…" she was once again cut off by the whiskered blonde who wanted to end that line of though before it could get going.
"There you go again. Kurami, how many times must I tell you, it wasn't your damn fault? You were sent into a blood rage by the masked bastard, so you had no real thought process when you attacked, simply going off of instinct. You did not cause the villagers to attack me; they did that of their own volition and desire." He said sternly before switching to a softer tone.
Otou-san( Father) and Okaa-san's (Mother) death was not your fault, Kaa-san was dead no matter what happened. No one, not even an Uzumaki, can truly survive such a violent method of extracting a Bijuu (Tailed Beast) from their host and the only technique that could have sealed you in time without extensive preparation was the Shiki Fuujin (Dead Demon Consuming Seal) so Tou-san was also dead no matter what. None of this was your fault, so please stop blaming yourself Saiai (Beloved), the fault lies not on your shoulders." He finished with a loving tone, toward his beloved fox girl.
Said girl was sitting on her bed in the mindscape as small tears ran down her cheeks, "It's not that easy Koishii (Beloved). Even if you say it wasn't my fault I still could only stand by and heal you after those… animals tried to kill you to get to me. And whether I meant to or not doesn't change the fact that you parent, my…*sniffle* my b-best friends' blood is on my hands." She replied as she drew here knees to her chest.
On the roof, Naruto sighed before he brought his own right knee up to and rested his arm their as his right and covered his eyes. "I'm not saying it's easy Kurami, but someday you need to let it go. Yes, they attacked me to get to you but without that I may have taken Kami-sama knows how long to meet you. And by that point I'm pretty sure I would have lost my mind. I love you, Ku-chan. Never forget that." He told her and she gave a teary smile before she replied, "I love you too, Koi (Love). You always know how to make me feel better."
The whiskered host gave a small smile before he responded, "I'm your husband, that's my job." He received a giggle and had the fleeting feeling of phantom lips on his own before she cut the link.
He sighed before, felt to feminine arms wrap around his waist and a head on his right shoulder. He wasn't surprised, he had felt her coming. "You okay, Naru-kun?" said Nanami as she spoke softly into is ear.
"Yeah," he sighed, "I'm fine Nanami, no need to worry." She looked skeptical. "Don't lie to me Naruto, we saw those chakra wisps. Your bloodline was acting up." She told him. He sighed again, he'd been doing that a lot lately. "That wasn't because of me. Damn kid got Kurami mad."
Nanami looked at him sadly as she moved to sit in his lap, arms now around his neck. "Is she blaming herself again?" she asked although she already knew the answer.
"You know she was, and she probably always will unless something drastic happens." He answered as he ran his fingers through her long dark hair. "What are you doing here anyway, come to keep me company on my shift?" he asked his oldest, human, friend. "Well that, and get you alone for a while. We haven't had any alone time in a while." She said in a pouty tone with a face to match.
He smirked, "Oh, are you, perhaps feeling a little neglected?" he asked as he wrapped his arms around her waist. She matched his smirk as she moved to straddle his lap, her legs on the outside of his own. "Maybe a little, isn't it your job as my boyfriend to fix that thought? I wonder what you could do?" the hazel eyed girl answered coyly as her smirk became more seductive and she leans forward, laying a soft kiss on his neck.
"Well, I have a dozen clones running surveillance, so I'm sure I could think of something." Answered the blonde host before he leaned towards the beauty in his lap and kissed her passionately.
Guren would come by later to switch shifts to find a lightly smiling Naruto looking over the area with a messy haired Nanami sitting sideway on his lap with a happy smile.
*Tazuna's Inn, Kitchen
Here we find the lady of the house, Tsunami, currently washing the dishes being helped by none other than the copy-cat ninja, Kakashi. "Could here you go, Hatake-san. Thank you again for the help." She said as she handed Kakashi another plate to dry.
The cyclopean Jounin took the plate and dried it with his signature Eye-smileTM . "No problem at all Tsunami-san, it's the least I could do considering the… unpleasantness that surrounded dinner.
Tsunami flinched, remembering the event, and Kakashi seemed to have missed it, but in reality his mind was running over the happenings, specifically the aura of death Naruto produced, or rather Tsunami's reaction to it.
'Normally when exposed to KI of that magnitude, an average civilian would either go completely still, or begin to shake uncontrollably with the weaker willed ones passing out. Tsunami didn't do any of that. Rather her whole body tensed like she was waiting for an attack…so that she could counter it.' He analyzed in his mind.
Having an idea as to why that would be her reaction, he decided to put his theory to the test. "Ne, Tsunami-san, I have a question?"
She didn't look at him, focusing on cleaning the cup in her hand. "Yes, Hatake-san?"
