Chapter 8: "This blood belongs on your hands"

Sayuri let the rest of her team walk ahead of her as they headed to her house. She did not feel like talking to any of them. She did not want to see her 'father'. Thinking about what the outcome of the battle would be, if she were forced to fight. Hoping that she would not be forced to hurt anyone if they tried to interfere. Maybe Kakashi knew enough about her to know that she could handle it by herself and not to send the rest of them in to help her unless she direly needed it.

"Are you OK?"

Sayuri looked up. She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she had not noticed Sasuke fall behind.

Sayuri smiled, "Yeah,"

Sasuke gave her a disbelieving look, Sayuri stopped smiling and looked at the ground, "To tell the truth I'm scared," she replied.

"About what?"

"Things… there is more going on here than what there appears to be,"

"I think I know what's going on," Sasuke said, "They wouldn't send us to look after your 'father' if there was not a special purpose. I understand that he is a brilliant scientist, he must have many enemies, and some may even want him dead,"

Sayuri smiled, "Nothing gets past you does it Sasuke-kun?"

They walked on in silence for a little while.

"But there is still more than that," she said, "just do me a favour and don't get in my way during battle. I know that I appear to be weak but I'm sure you have seen past that as well. There are certain aspects that I cannot control of myself, and I don't, I don't want to have to hurt anyone,"

"Would you call that friendship?"

"I do not know what friendship is…" she explained, "I have never experienced it,"

"Well now you have," he said, "we will fight side by side as a team and as friends. We will be there to help when you need it, no matter the circumstances,"

"But you don't understand, I can not control my actions sometimes, I don't want to hurt you, just please stay back, I can take care of it on my own," Sayuri heard the panic in her voice. Was she caring?

Sasuke stepped out in front of her and stopped, "Friends are there for you no matter what," he said.

Sayuri felt a tear fall down her face.

"You don't understand," she said, she turned around and pulled her hair off the back of her neck to show the seal to Sasuke. "That mark on my neck is the 'Seal of Obedience". It disables me to break the rules that 'father' gives to me. It is accompanied by two other rules referred to as the 'First Rule' and 'Second Rule'. No rule given can conflict these two rules. The first is for me to look out for my own protection, and the second is to look out for 'father's' protection, at the expense of anyone's pain. I may be forced to sacrifice any one of you if I see that you are hindering my plans,"

Tears streaming down her face she stood there with her back to Sasuke. She felt Sasuke lightly touch the spot where the seal was with his fingertips. Sayuri felt something inside her awaken.

"I know the weight of a seal," he said as he removed his hand from Sayuri's neck and she let her hair drop.

"Seal or no seal, we are here for you" and then she heard him walk away along the path.

She stood there in complete shock. She was shaking in fear for the first time in her life. Did Sasuke care for her? What was going on? All this was so new. She didn't understand, why would he still say that after he knew what a monster she could become?

Mildly tempted to run away, so that she would not have to face battle, she reluctantly turned around and started to walk down towards her house. She forced the things she felt aside, it was dangerous to become attached, she would end up hurting them all and she knew it. So she just pushed it all away, for the time being. When she arrived there she saw that everyone was there talking with her 'father'.

"Sayuri!" Raikou called in greeting as she approached.

Sayuri smiled and approached the rest of them.

"I think that you guys can handle this mission by yourselves," Kakashi offered, and then he took off.

The walk to the grocery store had been fine, and they finished the shopping without a problem. They were on their way back now. Raikou had played the part of the perfect father, while Sayuri played along as much as she dared, as she was distracted by her own feelings and by trying to keep a look out for anyone suspicious.

That's when she felt it. An intense murderous intent, so strong in fact that everyone must have felt it. Everyone went silent and stopped. They were behind an alley. Sayuri dropped her bags, and put her hand at her pouch and withdrew a kunai. Concentrating she sensed where the person was. She threw the kunai into a near by, tree.

"You missed," came a voice from the where Sayuri had thrown the kunai.

Sayuri just smiled. She had no intent to hit this person. But now she knew exactly where he was. She felt her instinct for battle sink in. Her senses at their heights she anticipated the first attack.

By now everyone had dropped their groceries and taken a ready stance except for Raikou. He had simply backed against a wall and watched in interest.

Sayuri pulled out three shurikins and held them between her fingers.

