Ah, half term, a week of no school. This chapter took longer than I thought it would.
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To some, two groups of people meeting up in front of a rock is just a coincidence. Less so when the rock has a piece of paper saying 'forbidden' on it. And even less so when everyone knows someone else from the other group.
"Gaara's in there, it's just a huge cave with a strange statue," Neji confirmed. While checking he had noticed something weird about his surroundings, but couldn't put his finger on it. He dismissed it as something to check out later.
They watched Sakura try to punch the rock in, only for her to be stopped by an invisible shield just centimetres from the actual rock and bounced backwards over the water that lined the rock wall.
"And that is why you don't run in head first," Kakashi tutted. "The seal's blocking the rock. We need to find the other seals, and then they need to be removed at the exact same time"
"Wow that's complicated," Mu piped up, wading towards them.
"It's too dangerous for you to be here, you should leave and go back to finding your grandma's house"
"How come my cousin's here then?" Mu asked, looking pointedly at Psi who had been trying to keep below the others notice.
"She shouldn't be here either, but she did help us fight out battle, she could actually help us," Neji said, defending Psi's presence. Despite the fact they hadn't actually been fighting Kisame, it had still showed Psi was skilled enough for them to respect her.
"If she can help then so can I. You were saying the seal covers the rock. Why not make your own entrance, find out how far the seal extends and punch a hole next to it?"
There was silence as people thought this idea over, it did make sense. It was just thinking outside of the box.
"It could take a while though," Naruto reasoned. He needed to help Gaara.
"It's also less likely to be booby trapped, morons," Mu grumbled. "Why put an entrance that's kinda obvious if you don't booby trap it? They want us to find the seals and it would probably result in someone dying or at least separating us to make us weaker"
"What made you so insightful?"
"It's what I would do-"
"-and has done, I remember the fire seal you put on your 'hideout'," Psi said with a glare.
"Right then, Sakura, work with Neji to find a place to bust through but don't until I say," Kakashi ordered. "The rest of you make sure you tend to any problems now"
-
Inside the cave nine figures each stood on one of ten figures that made up most of a huge statue. Only two of theses figures were corporeal, the rest looked like low tech silhouettes of the people they represented but they still could be identified by someone who had met them.
In the middle of the cave lay Gaara, a pink glowing cloud of energy surrounded him, trailing into the main part of the statue. The process was almost finished, there was much wonderment on whether it would be finished before the ninjas go though. There would have been no question had they tried the forbidden seals.
Deidara stood on his stone finger thinking but still aware of the surroundings, if it came down to it, he and Sasori would have to hold them off. From Kisame and Itachi's reports there was a large group, including several very pissed of ninjas. He was sad that Max could possibly be dead, he wasn't going to believe it until he saw her dead body though. The fact that it was Itachi who seemingly killed her only confused the blond artist.
He saw part of the wall explode inwards and know the group had breached the cave. Seconds later the last remnants of the Ichibi's chakra entered the statue, the process of removing it now being complete.
Both Psi and Mu were hesitant about entering the cave, not because they were scared but because if Itachi was in there then their cover would be blown. It would probably be easier to leave now, there were too many risks now. It wasn't as if the clones could do much now.
-
When Max felt her control slipping she knew she had to get them out of there soon anyway, both had managed to loose too much chakra to sustain for to much longer. The group would have to deal with it on their own. While she knew they would survive, it hurt to not be able to help. Naruto was already taking the situation badly, both of her clones could see the emotions bubbling up in him.
Assuming she survived her self assigned missions, Max was planning to stay clear of everyone. Her supposed death would hurt all of them and finding out she had lied would make them hate her. It would be better she stayed dead to them. As a Sannin she still had her travelling rights and if her cover was blown she had a few excuses ready.
-
Outside the cave the sun was beginning to set, this gave Mu and Psi a good reason to leave, wishing the ninjas luck they headed off to their 'grandmas house'. It was easy to lie and say they had supposed to have gotten there by sun down or there would be more trouble than staying would be worth. Max dispelled them when they were out of Neji's range.
She dismissed her short time guards, they understood her motives and as ANBU they understood the situation. She could rely on their silence, ANBU honoured their own.
Lying back on the grass she looked up to the sky, she would need a brand new alias. It had occurred to her that if Laura ever heard the names of her clones there would be problems. With any luck her friends would just assume someone had heard rumours from the SGC.
She hoped Gaara was ok, she knew he was in the series but she had screwed up so much, stepping on a butterfly could change a million things. She would check up on him once her new identity was in place.
First up she needed to change her appearance, not just use a Henge, they were hard to maintain and for most of the people she knew they were easy to detect. She would need to change hair colour and length or style, as well as her eye colour. A dramatic change in wardrobe was also on her list, preferably something that covered any distinctive markings like tattoos or scars.
But first she had her emotions to deal with.
-
In Konoha there was a solemn silence in Tsunade's office as the teams reported in. The desolate looks on so many of the faces hit hard. Some of them were still hanging on to the fact she could still be alive, her body hadn't been found.
It was also why they refused to let her name be put on the KIA monument, that would just be accepting her death as fact. Max had disappeared before.
The whole village noticed the unusual calmness but not many bothered to find out why, shinobi affairs were best left alone.
Naruto and Sasuke were often found training when not on missions. The threats around them to their lives and the village had just increased tenfold. Or at least that was their excuse. They would deny any hint of a plan to hunt down and kill the traitor.
Laura and Louise didn't bother denying it. Their only draw back was lack of formal shinobi training. It didn't slow down their planning though, they were geniuses in their own right after all, they just had to be creative.
-
The very girl they were morning for hid in a cave hugging her knees and trying to stop the tears from falling. The emotions she had pushed away had returned in full force bring back all the sad memories she had. She didn't bother to try to wipe away the tears that had escaped. They would only be replaced by more. Her injuries were healing but the emotional scars would never truly fade.