"You've live in Nami no Kuni (Land of Waves) your whole life, right?" he asked casually causing her to flinch so slightly, he wouldn't have noticed were it not for his years of experience.
"That's right, born and raised her on these shores." She responded, unintentionally putting more emphasis into her words than she needed, almost sounding defensive.
"Well, I was hoping that you could tell me what it was like, before Gatou I mean." Said Kakashi, his right hand inching toward his Kunai pouch as Tsunami's own reached for a dirty kitchen knife.
As she cleaned it, she smiled and began to tell him about better times. "Well, before this nightmare began, this was a wonderful country. Every day…" that was as far as she got before it happened.
At speed that would seem to be nothing but a blur to the untrained eye, Kakashi's arm surged forth, dagger in hand and descending and deadly arc that would end Tsunami's life once it reached her neck. The bluennentte surely dead once it landed.
Or at least she would have been, had she not used the knife in her hand to block the dagger and jumped back, landing on her back foot and wincing slightly as she entered what was clearly a defensive stance. Her eyes wide as she stared at the silver haired man before her.
"I knew it." Said Kakashi as he pocketed his kunai.
"H-Hatake-san, w-what are you-?" she started before Kakashi cut her off.
"You can drop the act now. You and I both know it would be impossible for a civilian to even react to that, let alone block it and get into a defensive stance." He took a few steps closer. "You're a shinobi."
Eyes widening slightly before she closed them and cursed under her breath, she opened them again, her eyes completely different that the warm, brown orbs he was use to.
They were cold, and deadly. They were eye of someone who was not a stranger in any way to death.
The eyes of a Shinobi.
"How long have you known and why did you just try to kill me?" she asked in such a cold tone that he barely recognized her.
"I've had my suspicions since I say your reaction to Naruto's killing intent. Where Tazuna and Inari acted as one would expect, you, while you did freeze for a second, you looked ready to jump into a counter attack. As for the attack, that was just me confirming my thoughts." He answered while slowly making her lower her knife, showing he meant her no true harm.
"What has me confused is, if you are a kunoichi, why would you let the situation get this far, and what you are even doing here. Nami has never had shinobi inhabiting it. So what exactly is your story, Tsunami-san?" he finished, looking at her with a completely serious face.
A myriad of emotions crossed her face before it settled on a look of both resignation and mild relief.
"Come with me," she said as she grabbed his hand and led him upstairs. As they arrived and she locked the door to what seemed to be her bedroom, her forehead resting on the wooden door Kakashi had to use all of his willpower to keep his mind from going into Icha Icha territory.
With a sigh she began.
"As you have probably already figured out, Tazuna isn't my actual father, nor am I a native of this country." At his nod she continued. "However, I'm not from that far away. My home country is actually Mizu no Kuni (Land of Water), more specifically…" she looked away in shame "…Kirigakure no Sato (Village hidden in the Mist)."
Kakashi's visible eye widened drastically, "No way. Tsunami is a Kiri-nin!?" It didn't make any sense that such a sweet woman could be from palace like Chigiri no Sato (Blood Mist Village).
"As you have already deciphered, I was a Kiri kunoichi. As an orphan, my parents having died when I was 5, I was drafted into the Shinobi Academy like all the other orphans were at the time. I graduated at age 10, one year after the 'Blood Mist Graduation Exams' were abolished because of Momoichi Zabuza's massacre. I worked hard and by age 12 I was a Chuunin. At that time…the bloodline persecutions had already begun." Her face gained a haunted look. "I didn't really understand what we were doing at first, but I didn't really question it. My opponents were always other ninja. The people we were ordered to attack could fight back and as horrible and shameful as I feel now, back then I was just a soldier following orders. Then that day came."
Tears came from her eyes as she seemed to be reliving a memory. "We were told we were going to be raiding a bloodline facility and I thought it was another clan compound but it wasn't. When we got there, I found out that the people we had been ordered to kill were just a family of farmers -a mother, father and twin boys - that just happened to have been related to bloodline clans." As she spoke she began to shake, and Kakashi helped her onto the bed.
"You don't need to say anything else. I.."
"NO! No, please, I-I need to get this out! I've been holding it in for so long, I just need someone to listen, please!" She pleaded to him with tear stained eyes. He nodded and rubbed her back as her story continued.
"I didn't understand at first. I was told we were doing this purge because bloodline shinobi clans were too dangerous to have around. Having been witness to the savagery of the Kaguya clan, I couldn't help but agree. But these people were just farmers. They were no threat to anyone.
I watched as they killed the father and bound the boys unable to comprehend that this was what I was fighting for. What happened next is what made me realize just who the real monsters were."
