Four Letter Words
Story Thus Far-
Iruka pushed the Sacred Scroll into Naruto's hands and killed Mizuki at the cost of his limbs. Naruto flees the country all while leaving a trail of death in his wake as insanity inches closer. He endears himself to those he meets, and manages to fall in with the infamous Nuke-nin Zabuza of the Bloody Mist, who is determined to sharpen the boys skill and turn it to his own use. Kin defects from Sound and joins them with the potential to become a great Seal Mistress. Haku relishes the humanity in his new companions.
Meanwhile in Konoha the new Genin graduates train harder than before. Love drives some of them, revenge others. Ibiki broods as conspiracies are uncovered only to reveal even deeper rooted problems.
Chapter Fifteen: Ship
The Dream Eater cut through the water like a great big whale as waves splashed against it on the journey to Tea Country. The ship had a small number of stops before it arrived on the island port but it would be a few more days before any of them came within sight. Dream Eater had left any sight of land behind on the second day out, taking the long way around to avoid running into pirates or privateers, and looked highly out of place alone on the ocean.
Naruto stalked a pair of sailors from a pipe. He inched forward, eyes and ears alert, hanging to the slick curved surface with minimal chakra. One of the sailors was playing with a flat-head and cleaning oil from his fingernails while the other checked a pressure gauge. Their wasn't anything particularly interesting about the two but his conscience and Haku had double teamed him, unbeknown to one another, and insisted he practice the ninja arts; specifically stealth and tracking. How he was supposed to tracking on a boat in the middle of the ocean was beyond him but stealth was doable.
Half grinning, the orange clad boy hopped to the next pipe as he targets turned a corner. Even with the chakra technique to hold him, the smaller pipe groaned in protest of the new weight.
"Did you here something?" One of the sailors asked, suddenly suspicious as he shoved his screwdriver into his pocket. Naruto bit his lip and crossed his fingers. Don't look up. Don't look up. Don't look up.
The darker sailor shrugged and stuck a stick of gum in his mouth while turning to check the corridor. "I don't see anything. Probably a rat. You're way too tense."
"I know… but you heard about the Ginger Ale. They said one of the crew had a fling and… her ghost came back and killed all his friends."
Naruto shivered at the mention of the ghosts and crept forward. He was now perched cautiously above them, heart hammering as he shifted, carefully. The two men seemed to forget the noise and go back to their shift. "Ghost Ship, yeah, heard the story. Didn't believe it."
"Hey, have you seen the crazy shit that those ninja do? I'm not taking anything for granted." As the man finished his statement with a glare to his partner, Naruto slid his feet around the pipe till he hung upside down.
As the men walked to the next junction the blonde reached out, fingers flicking forward to snatch the bit of leather poking out of the brunette's back pocket. Item secured. Naruto stuffed the wallet into his jacket and pulled himself up just before the man spun around, eyes narrowed.
"What is it now?"
"I thought I felt… never mind…" The man sighed and shrugged.
Naruto slapped his hand over his mouth to stop his laughter as the sailors continued their rounds, unaware of his actions. His conscience snorted in amusement and approval. "Good. But you could have done better. He shouldn't have felt anything."
"I just need more practice is all." Naruto whispered back as he began crawling back to the vent he came in from, his hand fishing out the wallet to check the insides. "Damn! This must have been the guy the dice players were complaining about."
"…Boy…"
"He's got way more on him than he should."
"You should pay attention."
Naruto looked up, curious as to what would have garnered the voice's attention. "What? I don't see anything." He flipped the leather wallet shut with a slight pop and shoved it in place, just as his left hand came down on a patch of condensation. Having lost control of his chakra, his hand slipped and Naruto let out a strangled shout as he fell from the pipe to land head first on the floor.
He cradled his head with his arms, headaches forgotten coming back full force.
"Hey! Passengers aren't supposed to be down here!"
Naruto looked up through blearily eyes at the annoyed crew members and cursed. In retrospect the blonde would realize that the best thing to do would be to turn himself over. The sailor hadn't realized his money was missing and wasn't too angry, the worst they would do was scold him and escort him back to the upper decks. Naruto, however, had grown up in Konoha where most people despised his existence and he spent most of his time avoiding those people and the shinobi they hired to hunt him down after a prank.
