Chapter Three: Kurohi

Kinenhi Cemetery, Port City, Fire Country
Kobayashi Masayoshi stared sadly at the new grave, the one where his mother now rested. The funeral had been small and peaceful, just as his mother would have preferred it, but Masayoshi couldn't bring himself to leave even after the handful of guests had already gone home. Masayoshi looked to the sky; the sun shone happily, and he couldn't help but feel like it was mocking him.

"Sorry about your mother."

Masayoshi glanced at the blond man who wore the tan cloak with the black sun on his back. This was not his first time seeing the man. He sighed, "I suppose you've come to ask again."

The Kurohi-cloaked man nodded, and Masayoshi sighed again, suggesting they speak elsewhere.

They went to a teashop, overlooking the bay, where ships and sailors went about their merry business, unaware that there was a scout from a dangerous organization watching them from a nearby teashop. Not that any of them interested the Kurohi recruiter, anyway.

"The offer still stands. Nobu-sama's even willing to increase the offered salary if you'll join Kurohi."

Masayoshi stared impassively at the horizon. "The timing is interesting."

"What?"

"The day of my mother's funeral, I mean. You come to collect me nearly once a week for a month, and then I don't see you for months while my mother is sick. As soon as she dies, though, here you are." Masayoshi didn't let his face betray anything, "I know he did this to her, your Nobu-sama."

The blond chuckled, "Close. It was not Nobu-sama who infected your mother, but it was someone working under him. If Nobu-sama had known your mother had contracted it, he'd have sent a dose of the antidote your way."

"I'm supposed to believe that it was all a misunderstanding?"

"If Nobu-sama had done it on purpose, one would think he'd have used the antidote as a bargaining chip."

Masayoshi had to admit that there was logic in that. The whole thing still seemed suspicious, though.

"If you want your revenge, though, Nobu-sama is willing to make his employee answer for what she did."

Masayoshi stood, "I can be ready to leave in an hour."

Hozuki home, Wave Country
Haru yawned as he reclined on the porch of the Hozuki household. The door behind him was open, and inside, he could hear his partner, Eana, bustling around. He scratched a fishy ear and yawned again, louder.

"Shut up," he heard her mutter. A few minutes later, she emerged from the house with a bag slung over her shoulder, closing the door behind her.

"Please tell me you're ready. We're already late."

Hozuki Eana rolled her eyes, "Yeah, yeah, I'm ready. Not that I care if we're late or not. I don't answer to Nobu."

"Oh, you with this 'half-member' bullshit," he growled, standing to follow her out of the city and toward the Great Naruto Bridge. "It's just wishy-washy, and if you get caught by the Shinobi Alliance, you're still a criminal."

"Are you finished?"

Haru ran a hand through his purple hair and muttered something Eana couldn't hear. As they got into Fire Country, he started to complain about being hungry.

Miyamoto Nobu stared at a torch across the cave from him, reflecting. "Twenty years… But now, only a little longer, and I will take what is rightfully mine," he murmured. "That stupid Orochimaru couldn't get it done. That's what he gets for putting the Sharingan in such high regard."

"Nobu-sama, Yomane is on his way with Kobayashi Masayoshi," announced Aome as he entered with two females.

"Perfect," Nobu answered. "Meiwaku, you will be Masayoshi-kun's partner. You remember your orders?"

The blonde woman, Meiwaku, nodded in the affirmative.

"Good. It's time," Nobu whispered.

Konohagakure no Sato (The Village Hidden in the Leaves), Fire Country
Sara smiled at the cashier and wished him a nice day, collecting her bag of groceries and heading out of the store. Balancing the bag on her hip, she pushed on the glass door, but it felt inordinately heavy. And then she noticed that her vision was blurring and her breathing was coming in heavy gasps. The next thing anyone knew, she was on the floor, unconscious.

Across Konoha, five civilians and two other medic-nin also collapsed, all eight showing similar symptoms to the ones the comatose ANBU displayed. And, with Sara ill and Ai back on active mission duty, Sakura had no choice but to enlist Shizune in the fight against the unknown illness.

"So, aside from blood tests, there's no way to track the disease, and no known cure?" The hokage looked over the two medics before him, his brow furrowed in thought.

Shizune shuffled the papers, written on which was everything she and Sakura had been able to observe about the disease. Unfortunately, there wasn't much there.

Sakura cleared her throat, "We're not even completely sure what this… thing is. We've begun referring to it as Parasitic Chakra Disease. It seems to eat away at a person's chakra, and if Patient Fifteen is any indicator, it will eventually start on their life energies when they run out of chakra to feed it."