Her eye, still streaming with tears, held a look that could only be recognized and hateful and disgusted.
"They wanted me to guard the entrance so they could 'have some fun with the bloodline whore'. It was then I realized I was on the wrong side. That we were the monsters, that I *sob* that I was a monster!"
She broke into tears as Kakashi held the now sobbing woman while she got a pain she carried for a minimum of 14 years off her chest.
As she calmed again, she continued her tale. "I pretended to go along with their plan, even using words of encouragement that made me want to vomit. When their pants were around their knees I struck. I killed one by stabbing him in the heart through the back. While the other one was in shock I moved and slit his throat. I got the family out of there, and apologized for not coming to my senses in time to save the father. I promised them I would get them out of the country so they could start new lives, they couldn't afford to stay there anymore."
Her eyes once again gained a haunted look. "We were on the run for days until we finally procured a boat to get us out of the country. We had a few close calls but I was a very good kunoichi, an Elite Chuunin even though I was only 14 at the time, so I always managed. But… our luck ran out."
"They caught up to you." It wasn't a question, but she nodded anyway.
"As we were making our way across the sea, headed to Umi no Kuni (Land of Sea) a patrol ship, just three ninja, stopped us. I told the family to wait below deck and I would take care of it. As I boarded the ship, planning to kill them as fast as I could I discovered something that made my blood run cold. While the two ninja that told me to come aboard were just your average Chuunin, their commanding officer was a Jounin. And since fate decided that wasn't enough to fuck me over, I just so happened to know this particular Jounin."
She took a deep breath as she prepared to remember the next part. "His name was Mori. My best friend since I was 5 years old.
*Flashback, Sea border of Umi no Kuni (Land of Sea) and Mizu no Kuni (Land of Water), 14 years ago, Nighttime.
A storm was in the sea air as a 14 year old Tsunami walked as calmly as she could across the deck. She wore her hair in a ponytail was dressed in a with a black long sleeve kimono shirt beneath a basic Kiri Chuunin vest. She wore black ANBU style pants and basic ninja sandals. On her hands she wore black gloves that had rings on her fingers something connected to them that seemed to be hidden in the sleeves. Aside from that she had the same standard weapon pouches every ninja carried, her Hitai-ate (Forehead Protector) tied across her forehead.
At her sides were two other Kiri Chunnin, a male one with short brown hair and eyes, and a female with long black hair and eyes, both dressed in regular uniform for their rank, each looking to be around their early twenties. As the approached what would be the captain's quarters the female knock on the door. "Come in." responded a male voice from inside. Entering the room, her breath caught in her throat. The sitting in the room's desk was her best friend since childhood. "Mori-kun." She whispered.
He smiled at her, "Hey, Tsu-chan!" he said he walked around to embrace her. Mori was a good looking 15 year old boy with short black hair that spiked downward with bangs reaching just above his eyes. Said eyes were a vivid sea-green color and he had a small scar just above his right eye, cutting the corner of his eyebrow. He wore the standard uniform for a Kiri Jounin, having just been promoted 2 months ago, with the exception of having is Hitai-ate (Forehead Protector) around his neck attached to a scarf. Tsunami remembered then celebrating with him after said promotion, yet it seemed like so long ago now.
"What are you doing here Mori? I thought you'd be on the frontlines now that you're a Jounin." She asked as he let her go. He stepped back toward his desk and told her. "We were sent her to investigate some strange events. A lot of our ninja seem to be disappearing lately." He answered.
"Oh? Do you think it might have been the resistance?" She asked, hiding her dread that she might have been found out, while discreetly moving her hands.
"See that's the thing." He said while staring at her. "Normally that would be our first guess, but the thing is the disappearances are always moving away from Kiri, not toward it. And all of them seemed to be headed in this direction."
Tsunami now knew where this was going and on the inside her soul was crying.
"You know, after I heard you were one of the disappearances when your squad didn't come back from their last mission I immediately volunteered to lead this one. So you can imagine my surprise to find you here of all places." He said as his eyes turned cold as he stared at her. "What were you doing on that boat Tsunami?"
She moved.
Tossing down a pellet, the room filled smoke that held a slightly yellow tint. One that Mori immediately recognized. "Don't breathe it in!" He shouted at his subordinates a little too late as they took in a small amount of the smoke in their lungs. The sound of a grunt and the door smashing open was heard.
Outside, Tsunami was running away from her ship. 'Damn! I should have known they would notice when ninja weren't coming back.' She thought as she suppressed her chakra and hid in a room. 'Who am I kidding? I did know, I just held on to some foolish hope we could make it out of the country before they did. I can't go back to the ship, they'll find the family and then everything I did will be for nothing. I need to finish this here. But…' her heart clenched 'Could I actually fight properly against Mori?'
