Chapter 6: The Jig is Up
Tsunade sat in her office, shuffling through paperwork and occasionally taking a drink of sake. She sensed the presence at the door before the knock sounded, and she called out "Come in Kakashi."
The silver-haired jounin entered the room; his only visible eye turned up in what she assumed was a smile. "Need something, Kakashi? Sasuke is in the hospital, so your team has no missions today." He sat in a chair by her desk and sighed. "No, Hokage. If you're not too busy, there is someone I want to discuss." She looked at him, curious. "Is it Naruto?"
He shook his head no, and replied "No, it's not him. There is a visitor in town, she claims to be just passing through, and she also claims to be a ninja of The Village Hidden in the Mist."
"Kakashi, what is the problem?" "The problem, I'm not sure how to state. She seems fine, but she gives me a strange feeling. And she must know who Naruto is, but she neither is afraid nor shuns him."
"I see no problem, Kakashi. Is it really so strange that somebody accepts Naruto as his own person, and not just a demon?"
"Well, no, but—"
A knock at the door interrupted their conversation. Tsunade turned toward Kakashi, a thoughtful look on her face. Nobody had ever managed to knock before Tsunade sensed their presence. "Enter."
The door opened to reveal Ayumi, fan in hand, green eyes sparkling in the bright room and brimming with an unidentifiable emotion. The spark was gone as soon as it had arrived, though, as the girl stepped forward. "Is this a bad time, Kakashi?"
The ninja stood. "Ayumi, this is our Hokage, Tsunade-sama." The older woman stood up, recognizing the name Ayumi. "Your name is Ayumi?" The teen inclined her head slightly toward Tsunade, acknowledging her question. "Yes. It is."
Tsunade sat down again. "And do you have a last name?" "Yes. My last name is Kinahaku."
Kinahaku…that name was familiar as well, but Tsunade couldn't remember who these people were. "Kakashi is currently speaking with me, so if you would please wait outside?" Ayumi nodded again. "Of course." And with that, she shut the door.
"That is the one I told you about earlier, Tsunade. Something about her is off, no?"
The medic-ninja 'hn'ed. "I vaguely recognize the name Ayumi, but I can't remember where I've heard it before. Keep an eye on her, Kakashi."
"Right away, Hokage." Kakashi poofed away then, leaving a disgruntled Tsunade behind.
Why in the world can't I remember who she is?
Ayumi had no intention of waiting for Kakashi, but immediately after exiting the tower, set off in search of Naruto. It was almost an hour before she spotted him at Ichiraku's Ramen Shop. Of course the boy would be here. Where else would Naruto be?
She sat next to him, and ordered her ramen. It was a few minutes before it registered to the blonde that someone was with him. He blinked owlishly at her, before exclaiming, with a mouth full of noodles, "Hey, Ayumi! Heard anything new about Sasuke?"
She eyed him disdainfully before answering "No, I haven't. But Naruto, I assume you know a boy named Neji?"
At the mention of the Hyuga, Naruto gave his full attention to the girl. "Yeah, I know Neji. I beat Neji in the Chunnin Exam!"
"Well, it seems he wants a rematch." Ayumi quickly made up a lie.
Naruto's eyes widened. "Really? Neji wants a rematch? Cool! I'll beat him again!"
Ayumi mentally chalked another point for her, and smirked behind her fan. "I can show you where Neji wants the rematch. Sakura and I talked to him earlier today. Come on, I'll show you." She got up to leave, and Naruto looked down regretfully at the remainder of his ramen before getting up and following her.
She walked in silence out of the village, Naruto babbling the entire time. She ignored him though, instead concentrating on her own thoughts. Sasuke is in the hospital, Sakura is visiting him, Kakashi is occupied with the Hokage, and I have Naruto all to myself. Soon I will unleash the Kyuubi and destroy it. Then my clan will be avenged and I will have completed my purpose.
Ayumi stopped in a clearing by the river, and the blonde bumped into her from behind. "Hey, where's Neji?" "Oh, don't worry Naruto, you'll get your match soon enough."
"Does that mean Neji's on his way?"
"Somebody's coming." Ayumi sensed the presence of a follower, and quickly pinpointed their location. It's another ANBU from my village. And it's not Kinahaku. This one is male, and there are two of them. This should be interesting…let's see how the Kyuubi container feels about me after this.
A shuriken came whizzing out of the tree to Ayumi's left, and she quickly deflected it with one of her own that she pulled out of her sleeve. Naruto was shocked. "You're a ninja!?" Before she could answer him, a figure appeared in the river and began to make hand signs. She didn't even blink, but threw the shuriken at the body, which exploded into water at first contact, leaving the weapon to fall in the river. They're using only clone jutsus and shuriken. The idiots don't want to hurt Naruto by outright attacking me. That works in my favor, because as long as they hold back, I can kill them that much faster.