"If you are a coward," she called, "you will stay in the tree and attack form the shadows. If you are not you will come down and fight me face to face. What damage could a young girl do?"

The man jumped down from the tree, "Are you forgetting something?" he asked. When Sayuri said nothing he continued, "you have three teammates backing you up,"

Sayuri had completely forgotten about them. She was so used to battle alone. She looked behind her and saw them all ready to back her up if she needed help.

"Can you stay back for now?" she asked, and they nodded, "Thank-you,"

I see that their curiosity about my abilities had taken over them she though to herself.

"As I said, one young girl? Will you test my strength?" she called out to the man

The man laughed, "You are hardly worth my time," he replied.

Sayuri smiled, "You should not underestimate your opponent," she said.

With that she threw the suhurikens in her hand at the man and charged at him. He dodged the shurikens and blocked the first kick that Sayuri threw at him.

"Strong for being so young," he said.

He grabbed her by the ankle and threw her away from him, but her distraction had worked and she saw the shurikens had reversed their path and were headed towards the back of the guy's head. He noticed them at the last second and dodged them, and they headed for Sayuri who caught them in her hands. A drop of blood hit the ground.

"It seems that you were not fully prepared for these," she said as she held them up, "This is not my blood,"

The man reached for the back of his head and when his hand returned his fingers were covered with blood.

"So this tells me that you're reflexes aren't that fast, and I can defeat you with simple hand-to-hand battle," she smiled and dropped the shurikens.

She charged at him and threw a punch at his face that he stopped just in time.

"She's so fast," Sakura, stated, sounding a little scared, "I can barely follow her movement,"

Sayuri was locked in a fierce hand-to-hand combat with the man. Each time she went to hit him he just barely stopped it in time. All the man could do was defend himself because Sayuri's movements were so quick. Sayuri gave him no chance to turn her own move against herself or to hit her. She threw another punch and he blocked it, than she ducked and kicked him from underneath. When her foot made contact with is jaw the man was sent flying up and backwards.

Sayuri stood there. She wasn't even out of breath and the man was gasping for air as he stood.

"I'm not going to go easy on you anymore little girl," he said.

"You're trying to scare me, but you were already forced to go all out," she smiled.

Fear flickered in the man's eyes. Then he performed the shadow replication jutsu. He must have made more than 50 replications of himself. They all charged at her at once but before the first one could reach her she disappeared.

"Where did she go?" Sakura asked.

Then she suddenly appeared next to a seemingly random copy of the man and kicked behind his knees, which made him fall to his knees. Without hesitation she pulled a kunai out of her pouch and pressed it up against the man's throat. A trickle of blood ran down his neck.

"How does she know that's the right one?" Naruto asked.

She looked up and all of the replications vanished. Naruto and Sakura inhaled in shock. How did she know that it was the right one?

The look in her eyes was maniacal. Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura all felt fear of who she seemed to have become. They felt as if they didn't even know who that girl standing before them was. She had changed into a cold-blooded killer.

"I got you," she whispered into the man's ear. Then she slid the kunai along his throat and let him fall forward. Kunai still in her hand she stood there staring at the man on the ground. She tensed up as if she were realizing what she had done for the first time. She started walking forward and as she approached the group again she brought the blood covered Kunai to her 'father'.

"More blood stains my hands because of you father," she said. She pressed the kunai against her palm and dragged it along, cutting her palm open. Her blood mixed with the man's blood and she handed the kunai to Raikou. He reached out and took it.

"This blood belongs on your hands," she said and she walked away from him towards Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura.

"Thank-you for staying back," she said, "I'm sorry that I have hidden so much from you and you had to see me like this," with that she took off down the alleyway, blood streaming off her hand.

Kakashi suddenly landed next to the group.

"You were watching us the whole time Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked.

Kakashi nodded.

"How did she know she had the right one?" Naruto asked.

"Because she also has the Sharingon," Raikou said from behind them.

Sakura, Naruto, and Raikou all picked up their bags and started towards Raikou's house, which was right around the corner.

"If you can take my bags I will clear things up here," Kakashi said to Sasuke.

Sasuke started walking towards the man. He leaned over him and dragged his hands along the puddle of blood that was on the ground. He stood up and clenched his hands, staring into the sky.

"Who are you?" he thought aloud. Then he turned around picked up the bags and headed towards Raikou's house.

He was not talking about the man that now lay dead on the ground Kakashi thought.