"Split up and find her! Her ship is still her and she knows better than to try and water walk to any island from here." Mori commanded to his subordinates as they separated to search for her.
She kept her chakra suppressed as best she could as she heard the one of them enter the room. After the woman is directly below her Tsunami drops down, kunai in hand, and can't help but think 'why does nobody ever look up?'
Sensing the attack the woman just barely avoids death as she jumps forward rolling into facing Tsunami and lunges at her with a kunai. "You bitch! How dare you betray our village?!" The woman roared as they clashed their daggers in close quarters combat, neither woman seeming to be able to overpower the other. "I finally opened my eyes to the truth of what we were doing! I refuse to be a part of the senseless slaughter of innocents!" Tsunami roared back as she landed a kick to the Chuunin's stomach.
"Innocents?! Their bloodliners! Nothing but hellspawn that need to be destroyed!" said the woman as she got back up and looked to the side before doing a few hand seals, Suiton: Suigadan (Water Release: Water Fang Bullet)!(1) From the barrels at her side, small drill-like jets of water burst out at Tsunami. She managed to dodge two of them before the third one managed to get her in the chest. Thankfully the amount of water wasn't enough to kill her but it did blast her out of the room.
She landed on her back outside where she noticed the storm has gotten worse. Loud winds roared surrounded her as the roars of the ocean waves assaulted her ears. Her instinct took momentary control as she rolled to the left to avoid the kunai that would've hit her head. Tsunami charged at the woman while clapping her hands together.
The Chuunin met her charge, another kunai raised to stab Tsunami, "Die traitor!" the loyalist roared before Tsunami crossed her arms and jumped over her head. As she heard her land, the Chuunin tried to turn before she felt a pressure on her neck and her eyes widened in remembrance of exactly who she had been fighting. The Chuunin had just enough time to realize her mistake before her head was removed from her neck, a spray of blood flying through the air and some landing on Tsunami. A straight line of blood hovering momentarily between Tsunami's fingers reveals the cause of the woman's death. Razor wire, coming from the rings on her gloves.
'One down, now where is…?' she began to question before her eyes widened and she rolled forward to avoid the descending sword strike but could not avoid it completely avoid it as a slash appeared on the back of her flak jacket, the blade just barely breaking her skin. "You fucking whore! I'm gonna fucking kill you!" He roared, and as she looked at him she noticed through the rain that he seemed to be crying.
'She must have been special to him.' She realized, and although she felt bad about it she was a ninja and she had to use everything at her disposal to win.
"Oh, I'm sorry, was the little cannon fodder your girlfriend?" she asked mockingly. "She was my fiancée, you damn bitch!" She said as he lash out with various slashes of his blade that she either dodged or parried with her kunai but she had had more than a few close calls, evidenced slashes appearing on her sleeves. "Oh don't worry." She said with a cold smile on her face. "You'll be joining her soon."
Finally the man backed off, both breathing harder, as the man did a few hand seals, "Mizu Bushin no Jutsu! (Water Clone Technique!)(2) he said as 3 clones formed from the water the storm had brought to the ship's deck. As they reached her, she pulled out another kunai and started to parry again, having a much harder time and almost no chance to dodge.
She parried an overhead strike form one clone with her right hand and before bending to the right from a sidewise slash. She did a quarter turn blocking a diagonal slash with her left hand before her right hand lashed out like a viper, kunai lodging into the clone's neck, dispelling it. She jumped to the right dodging another strike from the clone on her left. Before she could properly get her footing, the other clone was already on her, and she hastily jumped back but couldn't move fast enough to completely avoid the blade, as it left a mean gash on her right side. Miraculously, the boat had a particularly bad rock that set the clones of balance just long enough for Tsunami to lunge and dispel both with a stab to the head and heart.
She took a deep breath and started to turn before a look of shock appeared on her face as a sword speared through her chest. "I told you I was going to kill you!" The male chuunin sneered in triumph before he noticed something.
There was no blood.
Just then Tsunami faded out of existence leaving behind several wires in a rough human shape
'A clone(3)?!' he thought in alarm, before the wires jump at him, Sen no Shibari (Wire Binding)(4), intoned a calm voice from behind him as the wired wrapped around him, completely blocking his mobility. "No!" he yelled already knowing what was coming. "I told you, you'd see her soon, Ayametori! (Murderous Grasp!)(5)" yelled Tsunami as she ran her chakra across the wires and sliced the chuunin to pieces, blood flying from the body and being washed away by the rain.