While she cried for the powerful betrayal by someone she had loved, she also mourned for the bridge she had just burnt. There was no going back now.
Maxine Hakie no longer existed.
-
One month later, a girl sat on the side of the Great Naruto Bridge, her feet dangling over the water. Her face was partially obscured by the shadow of her tilted conical hat and she wore a long black jacket that draped over the back of the wall. Unless you got up close, the girl could remain anonymous and overlooked. If by chance some one paid any attention to this girl, they wouldn't think she was anything special, just a girl, possibly waiting for a friend.
They wouldn't see the many hidden weapons this girl had hidden in her clothes. They wouldn't know she was dangerous. Nor would they know that she was currently presumed dead in most of the world.
A timid woman approached the girl. The sun was barely on the horizon and the bridge was almost empty. The woman drew up to just behind the girl.
"Can you help me?" the woman asked quietly. The girl's lips curled into a smirk.
"If no one else can," she said, her voice was low, purposefully so to hide her real voice.
"Will you help me?"
"H.M. Murdock at your service." The girl removed her hat, revealing dull red hair, she turned to face the woman who gaped in surprise.
"You're so young!"
"I hear you need help with getting your produce to Port City." The girl said ignoring the woman's statement. It had been surprisingly easy to make herself look younger without illusions if only by a bit.
"The last few journeys have resulted in bandits, anytime I try to hire someone the bandits bribe them away"
"You won't have that problem with me, they couldn't give what I want. When do we leave?" The girl almost seemed sad but the woman didn't ask, she doubted the girl would share.
-
At the same time in Konoha, news had reached them about and attack on the Fire Temple and a team had been dispatched to investigate and track down the culprits.
It was shear coincidence that lead part of the team to waiting outside the bounty station that was on the same path from Land of Waves to Port City.
A woman and a red haired girl walked down the path a mule pulled cart in tow. They were planning to get passed the next rest stop before their next breaks. Rest stops were easy targets for bandits.
At about the same time that Hidan exited the building the woman and girl came into sight of the building and people outside. The two were chatting about what ever came to mind. Neither of them realised the danger until they got closer. The woman could see the girl wanted to go ahead but her dedication to her job stopped it.
"Do you know them?" the woman asked quietly. They hadn't been noticed yet and the woman wanted to keep it that way. She also had seen the girl she was with was a good fighter but against so many people, and seemingly high level too, the woman wasn't so sure.
"I know of them, Konoha ninjas and a member of the Akatsuki from the looks of the cloak, one of the ninjas is or was a guardian of the fire temple." The girl ignored the impressed look from the woman. Information gathering wasn't hard with her job.
"Who do you think will win?"
"Depends on what you mean by win. The Akatsuki member is rumoured to be immortal, but immortal doesn't mean he can't be defeated"
The two stood and watched the fight, the woman knew she wouldn't be able to help even if she wanted to. The girl knew she couldn't risk showing off he techniques until she had settled on a fighting style. So they both kept out of sight. The girl noticed another Akatsuki member exit he building.
"Who's the other guy?" the woman asked.
"Partner, I don't know too much about him, he's also pretty hard to kill though," the girl stated.
"Could you kill them?"
"I wouldn't know until I fight them, should that ever occur"
Something drew them to pay attention as the first Akatsuki member's skin changed into black with white accents and he drew a symbol in blood on the floor just as the area around him exploded.
As the fight drew on Shikamaru managed to drag Hidan out of the symbol while Asuma managed to slice right through his neck severing the head form the body.
The girl could not hold still any long, she discarded her hat and jacket and darted forward, running low and fast. She grabbed the head as she slid passed as if she were playing baseball. She winced slightly wishing she wasn't wearing a skirt but if she had kept running it would have left her back exposed. Before her momentum ran out she shifted her weight and legs to leap up into a fighting stance facing the group.
"What do you think you are doing?" the head asked the girl.
The girl almost dropped the head in surprise.
"Oh, great it talks," she muttered. "I'm getting revenge"
"By killing me?" The head looked amused at the mere thought.
"No, I know you're immortal but while your head is separate from your body you can't do anything." The girl looked up to see everyone was staring at her. "How about while I detain the head you do something about the other guy?"
The girl hid her uneasiness when Shikamaru narrowed his eyes as if he was trying to see something she was hiding. She almost regretted her actions, she would have to control her impulses if she was to keep her identity low key.
"Why do you want revenge?" the head asked. The girl shook it around a bit, if the head could then it probably would have puked.
"Any other questions?" the girl asked smiling cruelly. "No? I'll take my leave then" Before anyone realised she was leaving she had disappeared from sight. She sent a clone to the woman she was protecting while she suppressed her presence. Her clone had been made to look similar to the woman so they could pass as sisters. They walked around the edge of the still stunned group.
The girl joined up when they were well out of sight. The head was no where to be seen as the girl had sealed it in a scroll. The girl slipped her jacket back on but only held her hat.
"What's the deal with the head then?" the woman asked.
"I made a promise to protect someone, that someone will be hunted down by the Akatsuki. My solution is obvious, I take the organization down bit by bit. My possession of the head had effectively taken down one of them."
"Why didn't you kill the other one then?"
"As I said I don't know much about him. Until I do I will let him be"
"You're a strange girl"
--
Despite Max having a new alias she will still be referred to as Max or Murdock in later chapters.
Points to anyone who can name the series I got the new alias from, if you get it right I'll give you a shout out character in a later chapter, you have until I get then next chapter out.
MinibooExtreme is however excluded from this as I know she already knows as I discussed this with her.
I also have a drawing of the new alias, link in my profile.
Please review