By Smertios
Author's Notes: Er yeah… I was writing a story, wasn't I? Chalk one point down to laziness and the never-ending frustration of the college application process. So shoot me. If I'm not accepted into any of my schools of choice, its worse than not finishing this fic, so I may disappear for a month while I try to finish up my applications. Luckily, after that most of my time-consuming activities are over with.
I won't be answering any questions in this one so that I can finish this before the end of the day and get it out of the door before Thanksgiving is over. Questions will be answered in the next one (which I'll get a start on by Sunday and will have finished some time between next Sunday and the time that winter break starts).
So… Without further ado, the first real story-arc of Seeking a Center.
Disclaimer: Not mind. Protected speech since I make no money. So on, so forth. Let's just assume that this applies from here on in and stop wasting my time with these stupid things, right? Glad we could agree on that.
- - - - - - - - - -
Chapter 7: Politics'Economy,
technology, does it really work?
The guy running the government's
another jerk
Try to teach some values and they all erode
away
You're lucky if they listen to a single word you say.'
Bad Religion: Politics
- - - - - - - - - -
(Somewhere on the road)
"Dumbass, stop pestering Oshima-sama and get back to patrolling our left flank!"
Sasuke's loud complaint broke through the crisp, morning air of the hushed forest, disturbing nearby birds. "N- No, it's quite alright Sasuke-kun, Naruto's questions are a nice distraction from the monotony of the road."
Oshima Keisuke, lord of the Kitashi precinct, was a dignified old man whose kindness towards Naruto was driving Sasuke mad. The fact that Naruto had quickly attached himself to the man and was clearly learning a lot from the man was all that kept Sasuke from murdering him.
"I'm sorry, Oshima-sama, but Naruto needs to return to his duties."
"Kakashi-sensei! If anyone was coming in this fog we'd hear them far before we saw them."
Kakashi sighed and motioned at Naruto to return to his patrol. Naruto pouted for a moment, but he went off to work without another word. In his head Naruto was fuming. 'Oshima-san knows so much about the way people think and his stories are so interesting. Doesn't Kakashi-sensei see that I am learning a lot from the man? He has so much experience! Besides which, he doesn't hate me!'
Naruto nearly had a heart attack when Hinata dropped down beside him and gave him a small smile. "Hinata, shouldn't you be on the other side?"
"I-I can see twice as far in both directions as the two of us together can see with our regular eyes."
The veins beside her eyes were all visible, and her eyes were fully activated. Naruto, knowing the chakra exhaustion that came with many eye-based bloodlines, gave Hinata a skeptical look. "Can you keep that up for long?"
She nodded. "Part of my training is working on keeping the Byakugan activated for long times so that it becomes more powerful."
Something about that statement bothered Naruto for a moment, and he struggled to put a finger on what was bothering him. A moment later, it struck him like a lead weight to the chest. "You didn't stutter!"
"I-I d-didn't?"
Naruto chuckled at Hinata's nervous response. "I'm glad, though. You don't need to be nervous around us, you know? We're your team."
Hinata flushed and looked away, and Naruto decided not to push it. "Anyway, Hinata, why would Kakashi send us out here if he knew your eyes could do better and allow us to stay together."
There was a moment of silence, and Naruto looked over to Hinata. To his surprise, she seemed to be pensive, as though she were unsure of what to say. "N-Naruto… I think that k-Kakashi-sensei is t-trying to keep you from spending too much time with Oshima-sama."
"What? Why would he do that?"
Hinata's mouth worked, and eventually the words she had been looking for came out. "Kakashi-sensei d-doesn't trust h-him. I d-don't know why, but Sensei's r-reactions to o-Oshima-sama are distrustful."
Naruto felt a frown settle on his brow, and Hinata's face became sorrowful. She began to speak, "I'm s-sor-"
"No." Naruto shook his head. Hinata's eyes filled with tears at the apparent rejection, but Naruto continued, "Don't apologize. You're right. I'm not mad at you."
Hinata nodded and remained silent. Minutes passed in silence as both shinobi paced out the path of Naruto's patrol. The tension slowly ebbed, and Naruto's shoulders relaxed slowly from the defensive position they had risen into. Hinata gave him a small smile, and, finally, Naruto began to speak again. "I just don't understand why Kakashi-sensei can't let things be. Oshima-san is one of the few people who even listen to me at all. Sensei should have just let it go; I can take care of myself."