She winced and held her side with the cut, deciding to lay down in one of the rooms, her back to the wall. Doing a few hand seals she activated the Shosen no Jutsu (Mystic Palm Technique) (6)as she thought about her current status. 'There's no way he didn't hear the fight that just happened. I got lucky that those two breathed in a little of the poison gas I used, but Mori is immune to it since he helped me make it. So why hasn't he come after me? The only place he could be is…!' Her eyes widened in horror, "SHIT!" She cursed as she finished patching herself up. It wasn't perfect and would definitely leave a mark but it was the best she could do right now.
She needed to get to her boat, right now!
As she reached the deck her blood ran cold. "You know I never would have expected this from you." Said Mori as he held the, now crying, mother, who Tsunami learned was named Hisana, in front of him. "Mori, just let her go." said Tsunami in a pleading tone, barely heard over the roar of the storm.
Mori continued, as if he hadn't heard her. "You betrayed us Tsunami. You turned your back on everything we were taught, and for what?!" He turned to her, rage clear in his eyes as he roared at her, "For a fucking bloodliner!"
"She's an innocent person, Mori! She doesn't deserve to die!" screamed Tsunami, trying to get her oldest friend to see reason. "She's a bloodliner! They're all monsters! Freaks of nature that need to be put down before they go after us!" he yelled back as he yanked on Hisana's hair to bring her up to her knees making her cry out.
"She's just a farmer; she can't even use chakra for Kami's sake! She just happened to be related to a bloodline clan! You can't choose who you are born to! Please, Mori-kun, please just let her go!" she pleaded him, begged him to release his captive as tears rolled down her cheeks.
For a moment, as he looked at her, he seemed to consider it before he shook his head a crazed light entered his eyes. "No! It doesn't matter if she just a farmer! Even if she can't use chakra now, any hellspawn she might have could! I won't let that happen! Bloodliners are the reason there is so much conflict in Kiri, just like Yagura-sama said! So I'm gonna make it so there is one less demon in the world right now!" as he finished his mad rant, he brought down a kunai, ready to end the woman's life.
"No!" she screamed as she threw a brace of shuriken at Mori while jumping onto the ship, the man himself jumping back before he could finish the job. Tsunami landed between Mori and his captive. "Get back inside!" she screamed at her and Hisana wasted no time in under the deck as fast as she could.
"So this is how it's going to be, eh? You gonna turn away all we ever fought for, that we strived to accomplish for some whore?!" screamed Mori as thunder boomed in the background. Tsunami looked back at her dearest friend. "Mori-kun, please! What we're doing is wrong! The Mizukage (Water Shadow) is sending us to kill innocent people that-" she was interrupted by her opponent.
"They are not people! They're nothing but monsters! It's just like Yagura-sama said, we need to destroy them before they band together to destroy us!" and as she looked into his crazed eyes, it was there she knew. Mori was completely enraptured in the propaganda spread by the Mizukage (Water Shadow). No matter what, none of her words would reach him.
He best friend was gone.
And so with one more tear leaving her eye she prepared herself for the most difficult fight of her life. "I can't let you do that Mori." She said as the wires came to life and formed into the shape of a spear.(*)
He charged forward as he brought out a scroll and summoned a pair of Kunai Blades. "Then you'll die here, demon lover!" he yelled as he brought the blade on his left hand down in a vertical slash that the met with her spear head. He didn't let it get to him as he made a horizontal slash that was blocked by her spear shaft. She launched a kick at his midsection that landed and sent him staggering back a bit.
It was enough as Tsunami went on the offensive with a spear thrust at his abdomen that was parried with his left blade. The thrust became an upward slash that was blocked by the right blade before once again becoming a thrust at his head that he had to jump back from. She rolled with the missed thrust, going into a spin to add momentum to her sideways slice.
Deciding he'd been in the defense long enough he crossed his blades to block the slash before he ran down the length the spear and hit her with a vicious elbow to the face followed by a kick to the sternum that sent her flying back.
As she was airborne, Mori made a single hand seal, "Suiton: Mizurappa! (Water Release: Violent Water Wave!)(7)"he yelled as she released a jet of pressurized water at Tsunami, it hit her and she smashed against the wall. He went to finish her off before he saw a broken barrel in her place, signaling a Kawarimi no Jutsu. (Body Replacement Technique.)
"Ayametori: Ayatori! (Murderous Grasp: Cat's Cradle!)(8)" he heard from his left, jumping back and looking in that direction he stared in momentary confusion before lines in the shape of a cat's cradle appeared across his body, cutting him to pieces.
Tsunami stared for a second, disbelieving it was over, she was right as a second later the "body" turned into a sliced barrel on the deck before she had to dodge forward as Mori came at her with blades coming down on both directions in a cross slash form behind her. Drawing a set of kunai she began to block and parry his strikes again, launching counter strikes when she could that were blocked.
