Chapter 8: The Truth
"Izumi?!" exclaimed the black haired rock nin. "But...but...you were dead!"
"Kiyoko, what's going on?" asked Kiba. Kiyoko grabbed the rock ninja by the collar of his shirt and demanded, "Who are you and why do you know me?"
"Christ, Izumi, what the hell is wrong with you?"
Kiyoko pulled him towards her so their faces were nearly touching and growled, "Who am I?"
He reached for a blade at his waist, but Kiyoko grabbed it from him. It was a very fancy dagger that had little red dragons with tiny gems for eyes carved into the hilt. She ripped her eyes from the blade to look up at her captive and gasped, "Haru?"
"Kiyoko-chan, do you know this guy?" Hinata asked. Kiyoko let go of 'Haru' and used her stone binding to restrain his arms and legs. As he twisted and struggled to free himself, she noticed a tattoo on his neck. It was the kanjis for 'elite' and 'captain'. She doubled over, clutching her head as everything came crashing back to her like water from a broken dam.
(Flashback)
"Good job in training today, Haru," Izumi said, clapping him on the back. He scowled.
"The only reason you keep beating me is because of that damn Tsuchiketsueki bloodline limit of yours. I should be the one getting the position as captain of the Elite Squad."
"Lighten up, man," Soka laughed, his brown hair flapping in the wind. "They haven't even announced it yet. It could still end up being you."
Haru just grumbled incoherently. They all knew that the Tsuchiketsueki clan was the most powerful in the village. They all knew that Izumi, the only daughter of the Tsuchikage, was going to be the one getting the promotion to captain. When they entered the missions center, the Tsuchikage of Iwagakure was waiting for them.
"Izumi, Haru, and Soka, I have a mission for you. I want you to go to the Hidden Leaf Village and collect information on their defenses. Find out their weaknesses so we can ready our military for an attack. They're weak from their recent encounter with the Hidden Sound. We need to hit them while they're recovering," he explained. "This is going to be an off-the-record mission, so don't wear your forehead protectors or anything else that will identify you as shinobi of the Hidden Rock Village."
"Yes, Tsuchikage-sama," Izumi bowed.
Several days later, they stood outside the gates of Konoha. Their mission was complete. They had all of Konoha's strategies and defenses. It had been almost pathetically simple getting in. Izumi turned to stare at the monument of Konoha's kages. Quite impressive. Iwagakure should have something like that. It seemed almost a shame to annihilate it. Almost. She shook herself out of her thoughts and said, "C'mon, let's go. We're done here."
She smiled and added, "We can probably cut the time down by half a day if we hurry; I want to get home. I'm starting to miss seeing mountains and rocks instead of these damn trees."
Soka put a hand on Izumi's shoulder.
"Sorry, Izzy. Not this time."
"Excuse me?" Izumi laughed softly. She had no time to react. Soka struck her head with the handle of his kunai, disorienting her for a moment. Izumi fell to her knees and felt him pin her arms behind her back. Haru stepped up to her and pressed the tip of his trademark Dagger of the Red Dragons, given to him by the Tsuchikage himself, against her throat.
"Betrayal doesn't become you, Haru," Izumi growled. Haru glared and pressed the dagger harder against her throat.
"You're in no position to be throwing insults, Izumi-hime," he spat mockingly. "I'm going to kill you, you know."
"I figured that."
"And you don't even want to know why?" he asked with a trace of amusement.
"You're jealous because I'm the better ninja," Izumi said matter-of-factly. A flash of rage shot across Haru's face. He slashed her in the arm with his dagger. Izumi winced, but didn't make a noise. She just looked her 'friend' in the eye, and spat in his face. Haru punched her in the face hard enough that Izumi knew it was probably broken. She groaned and slumped against Soka's grip. Haru may have been a treacherous bastard, but he was was known for being able to pack a punch to rival Tsunade-sama's.
"Dammit, Haru, just finish it," Soka said nervously, shifting uncomfortably. Haru glared at him. "I've been waiting for this for a very long time. I'll do it at my own speed."
