Chapter Six: Turncoat
Konohagakure no Sato (The Village Hidden in the Leaves), Fire Country
Tamaki rolled over and stretched, finding the clock on the nightstand and reading the time. He sat up, a little surprised that he had slept in so late, and surveyed the room. Shippo had never been particularly girly, but looking at her room, you wouldn't even know a girl lived in the house. Tamaki collected his clothes off the floor and dressed before going in search of Shippo.
He found her in the kitchen with her cousin, Kubiwa and his mother, Hana, who greeted Tamaki warmly the moment she saw him. Tamaki loved the Inuzukas; their loud natures, their wild senses of humor, and most of all, their eagerness to welcome people into their home and treat them like family.
"Did you have fun at the festival last night?" Hana asked, putting a plate of eggs, toast, and salmon at the empty seat of the table and beckoning Tamaki to it. He sat and an additional bowl of miso soup and cup of tea were given to him without him asking for them.
Tamaki nodded in answer to Hana's question before turning to Kubiwa, "Did you just get in this morning? Any news on Kurohi?"
The bags under Kubiwa's eyes said enough about how long the Inuzuka's night had been, but he answered, "Our squad was dismissed this morning. We couldn't find anything."
"Dad's on the tracking team out looking now," Shippo put in.
"The only reason you're not dead this morning, Hyuuga," Kubiwa added.
Shippo elbowed her older cousin. "Nothing happened," she insisted, her tone suggesting that she and Kubiwa had been having this conversation all morning.
Hana chuckled, and shooed her son out of his chair, "Go get some sleep." As Kubiwa left the kitchen, Hana turned her attention to Shippo, "Hurry and finish eating. You're in charge of feeding the puppies today."
"Chou, sweetie, it's time to get up," Ino called through her daughter's door. When she got no response, she sighed and opened the door. "Your breakfast is getting cold." When the little lump on her bed still didn't stir, Ino clicked her tongue and put a hand on Chou to shake her awake. The little girl was burning up, the sheets around her soaked with sweat, and Ino gasped as the blood drained from her face.
"We're not criticizing you…"
Naruto raised an eyebrow at the two Konoha Elders in his office, "Except that's exactly what you're doing."
"The festival should have been cancelled. It's as simple as that. Now we're dealing with thirteen more outbreaks of this new disease, and we can't help but feel that it's due to a lapse in judgment on your part, Hokage-sama," the second Elder stated bluntly, in stark contrast to the more tactful first.
At his desk on the other side of the office, Shikamaru said nothing. The newly infected patients weren't just from Konoha, but visitors from the surrounding villages as well, and the whole incident was turning into a public relations nightmare. Now the Fire daimyou was calling for an explanation, while the villages' kages were questioning the Hokage's leadership skills for the first time since Naruto took the position. Even Gaara had sent a diplomatically-worded letter.
"We stand at the edge of what could be the first closed-border relationship with our neighboring countries in fifty years, and while Konoha appears to be taking this… plague in stride, the rest of the shinobi villages are terrified," the second Elder went on while the other kept his head bowed uncomfortably.
"Konoha isn't responsible for the actions of a terrorist organization," Naruto defended.
"The point of the matter, Hokage-sama, is that we are under biological attack, and you chose to not only encourage the citizens to flood into the streets for the day, but to also invite outsiders into our village, knowing that they were at risk."
"I've said it several times already," Naruto argued, "We will not be controlled by fear of these crazy people. I have carried on the traditions of the five previous Hokage, and that includes not giving in to the threats of criminals."
"And where was that zero-tolerance policy when Uchiha Sasuke was at large?" the Elder bit back.
Naruto's temper flared, "I know you were against putting a monster in the Hokage's office back when Tsunade made the announcement, but if you're trying to use the compassion I had for my friend in my youth as a way to make me look bad…!"
"Naruto," Shikamaru interrupted, the informal use of his name pulling the Hokage back to himself. With Naruto calming down, Shikamaru turned to the Elders, "Since this conversation has strayed from the subject at hand, we have no choice but to assume that you have nothing more to say on it. The Hokage is not required to explain himself to you; this being the case, please show yourself out."
Masayoshi was only vaguely aware of the blonde following him. She was silent—unusually so, even for a ninja. She blended in, and if he hadn't known she was with him, he might not have noticed her pursuit at all. The day before had gone well; as soon as they managed to make it safely out of Konoha, they could declare the mission a success. He continued down the busy main street, heedless of his partner until he realized that she was suddenly no longer following him.
Mei panted as she clung to a lamppost, that familiar, dreaded cold feeling washing over her, but doing nothing to dull the pain that tore through every nerve in her body. She was dimly aware of the attention she was drawing—the exact opposite of what she and her partner needed at the moment—but being able to feel every cell in her body dying, she was unable to care much. She pushed her agony to the back of her mind while she prepared another dose of her medicine. She knew she wasn't due for another dose yet, and taking more than she had planned to need would mean not having enough for the rest of the journey. This was a bridge she would cross when she got to it.
