THE PREVENTER
Chapter One
The Four Man Squad
***
Two ninja walked side-by-side through the streets of Konoha, stifling yawns and occasionally complaining about their current situation.
"Kakashi-Sensei had better have a good reason for this…" Pink-haired, green-eyed Sakura Haruno said, thinking longingly of her bed and handmade Sasuke doll…plus, it was misty this morning, and she'd seen enough mist on their most recent mission, thank you very much!
Naruto Uzumaki shook his head. "Since when does Kakashi-Sensei need a reason to call us up at the break of dawn?" He asked, as the sun shot up from the east. "Ah, there it is…" He yawned widely. "So tired…not that I mind spending time alone with you, Sakura-Chan!" He added quickly, gazing at Sakura with his bright blue eyes.
Sakura stared at Naruto for a full ten seconds, before replying flatly: "This is hell."
Naruto was about to reply, when something small and black suddenly streaked across the path in front of them, and they both jumped.
"A black cat?" Naruto stopped and stared.
"Oh no, that's bad luck!" Sakura moaned in dismay, as the cat disappeared almost as quickly as it had appeared.
Naruto stared at the spot where it had vanished into the early morning mist, his brow furrowed in concentration. Something about what had just happened…
"Hey, earth to Naruto," Sakura waved a hand in front of the blonde's face. "What's the matter with you?"
"Sakura-Chan," Naruto said, in a voice so unusually serious that Sakura stared at him. "Do you ever get the feeling that sometimes things happen for a reason?" His eyes were trained on the ground, and he appeared to be remembering something.
Sakura's own eyes widened in shock.
"What?" Naruto finally looked up at her. He tilted his head to one side. "What'd I say, Sakura-Chan?"
"Naruto," Sakura shook her head in disbelief. "I have never heard you say anything so…so…serious!" She laughed. "I think some of that mist has crept into your brain or something!"
Naruto looked hurt. "Hey…I can be just as serious as Sasuke is, Sakura-Chan…"
Sakura continued to laugh. "Yeah, right, that'll be the day! Now come on, or else Kakashi-Sensei'll beat us there."
"I'm coming, I'm coming…" Naruto called, hurrying after Sakura and failing to notice the black cat crouched behind the rose bushes, staring after him.
***
"Ha, what'dya know," Naruto said, as they climbed the steps of the tall building and came out on the rooftop. "Kakashi-Sensei isn't here – and neither is Sasuke!" He punched the air with his fist. "Yes! I beat Sasuke!" He did a little victory dance.
"Yeah, but who's that there?" Sakura asked, pointing.
Naruto looked. The sun had risen in the time it had taken him and Sakura to reach the meeting spot, and the mist had long vanished as they'd climbed the stairs, to where someone unknown now appeared to be waiting for them.
"Is that…" Naruto took a step forward, and the figure turned at the sound of his voice.
Short dark brown hair framed a thin, pale face, and the girl standing with her back to the rooftop rail now couldn't have been more than four feet and eleven inches tall.
She was wearing a short black skirt with a white belt, a white singlet over a longer black one, tall black socks and special black ninja shoes (the kind with the heel). Around her neck was a Leaf Village headband, and her ears were pierced twice.
But it was her eyes that were most striking, and they faltered whatever it was that Naruto had been about to say.
A pupil-les blue eye and a blood red and black eye stared at Naruto for a fraction of a second, before the girl opened her mouth and spoke.
"Is that you, Bozu?" She had a way of speaking that reminded Sakura of Hinata Hyuga, minus the stammering and shyness. It was a quiet voice, like the whisper of the wind in the leaves. In fact…it almost reminded Sakura a little of Sasuke's voice…
Naruto, of course, had a loud was of speaking, as he cried: "I can't believe you still call me that after six years, Emma-Chan!" And Sakura stiffened. Whoever this girl was, Naruto obviously knew and liked her a lot because, quite suddenly, he had run to her, and given her a huge hug! 'I didn't even know you were still alive after all that, Emma-Chan!" Naruto exclaimed.
The girl, Emma, whacked him lightly on the back of the head. "Of course I am! Baka, it'd take more than that to get rid of me! My Sensei and I have just been travelling and training for these past seventy-two months, that's all."
"Your Sensei?" Naruto cocked his head to one side for the second time that morning. "What's your Sensei like, Emma-Chan? Strong?"
