Okay, here's chapter 4, and I just have to say *sniffle sniffle* you guys are the best. Thank you so much for your support, and also, I'm starting to think that I'm just as bipolar as Itachi, lol. I feel really hyper today, because after I talked to my good friend, Apocalyptic Lore, she reassured me that she felt the same way when she first posted her story, but after a while it got better. I'm sorry if this chapter seems rushed, I took less time on it then I would've liked too, but it hasn't been a pleasent week at school for me, esepeciallybecause it's like, 30 degrees where I live, and that's rare. Most of you in the northern states must be like, "Pffft, 30 degrees?" But that's really cold for Texas, we're used to like, 40's and up!
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EDelta88, Arcade, ToothAndClaw, devil4y, , Blue Kitsune, Pepe, Dragonzflyte, MadMonki, deathgeonous, Tachi Kagahara, Claws2, Stargazer, Imperial Mint, narachan, That's Nice, Thank you!
Here's Chapter 4, OH! And also, please excuse my grammer mistakes, I only have this Document Manager to work with, no Word!!! *spazzes out, starts crying*
Also, BEWARE! THERE ARE FLASHBACKS IN THIS, ACK! But they're short and hopefully you'll like them, they have to do with Naru and The #1 sexiest Jounin in all of Konoha, *wink*.
Naruto was never one for patience. It was because of this she found herself bored, snuggling in the fiery leaves of a fallen tree. She stroked the truck absentmindedly, hoping to find some comfort in the silvery smooth wood. It did nothing but continue to bore her, so she looked up into the sky, it was still morning, and she found herself letting out a frustrated sigh and falling back into the leaves. Why did it seem that every time you were waiting for someone time went by slower?
"Kaa-san? Are you there?"
"Of course Naru-chan. Where else would I be?"
"Gomen, you know I can't help it."
"Is there something on your mind?"
"Why do I doubt myself so much?"
"Is this about that male?"
"Yes, you know it is. I feel overly…"
"Impatient?"
"Yes. Impatient. Why?"
"It's only human to doubt yourself Naru-chan."
"But I'm not human. I'm a hanyou."
"You are still a human kit. Being part demon now doesn't change who you were before."
"I'm not human. I'm just not!"
"Very well. If you believe so."
Naruto bit her lip. She refused to acknowledge her human self. She was treated as a demon, raised by a demon as a demon, and was even part demon. The fox-girl saw herself as a demon, and nothing was going to change that for her.
She still wondered why she felt so much doubt and uncertainty. Her Kaa-san taught her that demons always head confidence in themselves, and they never acted unless they were sure. Naruto wasn't exactly sure she knew what she was doing that night, but if she doubted herself so much now, then it might not have been the right choice. Her hand unconsciously flew up to her neck and fingered the necklace gently. The blonde curled up closer to the tree as a breeze flew by, sending shivers down her bare body. It was cold; colder than usual.
.
Hiruzen sighed, a low throaty sound that told of his age. He really didn't want to deal with this right now, and what he meant by "this" was a young Uchiha genius and buried memories that were re-surfacing. Said teen was standing static and staring at the old Hokage through his porcelain weasel mask, looking more like a stubborn statue then a person. A very, very stubborn statue indeed.
The old man had already tried dismissing the weasel and his other teammates, but all that did was raise questions between all the ANBU, who had complied with the act, and strengthened the teen's resolve. He puffed a few times on his pipe, and then examined the red piece of fur. It was definitely hers, but that was a quite a trip down memory lane. He could almost hear the shouts of the little girl in his ears, from the peals of laughter to the sobs of torment. Itachi raised an eyebrow behind his mask at the Hokage's sudden damp mood, but continued waiting patiently for his answer.
"Well Hokage-sama?" It was Hiruzenturn to raise an eyebrow at the teen's blunt and semi-disrespectful question. The boy was incredibly persistent.
"Well Itachi, there's not much I can tell you really." Itachi stiffed at the sound of his name being said when he was still in his ANBU state; then visibly relaxed and straighten out.
"What do you mean?"
"It is forbidden to speak of." This shocked the teen; he was certainly not expecting that answer. The Hokage let this statement sink in, and when he spoke again his voice was stern and filled with wisdom. "Certain events took place many years ago in this village, those of which I'm not at liberty to say. In an answer to your question, I advise you to confront someone more informed of it than I am."