Naruto growled under his breath, "And you don't know how to prevent it from spreading?"

"Keeping outside contact to a minimum is always the best option, since we don't know exactly how it spreads yet," supplied Shizune.

"Our best guess is that it's airborne," Sakura added. "But anyone who came in contact with any of the corpses from the ANBU platoon slaughter might be at risk as well."

Naruto looked carefully at Sakura, "Including you?"

"We checked Sakura's blood," Shizune put in. "There wasn't any indication that she was infected."

"And Ai-chan?"

Sakura bit her lip, "We'll be testing her and her team as soon as they get back. I just hope she doesn't get sick while she's away."

"Should we put out a warning to the villagers?" Shizune asked.

Naruto hesitated, turning his attention to his advisor, who had been completely silent during the medics' visit. "What do you think, Shikamaru?"

The Nara frowned. "If the villagers are aware of this new disease, they may panic, and then we could end up with riots. If we do not tell them, however, they won't be cautious of the disease and it will spread more quickly." Shikamaru took a breath, "Regardless, I believe it would be wisest to keep it a secret until we know more about it."

Naruto grunted. Shikamaru was his level-headed advisor who wasn't swayed by emotion, but Naruto's conscience could not allow him to lie to the people he was supposed to be protecting. "You know I value your opinion, Shikamaru, but I can't do that to the civilians or the shinobi. Sakura, make sure all of the medics are tested in the next day, and tomorrow announce that testing for the villagers is open. Shinobi are priority, of course, but I don't want anyone slipping through the cracks or being considered unimportant."

Sakura bowed and excused herself, Shizune in tow. They had a lot to get done and they had to act fast if the intended to stop what could potentially end up being the worst epidemic in history.

Hatake Kakashi, once known and feared as the Copy Ninja of Konoha, had recently retired. In his advanced years, he now spent even more hours a day reading Icha Icha, a series which had died with its writer twenty years prior. In his retirement, Kakashi had attempted to continue the series on, but found he had no talent for prose. Also, there was something much less fun about writing Icha Icha rather than reading it. He wanted to go back on active duty, or at least go back to teaching; life as a retiree was far too boring.

There was a knock on his door, and Kakashi stood from his threadbare couch to see who was visiting him. It could have been Gai, he supposed, but the knock was not accompanied by 'youthful' shouting, so Kakshi doubted this. He finally got to the door and opened it to find Haruno Shouichi, once his apprentice, now a jounin.

"Good afternoon, Shishou."

Kakashi beckoned the eldest Haruno child into his home and closed the door behind him. "Hello, Shou. To what do I owe the visit?"

"I was thinking about that ANBU massacre…"

Kakashi raised an eyebrow, "Glad you chose not to apply now?"

The pink-haired eighteen-year-old frowned. "I'm serious. There's something bad coming. I know everyone else can feel it, too, but nobody wants to talk about it."

"Shou, not everyone wants to face their fears and insecurities head-on like you. Some of us just want some peace for as long as we can keep it." Kakashi leaned against the wall and glanced out the window. "But you're right. There is definitely someone or something up to no good out there."

"That's why I want to start up training again."

Kakashi blinked at his apprentice, "You're certain?"

"You said once that there are other levels I can reach. I don't like it, but if I have to do this to keep my family safe, I will. And besides, I have a right to—"

Kakashi waved a dismissive hand, "No need to convince me. I've been looking for something to keep me occupied."

"Good. We'll meet tomorrow at the old training field. How does five sound?"

"You don't ever sleep in, do you?" Kakashi sighed, "Fine, five it is."

Hidden Kurohi base, Mt. Ougonyama, Stone Country
It had taken over a day to get there, but Yomane and Masayoshi had finally arrived. Masayoshi had remained impassive to everything throughout their entire journey, and Yomane found his unchanging expression unnerving. He didn't enjoy not being able to read people.

Nobu received Masayoshi with open arms, and a satisfied smile. The old man had been collecting warriors for years, and with the addition of the last living descendant of the Uchiha clan, his collection was complete.

"He wants to speak to Mei," Yomane put in just after introductions were made, but before business could be discussed.

"Ah, of course. She's been waiting," Nobu nodded before beckoning to the woman, standing in the shadows. "Meiwaku, come forward and accept your punishment."

