Chapter 10

Ayumi awoke at dawn, and saw Sakura was still asleep in the other bed, hugging a photo. Not wanting to be nosy, Ayumi didn't look at the picture, and changed into a white t-shirt and camouflage cargo pants, tying her headband around her neck, and left the room. She saw Kakashi walking around with crutches, and said, "If you need crutches to walk, you shouldn't be walking at all." She was smiling, and he noticed the cuts on her arm were healed, not even leaving a scar. "I see you're better." He commented, and she looked at her arm. "I always heal this fast. Is that okay?" "It's…fine. Are you coming with the others to train?" "Of course! I wouldn't miss it!" "Then you can wake them up."

"My pleasure." She ran silently up the stairs, and went into the room Naruto and Sasuke were sharing. She thought a moment before breathing deeply, and yelling, "WAKE UP!!!!" They fell out of their beds in shock, and she laughed. "What was that for?" Sasuke asked, rubbing his head. "Because I couldn't think of another way to wake you two up." She said with a smile. "Anyway, we're going to train, so get ready while I go wake up Sakura." She went to the room next door, and said, "Oh my gosh! Sasuke's walking around without a shirt!" Sakura shot up in bed, her eyes the shape of hearts, and Ayumi shook her head in disappointment, hands on her hips.

"Don't you think you're a LITTLE obsessed?" She asked as she picked up a sleepy Hara. "What do you mean?" Ayumi's eye twitched as she said, "Never mind. Kakashi's going to train us now, so get ready." Sakura nodded as Ayumi went downstairs to eat breakfast. She sat down, and smiled as Tazuna's daughter placed food before her. She started eating as the boys came down, and noticed a photo hanging on the wall. She looked closer to see that someone was ripped out, but she didn't question it. By the time she finished, Sakura, Kakashi, Tazuna, and his grandson, Inari, joined them at the table.

Ayumi finished, and washed her dishes. She went over to the picture, and looked at it closely. "Why is someone ripped out of this picture?" She questioned, and noticed a sad silence fill the air. "Is there a story behind this?" Kakashi questioned, and Tazuna talked about Inari's father, how he was a hero to the island, and how Gato had him publicly executed to show that no one could oppose him. As Tazuna spoke, Ayumi noticed Inari seemed to be holding back tears, and Ayumi wanted to comfort him. He eventually ran out, crying, and Ayumi felt a tightness grip her heart. Inari's mother followed him, and Ayumi looked at Kakashi a moment before following.

Inari's mother couldn't find him, and Ayumi went to the trees, searching carefully. She soon found Inari had turned around and went back to his room. She went back inside, and knocked on his bedroom door. "C-Come I-in." She opened the door slowly, and noticed him holding a picture to his chest, crying heavily. "Shhh…its okay…" She walked over, hugging him. He cried into her shoulder, and she said, "I know what it feels like…to have people close to you killed…it makes you lose hope, doesn't it?" Inari nodded, sniffling. "At first…I thought that there was no such thing as a hero…because, if there had been such a thing, they would've saved them…but I learned…there are heroes. Kakashi and Naruto…they saved me from myself."

She smiled at him, holding back her own tears, "And that's all you really need. At least one person that really, truly cares about you, and it makes you feel…complete." She stood, holding the small boy in her arms, and said, "I need to go train, so I need to go. You'll be okay, right?" He nodded, and she smiled, saying, "Well, be good." She put him down on the bed, and went to the door. She went downstairs as Kakashi stood. "How's he doing?" Kakashi questioned as everyone left. "I think he'll be fine." She replied as she walked next to Naruto, saying, "Has he said what kind of training this is?" "Nope."