"You just told me it was forbidden." The Hokage chuckled; a dark sad one.
"Since when has this village ever listened to a word I say? That night sixteen years ago, I passed a law, which nearly every single villager broke. On the same night ten years ago, I passed another law, forbidding anyone to speak of the events that occurred that night. I still hear rumors to this day." The Hokage looked up into Itachi's eyes shaking his head disbelievingly. "The villagers can break my laws as they please, but I will be persecuted if I even think about it." Itachi stood in the heavy silence for a moment, and then his voice rang out in the room, echoing.
"Who should I ask?" The old man sighed again, and he leaned back in his chair.
"Ask your old captain." Itachi mentally questioned this choice, and as if the Hokage could read his mind, "He was there the day."
"And you were not?"
"Not necessarily, no. I was... late."
Itachi swiftly turned and dismissed himself, bent on tracking down his retired leader. Leaving Hiruzen to his own thoughts, the old man wondered to himself what he had gotten into. As he rubbed his eyes, he remembered what he had called the Weasel up for in the first place. His gaze trailed down to the unassigned mission lying on the desk, and he groaned.
.
Kakashi was minding his own business, reading his beloved Icha Icha book intently. He had re-read the smut so many times he had lost count. It was days like this when he enjoyed being retired, although he was going to be placed as a jounin sensei this year. He shifted more comfortably in his bed, and just as he was getting to the good part, he snapped his book shut uncharacteristically, plopping in down on his bed and leaning back.
"Oh what ever could the mighty Uchiha need at this time?" He drawled out lazily, turning slightly to the window to stare at said Uchiha with a half-lidded eye. Itachi felt another tick mark appear on his forehead, why did everyone he knew insist on mocking him like that? He was currently crouching on the window sill of Kakashi's bedroom, where said jounin was sprawled out across his bed, enjoying his day off. Itachi jumped into the room and shut the window softly, turning back to Kakashi. Kakashi merely raised an eyebrow at this behavior, initiating a staring contest with the porcelain mask the teen still had on. After a few moments of silence, he spoke.
"I'm in need of information."
"Information? Really?" Kakashi was surprised; the teen rarely asked anyone any questions regarding information, unless it was background information, which he usually found out himself. The teen nodded and sat in a chair on the other side the room, getting himself ready for a long explanation. The silver haired man blinked a few times then motioned for the teen to continue.
"I've confronted the Hokage about this, but he sent me to ask my old captain instead." Itachi reached into his back pocket and pulled out the folded up napkin and held it out so the man could take it. Kakashi carefully un-wrapped the napkin and furrowed his eyebrows at the piece of fur lying neatly in the middle. He twirled the fur between his thumb and finger, feeling the rough yet soft texture. It was so familiar to him, where had he felt this before? His eyes widened in recognition, staring back at the Uchiha with a glare.
"Where did you get this?" He growled. Itachi was slightly taken aback, but he didn't show it.
"I need you to tell me what happened ten years ago that had to do with that." The silver-haired jounin sighed, folding the napkin back gently.
"Why do you need to know?" Itachi was silent, and then he responded.
"It's important; I'll tell you if you tell me first." Kakashi gave him a calculating look, before sighing and sitting back on his bed. He eyed the napkin in his hands with a glassy-eyed look, as if experiencing a flash back. After a while a slight movement appeared underneath his mask, signaling that he was gnawing on his lips.
"I was a little younger than you at the time, being the new in ANBU. I was frequently sent to patrol the village because of my lack of experience. I often saw my fellow teammates following a person around; a small girl, seemingly harmless. My teammates hated the job they had, and I never knew why. One day I offered to take their shift for them, and they laughed and said they wouldn't put this burden on anyone else."
FLASHBACK-
"Hokage-sama." A young Kakashi bowed, no older than fourteen years of age. His teammate's dark laughter was still ringing in his ears, confusing him greatly.
"Yes Dog?" Hiruzen address him, smiling.
"I was actually wondering, if I could have the role of guarding the little girl, the blonde one my teammates look after." He stuttered out sheepishly. Hiruzen looked shocked, eyes wide and face pale.