He formed a seal and pressed two fingers to Izumi's forehead. He grinned and whispered, "Thousand Needles Agony."
The helpless Izumi screamed out as the searing pain of a thousand white-hot needles ripped through her body. She fell to the ground shaking like a leaf, but Haru wasn't finished yet.
"Chakra Blade Whips."
Haru's chakra shot out of him in thin strings, slashing across her body like serrated whips. They crisscrossed her back with bleeding lacerations, as well as on her arms, legs, and face. They didn't call him 'Haru of the Dragon Whips' for nothing. As she lied on the ground, bruised and bloody, Izumi made out the form of Haru's feet in front of her face. Already half passed out from pain and blood loss, she barely noticed when Haru delivered a chakra-powered kick to her head. Then everything went mercifully dark and she felt no more.
"Kiyoko, are you okay?" Ino asked, putting a hand on her shoulder. Kiyoko nodded and stood up, walking over to Haru.
"You bastard!" she shouted, punching him in the face. "You little, goddam snake! You stole my life! Over a stupid promotion!"
"What are you talking about?" Kiba asked in confusion. "Who is this guy, Kiyoko?"
"My name isn't Kiyoko. It's Izumi," she said, and explained the quick version of what she'd just learned. When she finished, her teammates just looked at her, speechless. Kiyoko turned to Haru and grabbed him by the hair.
"So why didn't you just finish me, huh? Too much of a coward to do the dirty work?" she spat. Haru glared at her and said, "Unfortunately, we were forced to leave when we heard a guard coming. You were dead, though. I made sure."
"Well, I'm alive alright, thanks to the legendary doctors of Konoha. I may not have had a pulse when you left me there, but I sure as hell wasn't ready to die. Not before I killed you first. By rights, I should just slit your throat right now, Haru-kun," she hissed. "But I'm not like you."
Kiyoko released him from his stone binding. Ino gasped, "What are you doing?"
"Settling this once and for all," she said. "I'm going to prove to you, Haru, that I have always been and will always be the better fighter. It doesn't matter who my family is anymore. Izumi is dead. You killed her. My name is Kiyoko, and I am a kunoichi of the Village Hidden in the Leaves."
"Then you're a traitor to the Earth Country. The penalty for treason is death, and need I remind you that one of the jobs I have as the E.S. captain is executionor." Haru smirked.
"Need I remind you that the punishment attempting to murder a fellow Earth Ninja is also death, Haru?" Kiyoko pointed out threateningly.
"To the death, then," Haru said. Kiyoko nodded and told her friends to stay back, this was their fight. Haru summoned his chakra whips and flicked them tauntingly. Kiyoko formed her Iwa Tsume no Jutsu. They lunged at each other, full of rage and hatred. Haru shot one of his whips out and it wrapped around her taloned hand. Kiyoko dodged the other whip while still tethered by the first one. She gathered her chakra to her feet and leapt into the sky, pulling the whip from Haru's hand. Then she shot down at him, like a white falcon taking her prey, and pinned him to the ground. He put his feet to her stomach and tossed her off with a strong kick. Kiyoko somersaulted backwards and got to her feet just in time to avoid another pass from his whips. Haru could make them as long or short as he wanted since they were made of his chakra, so avoiding them was extremely tricky. She jumped over him and landed on top of a boulder.
"Doton: Rakuseki!" ('Earth Element: Falling Rocks')
The rocks she was standing on began to tumble down towards Haru. Kiyoko rode the stones like a surfer and shouted, "Iwa Enbannage!" ('Rock Discus Throw')
She hurled stone after stone at him with an almost untrackable speed, yet his whips moved at an equally rapid speed, slicing them in half before they hit him. Haru feigned to the left and rolled to the right, flinging both whips out to wrap around her waist and leg. Oh shit, not this again. Haru brought her high up into the air and flung her as hard as he could. It was the chuunin exams all over again, except for this time she managed to somewhat cushion her fall by summoning some dirt to catch her.