"Kakashi-sensei has a g-good reason to distrust Oshima-sama. Members of the court a-are concerned with power and in-influence before they are concerned with people. O-Oshima-s-sama may seem nice, but he is still a threat to your well-being."
Naruto's face fell, but he fought to put it back into place. "He doesn't need to worry about me. I can take care of myself. Oshima-san is a nice guy; there's not reason for me to distrust him just because of the family he was born into."
Hinata said nothing, and Naruto could have sworn she was smiling (albeit ruefully), though her face was pointed away from him. "What?"
"N-nothing."
"Let's head back, then. We'll be getting there soon."
From above, a clone of Kakashi gave a small smirk, thankful that Hinata had been distracted by her interaction with Naruto. Having left a clone with the main party to follow them was a bit of a risk, but he was glad he had. It had taken real guts for Hinata to say what she had. He was glad to see that the shy girl was finally coming into her own. His only worry was that Naruto was still too blind to understand the dynamics of court politics. However, it was also a part of the boy's charm, and blind optimism, while dangerous, seemed to be Naruto's greatest strength.
- - - - - - - - -
A few more hours of walking brought Team 3 out of the forest. As the branches thinned, gasps of amazement escaped from Naruto and Hinata. The capital city of Konoha was as different from the Hidden Village as possible. The tall, ornate buildings of the city soared out in graceful curves and beautiful gates, creating an impressive visage. Where the Hidden Village was functional and rusting from use, the capital was a monument to affluence and beauty. Sasuke surveyed the city for a moment before turning to Kakashi with an arch expression. "It is no wonder they require extra guards in this city. Academy Students could infiltrate it."
Kakashi guffawed, and Oshima huffed slightly. However, he said nothing, since Sasuke was indubitably correct. The narrow streets and innumerable alleys of the city made it difficult for large forces to move through the city, but a small group of mobile Shinobi would have no problem moving fast and remaining undetected in the city. The graceful architecture and numerous arches made the city into a 3-dimensional battlefield for an unconventional attacker. Kakashi gave Sasuke a warning look, and gestured towards the nearby gates. "The city is not undefended, it is merely difficult to defend. It acts as a symbol of status to possible clients and as a symbol of power to the people. It is not without a use."
"Hn."
Hinata and Naruto both gave Sasuke warning looks, and the avenger said no more, choosing to turn his frustration against his teammates instead. His burning glare focused on Naruto, and the blonde gave him a thin smile. Oshima gave both boys a patronizing smile and nodded to Kakashi. "Well… Onwards and upwards."
The Copy-Cat Shinobi nodded and the team moved on. As they approached the gates, a voice rang out. "Halt!"
Team 3 paused, and a man dropped down in front of them, an ANBU mask covering his face. "Identification, please."
Kakashi presented the man with their travel papers, and the man read through them quickly. When he reached the last one, he paused for a moment. Although Naruto could not see his face, the tenseness of the man's body revealed that he was clearly very angry. "Hatake Kakashi, Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke, and Oshima-sama may pass. There seems to be a problem with Uzumaki Naruto's paperwork, though, so he must stay with me."
Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "What is wrong? Maybe I can help to fix the problem."
"Move along, please, sir." The ANBU's mask turned towards Kakashi and his hand strayed to the hilt of a kunai in his belt. "As a royal guard this issue falls into my jurisdiction, and I feel that this Uzumaki character must be fully questioned."
Keisuke, concern painting his features moved forward. "Now see here, sir! The young man is clearly a shinobi of Konoha. I am fully willing to vouch for him. You have no real reason to hold him here."
The ANBU drew his kunai and pointed it at Team 3. "You will move along. This little monster is fully under my control. Act 3271 Paragraph 14 gives me the right to jurisdiction over all suspicious cases regarding the well-being of the Daimyo."
Kakashi's expression changed completely, growing steely, and his voice became one of command. "Hamada Kazuhiro, if you do not let this drop now I will report you to your current commander and have you suspended from your duty completely. You were sent to this position out of respect for your suffering, but I will not see you take your suffering out on my student. Your parents would be ashamed of your actions. Do not force my hand."
The man motioned them through scornfully and spat out one last insult. "Just remember, Kakashi, that even you can't make up for your teacher's mistakes. Once a monster, always a monster."