The storm raged on, large waves buffeting against the boat while flashes of lightning lit up the sky in moments of false daylight as two people, once the best of friends, continued their dance of death.
Finally, the tiredness of continuous battles finally caught up to Tsunami as she began to grow sluggish in her counters, getting cut more and more, something Mori decided to capitalize on and end the fight. Launching another overhead strike with both blades, Tsunami raised her kunai to block but did not expect Mori to let go of them as soon as they hit causing them to fly out of his hands. Using her surprise, he launched a drop kick at her chest, catching one of his blades in the air while Tsunami landed on her back harshly. Wasting no time, not willing to allow her to get back up, Mori stabbed his blade into Tsunami's right calf, pinning her to the floor.
"Aaaahhhh!" She screamed as her mind registered the pain of being stabbed. "It's over Tsunami. Time to end this." said Mori as he stared into the pain filled eyes of his childhood friend, one last kunai ready to end her life. Tsunami looked at him with a miserable expression. "You're right, Mori-kun." she said sadly, "It is over." As she finished, Mori's spare blade was stabbed through his right chest, a fatal wound. Looking back, he saw the grief filled expression of Tsunami, before she turned into water revealing itself as a water clone.
Mori fell backwards as Tsunami pulled the blade out of her leg and tossed it aside. She crawled over to Mori, tears pouring out of her eyes as she beheld the sight of her best friend, now bleeding out on the floor at her own hand. "I'm s-so sorry, Mori-kun!" she sobbed out, her very soul screaming in pain.
He just looked at her with another a crazed look and gave a chilling last laugh as he spoke his final words, "Praise be to Yagura-sama! Death to all demons!" and with that, the final vestiges of light left his eyes, leaving only glazed over orbs staring at nothing.
With a sob, she closed his eyes and painfully got up to hobble herself toward the door. As she got there, she heard a sound that nearly caused her heart to stop, turning around she saw a glow appear under Mori's flak jacket.
"Fuck!" She cursed as the got inside and slammed the door, as she threw herself down the stairs she had just enough time to see the reason the confused faces of the family, the boys hiding in crates, explaining why they hadn't been brought above deck, before the explosive vest went off. The resulting explosion was the most enormous fireball Tsunami had ever even been near. It tore the ship apart, the water flooding the lower deck in and instant Tsunami was swept out on the boat.
The sea tossed and turned her, the darkness nearly all encroaching as only the faint light of the half-moon in the sky told her which direction was up. She kicked as hard as she could, her lung burning for air, having only been able to take a small breath before the ocean took her.
As she resurfaced, she greedily took in the oxygen her lungs demanded. Looking around she found the wreckage, seeing the waters had dragged her about 200 feet away. Using a chakra control exercise unique to Kiri, used to move quicker while submerged in water, she moved as fast as she could trying to ignore the searing pain the salt water caused her open wounds. Reaching the wreck she called out over the storm. "Hisana-saaaan!, Booyysss!" Receiving no answer, she dived underwater, but at in the night the seas were as bright as a vat of ink.
"No," she thought, searching desperately for her companions, she needed to find them.
'I can't fail! Not now, not when we're so close!'
She surfaced again and called out in panic "Hisana-saaaaaaan!, Boooooooyyyyyyysss!" At no answer again she dove into the waters. She did this again and again until she could feel the strength almost vanish completely and was forced to acknowledge the horrible truth.
She wasn't going to find them.
Using the last of her strength she managed to hoist herself onto a rather large piece of the wreckage that was floating near her until she finally collapsed face down, her strength finally gone. As the darkness closed in on her vision, she taught back to everything that had happened.
'Hisana-san.'
She had learned the truth of what she was fighting for, at the cost of an innocent man's life.
'Boys.'
She had tried to get them all out of there. Away from all the insanity happening in Mizu no Kuni. (Land of Water.)
'Mori-kun.'
She fought her best friend in a death match and ended up killing him after seeing how the twisted teachings of her village had corrupted him.
Minna, (Everyone,)
And after all that, after coming so close…
Gomenasai. (I'm sorry.)
She had failed.
Letting out a heart shattering wail of grief and sorrow, the darkness finally filled all her vision, sending her into blissful unconsciousness.
*Flashback end
By the time she had finished her tale, Tsunami had once again broken down into tears. As she sobbed out her pain into Kakashi's shoulder, the cyclopean Jounin could only hold her and offer silent support. After that story, it can safely be said his respect for the woman had skyrocketed. And he couldn't help but feel a kinship with this woman in his arms.