"What brought this up?" He asked slowly, more of a demand than a question.
"Well, they never seem happy about it. I asked them earlier today and they mentioned 'they wouldn't put their burden on anyone'. What does that mean, Hokage-sama?"
"The girl is a Jinchuuriki, Dog." The Hokage's blunt statement shocked the silver haired teen to the core. Hiruzen himself looked saddened at this fact, with his old eyes clouded over in sympathy. "Would you still take the job if you knew that fact?" It took a moment for Kakashi, but when he did, the Hokage was quite shocked.
-END
"After a year, the girl and I, Naruto, became close. I tried to help her as much as I could, but there wasn't much I could do. She even started calling me Kaka-nii. She was so sweet, especially for one who had to deal with the horrible treatment of the villagers. I didn't go on any missions because I was guarding her, so my teammates went without me, until that day." Kakashi's smooth voice suddenly took on a darker undertone, moving on to a deeper subject. "My teammates needed me. I had to leave. I couldn't abandon them."
FLASHBACK –
"Kaka-nii, don't go." A little six year old girl looked up to a much taller ANBU teenager, a porcelain dog mask adoring his face. He crouched down to her level and cupped her cheek, wiping away a few tears with his palm.
"I'm sorry Naru-chan. I have to go, I can't leave my team can I?" She looked down and sniffled, shutting her deep blue eyes tightly. Her lip started trembling, so she bit down on it to keep it still. Kakashi looked at the little girl, tucking a long strand of blonde hair behind her pointy ears and kissing her forehead gently. "I'll try to be back as soon as I can, okay?"
Naruto didn't respond, she didn't think she could. The fox girl hugged the teen tightly, before nodding and letting go. He stepped back a little and leaped out her window, into the cold inky blackness of night. Naruto ran up and clutched the window sill tightly, her shoulders slumping.
-END
"Both my teammates died that night. There was nothing I could do but to head home and hope little Naruto was okay."
FLASHBACK-
Kakashi ran towards the old run-down building the girl he considered as his little sister lived in, jumping from rooftop to rooftop. As he got closer he noticed the window he always told her to close when he wasn't there was smashed open. His heart raced in his chest as he felt bile rise up in the back of his throat.
His heart crumbled into dust as he saw the interior of the home, with furniture broken and blood oozing down the walls and across the floor. The Hokage and a large amount of ANBU littered the unit, inspecting the room's damage and such. He stumbled up to the Hokage with his head down, his eyes glued to the fresh dark liquid stains painting the room; he nearly vomited right there. Shinobi were trained to the scent and sight of blood, always breathing it in like air and gazing upon it as merely red water. But the thought of this being her blood, Naruto's blood, sickened him immensely.
"Kakashi." Hiruzen spoke, loud and clear. Kakashi remain static, frozen in place. He uttered just a few words that the Hokage barley caught.
"Where is she?" Hiruzen sighed depressingly, looking down to the ground also and shaking his head. "We don't know." Kakashi's head snapped up at this, nearly giving him a whiplash.
"What do you mean you don't know?" He shouted, fists balling up in anger. The rest of the ANBU looked at their dog masked comrade, shocked that he would show such disrespect to their leader. One of the members, a brave fool just chuckled nervously and spoke out.
"Relax Dog; just be glad it's gone now." The man barely had time to react before he was sent flying through the broken window with shattered ribs courtesy of a kick from Kakashi. Just as he was about to leap after him to maim the idiot, he was held back by the rest of the ANBU through Hiruzen's command. The old man stepped in front of Kakashi, who was trying to rip through the many arms holding him in place.
"Kakashi, calm down." He said quietly, looking for something to say in order to calm the teen's nerves.
"Calm down? How can you expect him to calm down? My imouto was just attacked, maybe even murdered, and you don't even know where she is? Damn it!" At the last outburst, Kakashi slumped forward and let out a strangled sob.
"We don't think she's dead, Kakashi. Just… gone." The Hokage dare not say he was sorry, for fear of causing another outburst from the teen. Said teen just continued to sob, sob for his father, sob for his old Gennin team, sob for his late ANBU squad and mostly of all, sob for his missing little sister. He clutched his hands aimlessly on the floor, having being let go by his team as soon as the water works sprung up. The blood and scattered chunks of red fur became plastered to his gloves, making him feel as if he were the attacker, as if he was the cause of it.