Oshima huffed at the man in passing. "I can't believe that anyone would abuse their power like that just to bait some poor child."
"That is the risk of passing a law that assumes that authority will never be abused. For every 10 good men who serve in Konoha's Shinobi corps there is one who will use his power for ill. If the Daimyo would leave the issue of Shinobi regulation to the Hokage, laws like this would not be passed."
Oshima, seeing that Kakashi was not in the mood for conversation, let the issue drop, smarting from Kakashi's verbal slap.
- - - - - - - - - - -
It is common knowledge that a Shinobi does not truly know the meaning of boredom until he or she has taken a mission in the Daimyo's court. Standing in line and waiting for a meeting which was a mere formality was frustrating, but doing so for five hours became dangerously bored. Shinobi had fallen asleep on the job and seen their patrons slain because of their inability to cope with their boredom.
To Kakashi's shock, Sasuke was the first to break. As Naruto gabbled away with their client and Hinata stood calmly, showing no sign of boredom whatsoever, Sasuke began to fidget nervously. As the boy's fidgeting became more intense, Kakashi felt a small smirk spread across his face. "Sasuke."
The boy's head snapped up, and he gave Kakashi a guilty look. "Sorry sensei."
Kakashi waved a hand and handed the boy a small metal ball. "Don't be too hard on yourself. I'm actually shocked that it took you this long to start to lose it. Most rookie shinobi don't even make it two hours in here."
Sasuke glanced at the steel orb that Kakashi had handed him. "What is this?"
"A Shoujindama (Concentration Ball). It naturally repels chakra. The goal is to keep focusing chakra into it even though the chakra wants to go anywhere else. It's a portable control exercise."
Sasuke nodded his thanks to Kakashi quickly and turned his attention to the orb, a small line of sweat tracing its way down his forehead. Kakashi smiled; glad he had brought a ball bearing with him, and turned his attention to his only female charge. Hinata's eyes were white, clearly scanning for dangers, and her face was contorted slightly in concentration. "I have no idea how you have made it five hours without making a sound. Sasuke and Naruto make sense, but I'd never guess that you could go this long with no sign of boredom."
Hinata started and her eyes returned to their normal, lavender shade. "Huh?"
Kakashi's eyes widened, and a giggle escaped from him. "So that's the trick of the Hyuuga clan, is it?"
"What do you mean?"
"The book you have in your backpack. I saw you reading it yesterday, but you didn't open it to your bookmark. You're reading it using your Byakugan, aren't you?"
Hinata's face flushed, and she gave a small nod. Kakashi fought the urge to gloat, having uncovered the reason that so many Hyuugas were capable of remaining unflappable. "Do they teach every Hyuuga that?"
The small girl pulled the book from her backpack and peeled it open, revealing that the pages were made of a plastic-like compound. "It's a-an exercise for b-Byakugan users. By focusing through the p-pages w-we learn to control exactly how much we see through. O-otherwise we would see through everything."
Kakashi grinned and looked at the book's title. "Basic Medical Jutsus? Are you interested in them?"
She nodded, and Kakashi made a mental note to find a medic-nin who could tutor Hinata when they got back to Konoha. A medic-nin was a boon for any team, and the Hyuuga's eyes could be invaluable for them when used with medical jutsu.
Naruto's voice called them out of their conversation. :"Oi! Kakashi-sensei, Hinata! Its our turn!"
They hurried to catch up with Naruto, and came to the base of the Daimyo's throne. The Daimyo was a fat man, almost invisible in the massive garb he wore. His face spoke of long decades and far too much stress. His rich garments could have bought a year of kunai for the entire Shinobi corps. Kakashi was glad for the cloth mask that disguised his features, as he did not want the most powerful man in the whole nation of the leafs to see his sneer. Oshima knelt down, and the Shinobi gave small bows. The lord cast his eyes across them and, as Kakashi had feared, his eyes alit on Naruto. "Welcome, lord Keisuke. I am glad that you have come to this gathering again this year."
Oshima nodded his thanks to the massive ruler and replied with much more measured speech than he had used previously. "My lord, I am pleased to have returned. I apologize that I was unable to bring my usual shipment of wines to the gathering, but I am afraid that this year's harvest was much poorer than usual. I could not afford the Shinobi to guard the shipment."