"You bet!" And Sakura jumped slightly, because now Emma's voice had changed. It had become more animated, sounding more like Naruto's than Sasuke's. "Sensei is strong! Super strong, in fact! Sensei could even become Hokage, I bet!" She said, before ruffling Naruto's spiky blonde hair. "Except that you're gonna be Hokage, that is." She said fondly. "Sensei just doesn't want to, I'm afraid."
Naruto grinned. "So, why doesn't your Sensei wanna become Hokage? What kind of an attitude is that!?"
Emma grinned too. "Sensei doesn't need a new job, as Sensei is a n…" She broke off abruptly when she looked over Naruto's shoulder and saw Sakura staring at her like she was insane or something. "And who might you be?" She asked politely.
"Who am I!?" Sakura exclaimed. "Who are you!?" She walked forward to get a better look at this strange-acting, strange-eyed girl.
"My name is Emma Pendanto." The brunette bowed. "And you are…" She remembered suddenly, the form of a pink-haired girl sobbing over Sasuke's fallen, spiky body. This must be…
"Sakura," Said the unmistakable voice of Sasuke Uchiha from behind her, and Sakura turned around with a big smile. "What's going on? Where's Kakashi-Sensei?"
"Goodmorning Sasuke-Kun! I…" Sakura began, but Naruto cut her off.
"Hey Sasuke!" The blonde said with a big grin. "Look who just showed up!" He grabbed Emma by the arm and yanked her to the front, enjoying the look of utter shock on his rival's face so much that he added: "She's not dead after all!"
Emma rolled her mismatched eyes. "Baka…" She muttered, detaching herself from the group and taking a few steps forward. "Sasuke-Kun…do you remember who I am?" She asked, her voice wavering only slightly on the first word.
Sasuke was wearing an expression that was hard to read, but it might've been one of inner emotional pain. "Of course I do…my Hime…"
Sakura's small gasp wasn't heard over Emma's sharp reply. "Don't call me that ever again, do you understand?"
Sasuke didn't say anything.
Emma's voice softened slightly. "Or I'll start calling you Bozu as well."
Sasuke smirked. "Nobody would know that you were older then us, Emma-Chan." It was a smirk that made Sakura want to cry, because he wasn't using it on her.
"Watch what you say, Sasuke-Tan. I'm still your senior, so maybe you should be calling me Sempai." Emma shot back.
"Whatever, Obaa-San." Sasuke shrugged.
Emma's shoulders stiffened. "Did that have one 'a' or two?" She asked quietly.
"How many do you think?" Sasuke asked her.
"As many as you wanna make it," Emma said threateningly. "You never could beat me, Sasuke-Kun…" She said, and quite suddenly she wasn't standing in front of Sasuke anymore but, in fact, right behind him, with one arm wrapped around his waist and the other hand holding a kunai to his throat. "I win again." She whispered in his ear.
Sasuke stared straight ahead, at the spot between a stunned Sakura and smiling Naruto. "How is it that you're not dead, Emma-San?" He wanted to know.
Emma's expression clouded over for the briefest of seconds, before she smiled again. "Just lucky I guess." She said, letting go of Sasuke and returning her kunai to its holster. "How is it that you're now taller than I am, Sasuke-Kun?"
"Just lucky I guess." He replied.
And then Sakura must've blinked or something, because when she looked again Emma was hugging Sasuke…or Sasuke was hugging Emma…well, either way, they were embracing like long-lost friends, and Sakura was left standing there feeling more confused than ever, until Emma pulled away from Sasuke and said: "Kakashi-San should be showing up any second now…hopefully then he'll be able to tell me why I'm here."
"You mean you dunno?" Asked Naruto, who had come over to join them and left Sakura standing by herself.
Emma shook her head. "No, not really. I got back last night with Sensei, and…"
"Sensei?" Sasuke interrupted her.
"Yes, the person who got me out of Konoha that night and took me travelling whilst training me to use my abilities properly," Emma confirmed. "We went to all sorts of places – to Suna, Kiri, Taki! We even went all the way to Kika Island once…"
"Kika Island?" Naruto repeated.
"You bet!" Emma grinned. "I'm really well-travelled now. Anyway, so I'd heard that Sasuke had been killed at the Great Naruto Bridge, so I urged Sensei to…"
"Killed?" Sakura spoke up.
"Is there an echo in here?" Emma wondered, and Sakura's Inner-Self got annoyed. "Anyway, I guess I should have known by now how hard it would be for someone like Haku to kill someone like Sasuke…"
"Meaning?" Naruto wanted to know but, just then, another thought struck him. "Hey, Emma – where's Fira?" He asked, referring to Emma's black cat and familiar. Emma had named the blue-eyed cat Fira, much to the amusement of everyone else.
