A/N: Merry Christmas(Eve)!!!! Here is your Christmas present for all those faithful reviewers! Thank you all for reviewing last chapter. I hope a lot of people review this one…even though it is shorter than my last chapter. I hope you enjoy your present!


Chapter 7: Stronger


"Get up."

"H-hai." Ino whimpered as she wobbled back on her feet. She was bruised and had kunais imbedded in her arms and legs. She was breathing heavily and her vision was becoming blurry.

"You've only trained fro three hours and you are that tired? You disappoint me." Aki shook her head in annoyance as she watched Ino struggling.

"What did you expect!? I've been dodging you for three hours, why shouldn't I be tired!?"

"I don't want hear you complain. How do you expect to get stronger if all you do is complain?"

"I will be stronger!"" Ino yelled as she yanked one of the kunais from her flesh and steady herself for the next attack. Aki said nothing and charged Ino who jumped out of the way and flung the kunai she held. Aki caught the projectile as it neared her and flung it back. Ino ducked but was instantly kicked in the chin by Aki. She flew into the air before landing in a heap on the ground.

"Stand up." When Ino didn't move, Aki growled in frustration before walking towards Ino who was about to fall unconscious. She picked up the girl by the collar of her shirt and pulled her up until her feet dangled. Ino had blood dribbling down her chin and a bruise on the underside of her chin.

"You're not even worth my time. Why should I teach you? You don't deserve to be our Mistress if you are this weak."

"I'm… not…"

"You're not what? If you think that you are strong then you should just die right now. How are you strong when you can't even land a hit on me? How are you strong if you fall as soon as I hit you?"

"S-shut…up." Ino gasped out and coughed slightly. Aki sneered and threw Ino away from her. The girl skidded to a stop a couple of feet away and didn't get back up.

"Kyouka, heal her. I'm done training her for the day. And remember, only heal the serious wounds, I better see those bruises tomorrow." With that Aki turned and vanished. Kyouka leapt down from the tree she was in and walked towards Ino.

"After training with her for a month, Aki still hates her. Poor Ino-chan…" Kyouka knelt down and began healing her. She was about to pick her up when she heard footsteps approaching the area. She felt the chakra of the intruder and left immediately.


"Sasuke-teme, what the hell? We were training and you suddenly stopped! What gives?" Naruto yelled as he watched his teammate walk towards a clearing in the forest they were training in.

"Shut up dobe, I sense someone's chakra nearby."

"Who's chakra?"

"Why don't you sense the person yourself baka." Naruto was about to retort when they caught sight of a body on the ground. They recognized it at once and rushed to it.

"Ino-chan!!" Naruto was the first to reach her body and was scared when he saw the bruises on her body.

"She's sleeping dobe. Calm down." Sasuke mumbled as he looked at the sleeping form of the girl.

"What happened to her?"

"How would I know? We have to wait until she wakes up." So they did. After a month of being together on the same team, they were able to tolerate each other. Maybe it was because the girl unconscious had something to do with it.

Ino always tried to get the boys to do something as a team, whether it is training or shopping, they were always together. At first, they rejected the idea: Naruto just hated Sasuke and Sasuke always wanted to be alone. But Ino was determined to get them to be friends so now; they came to a mutual understanding: they were both alone and someone was trying to break them free of the emptiness and cold loneliness they were forcefully subjected to. So they let her do whatever she wanted.

As a result, their teamwork improved greatly. Even though they only received D ranked missions, they still helped each other to some degree.(Sasuke usually refusing to help due to his arrogance) And, they usually watched each other's back, which brought on the boys concern for their teammate, who with each day, came to the meetings with bruises, cuts, and sometimes broken bones.

"Urchin-head, Uchiha-kun, what's up?" They boys looked up to see Kyouka in a tree.

"Midget-chan, come down here and heal Ino-chan!"

"I can't."

"Why not?" Sasuke asked and Kyouka stared at him for a moment before directing her stare to Ino.

"Well?" Sasuke pressed on and Kyouka sighed.

"This is part of her training. That is why I can't interfere."

"How is this part of her training? So it is okay to keep walking around with bruises and cuts and act like she isn't in pain?" Naruto yelled at her and Kyouka growled.

"It's not like I don't care baka! Of course I would like to heal her, but I am not allowed to because I'm not the one who is training her. Each council member has a different way of training. Aki-chan is stricter than most. So, she doesn't like to offer sympathy to those who train to become stronger. She doesn't want them to depend on someone to help them when they are in trouble. Aki-chan believes in independence. You don't have it, she won't respect you."

"That's cruel! You can't force independence on people like that! People need to depend on others."

"Is that what you truly believe Naruto? That people need to rely on others to survive?" Naruto looked shocked before he clenched his mouth in aggravation.

