Disclaimer: Naruto and every character of the Naruto universe belongs to Kishimoto Masashi and companies I don't know.
Original upload date: 08/03/2013
Last update: NA
Chance for a Prophecy
Chapter 10. – Inside a sandcastle
The Sun was high above the horizon, sending hot beams toward the already weary team. Toroku turned around resting his eyes on the landscape. Sand was everywhere he looked. The incessant wind carved extreme forms into the soft silky sand, building dunes and enormous mountains from the infinite supply of material. The variation of small waves and high dunes never left the horizon. Only one or two abstract cliffs raised above the golden sea, interrupting the soft curves on the horizon. Toroku turned his head to the other side, now very grateful for his mask as he saw his teammates walking against the wind with squinted eyes. He started to miss the green color of nature. They were marching for two days in the golden dust, but aside from a few thousand years old trees and some cacti here and there he couldn't spot any vegetation.
He finally spotted something in the distance. Something which was definitely not sand and definitely not the craft of nature. It was somehow too straight, too regular, but still not industrial. He narrowed his eyes and stopped walking, eying the thin and straight line on the horizon. Jiraiya turned toward the blond and nodded.
"Those are the walls which surrounds Sunagakure no Sato. We are almost there. It's about time, one more night in this dessert and I'll go berserk."
A shiver ran through the white haired sannin and Toroku smiled back at him in understanding. However, he really like the nights out in the desert. As the soft sand encompassed his body from the outside, the warm inside the sleeping bag, while the outside world became cold. Somehow, for him, these extreme differences felt familiar, nice. And when he glanced up to the night sky, nothing bothered his sight during his star watch. Toroku let out a weary sigh and closed his exhausted eyes. He hadn't really slept since they stepped into the desert, and when he finally fell asleep he was wondering again in that sewer. He leaned down and slowly stroked his hands through the silky sand, enjoying as the small grains flow out from his palm, pulled by the gravity or picked up by the always blowing wind when he lifted his hands.
"I know this place…" Jiraiya narrowed his eyes and turned back to Toroku.
"Memories?" The teen only shook his head and he leaned down again, gently stroking the sand, like a children playing in the sandbox. A warm smile ran across his face and he closed his eyes, enjoying once more the feeling as the sand ran across his gentle fingers. He finally let out a sigh and straightened himself to turn to his curious companion. Jiraiya in the end only nodded and waved to Toroku to catch up with the others. He slowly turned around again to glance one last time at the endless dunes, than jogged toward the small group.
They reached the walls of Suna after two hours, and Toroku's feelings that he is in a familiar place increased continuously with each step as they closed the distance between them and the walls. There were no doors, but several guards glanced at them with a suspicious look, especially giving high heed to Jiraiya and Toroku. When they almost reached the entrance, a jonin jumped down in front of them, holding up a hand. The small team stayed calm, but still ready to jump if necessary. Jiraiya stepped ahead to the jonin, and handed a small scroll to the shinobi.
"We are escorting a political envoy from Konoha. You can find every detail in the scroll, so if you will let us pass through the gates…We have an appointment with your Kazekage."
The jonin narrowed his eyes, as he slowly opened the scroll, readying it carefully at least two times, to finally nod toward four men who appeared next to the jonin in a blink. He slowly wrapped up the scroll again and handed it to one of the men.
"Escort them to the Kazekage." The jonin turned to Jiraiya and narrowed his eyes again at the white haired man, who let out a frustrated groan.
"Don't cause any trouble. Maybe you are powerful Jiraiya-sama, but the advantage of home is on our side." Jiraiya only rolled his eyes in annoyance and waved a hand toward their small group.
They got through the narrow passage and when they finally reach the end, Toroku stopped his movement and one of the Suna jonin almost bumped into his back, only his fast reflexes saved him from that humiliating situation. The blond narrowed his eyes as he rotated his head from left to right, unable to place the scene. The round forms of the brown and golden houses, which looked like they were made from clay, the narrow streets and the abstract forms warmed up his heart and he felt his mouth curved up into a soft smile. Jiraiya narrowed his eyes again, eyeing every movement of the blond. 'Maybe Minato was right and he's really from Suna. By his reaction it is more than possible and Ame is only a dead-end.' One of the Suna shinobi cleared his throat and Jiraiya stopped his wondering thoughts.
"Kitsune-san." No reaction.
"Kitsune-san."
"Kakashi, could you please?" A painful and surprised yelp left Toroku's mouth under the mask as he jumped to the side, almost bumped into the same jonin and glanced down to his side where the small amount of pain came to see the still softly sparkling finger of Kakashi.