"Is she okay?" asked a concerned villager to Masayoshi, who had come to her side to help her support her own weight.
"She's fine," Masayoshi told the nosey crowd, despite the fact that he didn't actually know that she was okay. "Don't stand there and stare, give her some privacy," he ordered then, and everyone instantly went about their business. To his left, he felt Meiwaku give herself the injection, followed shortly after by a spike in her temperature. "Can you make it?" he asked.
She nodded, and stood on shaking legs. Convinced her strength was back for the moment, she bowed her head, "Thank you." The Kurohi duo went on their way, quickly making for the edge of the village.
"There has to be a way around it," Shou muttered thoughtfully.
"There isn't," Kakashi told him authoritatively. "Trust me, there isn't. The only way to move on to the next level is to witness the death of the person you're closest to."
Shou mussed his hair, aggrieved. "Then what am I supposed to do? I've practically mastered every variation of Chidori—even Raiden!" Calming down, Shou sighed, "I know it probably seems silly that I'm so worried, but I can't stand the thought of not being strong enough to protect the people I care about."
"There's no shame in wanting to get stronger," Kakashi told him. "But maybe instead of striving for the Mangekyo Sharingan, you should gain knowledge of as many other techniques as you can. There's an opening for a Copy-nin in this village—I am retired, after all."
"No offense, but I'd like to make a name of my own. Not just be The Copy Ninja Part Two."
"I hear they call you Fearsome Pink."
The younger man groaned. "Don't remind me." Shou adjusted his jounin vest and turned to leave. "I'm supposed to meet up with Suma and Kiiro for dinner, so I'm gonna go grab a shower before then. See you, Shishou." Behind him, Shou heard Kakashi disappear, and knew that there was a puff of smoke where the ex-ninja had been. Rubbing a sore shoulder, Shou left the training field as well, coming to the main road before long. The street was busy, as was usual given the time of day, so Shou moved swiftly through the river of people, nit paying much attention to any of them. He didn't notice the two tan-cloaked Kurohi members as they passed him, but he did notice the red-clad chuunin following them.
Falling into step beside her, he asked, "Where are you going, Ai?"
She scowled at him, but her eyes betrayed her startlement. "Keep your voice down," she whispered. "See those two up there? They're Kurohi."
"Why didn't you alert?!"
"I don't want to risk getting the villagers harmed. I'm going to follow them outside the village before I engage them."
"Negative," ordered Shou, no longer her brother, but now her superior officer. "You will report to the Hokage and ask him to send backup. I will remain in pursuit."
"But I—"
"That was not a request."
Ai frowned, "Yes, Taichou." She clearly wasn't happy about it, but she compliantly fell back and took off in the other direction.
Shou stayed on their tail, and if they noticed, they didn't acknowledge him. If they did want a fight, Shou would have to stall for time, because after a day of training with Kakashi, he wouldn't be in top form. If Kurohi was anything like he was told Akatsuki had been, he might be hard-pressed to beat them even at one-hundred percent. Regardless, simply letting them escape wasn't an option.
Once outside the village, they took to the trees, and Shou let them get a little more headway before he followed suit.
Sakura looked down at the woman who had at one point been her best friend. Ino knelt beside her daughter's hospital bed, and it was clear to Sakura that the Yamanaka was fighting back tears. Aside from machines monitoring Chou's vitals, the room was silent. Sakura cleared her throat as she closed the door behind her. "Where's Chouji?"
"Mission," Ino croaked.
Sakura pursed her lips. "Well, Inoe's blood tests came back negative, so he'll be okay. I do have to prohibit visitors from seeing Chou, but if you want to stay with her, that's understandable."
"Tell me honestly, Forehead: how close are you to a cure?"
"We're not," Sakura answered solemnly, ignoring the undesirable nickname. "I promise you, I'm working around the clock on this. I haven't even been home in four days."
Ino looked back down at Chou. "She's too young to die," she murmured, running her fingers through the girl's brown hair. "Especially like this."
Sakura swallowed, not knowing what to say. What could she say? Healing cuts, mending broken bones, creating antidotes for poison—those were all things she could do, and she did them well, damn it. But watching a mother grieve her child wasn't something she handled well, and even with over twenty years as a medic under her belt, it was among her greatest fears as a healer. Leaving the room, Sakura walked the hall quickly until she came to the research lab. She would find a way to cure this disease, and that's all there was to it.
"Mom, I'm home," Tamaki called into the house as he entered. He heard footsteps approaching the foyer, but instead of Tenten, Neji appeared, and Tamaki habitually pulled up his poker face. "Good afternoon, Father."
Neji was wearing that look, the 'you're a disgrace' look that Tamaki had grown accustomed to, as it was the only expression he had seen from his father since Hitomi had activated her Byakugan. Tamaki would have liked to have said he was surprised, but he knew this was coming.
"Where have you been all morning?" asked Neji, his words clipped and precise.
"At Tai's," Tamaki lied.
"Not according to Lee. Are you suggesting he's a liar?"