Hiruzen was also crying, but he let out no noise, the only sign being the wet streaks down his face. He looked out the window and up into the night sky, mentally cursing himself over and over, along with cursing the day, the night this tragedy occurred.
October 10.
END-
Kakashi finished his tale, looking as down cast as ever. Itachi felt his heart go out to the little girl and his old captain, as strange as it may seem. On the outside he was as stotic as ever, emotionless except for the stiffness of his body, something that might have given away his feelings. He reviewed the story in his head, going over every detail Kakashi had layed out to him. Eyebrows slightly furrowing behind his mask, he asked one simple, final question to the Jounin.
"Did you ever get an idea as to where she might have gone?" This was all he needed to complete his quest for information, and with the right answer, he could finally come to his conclusion.
"With the rumors around here about "The Demon" living in the forests, we all thought that could've been her, after all, it would only seem like a natural place for her to go. We've never heard of her since, but I have a feeling she's still out there, alive." Kakashi sat up straighter, and looked up at the ceiling, exhaling slowly to release some pressure in his chest. He blinked tiredly; it had been awhile since he had opened up to someone, but he felt like he could trust the quiet Uchiha boy. And besides, he felt much better, like a load had been taken off his chest. "So, are you going to tell me why you needed to know all of this so badly?" Itachi stood and made his way to the window, prying it open before looking back.
"I have a feeling she's out there, in the forest, and she has something of mine." Kakashi's eye widened considerably, before it took on a sad yet sparkly quality, like the thought brought him both happiness and sadness.
"That's Naruto for you, always a trickster and thief." This was said as barely a whisper after Itachi had jumped out the window. Kakashi looked down at the napkin still in his hands, and mentally thanked whatever god was out there for letting the weasel forget the strand at his house. Or maybe the boy just decided to let him keep it out of the kindness of his heart. This thought ran through his head a few times before he smirked. It was definitely one of them, that's for sure.
.
Itachi was thinking over the story intently, letting every word sink in. He no longer had any doubt that the thief was this Jinchuuriki girl, Naruto. The raven haired teen faintly recalled his parents talking about a sort of demon in the village, but he was too young to understand. All he knew was that demons were bad, and he needed to stay away from them. The irony of the situation he was in did not escape him, the fact that he always believed he needed to avoid demons at all costs when now he was practically hunting one down.
Dodging several tree branches and trunks, he weaved into the forests he had so many times before; this time with a purpose. As strange as the sensation was for him, he felt great sympathy for the girl, but she had taken his necklace, and no one was allowed to touch his belongings. Especially not his necklace. He suddenly came to a halt and veered off in another direction, following the sounds of splashing he heard.
.
Naruto was indeed in a river that passed through the forest, doing her best to wash the dirt out of her skin. Her Kaa-san had taught her to do this early on in her forest life, stating that even with her demonic influence, being dirty and covered in mud could result in her getting some sort of virus or illness, for humans were weaker than most demons immune-system wise. The fox girl hated to "bathe" in the river, she always felt so… human doing it. Though even if she wouldn't admit it, she was glad her Kaa-san taught her many things that she could do as person, and not an animal.
She ran her fingers through her long, golden hair that stuck to her head as the water weighed it down. It only went down to her lower back and had somewhat rough edges, considering she had to shear it with a sharp rock every time it got too long. Examining a strand of the wet mess, she decided it was just about time she should've cut it, but seeing as the weather was getting colder, it might not be the best idea. Her fluffy red tail floated in the water freely, swishing every now and then. Suddenly, her ears pricked up and the furs on the tail stood on the edge. She turned around at a forty-five, looking over her shoulder at the intruder.
"There it is." An emotionless, silky voice rang out, causing her to involuntarily shiver. Tension soon filled the air, as she bit her lip and stared at the intruder, his masked face glued onto the necklace around her neck, which she had forgotten to take off to "bathe". Then it hit her.
Dear lord, this was the elder Uchiha boy.
Okay, so you know the drill, if you love me, you'll review. Please? I'm not going to beg as much anymore, but I would still love reviews. Reviews are good for your soul *nods* yes.