Naruto considered his pick-pocketing as a prank, and old habits die hard. He shouted something of a challenge at the two men and pelted down the hall. Never mind he wasn't familiar with the ship, never mind the enclosed space cut off the usual escape routes.
The sailors pounded down the corridor after him, partly because they were insulted, partly because they were bored.
It is never easy to tell someone that a loved one has died, be they family or friend. Even between shinobi who live with the knowledge that simply going to work can be hazardous, rivals from other villages would gladly remove them from the labor pool, it is no easier. The only difference between informing a civilian that their beloved and kind spouse/sibling/parent was killed in such a way as to make identifying the body next to impossible, was the emotional outburst. Genin tended to scream and deny it. Some chunin vowed revenge. Jounin stared ahead silently adding the name and face to their list of dead comrades.
ANBU were impossible to read. Sarutobi sat upright in his chair at his desk and observed the remainder of Rai's squad. They'd been anxious and inquiring for the past week or so, but confirmation had only recently arrived.
A scraped up dog mask and partially burned goat waited on his desk facing the trio. Sarutobi gestured to the two tell-tale signs of failure. "These arrived from the Hidden Sound three days ago, along with a message that the corpses have been 'courteously disposed of properly'."
"With all due respect, Sir, that is an obvious lie." Ayumu stated in a rapid monotone. Though his face was concealed by his frog mask, his hands were clenching and unclenching with the need for action. "No village would let anothers bodies go without through examination."
"I understand your concern, Kimi." Sarutobi glanced at the others, waiting for their reactions. Rabbit was staring at the damaged masks, lost, barely breathing. Bird simply waited. "But the bodies were found deep in foreign soil, they were supposedly found dead."
"Impossible. We weren't that far behind the, boy." Helios stated after receiving support from his remaining teammates. "They're saying the dropout killed them. Even taking into consideration the chunin and jounin- Rai wouldn't have gone in half-cocked. They must have been ambushed by these," he paused to accentuate the sneer. "Sound shinobi."
"Regardless of what may or may not have actually happened," The old man sighed and fingered his pipe; they would not like the ruling. It was times like this Sarutobi wished he could exchange his Hokage hat for the forehead protector of his youth. Every poor political decision could be blamed on youth, but it was his responsibility to see to these things. "The facts are clear. Konoha shinobi went out of Fire's borders without permission, and entered onto the lands of another Hidden Village, again without permission. They were no obligation to inform us of the deaths, and were even within rights to declare war."
Ayumu snorted and the voice scrambler interpreted like some sort of pig grunt. "As if some unknown village could threaten Konohagakure, I request permission for a espionage team to ascertain the situation." He finally stopped fidgeting and stood respectfully on the wooden floor, staring straight ahead. Experience told the old man that another of his subordinates had made up their mind to kill someone, though just who would be the target was a mystery. Sound, or Naruto-kun? No. I can't think of him as Naruto-kun, at this point...
"I do not expect you to understand the fine points of international politics, but as it stands Konoha policy states that an ANBU, or Hunter Unit, can only work outside of the village with all members."
Hyun stepped forward, bowed, and swept the two damaged masks from the table. He turned and walked out the door. His teammates followed the same exit route in a show of mourning. Most ninja left through the window or used a variation of the shushin out of habit.
Sarutobi placed his hat on the table and ran a withered hand over what remained of his hair. It was a little harsh to put things so bluntly, but they were not children.
A cool warm breeze entered through the cracked window, rustling papers and carrying with it the sounds of the village. This time of peace, I will do everything I can to make it last as long as possible.
"It's so obvious! Why aren't we going in there?!" Hyun raged in their team barracks, a building reserved for on-call teams.
Ayumu sat cross-legged on his bunk with the now owner-less masks out before him. His eyes were unfocused as he mechanically hammered into the plaster with a kunai. He had thought he came to terms with loss when his jounin-sensei died on their first B-rank, but after working for years -years!- with the same group he thought they really had something. He had thought, hoped, that they would one of the lucky groups to make it to retirement intact.
As ANBU, Rai and Yuukou wouldn't be added to the memorial stone.
Hyun paced down the middle of their room, rabbit mask laying discarded on his rumpled bed, with his hands chopping the air for something to hit. "Damn it! She's probably in ten different jars by now, the vultures."