"As soon as I kill you," Haru taunted, "I'll kill your friends, too."
Kiyoko took off the ANBU arm protectors and fingerless gloves she was wearing and threw them to the ground.
"I won't let you touch them, you coward! Let's finish this!" Kiyoko called out to him. She reached into her kunai pouch, and felt around. Kuso, where is it?! I must've dropped it during the fight. Looking around frantically, she was almost hit by another lash of Haru's deadly whips as it grazed the air by her face. Then she spotted the object of her search on the ground fifty meters away.
"Kiba! Toss me that flask!"
It was a small sake container, compliments of Tsunade-sama. He picked it up and shouted back, "This is hardly the time for a drink, Kiyoko!"
She caught the flask and uncorked it while ducking and dodging Haru's relentless attacks. Doesn't he ever get tired? Apparently not. Taking a large swig of the liquid, but being careful not to swallow any, she did the seals for a simple fire jutsu. Kiyoko held the small bit of flame she conjured above her head and blew a fine mist from her mouth at it. It exploded into a gigantic ball of fire in the air over them. This was her coup de grace technique. It was the most powerful jutsu in her arsenal of attacks, but it was a double edged blade. Though it would defeat Haru easily, her chakra would be completely depleted and it would drain all of her energy to a dangerously low, possibly deadly, level. Kiyoko was willing to take the chance, though, if it meant the safety of her friends.
"Gogyou Gassuru: Kasairyuu!" ('Combine Elements: Volcanic Eruption')
A huge wall of earth rose up from the ground and collided with the fire. The two fused together to form a mass of flaming volcanic rock. Kiyoko summoned up a dome of earth to cover her friends before closing her eyes and concentrating on forcing all of her chakra into the mass while creating a whirlwind of stones around her to shield herself from Haru's attacks. The effort of concentrating so much chakra was making little white spots pinprick her vision, but she ignored it and just concentrated harder.
"Shuukyoku Jutsu: Haitsuchi!" ('Finishing Jutsu: Ashes and Earth')
A cloud of ashes began to descend on Haru like a swarm of insects while the flaming ball of earth broke into smaller rocks that rose up into the air. Kiyoko let out a cry as she slammed her hands against the ground. Trapped by the cloud of ashes, Haru didn't even see when the flaming chunks of magma flung themselves at him. He let out a scream as the heavy earth crushed him. Kiyoko released her hold on the jutsu and the flames immediately disappeared. Her entire body shaking, she lifted the wreckage and tossed it aside before staggering over to the motionless form of Haru. Miraculously, he was still alive, but barely.
"Izumi," he rasped. "I'm sorry... I-Izzy."
Kiyoko knealt down and lifted his head into her lap. She brushed a stray piece of black hair from his face. "I forgive you, Haru."
With a trembling hand, he took out his Dagger of the Dragons and handed it to her. "Goodbye...Izumi."
Haru's body went limp in her arms and Kiyoko blinked as tears filled her eyes. He may have betrayed her, but before that he had been her closest friend. She gently closed his eyes and held his body close to her, crying, until Hinata came and touched her arm.
"Kiyoko-chan? Are you okay?"
Kiyoko nodded and Ino handed her ANBU mask to her. Wiping the blood, sweat, and tears from her face, she tried to stand but was unable to. The jutsu had completely drained her. Kiba scolded her and told her to rest for a moment. Nuzzling her arm with his wet nose, Akamaru deposited her discarded flask in her lap. Smiling sadly, she patted the puppy on the head and said, "Thanks, boy."
Kiba picked up the container and sniffed the opening. He jerked his head back at the strong smell and wrinkled his nose. "What is this stuff anyway?"
"A special blend of over a dozen different fire excelerants. Plus sake to make it taste better," she explained. By now she was recovered enough to hobble clumbsily to her feet. Ino held Kiyoko's arm and helped gather her arm protectors and gloves. As she was redoing the straps of the arm protectors, Kiyoko spotted a few early-blooming flowers poking up from the dirt. She picked them and tied the small bouquet together with a strip of cloth from her shirt. She carefully set them on Haru's lifeless chest and said a quick prayer for him. Kiba put a hand on her shoulder and reminded her that the sun was already begining to rise, so they needed to leave quickly.