Ayumi sighed, rolling her eyes. "That's just like him." They soon reached a small clearing, and Kakashi said, "We'll be learning chakra control." Ayumi crossed her arms, sighing, as he continued. "We'll be walking up trees…without using our hands." The others looked at him like he was crazy, while Ayumi said, "Kakashi-san, I've done this already." "I know. Be patient, Ayumi." She sighed as he concentrated chakra to his feet and walked up a tree. He threw down three kunai, and said, "Just concentrate chakra to the soles of your feet and run at the tree. Ayumi, you can do it once, so I can see if you need any help with it." Ayumi sighed, saying, "You ALWAYS have to be sure I can control my chakra…why?"

"Safety precaution." She muttered something darkly under her breath before easily concentrating chakra to her feet and walking straight up the trunk of a tree. She noticed Naruto looking up at her with wide eyes, and Sasuke asked, "How the…?" "Kakashi taught me already." She said simply as she back flipped off the tree.

"Well…you can go relax, Ayumi." Ayumi stretched her arms over her head lazily as she plopped down next to a tree. She saw them run at three separate trees, and only Sakura made it to the top. Ayumi smiled, mouthing, "Girls rule." Sasuke glared at her as Naruto pouted, crossing his arms in a childish fashion. Her smile widened, and Kakashi said, "Ayumi, Sakura, you two are going to go with Tazuna to the bridge today. Be careful." He warned, and Ayumi stood up, saying, "Yeah, yeah…I know." She went back to the house to get her weapons, and Sakura followed.

As Ayumi put on her shuriken holster and weapons pouch, Sakura asked, "What do you know about Sasuke?" "Everything." Ayumi said, putting her blades on her belt. After a moment of silence, Ayumi said, "I'm not going to tell you anything. Everything I know is confidential and will stay that way." Sakura drooped as they left, and they found Tazuna in the kitchen. "Tazuna-san, we're taking you to the bridge now." Ayumi said cheerfully, and they were soon heading to the bridge. As they walked, Ayumi looked around at the poverty of the island, and cursed mentally at Gato for all of the pain and suffering he was causing. They soon reached the bridge, and as Sakura sat down on the railing, Ayumi asked how she could help.

"Well…could you bring those beams over there?" Ayumi nodded, lifting the beams and walking to the other side of the bridge. As she put them down, she asked, "What do I do with these?" "Can you put them parallel to each other?" She nodded, positioning the beams. After working for a few hours, Tazuna gave her a break, and she sat down next to Sakura. "Bored?" "Huh?" Sakura questioned, a far off look on her face. Ayumi shook her head, and Tazuna said, "I'm heading back now, but I need to get some things for dinner." Ayumi nodded, and the girls stood, following him.
They went into a grocery store, but there wasn't much on the shelves.

Ayumi looked around, a sad look in her eyes, when she noticed a presence behind her and Sakura. She was wary as she noticed the figures hand reach for Sakura's purse and her weapons pouch. In a flash, she did a spinning kick, hitting him in the face and knocking him to the floor, before grabbing his arm, twisting it behind his back, and placed her foot between his shoulder blades. Tazuna's eyes widened, and Ayumi said, "If you want to live to see another day, I'd advise you to stop stealing purses, or I'll kill you next time." Sakura noticed Ayumi's face was impassive as she released the man, and they were soon walking down the street again.

"I didn't think girls fought like that." "Not many people do. I'll be changing that in the future." They soon reached the house, and Sasuke and Naruto weren't back yet. Kakashi was back though, and he said, "Ayumi, I need to talk to you…in private." She followed him to the next room, and he said, "Ayumi, I need to tell you something important. It has to do with your Kekai Genkai." Ayumi was listening intently now, and she made eye contact. "The reason you heal so fast…is because your chakra is abnormally concentrated into your blood, and it makes the blood actually flow back into the body and close the wound. Only someone with the Ayaka Sharingan is born with this ability, and even THEN it's rare. Don't tell anyone else, since this ability and the Ayaka Sharingan itself are wanted for different purposes. Be careful who sees, because it may be a fatal mistake."