"We would have done the same thing, had it been one of their people." Helios commented quietly. He was leaning against the far wall watching Ayumu's progress on a vaguely square shaped outline in the plaster.
"This is different! You're acting like you don't care that Rai-san and Yuukou-san are being desecrated right now!" He deviated from his pacing and stepped up to Helios as if daring him to say otherwise.
The man in the bird mask sighed and raised his hand to remove it. He shook out his hair allowing dirty blonde threads to fall before his face as if to conceal it in place of the ANBU mask. "I care. But I know who to blame."
"What...?"
Ayumu spoke up suddenly as he began putting more force into his hits, driving the kunai halfway into the wall. His eyes were still glazed and he sounded like he wasn't fully awake. "It's the demon. It was playing us all for fools, this whole time. It stole the scroll, the key to unlocking the seal on it's body, and ran off. It is the reason they are dead."
The three men were silent for a time; the only sound the steady beating of the knife through plaster. Hyun sighed and sunk tiredly onto his best friend's cot. "Then we kill it." Wordlessly the other man nodded as he drove the kunai through one final time, and upon tilting it removed a section of wall between beams revealing a cubby. Together, the two friends reverently placed the ruined masks into the space with bowed heads. ANBU were not on the memorial stone, for they would be labeled as MIA, their identities a secret, but they would be remembered by their teammates.
Helios bowed his head to say a quick prayer as the dog and goat mask joined countless others that had gone into the walls of the building at one time or another. "They won't let us work until we fill our ranks again." The rule had been intended to allow an ANBU unit to sort through emotional difficulties, as well as give the illusion that they hadn't suffered losses. Someone else would dawn the mask and become part of the legend.
"I don't want to deal with any visionary rookies. We won't get anything done if we have to deal with them."
Ayumu set his frog mask in place and began sealing up the hole in the wall. "I think, I'm going to get some coffee." He stood and shook out the numbness in his legs. Hyun seethed inside, but nodded jerkily and requested a cup for himself. They had to figure things out.
"A full team is four, right?" Hyun asked Helios with a thoughtful expression as he looked at a photo sitting near Ayumu's bed. It was a simple photo taken a year into their ninja career when they were still on their genin team. All three of the genin were holding up the dogs they were supposed to walking and grinning, their sensei was sitting on hers and waving.
"ANBU usually work in five or six man teams."
"But we are officially complete with four. It shouldn't be too hard to get one more person."
Helios titled his head to the side in thought, nodded once, and disappeared. Once they got the fourth member they could run the customary association missions to get used to working with the new man, then start taking real missions. Preferably out of country.
Rai, Yuukou. We will find him, and we'll kill him. We will avenge you.
Naruto was pouting, arms crossed and lip jutting out, as the panting crewmen led him away. The mechanic of the two rubbed the sweat from his forehead while keeping one hand on the boys shoulder; he didn't trust that the little blonde wouldn't run off again. The warmth from the man's hand was irritating to Naruto, but after near an hour of chase and hide-and-seek they had caught him. Though the ninja trained boy was smaller, faster, and possessed a greater stamina his unfamiliarity with the ship and the sheer determination of the two sailors won out and they cornered him.
The voice insisted that he could have fought and won, the bodies would be easy to conceal in the miles of water around them.
At the same time, neither Naruto or his conscience knew anything about the ship they were on or how it functioned. Should one of the crewmen be important to running the vessel, he would be screwed in more ways than one. Also, the voice commented in a very scathing tone that if he was idiotic enough to get caught during his legerdemain by 'pathetic humans with no training' he deserved whatever punishment was coming. Perhaps it would serve as encouragement to do better.
In that vein of thought, though Naruto knew he could remove the offending hand with a quick twist, he didn't. He marched over dramatically as they narrowed the distance to the room he was sharing with Kin and the others and glared at the floor willing it to open up and swallow the living testaments to his failure. He felt much like he did back in Konoha when a prank went badly, only this time there wouldn't be any ramen with Iruka to soften the blow.
The second crewman frowned at the blonde boy as the preteen snorted and looked away. The man rapped on the steel door with one of Naruto's kunai; he had thrown them haphazardly down one of the corridors to throw off his pursuers and it hadn't worked. Surprisingly, it was Zabuza who answered the door half dressed. A towel was around his waist as he stared down at the trio. Naruto twisted away from the two and slipped in behind the still dripping swordsman.