"Why the sudden interest in me, Father?"
Neji's eyes narrowed slightly, but aside from that, his expression didn't change. "Did I not tell you that you were to meet with the Elders this morning?"
Tamaki recalled the morning before, when Neji had told him that the Elders wanted to speak to him at eight o'clock the next day. Tamaki didn't know what they wanted to speak to him about, but he could guess that they simply wanted to remind him that he wasn't worthy of his name, as usual. Tamaki got enough of that every other day, though, and justified skipping the conference by the fact that he hadn't actually agreed to attend. "Must have slipped my mind," Tamaki lied again.
"Do not think that the Hokage's favor will save you from them, Tamaki. They can kill you for a thought, and Naruto has no power over clan politics. His interference would only thrust the Hyuuga into war against the rest of the village," said Neji.
"I'm not just going to tiptoe around the Main Branch with my head down."
"You will if you want to keep it."
Tamaki glared at his father, "It's good to know that you would rather live on your knees than die on your feet. It saves me the trouble of having to respect you."
"Tamaki!" Neji called, but the young Hyuuga had already left, slamming the door behind him.
Forest near Konohagakure no Sato (The Village Hidden in the Leaves), Fire Country
Shou came to a sudden halt, flipping back off the branch and landing nimbly on the forest floor below. Where he had stood in the tree just moments before, the black-haired man in the tan Kurohi cloak was straightening himself after his failed attack. Sharingan ready for battle, Shou looked up at him, only to freeze on the matching crimson orbs that stared back.
"I thought I was the only one," Shou muttered to himself.
"As did I" answered Masayoshi. For the briefest moment, he was torn between finishing his mission, and comparing notes on his mysterious dojutsu with the pink-haired stranger. In the end, his better judgment won out, and he chose not to take battle advice from his enemy. He formed the seals for snake, ram, monkey, boar, horse, and tiger, and took a deep breath.
Shou dodged as a monstrous fireball engulfed the area, spring boarding off a tree trunk and hurtling himself at Masayoshi, his hand alight with the chidori. This time it was Masayoshi's turn to dodge, and he landed in a crouch on a branch a few yards away. Huffing with the effort, Shou dislodged his fist from the tree where Masayoshi had been standing. He couldn't do this much longer—not with this little chakra. He had maybe one more chidori's worth left, and then he was sure to pass out from exaustion. He hid his fatigue from his opponent, silently willing help to arrive sooner.
Suddenly the blonde woman, who Shou cursed himself for forgetting about, came at him from the right. Through his Sharingan, Shou could see chakra black as death surrounding her hand. He swung from his perch, gracefully leaping to a new tree. Looking back, the tree where he had been was turning black from the woman's touch, and he watched it dies before his eyes. She looked to him with cold eyes, and he would have believed that she was death itself.
Shou stood trapped between the two, his only options being to use what was left of his chakra with the hope of taking one of them out, the exhaustion of which leaving him vulnerable to the other and most definitely facilitating the surviving criminal's escape. His other option was to run away and allow both of them to escape, which was out of the question from the onset. Lastly, he could keep dodging and hope that they didn't figure out that he was holding out for backup. Even that didn't seem like a good idea, but it was the best of the three evils, so he poised himself to avoid whatever might come at him next.
In the next moment, they were joined by a fourth person, and Shou looked at his little sister with equal parts relief and anger—she was not supposed to have been allowed to fight these people, but he was glad to finally have a comrade, and if Ai was there, others would be soon. Ai came to stand beside him and looked at him expectantly.
"That one has the Sharingan," he briefed her. "Aside from that, I don't really know what he can do. She can kill things with a touch, so you might want to watch out for that." That out of the way, he asked, "How long until backup is supposed to arrive?"
"Oh, they're not coming," Ai said, and Shou blanched.
"What?!" he demanded, not taking his eyes off of either adversary.
Ai grinned, "They weren't needed. After all, it's three to one."
"Three to o—hrk?!" Shou sputtered as Ai hit the back of his neck, and he instantly felt his body go numb. He slunk down, but his crouched position kept him from falling off the limb. "Why…?" he managed to choke out.
"I'm sick of taking orders from you, Taichou," Ai spat. "And I'm sick of being treated like the next Orochimaru by the villagers. If they're going to treat me like the villain, then I'm going to give them a reason to." Ai propped a foot on her brother's back, teetering him toward the edge of the branch. "And now, Niisan, die—that is not a request," she mocked cruelly before giving him the final push needed for his limp body to fall to the ground below.
Shou could feel himself blacking out, and knew that if he had sensation in the rest of his body, he'd be in the most pain of his life right then. In the trees above him, Shou watched Ai leave with the two Kurohi members before unconsciousness finally took him.
A/N: Given the current events in the manga, I'd just like to clear some things up:
Being a fanficiton, this is (obviously) not canon. Its history follows canon up to the beginning of the Shinobi War arc, but it's based on my predicted outcome of the war, and as such, certain characters are still alive, and certain other characters are dead, regardless of their status in the manga.