"I-it's nice to know that you have people to support you in your times of need. To know that someone is going to catch you as you fall. Being independent is like pushing all those people away – being alone…" Naruto stopped talking and looked away. Sasuke glanced at him and looked back to Kyouka.

"Do you believe that Kyouka-san?"

"…In the shinobi lifestyle, it is nice to know that you have people supporting you. But it is also nice to know that you don't have anyone so you now that when you die, no one will miss you."

"That can't be right. Why do you want that?" Naruto asked.

"Urchin-head…it hurts when you lose someone. It hurts a lot. That's why I think it is better to be independent, so as to not feel that pain anymore."

"…"

"If you don't believe me, ask Uchiha-kun. His whole clan was murdered. Imagine how that'll feel."

"How can I imagine the pain if I never had anyone to lose before?" Kyouka stared at the ocean orbs that glimmered with unshed tears. She knew she touched a sore spot by bringing this up, but once her mouth starts, she can't control what she says.

"Trust me Naruto; it is sometimes a blessing to be alone in the world. Sometimes, it isn't. It depends on the person. Some chooses to be alone so they don't have to cry when someone close to them die. They either isolate themselves from human contacts or keep people at a distance, right Uchiha-kun?"

Sasuke didn't say anything. Naruto looked at him questionably, but the Uchiha didn't meet his eyes.

"But…those emotions are necessary for people to mature…" Three eyes looked at the girl on the ground who was awake and struggling to sit up.

"Ino-chan!" Naruto went to help her up but she lightly pushed him away.

"I'm okay, Naruto-kun, Sasuke-kun."

"What do you mean that it is necessary?" Kyouka cut of Naruto as he was about to say something to Ino. The blonde boy glared at her and she ignored him. She was curious as to what her soon to be mistress was about to say.

"Everyone knows that the world isn't kind to anyone. So trying to not form bonds because you are afraid of heartaches is the coward's way out. Experiencing pain is the way to get stronger. If you have suffered through pain and overcome them, you can become stronger and prevent those pains from ever happening again."

Silence fell over the clearing as they thought about what she said. It rang some truth, but still…

"It's harder than it seems Ino." Surprisingly, it was Sasuke who broke the silence. He ignored the set of eyes on him and continued.

"When you suffer through things, it is hard to overcome. It's hard for you to forget that pain and it is safer to keep people away so the wounds have a chance to heal."

"That's not true Sasuke-kun. Having people to rely on through your hard times can heal your pain. That's just like you saying that it is okay to leave a wound bleeding instead of taking care of it. If you leave a wound untended to, then it can succumb to infections and cause more harm then it originally caused."

"What a wonderful insight Ino-chan." Kyouka complimented after the girl spoke. "To think that such a young girl was able to come up with something like that. I'm impressed."

"It's nothing. Learning mind based jutsus makes me more in tune with the workings of the mind than normal people are." Ino boasted proudly.

"Ino-chan you are amazing." Naruto also complimented her and she smiled at him. She then looked at Sasuke who was silently brooding.

"Well, was I any help in figuring out your life?"

"Hn."

"Oh, fine." She huffed before struggling to stand up. Naruto helped her which she muttered quick thanks before she looked back at the Uchiha.

"Well, I'll leave you alone then so you can continue to think about whatever you are thinking about. Naruto-kun, can you help me back home?"

"Sure Ino-chan." He led her in the direction of her home, but not before saying bye to Kyouka and Sasuke. When it was just the two of them, Kyouka jumped down next to Sasuke.

"It is a heard concept to grasp isn't it? For someone who lost everything and then pushing people away, it is hard to just suddenly let people come back into your life."

"…Why are you still here?"

"Because I understand what it feels like to lose everything. I lost my clan…I lost my sensei that I looked up to as my mother… I also lost my dear little brother, who meant the world to me. I couldn't even watch him grow up…to see him become a Konoha-nin, to complete his first mission, to fall in love, to become what he always wanted to be, to get married and have his first child…I missed all of that…"

Sasuke looked at her and saw that Kyouka looked ready to cry; her red eyes filled with so much sorrow that he couldn't stand to look at her less he began to feel that same sorrow.

"My sweet, sweet otouto…he was such a precious little baby when he was born. His bright blue eyes staring at me with such innocence; I was so happy that I promised to love him with everything I had. I was seven years old, but I wanted to be his mother. My darling little boy, my precious otouto…his first words were Kyouka-kaasan…" Tears were streaming down her face now and Sasuke just frowned.

"Why are you telling me this?" He was quickly ignored as Kyouka continued to talk about her brother.

"…I'm sure you heard of my brother right? He was famous you know. Konoha's Yellow Flash!" She smiled through her tears and Sasuke gaped openly.

'Her younger brother was the Yondaime!?'