Zabuza, hand he any, would have arched an eyebrow at the behavior. The skin above his eye twitched a little. "Gentlemen..?" He asked in a quiet but gruff voice as he absently shot out a hand to catch Naruto's sneaking form.
The man with the screwdriver thrust his hands into his pockets, wary about dealing with a mercenary ninja but determined to see things through, and shot a look at Naruto. "He was climbing around in the lower decks, without escort."
His companion rubbed a bruised elbow. "Not to mention his running around. We had to recruit help to track him down, and check all the pipes and pressure monitors."
"Oh?" Zabuza asked, his hand tightening slightly from where he grabbed Naruto. Blue eyes looked at the hand momentarily, noting old callouses and tiny cuts, as slightly pointed ears picked up on the amusement in the large man's voice. Vaguely, it reminded the boy of the only man that had cared about him, and he decided he didn't mind Zabuza's presence as much as he did a moment before.
"Yeah. Little brat was climbing all over the pipes! How some of them managed to support him..." the mechanic ground his teeth. "We'll be up all night checking for stress points."
"I see." Zabuza grinned, and without the bandages covering his mouth sharpened shark like teeth stunned the two men. "Rest assured I will deal with him."
The sailor swallowed, eyes not leaving the exposed teeth. "O-okay. So long as that's clear." He tore his eyes from Zabuza and fixed Naruto with a glare which the boy returned with a growl. "Stay out of trouble, got it, kid?"
Once the men were gone and the door shut, Zabuza rounded on the blonde brat he had picked up and Naruto was able to see Haku sharpening his senbon. The large man narrowed his eyes and took a stance, one fist on his hip to hold the towel in place. "What were you thinking? Really? You know how important tonight is, why go sneaking around?"
Naruto shrugged and looked away. "Haku told me I needed to practice my stealth, I figured following those two guys... and it's not like they figured out the important bit!"
Zabuza squatted so that he was eye level with the boy. He had shown up out of no where with so much potential it was ridiculous. His village had rejected him, from what Haku had gathered with subtle inquiry, possibly because he was unstable. Then again, it was the 'sane' shinobi that one had to watch out for. So the question was: what did this little blonde ball of death consider important? "Explain."
Instead of trying to talk the man to death, as was his usual routine, Naruto reached into his robe and fished out the small leather wallet before proffering it to the older man.
Zabuza accepted the item curiously and flipped it open immediately noticing the photo idea belonging to one of the men that had escorted his charge. He sent Naruto a questioning glance.
Naruto nodded.
Zabuza flipped through the bills.
Naruto nodded.
Zabuza's shoulders jerked as he stifled laughter and passed the wallet back to it's new owner. "Good, good job kid." He ruffled blonde locks and stood up. "Now-I believe Haku has been waiting to explain something."
Haku wiped the oil from the senbon he had been sharpening with a linen cloth and stretched. "It's about you, Naruto-kun, I've already spoken with Kin-chan." He paused as Naruto headed to the small bathroom attached to their sparse quarters as if to find said person. "She's out at the moment, but she had an interesting comment from when you 'helped' her out with her genin test. I noticed a few things myself and, well, you have the most interesting blood make up I've ever seen Naruto-kun. I wouldn't have even thought such a thing to be possible in the natural world."
Naruto's brow furrowed as Haku's words mingled with that of his conscience. Normally, he could distinguish them clearly, but it was agitated for some reason, and coming in poorly. "...huh?"
With a sigh, Haku stopped in his speech detailing the properties of the boys blood and how it probably acted as a catalyst in his sex/body changing bloodline. Zabuza-sama had understood everything, how the blood probably did something to allow for a more malleable form, but had only really cared about the warfare properties. Brown eyes stared into blue. So old, and yet so simple... "You have acid blood."
Naruto blinked, his face split into a wide grin seconds later. "Awesome!" On reflex, Haku had a senbon between his fingers and pricking Naruto's throat as the younger boy closed the distance between them and sat perched on Haku's knees. "That's so cool! Does that mean I can melt stuff? Huh? Can I like, spit on something and dissolve it into a million pieces?" He didn't even notice the weapon and as Haku withdrew it -carefully to avoid the minute amount of blood on the tip- but spoke in a steady stream of words. Neither missing-nin knew who the would-be jealous people were, but time was precious.