Another figure dropped from the tree and charged Ayumi. He was wearing and all-black body suit, and an ANBU mask hid his face. Ayumi simply stood there, and counted to three. Suddenly, he stopped in mid-air, as if he were frozen from the inside out. His body slumped to the ground, and his partner took advantage of the distraction to perform a jutsu. It never succeeded, though. Ayumi turned to face him, and sent a bone-chilling glare.
She held eye contact while focusing chakra to her hands. Ayumi then dropped her fan and performed a few hand movements, after which, the man fell to the ground. Ayumi smirked evilly and turned to face Naruto. "Now, where were we?"
Her voice was no longer calm and cool, but ice cold. It ripped at Naruto more fiercely than a hundred senbon needles.
He backed away slowly. Who was this girl? How had she beaten those ninja? Was she going to kill him next? All these questions and a million more raced through Naruto's head in the next instant, but she just stood there and smiled that evil smile at him. It appeared she was enjoying his mental torture. He backed away again, and this time, she stepped forward, matching his movements step for step.
"Come now, Naruto. I thought you wanted a fight." He had wanted to fight…but after seeing her kill those two men, Naruto wasn't so sure. Her voice taunted him, sickly sweet and terribly bitter.
"Naruto…come."
That single command froze Naruto in his tracks. It was a challenge, she was trying to convince him to either fight or flee. Naruto had no choice, he was doomed. If he stayed, she would kill him for sure. But if he ran, she would catch him in a matter of seconds, and then kill him.
Ayumi took one more step forward, and Naruto took one back. She bent down to pick up her fan, and he shot off at the opportunity. Fool. Ayumi thought as she stood up. If you won't come, I will hunt you.
Ayumi set off after him, easily locating him in his panic. She grabbed a kunai and threw it at him as he jumped another tree. He landed in a small clearing, weapon through his pant leg, pinning him to the ground with no chance of escape.
She dropped from the tree, and smirked evilly again as he futilely struggled to pull out the weapon and escape. Calmly walking toward him, she stated "Don't worry, Naruto. It's not you I need to kill. But I do need you." He looked at her in confusion. "What do you mean?" She scoffed. "Idiot. I would explain, but your tiny mind could not possibly comprehend. And besides," She looked up in the forest as a kunai knife lodged itself in the tree behind her, "We have company."
Some of her hair fell to the ground where the knife cut it as she looked to the highest tree in the area, and three figures dropped down. The first Naruto immediately recognized as Kakashi, who was carrying a half-conscious Sasuke on his back. Second was Sakura, whose eyes filled with shock and horror at the situation she stumbled upon. Finally, Tsunade appeared, a grim expression on her face. Ayumi nodded toward the kunai. "Tsunade, I could have sworn she told me you had better aim." Naruto was bewildered. What was going on?
Tsunade shook her head. "I wasn't aiming for you. Take off your wig and show us who you really are."
Ayumi chuckled as she shed her fake hair. The long black strands fell off her head to reveal extremely short white locks in their place. Sakura stared in confusion, while Kakashi gasped. "Tsunade, she isn't the—"
"Yes, Kakashi. She is." Sakura stared at the adults, utterly confused. "Who is she, Kakashi-sensei?" The jounin stared at the girl and answered "Her name is Ayumi, all right. But her last name isn't Kinahaku."
"That's right." Tsunade confirmed. "She is Ayumi Edochi, the last surviving member of the famed Edochi clan of The Village Hidden in the Mist." Sakura kept glancing between the two. "Ok, but who is she?" Ayumi laughed a cold, humorless laugh at the kunoichi's ignorance. "Sakura, for one who claims to be so smart, you're about as much of an idiot as Naruto." Both genin growled at this, but she ignored them and continued. "I am Ayumi Edochi. I am the last of my clan, no thanks to you."
She pointed a finger at Naruto, and he asked, "Hey! What did I ever do to you?"
"It's not what you did to me, Naruto; it's what Kyuubi did to my entire family. It slaughtered them, when I was only three years old. And now," she grinned demonically. "Now I will have my revenge."
Like I said, I can't write Tsunade. apologizes v.v
And this update is late. bows T.T
Okay, then, peeps, next chapter is a crappy little fight intermission type thing, and then I'm probably killing Sakura. You know, I hear a lot about her fans (amazingly enough), but when it's time to step up, they're nowhere to be found! WTF!?
If anybody new reviews, I will love joo! Kaiseress is the only one so far, so she gets a virtual hug and cookies: P