Ayumi absorbed this information silently, her eyes widening, and she said, "So…that's why I heal so fast?" Kakashi nodded, and Ayumi looked at the ground, thinking. "I guess…it's just something else they kept from me…" Kakashi felt pity for her. She had cared so much about them, and it seemed as if they didn't return the feelings.
She smiled, saying, "Well, it doesn't surprise me…they always tried to control me…and they didn't want me to be TOO powerful…" she stood, saying, "I…need to check on the boys…" her smile was considerably weaker, and Kakashi felt bad for having told her.

She left, and found them both still trying to climb the tree. They seemed drained, and Ayumi sighed, saying, "Maybe you guys should take a break…" Naruto turned to her, and noticed her bright, playful eyes seem dull and the playfulness had been drained from the innocent white eyes. "What's wrong, Ayumi-chan?" He asked. "Nothing…" Sasuke noticed too, but planned on prying in private. "Anyway, you guys should come back for dinner, or you'll fall over." She said, brightening slightly. They followed her back, and sat down at the table. Ayumi had a far off expression on her face, and she hardly noticed Tazuna's daughter put food in front of her.

"Arigato." She said softly, smiling, before starting to eat slowly. Naruto and Sasuke started having an eating contest, and Ayumi looked up briefly, her eyes glazed over, before returning to her own food. When they were done eating their fill, Sasuke noticed Kakashi casting Ayumi sympathetic glances, though she didn't seem to notice. After a few moments, Inari stood, saying, "You guys are working hard for nothing! Gato's men are too powerful! You'll just end up dying!" Ayumi snapped back into the present, and said, "At least we'll die doing what's right, Inari." "But…you can leave! You shouldn't even be meddling!"

Ayumi sighed, saying, "Inari…sometimes, you need to take risks in order to do what you know is right. I'm not about to run, and neither are the others." "Fine then! Throw away your dreams for something that doesn't even concern you." Anger flashed in Ayumi's eyes as she said, "I'm not about to throw my dreams away for nothing. I'll fight Gato and live. I can't just leave, knowing other people are suffering like I did." After a moment of silence, she stood, saying, "I'm not hungry. I'm going to bed." And she left, not looking at anyone, and Naruto looked at her with worry in his eyes.
She went into her room, and locked the door behind her before sitting on the bed.

She hugged her legs, her chin on her knees, and felt tears building up in her eyes, though they didn't fall. "They said they cared…but they didn't tell me about my own blood…what else didn't they tell me?! Did they get me engaged behind my back too?!" The last parts she yelled, throwing her pillow in her anger, and said, softly, "I think the only people who really cared were Sasuke and…Itachi." She said the last part so softly she hardly heard it herself, but it was the truth. She felt a faint sob wrack her throat, and whispered, "I wish he hadn't left…I miss him so much…I miss him as much as I miss my mother…"

At that moment, someone knocked on the door, and she said, "LEAVE ME ALONE!!" "Ayumi let me in." Kakashi said through the door. "No!" He poofed in, and felt guilt tear at his heart when he noticed how…sad she looked. He sat down on the bed, saying, "Ayumi, you can tell me what's wrong." "…You wouldn't understand…" "Of course I would. Now…what's wrong?" She looked away, saying, "I feel…betrayed…they lied to me…they said all I had was the Ayaka Sharingan…it's like they never cared…" She looked up at him, saying, "All I really wanted…was for them to really care about me…like I cared about them…"

Kakashi sighed, unsure of what to say, when she continued, "I wonder…if I had died…would they have cared? Or would they only care that the Ayaka Sharingan was gone?" Kakashi gave her a comforting hug, saying, "I don't know if they would have cared…but I know three people who would have…" "Who?" "Naruto, Sasuke, and…" she knew the rest, and smiled, saying, "Thanks, Kakashi." "No problem. Do you want to go back down?" "No…I'm just going to take a shower and go to sleep." "Okay…" Ayumi stood, getting her clothes, and went to take a shower as Kakashi headed back downstairs. When she was in her bed, she thought, 'I wonder…if he could…would Itachi come back…?' and she went soundly to sleep.