"Brat!" Zabuza shouted while simultaneously tossing Naruto's bokken to it's owner.
Naruto hopped away and caught the weapon with one hand, albeit with a little difficulty, and spun on his heel into a ready position. He bit his lip and waited. The other charged and in the cramped quarters Naruto found himself stumbling around as Haku teleported from the room taking his supplies with him. This was Naruto's test.
The wood clacked together, both blades charged and reinforced with a minimal amount of chakra. Later, Naruto would find it strange Zabuza had picked such a spot to practice in, but for the moment he allowed himself to be absorbed in the fight. The world narrowed, and with only one angry prompt Naruto changed. Zabuza's weapon sailed past her as she bent backwards and changed again. The warmth rolled up from his stomach and covered his body.
"You want your real sword back, kid? Show me."
Naruto sidestepped, hopped onto the bed bolted to the wall to avoid a strike, and attacked.
Two men relaxed in the hotsprings; one aged and graying the other young but scarred. The old man leaned back against the side of the pool, his head supported by a towel, and closed his eyes with a smile. "Ah, Konoha. How I love you."
The younger man sat nearby on the side with a cloth around his waist and his feet dangling in the water. One of his legs were polished wood hinting at a past battle. Iruka had quickly mastered the basics of 'living puppetry' with Kotaro's help but was far from the degree of expert where the false limbs were second nature. If he didn't consciously thinking about circulating his chakra around the prothsetic the flow would cut off and the leg would go be nothing more than a fancy stump. Eventually, Kotaro assured him, altering the flow would become more like breathing and he wouldn't have to worry about a dead leg in the middle of battle.
Hopefully, the acclimation process wouldn't take too long, though the average for a Suna shinobi with impeccable control was four to six months. Iruka intended to beat that.
"And you do not like Suna? Your home village?" Iruka asked with amusement. He found the other man to be eccentric, and a little odd, but then so were a lot of the people that came from such a dry and hot place. It was probably the sun.
"I like the village just fine, and the people, but the sand! If it weren't for..." Kotaro trailed off and peeked an eye open to watch his client. He was leaned over, one hand supporting his chin, unseeing black eyes staring straight ahead. "Well, you live here. You know how much nicer the climate is."
"Mmmm." Iruka responded and tugged on a chakra thread causing the fake foot to kick at the cloudy water. "We get floods during the spring though, sometimes. And it gets pretty humid in the forests. Snow is my favorite, the weather hardly ever changes."
Kotaro rubbed his chin. "If it wasn't for the cold I'd vacation there rather than here. The best actresses are from Snow. You should see the kabuki plays they put on during the festivals." If it wasn't for the harmless old man vibe that Kotaro held Iruka would have called the man a womanizer. Though he really couldn't contest his point. The chunin had seen a Snow Country kabuki play back in his genin days for a mission and still counted it as one of his best experiences.
Iruka opened his mouth the respond, but paused as a faint gold glow entered into his field of non-vision. A ninja, probably high class if the chakra rolling off of him was anything to go by, was joining them. "Ah. Asuma-sensei." Iruka greeted as the lingering scent of tobacco and smoke hit his nose.
"Iruka-sensei." The large man grinned good naturedly and stepped into the spring, adjusting his towel as he did so. "I heard you were put through a meat grinder."
"It was only a little one." He gestured to Kotaro who tilted his head in greeting. "Kotaro-san. He is a puppet maker."
"I see. It's a pleasure to meet you, Kotaro-san."
The three men relaxed for a time in silence with the breeze bringing the occasional bit of female discussion from the other side. A bird perched on a thin branch, the rustle of the leaves alerting the blind chunin to it's presence, and Iruka recalled his strange visitors while he had been in the hospital. Perhaps if he hadn't had as many drugs and pain circulating through his body he might have found it odd, but had more important things to consider at the time. Though he had missed his old class, they had been his favorite throughout all his years of teaching. Iruka finally lowered himself into the steaming pool, gave a shiver as the water touched the point where wood met flesh, and cleared his throat. "If you wouldn't mind, Asuma-sensei, how is your team doing?"