"Surely this team could have guarded you and the shipment on their own, Keisuke? They look very competent." Naruto's chest puffed out, and Kakashi fought down the urge to strangle Kyuubi's container. "Hatake Kakashi's team, containing the young geniuses of Konoha. You must feel very lucky to have such a team guard you, Keisuke."
Kakashi bowed their thanks and kicked Naruto in the leg subtly. The boy glared at him, but acknowledged his sensei's tacit instructions. Hinata gave them a concerned look, but Keisuke smoothed the whole thing over. "I am afraid that even such a wonderful group should not be overtaxed by having the added hindrance of a caravan."
The Daimyo nodded, and that was that. They were quickly escorted away, but Kakashi could feel the Daimyo's intent focused squarely upon Naruto. 'I was afraid that this would happen.'
- - - - - - - - - -
The middle of the night was surprisingly quiet in the Daimyo's abode. Although the palace was full to bursting with minor nobles, many of whom were uproariously drunk after the opening ball of the meeting, by the time that the clock struck one, there was not a peep throughout the whole palace. Naruto sat on his bed, head in his hands, and concentrated hard on the ceiling, hoping he would fall asleep soon. Kakashi was outside in the hallway, watching the door and Hinata was on guard in Oshima's sitting room, guarding the only entrance to his room.
The quiet was almost stiffening and, used to the noise of the Hidden Village's slum, he was unable to fall asleep. Meditation and years of living in the middle of nowhere did him no good, as he slowly failed to wrestle sleep into submission. With a grunt of frustration, he threw himself from the bed and pulled on a new change of clothes. He picked up his equipment and walked into the common room of their suite.
The room was dark, and Naruto decided it was best that he leave the lights off, since Sasuke was unlikely to take kindly to having a light come on in the room next to his, and Naruto desperately did not want to wake Oshima.
His first warning was a whisper of silk on wood. He dropped to the floor and rolled behind the kitchen island in their kitchenette. Seconds later, two kunai rocketed into the wall behind where he had been standing. He drew two senbon from his holster and sent them in the direction of the attack with a flick of his wrist. Two wooden thunks informed him that neither of his attacks had struck home.
'Tiger seal. Dragon seal. Monkey seal. Bear seal. Tiger seal.' Naruto's hands flew through seals, and he conjured up his vast stores of chakra. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
His clones popped into existence and immediately spread out. Naruto rolled out from under his hiding place and looked towards the now-open window. Crouched just beneath the sill was a woman dressed in black with her face covered. 'Shit. An assassin.'
A well-trained assassin was a threat to a genin. While they were nothing compared to most shinobi, they were normally quite good at stealth and taijutsu. One of Naruto's clones charged, and the assassin put a kunai straight through its throat, eliminating the clone. Naruto pulled two more senbon and hurled them towards the assassin. She dodged out of the way, but her adjustment gave one of Naruto's clones time to close and attack. Naruto himself ran towards the assassin, and as she slashed the clone's arm, making it disappear, he formed a common three-seal pattern. He stuck a needle into the back of the assassin's calf. A moment later, her knife crashed into a vase, making a large crash. "How do you like Kawarimi no Jutsu?"
The assassin was not impressed. A second knife cleared her belt and she charged at him. He caught her first slash and a clone crashed into her, sending her crashing into a wall, but before he could maximize on the situation, she was back on her feet. Before Naruto could even blink, she had pushed him to the floor and was holding a knife at his throat. He caught the assassin's hand, but her strength was greater than his. His last clone charged the assassin, attempting to save the original Naruto, but it was dismissed with a kick in the stomach.
The knife loomed closer and closer, and Naruto felt his chest clinch in panic. He closed his eyes, putting all of his presence into warding off his impending doom. Finally, his arms gave out, and he relaxed, accepting his fate.
'Thunk!'
A great weight fell on Naruto's chest, and he let out his breath, expecting that the pain would end in a moment. "N-Naruto-kun? Are y-you alright?"
He cracked an eye and saw Hinata standing over him, concern etched into her features. Her hand was stretched forward in a classic Jyuuken position and the assassin was sprawled across his chest. "Y-yeah. Thanks, Hinata."
Hinata said nothing, but she relaxed, and so Naruto stood. "Is she…"
He was unable to finish his sentence, as his mind failed to wrap around the idea that the small Hyuuga could have killed his attacker. "N-no! I j-just knocked her out!'