"Hai. We need to head back to Konoha as soon as possible," she nodded. "I'll need someone to carry me for awhile, though. I can't keep up with you guys in this condition. Once we've put some distance between us and Iwagakure, we'll stop and I'll explain everything."
After an hour of riding piggyback, courtesy of Kiba, Kiyoko announced that they would stop for a bit. Leaning against a tree, she sighed and said, "I suppose I owe you guys an explanation."
She took a deep breath and began, "My real name is Tsuchiketsueki Izumi. I grew up in the Hidden Rock Village and I'm the only child of the Tsuchikage. My clan possesses the Tsuchiketsueki, or Earth Blood, bloodline limit. That's why I can control the earth element so easily and do some of my jutsus without hand seals. The ninja I just fought is Motozumi Haru, my old teammate and best friend."
"Then why was he trying to kill you?" Ino asked.
"I'm getting to that," Kiyoko stated. "Almost exactly a year ago, I was given a mission. The mission was to infiltrate Konoha and steal its military secrets, just like what we were assigned to do here. Haru and my other teammate Soka had other plans, though. Haru was jealous of me. He thought that I got special treatment because of who my father was. He was right, too. We were both competing for the position of captain of the Elite Squad, which is kind of like the ANBU. Being the head of the Elite Squad was a very high up, honorable postition that every young ninja dreamed of. Everyone knew that I was going to be chosen over Haru. He said it was only because I was the Tsuchikage's daughter. I still don't know whether or not that was the case. Anyway, we carried out our mission without any complications and were about to leave Konoha when they attacked me. With me out of the way, Haru would become captain, which he did. That was what the tattoo on his neck was. After they left me there, a guard found me and rushed me to the hospital. That's when I became Kiyoko."
She sank down to the ground and pulled her knees into her chest, burying her face.
"Now I don't know who I am anymore. Izumi of Iwagakure, or Kiyoko of Konoha? I'm a traitor in both villages," she said bitterly. They looked at her in confusion.
"Don't you guys get it? This big attack on Konoha that we're preparing for is because of me!" she shouted angrily. "I was the one who broke into the mission room and spent hours copying down every weakness that could possibly be used against the Fire Country in an attack! If I go back to Konoha, I'll be arrested! I can't go back to the Earth Country either! I've spent the past year as a ninja of the village that my country is at war with! In the last couple months, I've killed six Earth Country spies as an ANBU of Konoha! Somehow I doubt they're going to just forget about that little detail! I'm a criminal in both of my homes."
Half of her was still Izumi, daughter of the most powerful ninja of the Earth Country, who had always been taught that the Fire Country was the evil enemy of all Rock ninjas. The other half was Kiyoko, the fifteen year old shinobi with no family connections at all, who had found friendship and kindness in Konoha. In Iwagakure, Izumi was practically royalty. She had the respect, if not fear, of all the most important politicians and leaders of the country. Her days were spent doing high end missions and attending important meetings. In Konohagakure, Kiyoko was a kunoichi of no particular importance. She made enough money from her missions to pay rent in Naruto's apartment and still afford a few small luxuries, but that was about it. Most of her friends were genins or chuunins, not senators and nobles. But in Konoha, she was always treated as an equal, not like some princess. In Konoha she had a ton of friends who loved her. The question was, which was more important to her; loyal to her friends or loyalty to her home country? She thought about it and came to her decision. It was going to be hard for her, but she knew what she had to do. She stood up and turned to her friends with a look of grim resolve.
"My name...is Kiyoko," she said. "I'm going back to Konoha and turning myself in to Tsunade-sama."
Shiori's Blurbs:
Whew, so we finally found out all about Kiyoko/Izumi's past. Well anyways, enjoy and don't forget to review! Shiori luvs the reviews.