Asuma grimaced and ran a wet hand through his hair. "Terrible. Why I'm here actually." The jounin gave the Suna native a glance, too subtle for any but the highly trained and experienced to catch, before decided that he was from an allied village and a civilian. A non-threat. "Kurenai had the brilliant idea to test her students for elemental affinity."
Iruka frowned at that. Most ninja waited till a student had gone through the chunin exams at least once before testing. Early genin was a time for branching out and learning the basics -not specializing- and he wondered why she would have done it.
"Anyway." Asuma said as he dried his hands with a slight application of wind chakra. "Ino heard about it," he pulled a cigarette and lighter from his bucket, "and insisted that they all be tested."
"Did you tell her how unusual it is for genin?"
"Of course! But she's a Yamanaka, they do mind games and," he took a drag from the cigarette. "You had her, you know what she's like."
He smiled. It was so easy to imagine the scene with the slim little blonde girl arguing and throwing logic to the wind, or if she choose to use it she would be turning everything he said around. Even when you knew what she was doing, Ino was tenacious and didn't give up easily. It was often easier to just cave. "I suppose I can't fault you for that. So, may I ask what they are."
Asuma was quiet for a moment as he smoked, one hand idly trailing in the water. He shifted to allow the heat better access to his back and shook his head. "I certainly wasn't expecting it, that's for sure." The cigarette hissed it's death on a damp rock. "Ino, she insisted on going first, turned out to have earth."
It was surprising. Most Yamanaka's, at least so far as Iruka knew, either had wind, water, or nothing at all. To be sure he only knew about two that had been in his year, one now dead, and another his father had spoken of, but earth? It seems counter to their usual fighting style...
Asuma continued. "And Chouji, he's so quiet most of the time, can you believe he got fire? Once Ino saw she insisted on taking them out for a new wardrobe. Shikamaru though, he didn't have one. I was worried for a minute there, but he didn't seem to mind."
Iruka shook his head. "I wouldn't be too sure about that. He's quiet, and much smarter than he lets on. He may not have wanted the others to feel bad, though if there is something wrong I doubt he'd show it."
"I'll think about it... damn it!" Asuma growled and winced, arching his back and scratching at it. Kotaro whistled appreciatively causing Iruka's curiosity to get the better of him. He twisted the fingers of his right hand to aid in releasing chakra, just enough to see the immediate area, and gave his own whistle.
"Is that splinter made of... rock?"
"Ino." That was all that needed to be said.
Kotaro smiled impishly. Perhaps I should keep an eye on this Ino. "A very interesting girl to be sure."
Iruka wondered if 'womanizer' should be switched to 'pedophile'.
The shuttle moved between the strings of the loom like a small missile trailing a line of smoke. The weaver was old, retired, but not so old she had lost her talent. At one time she had been pretty with bright green eyes and soft brown hair, skin smooth despite the rigors of her chosen profession, or because of it? As she pumped the pedal with he body a clump of dry bangs fell to far into her vision, and she tucked them out of the way revealing an empty eye socket. The rigors of the job caused that, too.
Foot hit pedal the and loom frame moved to realign itself and allow the shuttle to pass back through with a flick of her wrist. The woman frowned as she caught the shuttle. There was an unease settling in her mind. For years she'd survived and even thrived by listening to her gut. She'd learned who could be trusted. Who needed to quietly disappear. Her lips pursed and one hand went to the foot long spikes holding her hair in place.
She was retired. She hadn't been in the field for two decades. Why was her danger sense activating now? Her daughter was still out. She smiled at the thought of her girl training. In a few years she'd be as dangerous and gorgeous as her mother at that age. Still, could that be why she felt so unsettled? Was there some threat against her daughter? She couldn't think of anything; the only threat to her daughter had left.
Her frown deepened and a scar at the corner of her lip stretched white. It's gone. Or is it merely recouping from it's mask being pulled off? Gathering strength to return and finish the job it started? Vile beast. Her breathing slowed as she thought deeper, recalling the night that left her scarred and nearly took her child. The loom clacked, and the set of the strings reminded her of a tunnel as the shuttle passed through. Her family had died while she lay trapped beneath one. With her body broken and pinned amongst the debris she couldn't help them fight.