They tied the woman up, and Hinata brought Kakashi in from the door. Kakashi shooed them out of the room, telling them to guard Oshima's room. They quickly obeyed, and Naruto slumped down against the wall and breathed deep. "That was close…"
Hinata hit the ground beside him with a light thump. To his shock, tears were pouring out of her eyes. "Hinata? What's wrong?"
"N-Naruto-kun…"
She fell against him, sobs wracking her body. He awkwardly wrapped his arms around her and patted her back. "It's ok. I'm ok. No one was hurt."
"W-When I saw you there… I-I thought I was too late. Y-You looked like you were already dead."
He said nothing, letting her sobs slowly quiet down and die. After ten minutes or so she stopped and it was silent. "I-I must look so weak t-to you. Crying w-when you are right there."
Naruto shook his head. "Definitely not. If anyone is weak, it's me. I couldn't even take care of myself against a simple assassin. If it weren't for you I would be dead by now."
He was surprised when she pushed away from him and shook her head as adamantly as he had. "We can't always win, Naruto. That's why we train. Just because someone out there beats you once doesn't mean that you will always lose. You can't give up, be proud, and learn from your mistakes."
Naruto smiled. "Yeah… A proud failure, eh Hinata?"
"Yeah."
Neither of them said anything else as they sat and watched the door. Eventually, Naruto felt consciousness slip away from him, and he fell into a deep sleep.
- - - - - - - - - - -
Kakashi hated interrogations. They were messy, frustration, and they rarely produced any useful information at all. So far as he was concerned, interrogating prisoners hindered most missions. However, interrogation was protocol, and violating protocol was something you only did when you had to. "Who were you after?"
The assassin spat in his face, and he wiped the spittle away. "Not gonna help. Who were you after?"
His question was given extra weight when he pulled a shuriken and began sharpening it on his fingernails. The assassin glared at him and he shrugged at her look. "Listen… I really don't want to actually hurt you. I dislike torturing people. It's normally a waste of time, and I have to clean up after it. If you tell me who you were after, I break your neck cleanly and you die painlessly. If you don't talk I torture you, and you die very, very painful."
Real torture didn't work, he knew, but if he didn't threaten then the assassin would know his heart wasn't in it. Torture was as likely to make her tell him she was after him for an autograph as it was to make her tell him her real target. She said nothing and Kakashi rolled his eyes. "Whatever…"
Her glare grew more intense and her jaw worked for a moment. 'Oh shit…'
Before he could get over to her, a small click sounded, and she slumped forward, foam dripping from her mouth. Kakashi sighed. He had forgotten to check for poisoned teeth before he began his interrogation. He shrugged. He hadn't expected to get anything from her anyway. "That's the breaks, I guess."
It really didn't matter who she had been after, since, as far as Kakashi was concerned, it didn't change their reaction. There were four prime targets with them, and since three of the four were capable of taking care of themselves, he was only really concerned about Oshima. Therefore, they would tighten security around their primary target and he would make sure that the team always moved in a group of three. In the meantime he would run back to Konoha to get a new team assigned to the mission since his team was clearly not enough on their own.
He sent the assassin's corpse out of the window, knowing that the royal guard would take care of it without looking into the matter any further, and shucked his pack. Before he left, he stuck his head into Oshima's sitting room to let Naruto and Hinata know that he was leaving and to warn them to get Sasuke to cover for them so that they could sleep. There was no time like the present to get going.
He was amused to find Hinata asleep, leaning against Naruto's shoulder and Naruto asleep with his head resting on top of Hinata's. On second thought, he could probably wait a few hours before leaving. It wouldn't be right to… disturb such a peaceful scene. Nothing was going to change for the next few hours.
- - - - - - - - - -
Outside of their suite, Sado Yurika gave a thin smile. It was clear that this team would be no problem at all to eliminate… And then the Kyuubi child was hers for the taking. Oh this was going to be fun…
- - - - - - - - - -
Author's Notes: Ok, so rather than taking a few hours, I finished this over the course of three days. I suppose that that is the price I pay for spending more time on the Internet than I actually did writing this. We're into our first serious arc now, and next chapter will bring a nice fight. I hope you're looking forward to it!
All thoughts are welcome. I promise that I'll really try to write faster this time (as if anyone believes me at this point)!
Hope you enjoyed it.
Author's Second Note: has been making uploading a pain. I finished it on Saturday. Sorry this took even longer.