A/N: Wow. I'm amazed. I forgot how hard it is for me to write fanfiction over the weekend. And I gotta say, "American Pie" is a great song to listen to when you're writing. At least for me. So... standard disclaimers apply, and remember to put all valuables in the bins. We wouldn't want them to fall out and hurt somebody on the ride, would we? Don't worry, you can pick them back up after the ride. And I might be in the market for a good beta. So, if anybody's interested, lemme know! So... keep your hands and feet in the car and enjoy the ride! And by the way, special thanks to yukaishepards for my first review! Thanks man! Keep 'em coming!

The Tale Of Three Outcasts

Chapter II: Bloodlines and Family Ties

By: Del'Cera Osirin

The journey to Wave Country started off as uneventfully as it could, considering Naruto was on the team. They weren't fifty feet from the main gate when Naruto started spouting off some nonsense about how he was the "cream of the elite", even though he was barely a genin. Tazuna promptly retorted that he would never respect Naruto, even if he became Hokage. Naruto got angry and was about to beat the crap out of Tazuna, when Akira pulled him back by the lobe of his left ear.

"Naruto!" Akira hissed, "don't do something stupid right now! We need to make a good impression so that the Hokage will get a good report, and we will be sent on more C-rank missions! Plus, what you were about to do is the reason that I loathe people."

Naruto looked downtrodden for a moment, then brightened back up at the possibility of more C-ranked missions. Akira, however, wasn't fooled. He realized that Naruto was wearing a mask, hiding some indescribable pain. Akira was impressed. The only reason he could figure it out was because he had worn a mask just like that many years previously, until he got sick of wearing the endless "happy mask", and settled on his current, indifferent one. Heading toward the back of the group, Akira heard Sakura ask if there were any ninja in Wave Country, and he heard Kakashi launch a long-winded explanation of the five Kages (the Hokage, Mizukage, Kazekage, Raikage, and Tsuchikage). After reassuring Sakura that there were no ninjas in Wave Country, Kakashi noticed a small puddle by the side of the road. After the group passed it, Akira's gut, which he had learned to always trust, screamed out a warning. Almost instantly, two ninja from the Hidden Mist village wrapped a large, serrated chain around Kakashi and cut him into small, bloody chunks.

"One little piggy…" they said menacingly in unison, positioning themselves around Naruto. They had just started wrapping the chain around him when Sasuke grabbed a shuriken and threw it at a nearby tree, temporarily pinning it down. Akira followed up with a paper kunai, sending it straight through the hole in the shuriken, making the hold pretty much permanent. Sasuke then grabbed both of the Mist Nins' wrists and gave them each a strong kick to the face. This broke the chain, and the Mist Nins each sprinted toward different targets. One ran to Naruto, who promptly froze up and managed to leap away, but not without a gash on the back of his hand. The other ran toward Tazuna, who was bumped out of the way by Sakura, and Sasuke then leaped in front of her, who was in turn leaped in front of by Kakashi. Kakashi clotheslined the charging ninja, the other one already safely KO'd and under the Copy Ninja's arm. After both of the enemy nins were tied up, Kakashi had a little "discussion" with Tazuna about the details of the mission, and then tried to decide between continuing the mission and returning home to get Naruto medical attention. His choice was made for him, however, when Naruto grabbed a kunai and cut deeply into his hand, cleaning the poison out of his system. Kakashi then remarked, with a smile on his face, that Naruto cut too deeply and could very well die from his self-inflicted wound. After bandaging up Naruto's hand, they continued on and made camp for the night. Camped out in a grove of trees, they built a small fire and cooked some fish they had caught in a nearby river. There was a somewhat awkward silence, until Sasuke brought up a topic that made Akira cringe.

"Akira," he asked, "what was with that kunai you threw? It looked like it was made out of paper, or something."

Akira cringed at this, knowing that his bloodline had been found out. But, he had heard that there were two very prestigious clans in Konoha that had bloodline abilities, so he figured that it was okay to tell them.

"It was made of paper. It's a part of… my bloodline. My family had a very unique one, which manifested itself in different forms depending on the person. I got complete control over paper. I can make it into anything I want. I don't know about the other forms. It's different for every person. I once knew somebody who could do some pretty cool tricks with water with her bloodline, but she died a long time ago. Anyway, I'm really tired. I'm gonna go find somewhere to sleep. Don't worry; like I said before, I'll stay within earshot. Anyway, goodnight." With that, Akira went off into the forest to find somewhere in the dark to curl up and mourn his long-dead sister.

Noticing Akira's hidden distress at the topic of his sister, Naruto got up and began to follow Akira.

Finding a suitable spot inside a dip in a rock, Akira got some sheets of paper out of his backpack and assembled a guitar. He had taught himself to play, since he got mighty lonely at times when he was younger. The music helped soothe him in a way that no drug, medication, or any other conventional form of relief ever could. It was as if he could feel the tension slipping away from him as he played the notes. And so he started to strum a familiar tune.

As Naruto neared the place he last saw Akira, he began to hear a haunting melody coming from a dip in a rock. It was beautiful, and yet melancholy at the same time. But if the music was hard to describe, the difficulty in describing the lyrics was near impossible to even put into words. Even though they were in a language Naruto could not understand, they sounded, sweet, mournful, longing, happy, in fact, just about every human emotion possible.

"Would you know my name," Akira began,
"if I saw you in heaven?
Would it be the same
if I saw you in heaven?
I must be strong and carry on
'Cause I know I don't belong here in heaven...

Would you hold my hand
if I saw you in heaven?
Would you help me stand
if I saw you in heaven?
I'll find my way through night and day
'Cause I know I just can't stay here in heaven...

Time can bring you down, time can bend your knees
Time can break your heart, have you begging please...begging please

Beyond the door there's peace I'm sure
And I know there'll be no more tears in heaven...

Would you know my name
if I saw you in heaven?
Would it be the same
if I saw you in heaven?
I must be strong and carry on
'Cause I know I don't belong here in heaven..."

As he finished the song, Akira finally noticed that he had a visitor. Naruto stood there, by the rock, just staring at him. But it wasn't a stare that Akira was used to getting. It held much more than anger. It was pity, it was questioning, it was longing, all at once. Akira answered Naruto's unspoken question by patting the hard soil next to him. As Naruto sat down, he asked only one question.

"That was beautiful. Was it for your sister?"

"Yes, it was."

"When did you learn to play?"

"A few years ago. When did your mask come up, Naruto?" It was Akira's turn to ask a question.

"What makes you ask such a weird question?" Naruto answered, dancing around the proper answer.

"Don't try to play dumb. I've worn the same mask before. The bright smiles that don't reach your eyes. The loud, boisterous attitude just to garner attention. Don't think that I haven't been in your shoes before. So, I'll ask again. When did the mask come up?"

Shocked at what he was hearing, Naruto decided to answer the question truthfully. "Since I can remember. I think I was eight, the first time I put on the stupid smile."

"What happened to make you do that at such a young age?"

"I was punished on a daily basis by the entire village for a crime that I didn't commit."

"Can I ask what happened? Or would you rather forget?"

"I would rather forget. But what about you? What happened to you to make you wear a mask?"

"Let's put it this way. After my father learned about my mother's bloodline, which was passed on to me and my sister, he wasn't too happy. And our house had katanas in it."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"There's nothing I can do about it now. I just have to live with the pain. And you should probably go back to the rest of the team. They're probably looking for you."

"Okay, Akira. Good night."

"Goodnight."

With that, Akira drifted off to sleep, finally glad that he had found a friend who didn't care about his bloodline.