But by some miracle her unborn child had survived the trauma unharmed. The weaver's eyes drifted to a small brown paper wrapped package, a gift for her child when she returned home, and a determined glint lit in her eyes. The creature, a mockery of humanity, may have run off but he would be tracked down eventually. She would nudge her child to it, explain when the time was right, and their family would be avenged. It may be a little to much to ask for her blood to strike the killing blow but it would die one way or another. It was only just.
Injuries that had never quite healed ached as she pushed back from the ancient loom of her great grandmother and walked to the package. Mamoru's delivery boy had delivered it a few hours ago, but she hadn't bothered with it since. She should probably check the measurements before turning it over to her daughter, the woman mused.
Dark, a few shades from black, red silk slid through her fingers. Tempered with chakra using a technique privy only to those of the seamstress's family, the silk was a strong as good steel. It was a beautiful dress cut to allow for some growth as she had requested, but not obviously baggy. She'll love it. Practical, to better catch the Sasuke boy, hmmm? The weaver smiled at the memory of the conversation. At long last her daughter was taking being a kunoichi seriously.
Even if it was to catch a boy. But a strong boy, strong grandchildren I cannot argue with.
Satisfied, the woman folded the dress and turned to place it on her child's bed. Her eyes narrowed as the feeling of unease spiked.
She slipped through the old veterans defenses with little difficulty. It was her specialty, after all, and Kurenai wasn't one to disappoint. Sun warmed tiles heated her back comfortably as she lay on a neighboring rooftop from her target. Her eyes zipped back and forth beneath her eyelids as she explored the other's mind. Backtracking through memories.
You've been a very busy woman, Mrs. Haruno. Kurenai clamped down on her personal feelings. She couldn't risk tipping off the woman. Not yet. She weaved her chakra into a powerful illusion and continued her explorations. A little blood dripped from her nose but that wasn't unusual for her. Mind Jutsu, especially one as invasive and delicate as hers, always carried a heavy toll. Kurenai swallowed. It's time.
She flowed out of her prone position and leapt into the shimmering air as it wrapped her in yet another illusion. She slunk in through a second story window and dodged the glistening tip of a needle: Haruno's trademark weapon. The woman was a kunoichi in the classical sense and had made quite the name for herself in the red division. One drop of the poison from those hair sticks and Kurenai would be just another corpse.
"You're good girl, but too young to get one over on me." Mrs. Haruno smirked as she danced backwards and her now-free hair whipped around her concealing the missing eye. Kurenai could see how the woman put her body to use all those years ago enchanting young lords and gaining entrance to some of the most high security compounds. The elder kunoichi twirled, her robes hiding subtle movements, but the genjutsu mistress didn't fall for it.
She twisted away from the hidden darts exploding from the wall and began weaving another layer of illusion around the room. Haruno's lip curled in distaste and she made a quick dispelling motion. Kurenai changed tactics. She dropped a single kunai from the holster on her arm and charged using chakra to bounce around the walls. Her red eyes locked on the nuances of the other woman and she shifted to right as yet another trap went off and a cloud of gas filled the hallway.
Needle met kunai and they struggled for dominance. It didn't last long. Haruno was far out of practice, even before retiring, and it showed. With a grunt and a burst of chakra she vanished only to appear several feet away and turning a coat-hook upside down. "Another trap, weaver? You certainly live up to the reputation 'Black Widow'." Kurenai taunted.
The time the floor dropped out from under her with enough time delay to make her think the trap had failed. Kurenai blinked, and sharped spears pierced her feet and abdomen. She coughed blood.
A poisoned hair stick shot through her throat.
"It was earned, child."
"Not enough."
Haruno looked down in rage. A vine had wrapped around her ankle and was crawling up her leg. "Traitorous bitch!" She snarled and jerked free while running down the hall. Her world tilted, and hundreds of sharp pinpicks of pain attacked her side. Her good eye watered and she snarled while spinning in confusion. Cuts opened up all along her arms and face. Closing her eyes, she breathed deep and managed to intercept the kunai aimed for her shoulder. She completely missed the fist that impacted her sternum. Blood bubbled in her mouth. She glanced toward the pit in her house and found it empty. Cursing she shushined to her kitchen and emergency potions stash. The poison was spreading quickly with the aide of adrenaline, and though she didn't think her attacker would risk involving civilians, it wouldn't matter if she collapsed before finding back up.
