Chapter Five: Sayuri's Story Begins!
An ANBU blanketed in black enter the Fifth's office.
"Sayuri."
"Hokage-sama," the ANBU with the fox-masked face answered.
"Congratulations on another successful mission. Take off your mask."
"Yes, Hokage-sama, thank you," the ANBU obeyed.
Sayuri removed her mask and gave her head a shake, then flattened her hair
back into place.
"For your next mission, you're to pose as a genin. There will be three other genin
on your team."
"Other than your rank, Sayuri, you are free to be yourself. All four of these
ninja know you. You're story as to your whereabouts these past few years are
that you were with you're distant cousins in another village. You received private
training from one of our ninja, and became a genin the same year as the rest of
your class here. Understand?"
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
"Your team will be traveling to the Land of Wind."
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
"Are you ready to meet your teammates?"
"Yes!" Sayuri let her cloak slip down from her shoulders and pulled the ANBU
armor off, placing it behind the Hokage's desk.
"You can come in now," Tsunade called; the door opened and Sayuri caught a
brief glance of green, blue, and orange, before a rush of red shot towards her,
enveloping her in a crushing hug.
"Sayuri-chan!"
Sasuke!
Sayuri flinched as she saw the boy who looked too much like Itachi, the ANBU that
had trained her to be an ANBU in the first place. Sasuke stared at her for what
seemed like forever, before glaring. Sayuri had spent more of her time at the
Uchiha's home with his brother, just days before she had been taken by the older
Uchiha to start her training as an ANBU. It was only natural that Sasuke had been
jealous then, and that he could seem to hate her so much now; she was only a
reminder of the few weeks before Sasuke's world had been destroyed. Still, she
faked a smile.
'Damn, Tsunade!' Sayuri thought. 'Why'd you have to team me up with his baby
brother?"
Outside, Sayuri continued her fake smile. "Hello, Sasuke-kun!"
"Keh," Sasuke turned away; Sayuri continued to smile. She turned to the blonde
boy. "Naruto-kun!"
"Uh…" Naruto looked confused; he walked up to her. Sayuri raised an eyebrow as
Naruto circled her, looking her up and down.
"Hmm…" Naruto stared at her another moment.
"Do I know you?" he asked. Both Sasuke and Sayuri's eyebrows shot up far
enough to disappear into their hair. Sakura looked pissed.
"Damn it, Naruto!" she yelled. "It's Sayuri! We were in our first year of the Ninja
Academy with her! She always walked with Sasuke-kun afterward! We ate lunch
together!"
"She was friends with my brother," Sasuke muttered. Only Kakashi and Sayuri
heard him; they both stared at the floor at that. Sasuke's scowl deepened. Sayuri
turned away. Kakashi came to stand next to her.
"Sayuri," he whispered.
"Kakashi…Sensei," she added, realizing she was pulling of a Genin façade.
"It's been a while."
"I've been really busy."
"Quite a few missions, for a twelve-year-old."
"Thirteen."
"When did that happen?"
"Last month."
"I'm sorry."
"Why's that, Sensei?"
"Because I forgot…" Kakashi was confused at Sayuri's density.
"You had your own problems," Sayuri said, excusing him politely.
"I wouldn't call a birthday a problem."
"I meant your own missions."
"Ah."
"I didn't care."
"Hm?"
"My birthday; it's just another day."
"It's a rite of passage. You're a teenager now… Or is it just one more day since
your mentor --"
Sayuri glared at Kakashi, who shrugged.
Sayuri nodded towards Naruto. "He's found my mask."
And sure enough, Naruto, who had stepped behind the Hokage's desk to complain
closer to their leader, had stumbled upon the fox-like mask Sayuri had placed
there. At first Naruto looked stunned, then nervous. His whisper carried over to
the two ANBU ranked ninja as he asked the Hokage if he was in trouble. The old
ninja only shook his head, muttering that it didn't concern him. The relief on
Naruto's face was deeply expressed.
"I take it the Nine-Tailed Fox has had a few run-ins with people meaning him
harm," Sayuri said quietly.
Kakashi nodded. "He ran into a few…old friends of the village, I guess you could
say. One of them was, anyway."
"Who?"
"Just how long have you been gone?" Kakashi asked, surprised. "I was told by the
Hokage that all the ANBU had been informed of the incident with Akatsuki."
"Akatsuki?"
"You didn't know?"
"I've been doing missions continuously since Tsunade became the Fifth," Sayuri
admitted with an exhausted sigh.
"Yes, I had heard. And quite a few of them were solo missions, correct?"
"Yeah," Sayuri sighed.
"That's not exactly healthy; for a girl so young to travel alone.
"You're forgetting I'm an ANBU," Sayuri muttered.
"That's right… A few more missions and you may be eligible to be a captain."
"No thanks. If this is the first 'retreat' I get in six months since Sarutobi-sama's
death, and then to think how bad it would be if I were a captain..."
"Nonstop missions, assassinations, and paperwork," Kakashi sighed,
nodding. "I've been there."
"Then you see my point."
"Kakashi! Are you paying attention?" Tsunade snapped in frustration.
"Yes, yes, Tsunade-sama," Kakashi said, bored. "We go to Suna, stop for
provisions and to rest, then continue on to the Village Hidden in the Stones. We
get the credential scrolls; bring them here, mission complete."
"Then…why do we need another teammate?" Naruto asked. "Ow!"
"Idiot," Sakura muttered, unclenching her fist and watching with satisfaction as
Naruto rubbed feverishly at the knot she had just given his head. "It's a long
journey, and a fifth comrade will make it easier on all of us. Right, Kakashi-
sensei?"
"Right."
"So, Sayuri-chan?"
"Yes, Sakura-chan?"
"Why were you gone for so long?"
Sayuri paused a moment, hitching her bag higher up on her back; they were
walking through the Fire County towards the Land of Wind.
"I was with my extended family in the Land of Lightning."
"Then, how'd you get to be a ninja, if you didn't graduate from the Academy with
us?" Naruto asked, catching up to the two girls at the head of the group and
walking on Sayuri's other side.
"Private training," she said shortly, quickening her steps; behind her, she could
feel Sasuke staring at her.
"What kind of private training?" Naruto asked, catching up with her.
"Weaponry, Taijutsu… Everything that you learned, really."
By now, she was running, too restless to walk. It was a habit she had quickly
picked up from her "sensei." Sayuri pushed off hard from the ground and jumped
into a tree, continuing her running from there. She heard the sound of shoes and
chakra hitting the wood behind her. Annoyed, she turned to face Naruto, fully
intending to tell him off for his constant questioning. Instead, she found herself
facing Sasuke.
"Sasuke-kun," she nodded.
"Sayuri-chan."
Sasuke glared at her; Sayuri glared back.
"What?"
"That was a nice story you told Naruto."
"What are you talking about?"
"I mean, why don't you just go ahead and tell him who your 'sensei' really was?"
Sasuke asked, glowering.
"Because he doesn't need to know… You don't need to know.
"How could I not know, you trained right in front of me!"
"If you want to know if he said anything to me, you can forget it," Sayuri snapped.
"Do you honestly think Sempai would told a little girl what he was going to do?"
"No. But why are you still calling him 'Sempai'?" Sasuke snapped back. "And why
did you even start to call him that in the first place?"
"That has nothing to do with you!" Sayuri hissed, before speeding up yet again,
leaving a very pissed off Uchiha behind her.