'Were more alike than I originally thought, Tsunami-san.' he thought, running his fingers through her hair in a soothing matter. In a few more minutes, Tsunami had regained her composure.
Taking another deep breath, she continued. "I woke up in a room I didn't recognize, about two days later. The storm had carried the debris I was on all the way to Nagi Island. Apparently, I had a little luck left since Otou-san (Father) found me when I washed up on near a shore where he was check the quality of the local tree's wood to see if it would work for an bridge he had been hired to do maintenance for.
After that, Otou-san (Father) pretty much took me in as his own when I told him I couldn't go back. I never told him why, and he never really asked. I moved her and never looked back. Years later I meet the man who would become my first husband and had Inari-chan. He died in an accident when Inari-chan was only a year old. Then, years later, Kaiza-kun came along and I thought I had finally been granted happiness, but then…"
"Gatou happened." Finished Kakashi, to which she nodded. "One thing confused me though, you were obviously a good kunoichi, so why didn't you do anything when you saw what Gatou was doing. Ninja training, especially the like of which Kirigakure (Hidden Mist) requires of its ninja, isn't something that ever really leaves you. Even with years of inactivity, which I'm guessing you had, eliminating Gatou shouldn't have been a problem." He just couldn't make heads or tails of why she hadn't taken care of this herself.
Tsunami looked down. "There are a few reasons for that. First is this," she lifted up her long skirt to show her calves and on her left one you could see the clear signs of serious injury. "I may have known some medical jutsu but I wasn't an Iryou-nin (Medical Ninja). When Mori stabbed my leg, it did serious damage. The doctors couldn't hope to fix it and while a good Iryou-nin (Medical Ninja) might be able to, I'm technically a Nuke-nin (Runaway Ninja) now. I can't exactly get access to one now. There are a few other reasons but I guess the main one is... I-I can't let myself change b-back." She said, her voice trembling at the end.
"Change back?" asked a bemused Kakashi.
For the first few years after I moved to Nami, I still felt like a monster. All the sins, all the failures, they would haunt my dreams and I could only bear it. But, after a while, I slowly felt like I was becoming human again. I-I'm afraid if I even touch another part of my life, I'll become a monster forever. I can't go back!" She nearly shouted at the end.
Kakashi was about to retort when another voice was heard through the room. "Who says you changed back in the first place."
Both were startled and Kakashi reflexively tossed a Kunai at the source of the sound, the window, as he turned only for him to see Naruto bat it away with his own, his usual expression in place.
"Naruto! How long have you been there?! And what are you doing here in the first place?!" yelled a surprised Kakashi. 'I must be really out of it if a Genin can sneak up on me.'
Pft.
Genin.
Riiiiigggght.
"I've been here, outside the window since before you even came in. As for why I'm here in the first place, apparently for the same reason you are. The boss noticed Tsunami-san's reaction at dinner and was curious about it, so he sent me to find out. I figured it was private so I chose a private place she would feel safest to tell me if she was willing. I'm a clone by the way." the, now identified, clone said as it entered the room and leaned on the wall.
"If you're a clone then shouldn't you be making rounds instead of running errands during Naruto's shift?" asked Kakashi with a raised eyebrow.
"His shift is already over; you've been in here for three and a half hours." This got wide eyes from them, had they really been here that long?
"You never answered my question Tsunami-san?" the clone reiterated.
"W-What?" the bluenette stuttered out.
"You seem to be of the impression that, by leaving your village and trying to get that family out, that you could change back to human. That your sins might be repaid but you are wrong." said the clone as he remained in place, causing the woman to begin to shake and Kakashi to growl at him, "Naruto." Kakashi growled warningly.
Naruto continued like he hadn't heard him. "You said you were just a 'soldier following orders' but that doesn't change the fact that you followed them by choice. The people you were ordered to kill, their blood is on your hands, that hasn't changed." he said, his eyes closed.
"Naruto!" Kakashi growled louder than before. If he was already recovered he would be throttling him right now. He couldn't believe this was his Otouto. (Little Brother.)
"You said you felt like a monster. And you are right Tsunami, you are indeed a monster." Tsunami was beginning to outright cry and Kakashi was about to snap.
"Naruto, that enou-!"
"But why does that have to be a bad thing?" asked the clone, cutting of Kakashi's enraged yell and stopping Tsunami's tears at the same time.
"W-Wha?" said the now confused woman.
"Humans-" the clone began as he "are weak." he finished, getting wide eyes from the rooms other occupants.
He continued before they could get their bearings. "They are weak because the can afford to be weak. They shoulder their burdens and try to forget their mistake, trying to cling to this view of what they believe they must be like. But when someone threatens their way of life, what do you believe they will do to defend it. Do you believe they could make the tough choices, to truly put everything on the line for people they don't know? The answer to that is: no."