"Yes, he was the Yondaime and I am still proud of him. And he had such a beautiful boy himself. He grew up fine…my nephew."

"There was no mention of Yondaime-sama having a son. How would you know who he is?"

"How can you not know who he is…you're with him every day." Sasuke eyes widened and his mouth dropped. But he quickly composed himself, after all Uchihas don't show such emotions.

"Dobe?" Kyouka nodded and laughed at the shock expression on his face.

"He is the Yondaime's son?"

"He doesn't know it, though. There are only four other people who know this besides you and me--- and they knew longer than I did---those people are the Sandaime, Kakashi-kun, Jiraiya-sama and Tsunade-sama. The last two are---"

"The legendary Sannins, students of the Sandaime…how do Kakashi know?"

"He was otouto's student."

"Hn…"

"Don't try to hide it; you're shocked aren't you? Hell, I was when I talked with Kakashi-kun. He was shocked to find out that I am older than him. Wasn't even shocked that I was Naruto's aunt."

"How old are you?"

"Last time I checked, I think around my forties…or maybe older."

"Forties?"

"Don't look it right?" With a shake of his head, she smirked. "Once you become a council member, you stop aging until you give up your position. I became a member at 22, so I stayed that way."

"How do you become a member?"

"Interested are we?"

"Hn."

"One of the council members has to have an interest in you. If you meet their requirements, you get trained by them. Why do you want to know?"

"I want to be stronger, so I can avenge my clan."

"Path of vengeance, eh? Not a good choice in the long run."

"What would you know, I need to kill him!!"

"And then what?" Sasuke glared at the woman besides him as she evenly matched him in his glare.

"Let's say you kill him and avenge your clan. Then what, you have a whole life ahead of you. What you plan to do after that?"

"…"

"Can't think of anything can you? You accomplished your life goal. You have nothing worth striving for. Why continue?"

'And then what?' That question kept on echoing in his head and he was disturbed that he couldn't find an answer to her question. What would he do after he killed that man? Why can't he think of anything?

"It's getting late, why don't you go home?" The voice cut through Sasuke's musings and caused him to look at the stars that began to dot the sky in their small lustrous glow.

"I… have no home."

"You understand me…"

"What?" Sasuke looked at Kyouka who smiled slight and stood up.

"To answer your question about why I am telling you about my past. It's because Ino-chan's words made me realize that it is okay to rely on people to help heal your wounds. Though I'll never forget my precious otouto, my little Minato-kun, talking about him made me feel lighter. Talking about how I lost him…it feel's like a great weight has been lifted off my shoulders. And though, you didn't talk to me about your wounds, you should know that I'll be waiting to here them. Just like how your teammates are there for you."

"…Hn." Sasuke stood up and began walking away. Kyouka grinned at his back.

"I like you kid. Who knows, you may become my apprentice…but I don't know, you haven't met all my requirements yet."

This caused Sasuke to stop in his walk and stand frozen in his spot. Kyouka smirked as she could feel his curiosity "What requirements?"

"The fact that I could connect with you is a big bonus. You also have the right affinity for my dance and is already advanced. Your requirement for me to actually teach you is to…drop your dream of revenge for the time being."

"No," He fiercely growled and glared at her with the strongest glare he had. At that instance, Kyouka released a strong portion of killer intent on him that, in a couple of seconds, brought him to his knees and quivering in absolute fear.

"I will not teach you if you cling desperately onto that ridiculous dream of yours! I will not also tolerate your fucking arrogance and pride. Becoming my apprentice means that you will be trained to serve our Mistress! Not kill some man! Do no think that I'll teach you so you can waste my skills to kill only one person! I'll give you a couple of days to sort out your priorities. When you made your decision, channel chakra through this to summon me and I'll come to you."

Kyouka tossed one of her gold bangles to him, which landed in front of the terrified Uchiha. He slowly lifted his head and Kyouka caught his dilated pupils in her ruby glare.

"Remember Uchiha who is the stronger of us two. I am not afraid to exert my force on you. You need to learn that not all people will bow down to you. You want my help, you need to earn it—prove that you want my help."

Sasuke struggled to get up and was panting from the exertion he went through. Kyouka watched as he picked up the bangle and looked back at her.

"Well, go on home…I have to pester a certain Jounin into a date." Kyouka's mood did a complete 180 that had Sasuke wondering if she is bipolar or something.

"Well ciao Sasuke-kun! Make sure you consider my offer okay!" With that, she vanished leaving a frozen Sasuke alone.

A/N: That's that. This chapter was mostly focused on the characters' concept of becoming stronger (somewhat) and a talk between Sasuke and Kyouka. I hoped you enjoyed. Please review. I am hoping for at least 50 reviews before the New Year.

Merry Christmas!!!

Devilchild 34