Mei approached them calmly and knelt before Masayoshi. Nobu appeared to have planned this all along, but even if not, her purpose had been served, and if Nobu asked that she die so that he could convince the sharingan-user to join him, she would gladly accept this fate. It was the least she could do after all Nobu had done for her.

"Look at me," Masayoshi commanded, and the blonde woman instantly complied. Masayoshi looked her in the eyes for a moment before turning to Nobu. "This is the person who killed my mother?" he asked.

"Meiwaku's body produces a poison that causes those around her to become sick," Nobu explained. "I created a cure for the illness many years ago, when I first met Meiwaku. Unfortunately, she is also slowly dying from her own poison, and my vaccine does not work on her."

"She is dying?"

"Slowly and painfully, Masayoshi-san," Nobu murmured softly. "She has perhaps a year left to live."

The Uchiha heir sighed and closed his eyes. "I will not have the blood of a dying woman on my hands," he said.

"Very kind of you, Masayoshi-san. Meiwaku, go take your medicine." As soon as Mei had left the room, Nobu gestured for his guest to take a seat. "Now, about my offer from before…"

"I'll do it."

Nobu was a little surprised by this. "You will? May I ask what changed your mind?"

"My mother is dead. I don't have anyone else to live for, and I find myself to be an inadequate master," Masayoshi expounded. "Perhaps with Kurohi, I can find a purpose."

"Purpose is what we strive for, Masayoshi-san."

Mei's breath was labored as she used the stone wall of the cave to support her weight. She was cold. So cold. In her hand, she clutched the vial of her medicine, a dose that had to be injected twice daily just to hold off the symptoms. Of course, her disease would not kill her nearly as quickly as it did everyone else who came in contact with it, but she knew she would die soon. Had Nobu's guess been right? She had only a year now?

She held back a sob as she injected the burning liquid from her syringe into her thigh. Within a few minutes, the freezing cold in her veins was replaced by the boiling heat of the medication. She pressed her body closer to the cool stone and closed her eyes as she caught her breath.

"You look like you had a wild night, Mei."

Mei cracked an eye open and glanced at the girl who had spoken to her. "You know me… I'm a party animal," Mei muttered lethargically.

Botan laughed, "If that animal's a sloth, maybe." The shackles that Botan still wore on her wrists jingled as she gestured toward the door Mei had just come through. "Is Nobu-sama busy in there?"

"Kobayashi Masayoshi has just arrived."

"Really? Is he cute?" asked Botan. When Mei's only response was a furrowed brow, the escapee laughed again. "Well, then I'll just leave reporting in to Aome. He's Nobu-sama's favorite, anyway." The brunette turned on her heel, "See ya!"

A/N: A lot of characters in this one.

Masayoshi is Itachi's son. Itachi was near death, and knew that his final battle with Sasuke was drawing near. He also knew that Sasuke had left Konoha to join Orochimaru, and suspected the Tobi would try to recruit Sasuke. Itachi, ever one with a backup plan, entered into an agreement with a woman from a sister clan to the Uchiha, the purpose of which was to have an heir to the Uchiha clan just in case Sasuke didn't end up having any children. To protect himself and his mother, Masayoshi goes by his mother's family name, Kobayashi, instead of Uchiha.

Arasho Yomane is the financial support of Kurohi. Though he is a skilled fighter with a powerful kekkei genkai, he usually stays out of the action and sticks to running errands. When put in teams of two, Yomane's partner is Oru.

Ringo Haru was one of the newly-reformed Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist before defecting. He is the wielder of the set of twin swords known as Kiba or Thunderswords. When put in teams of two, Haru's partner is Eana.

Hōzuki Eana is the daughter of Hōzuki Suigetsu, and as such has been trained to be proficient with any blade she should happen to get her hands on. Not actually being born into Kirigakure, however, she has no hands-on experience with the Seven Swords specifically.

Miyamoto Nobu is the founder of Kurohi. His goals are unclear as of yet, but he seeks to gain something he believes was taken from him.

Meiwaku is a loyal follower of Nobu, whose very presence has killed everyone around her in the past. Her name means "nuisance," and was given to her by the rogue ninja who taught her ninjutsu for nearly a year before dying.

Haruno Shouichi, 18, is the eldest son of Sakura and Sai, and the apprentice of Kakashi. He was recently promoted to jounin. As a genin, he was on a team with Kiiro and Sarutobi Suma under the supervision of Nara Shikamaru.

Botan is an escaped prisoner from Iwagakure. When put in teams of two, Botan's partner is Aome.

I thank those of you who are reading this labor of love of mine. Favorites are just as appreciated as reviews.