He pushed himself of the wall and walked slowly to them. "They couldn't, because they are weak. Too afraid to do anything that might lead to them having to give up their precious humanity and so they take it and wait for someone else to do it for them, just like what happened to this country when Gatou took over. They need someone else, someone to do what is truly necessary, even if that something is something inhuman. They need leaders. They need monsters."
At this Tsunami finally regained enough sense to ask, "Why would a leader need to be a monster. Monsters are bad, aren't they? People that cause misery and suffering to other, regardless of who they are."
Naruto wasted no time responding. "While that is true, it is not the only case. I told you, a human need only carry their own burdens, but a leader doesn't have that luxury. Every decision they make will inevitably affect all you follow them. They must shoulder everyone's worry and make all the hard decisions, the inhumane decision the other are not strong enough to bear and they must live with them, for good or ill. And that is what we are Tsunami. It's what Kakashi is, it's what every Kage has ever been, it's what I am, and it is what you are. We are shinobi, Shi no Bi, we are deadly beauty and we are monsters."
That last statement rocked them to their core and. "We are monsters so that we may do what is truly necessary. So that we may defend what we hold dear without holding anything back. We are monsters, Tsunami…
So others don't have to be."
His face softened as he gently used his thumb to wipe away her tears and spoke softly. "You can't change back after you become a monster Tsunami, for once you give up your humanity it is gone. But, what you can do is what you become a monster for. So the question you need to ask is not 'Am I a monster?' but instead ask 'What am I willing to be a monster for?'
He stood back up. "But, that's just my opinion, you don't have to listen if you don't want to. I'm sorry if you felt I was rambling." He turned to Kakashi, "The boss wanted you to know, after he finished his shift he left for the woods to train, he probably won't be back till tomorrow." The jounin nodded numbly, his mind still trying to process what he had just heard come out of the mouth of a 14 year old.
"Well, that's it then." The clone was about to dispel itself when Tsunami stopped it, "Wait!" she yelled and he looked at her, "Hai? (Yes?)
"You said that the question we needed to ask is what we are willing to be monsters for," she looked into his eyes before she asked, "So, what would you do it for?"
Naruto just stared at her for a second before his face shifted from his usual stoic mask into an true, honest-to-Kami-sama smile, that Kakashi hadn't seen in years and he spoke in a warm tone.
"For my loved ones, of course."
And with that final statement the clone dispelled, leaving behind two shinobi to their own thoughts. One kunoichi, thinking deeply about what she had been told by a boy much wiser than he had any business being. And another thinking to himself, 'Sensei, you would be so proud of your son. And yet so ashamed of how he became as he is.'
END
Jutsu List
Suiton: Suigadan (Water Release: Water Fang Bullet): Ninjutsu, B-rank, Short range, A technique that deals physical damage to the enemy with a liquid mass brought forth from underwater. Its power to kill and maim is augmented by adding a spinning motion to the compactly pressured water.
Mizu Bushin no Jutsu (Water Clone Technique): Ninjutsu, C-rank, Supplementary, Creates clones out of water that have one-tenth of the original person's power.[2] Like other solid clone techniques, the clones can be used to perform tasks the user is unable or unwilling to do for themselves. The range of the clone is limited however, as it cannot travel very far from the original body without losing control. Like other clone techniques, if the water clones are injured enough they will revert back to normal water.
Kago Bushin no Jutsu (Wire clone): Ninjustu, C-rank, Supplementary, User makes a rough human shape out of wire strings and combines it this the basic clone technique. At will, the wires may lash out and bind the target in a surprise attack.
Sen no Shibari (Wire Binding): Ninjutsu, C-rank, Supplementary, Using several stands of wire, the user binds their intended target completely. One bound, the wires may be tightened to inflict serious injury or death.
Ayametori (Murderous Grasp): Ninjutsu, C-rank, Offensive, Running chakra through the wire, the user sharpens it enough to slice flesh with ease. Complete mastery of this technique would enable it to cut metal with ease.
Shosen no Jutsu (Mystic Palm Technique). Medical Ninjutsu, crates healing chakra to heal wounds.
Suiton: Mizurappa (Water Release: Violent Water Wave): Ninjutsu, B-rank, Offensive, mid-range, Launches a pressurized gout of water from the mouth.
Ayatori (Cat's Cradle): Ninjutsu, Offensive, Sends a net of wire in the shape of a cat's cradle while using Ayametori, slicing anything in its path.
*A/N As promised here is the chapter. I hope you enjoyed it. Please leave a review.