Haruno choked as a spikes flicked into her awareness.
There was a satisfying crunch from behind her, and Kurenai turned slowly. She pushed open a swinging door that led to the small kitchen and gazed at the bleeding body of Memori Haruno. The woman lay out half propped up by iron spikes pinning her to the floor and counter. "H-how..?" She gurgled as her lungs filled with blood.
Kurenai watched the life ebb out of the older woman onto the floor. It was sad, in a way, the woman wasn't really that old but time wasn't the only thing that had aged her. "You've been in my genjutsu since you received that package. Since you took it from my hands. You know what genjutsu can do through eye contact, imagine what physical can do."
Shock.
"All that work you put into making that fabric, and none of it was even there." Kurenai crouched down. "Talking to yourself is a bad habit for a ninja, Haruno-san. But you didn't tell me everything I wanted to know, just enough. Don't worry, your daughter won't know what you've done."
The woman sagged as death crept closer. Red eyes watched the blood flow slow. "Thank you for the battle, Haruno-san."
Kurenai weaved her fingers together and a gust of leaves hid her departure. Haruno was only one point of communication, but with her killed by a stone spy the others would be scrambling to figure everything out. In the meantime she had a report to file.
Since stepping onto the exposed deck, neutral gray clouds had covered the sky concealing the sun behind a curtain of fog. Wind whipped at Kin's hair tugging slivers loose from the ribbon as she looked into it. Even a novice seafarer such as herself could recognize the approach of a storm; it was fortuitous in a way.
"It's coming fast, girl. There's nothing to slow it down out here in the open, we'll have to be faster." Zabuza's gruff voice spoke over her shoulder. Kin inclined her head respectfully and gave the two over-sized bells holstered at her thighs a pat. The shinobi of their group gathered to the side as crewmen ran back and forth preparing for the coming storm. Her dark eyes darted to Naruto as he held his katana, recently won back through hard training, tightly in his fist as if expecting someone to try and snatch it and yet he still managed to watch the sailors excitedly. The kunoichi smiled to herself as her master was called back to attention as Zabuza cleared his throat in an annoyed fashion. Still, there was a malicious glint to his eyes as he spoke.
"Naruto, hang back till you see the signal, then attack 'en mass'." The little blonde's head snapped up, nearly cracking with the speed, and he gave a solemn nod while giving the briefest touch to the large scroll at his back. For a split second his eyes flashed a bright red.
"Kin, stick with me till we reach the inner circle, don't engage the enemy until after your primary goal has been achieved."
"Yes, Sir." She accepted the orders willingly and not with a small amount of habit. Though she understood the reasoning behind the orders it was galling to think that she wasn't skilled enough to fight alongside the men.
Then again, she was the best out of their little band for the job. She'd spent weeks studying till her brain melted for it.
Kin looked down at the waxed wood beneath her feet and scowled. She would have to be fast and stealthy -like a real ninja- and she'd wouldn't be stopped.
"Haku, set up as many ice mirrors as you can," this was new, and Kin looked up curious. "I'll be depending on you to help direct the battles. We may have more support than I originally anticipated." Despite the bandages concealing it, Zabuza's smile was vicious. "But keep to your original orders if it seems feasible."
"Hai, Zabuza-sama." As always Haku was perfectly polite and respectable, but Kin couldn't help notice the way the summoning scroll hung at his back. 'He signed it. I can't believe he signed an unknown scroll.'
"Let's move out."
Four pairs of feet hit the waves as thunder rolled over the ship. The captain watched as the figures became blurs on the ocean surface, and carefully scratched out false names from the log. 'Lost at Sea', he cracked his neck and turned to yell at his watchman. Whatever the ninja were doing it was none of his business.
The village was never peaceful, it's past and tradition was so deeply drenched in blood peace was a fairy tale. Peace was unthinkable. Someone was always scheming, and to get anywhere someone else had to die. It is the nature of a shinobi, the only way for a hidden village to thrive.
As the Mizukage checked his tea for poison, a chill shot down his spine. Slowly, he licked his lips and burned out the near undetectable toxin. They'll have to do better than that. He chuckled and downed the whole cup in a show of bravado to the unseen watchers. But the feeling of unease persisted.
END.