Emma sighed. Her eyes were downcast.
Both Sasuke and Naruto reached out hands of support to clasp her shoulders.
Sakura was still watching the scene, feeling slightly annoyed but, just then, there was a cloud of smoke, and the silver-haired Kakashi-Sensei appeared.
There was a black cat on his shoulder, clearly reading the book that Kakashi always carried around with him, and she looked up, her blood-red eyes boring holes into Emma.
"This is the great Copycat Kakashi we keep hearing about?" She said, springing lightly from Kakashi's shoulder and landing in front of a clearly startled Sakura. "Then again, he's not nearly as bad as your Sensei is, Emma, so I guess we can live with him."
"I don't know what you're talking about, Aquamarine," Emma said, looking up at the sky stubbornly. "There's nothing wrong with Sensei and, besides, I don't think we'll have to get used to Kakashi at all, seeing as how we won't be staying."
"What!?" Naruto cried in disbelief. "But you just got back here, Emma-Chan!"
"I know, Naruto," Emma shrugged. "But I came back under the impression that Sasuke was dead."
"Jeez, thanks." Sasuke said sarcastically.
"You misjudge her, Sasuke-San," The unaptly named red-eyed cat said angrily, springing lightly onto her mistress' shoulder. "She came back under the impression that she was going to be joining this team, Your team, Team Seven!"
"What!?" Sakura exclaimed.
Emma nodded. "That is what Sensei said."
"And none of you," Aquamarine said fiercely. "Have the right to complain about it!"
"I wasn't complaining," Naruto said stubbornly. "I'd love to be on the same team as Emma, she could teach us all kinds of cool stuff, cause' she's our senior and all."
"She…is?" Sakura looked doubtfully at the girl who was shorter than she was, and now scratching the black cat behind the ear.
"You see, Emma is actually three years older than all of you," Kakashi said matter-of-factly, half engrossed in his book and half watching Aquamarine take a swipe at Naruto's face with her claws. "Doesn't matter anyway, the arrangement still stands. Looks like I'll have the world's first ever four-man squad." He added, but Sakura was the only one who had heard.
"What happened to Fira, Emma-Chan?" Naruto complained, hiding behind Sasuke to escape from the black cat's claws. "I liked Fira…"
"My cat is a spirit cat, surely I told you this my dear," Emma said, calmly holding Aquamarine by the scruff of her neck away from Naruto's face. "At any given time, she will die either by the flame or by the water, and rise with the opposite to die by that same one. Kinda like a phoenix. Fira died in a flood a few months ago, and was reborn in flames here as Aquamarine, who will die by flames. So, she's got the water attributes this time around, and Sensei was helping me to train her to walk on water!" Emma said proudly.
"I am the Messiah." Aquamarine said seriously.
"You're a demon!" Naruto exclaimed. "Who the heck has red eyes anyway!? No offence Emma-Chan, Kakashi-Sensei and Sasuke…on second thought, don't count Sasuke…"
"Oi, you three," Kakashi called, and Naruto, Sasuke and Emma all looked up. "If you've finished talking amongst yourselves, then I've got to tell you something. I've signed you all up for the Chunnin Exams this year so you'd better start preparing for it now! Oh, and also Emma's the fourth member of this squad."
"I'm the what!?" Emma cried, at the same time that Naruto and Sasuke said: "She's the what!?"
"You all heard me," Kakashi said patiently. "Look, it's the will of the Hokage that Emma becomes a member of this team, regardless to how much it upsets the general balance of how things are done here…"
Emma was nodding. "Oh, well…I guess if Sandaime-Hokage wishes it, it can't be helped. It must be done." She smiled.
"Actually," Kakashi said, looking at her briefly. "I was talking about the other Hokage…" He spoke very quietly. "It was Yondaime-Hokage's will…"
Emma gasped, and her free hand flew to the headband that made her a Leaf Village ninja. "Minato-Sama?" She whispered.
Kakashi nodded. "That's right."
"I'll do it!" Emma declared suddenly, punching the air with her fist. "For Konoha!"
"Okay, but do it quietly, okay?" Kakashi said, holding up the application forms.
"Okay." Emma whispered.
Naruto laughed, Kakashi might've smiled (who knows?) and Sakura just rolled her eyes.
But she felt more than a little confused when Sasuke smiled.
The thing I wanna know… Sakura thought, a little sadly. Is how Sasuke and this girl – this Emma – know each other…