"Why did you do that?!"
"It was an order." The silver haired jonin shrugged and nodded toward Jiraiya.
"I don't care. I told you I hate that that shit. Geez." As if to punctuate his words, he snapped the jonin hard at the top of his head at his last word, who gave an angry look in response while Rin let out a small chuckle. Jiraiya started to massage his throbbing forehead as the two teens started arguing and shouting each other completely unaware of the amused, irritated, and sniggering Suna shinobi. Jiraiya felt as a vein started to pulse with every heartbeat and he glanced toward the two boys who were only centimeters from a real fight. Jiraiya moved closer and slapped his hand to the top of the boys heads, freezing them in their argument.
"Calmed down enough?" Toroku glanced at the sannin with burning blue eyes who just turned around and let out a weary sigh. When he reached their voiceless companion in white robes the man just shook his head slowly, watching the two boy as they walked side by side like nothing had happened a minute before.
The small delegation continued their trip toward the heart of the village, earning more and more glances from the villagers and the nearby shinobi, who suspiciously glanced toward their hitai-ate. They passed through several large and small passages, when Toroku slowed down his steps to stop at a passageway into a narrow alley. Toroku narrowed his eyes and turned toward one of the Suna jonins.
"Isn't there a ramen stand at the other side of this alley?" The young shinobi gave a confused look and shook his head.
"No Kitsune-san. Actually there isn't any ramen stand in Sunagakure." The boy frowned under his mask, but only shrugged and passed the carefully watching Jiraiya.
After a ten minute walk they were finally facing the main building of the Village. The sight of the Kazegake's office warmed up Toroku's heart again as he examined the round building with a lot of small windows on its side. He stepped out from the group and took the lead without any doubts of where he was going. He confidently passed by the great wooden door, earning suspicious and narrow glances from the guards at the two wings. He turned to the left, toward a winding staircase, and stepped onto the first stair, but his confident suddenly left him. He blinked and turned around to meet with Jiraiya's raised eyebrow and two frowning Suna Jonins on each side of the stairs.
"I think it would be better if someone else takes the lead." Toroku scratched his neck and let through a groaning shinobi, who led them to the top floor of the building and raised a hand in front of a large, carved wooden door.
"Stay here until you gain admission."
Jiraiya nodded and move backward together with his small team around their escorted company in white robes. The jonin didn't leave the room for a while as long minutes slowly increased to half an hour. 'The Kazekage is playing with us…' Toroku groaned and sight continuously after the first ten minutes, playing with his clothes, trying everything to while away some time. Then he finally pulled out a small scroll, examining its content and earning suspicious and narrow eyes from their Suna escorts.
"Don't do that here brat."
"Why? I'm bored." Jiraiya rolled his eyes and snapped his hand around the scroll, removing it from Toroku's hands, who let out an indignant snarl and folded his hands in front of his chest. Finally the double doors parted and the jonin stepped out to the hallway.
"Admission granted. Follow me."
The group slowly entered to the spacious office by the lead of Jiraiya, and the envoy lining up in the background. Toroku slowly turned his head, to examine his surroundings in the office. The office was plain, beside a big desk and some chairs it was with no frills. He spotted their invisible guards inside the room skulking in the walls, in the shadows of a corner, outside the windows. The amount of bodyguards was annoying, so were their tensed muscles and nervous heartbeats. He shook off his annoyance, letting a soft smile cross his mouth when a familiar warm feeling increased inside him as his azure orbs meet someone's back in front of the giant windows. He carefully eyed the man as he slowly grabbed his familiar triangular shaped white and blue hat and gradually removed it and turned around to face his visitors from the Land of Fire. Disappointment ran through Toroku's body when he spotted the short and spiky auburn hair and the stern expression of the Fourth Kazekage of Sunagakure. He was waiting for someone else. A shiver ran through his spine when his eyes met with the Kage's narrowed ones.
"Is this supposed to be a demonstration of the Fire's power? The Hokage of Konoha is either very brave or very foolish to send one of the sannin to start a peace talk." Toroku felt his eyes twitch at the statement, but calmed himself.
"No, actually my presence here isn't connected with your politics nor concerned with Suna Kazekage-sama." The Kage narrowed his eyes as he saw the masked man turn his head toward the sannin and shifted nervously, then seconds later avert his gaze in…shame?
"I will give audition to the envoy tomorrow morning. Until that time you will enjoy our hospitality near the city center. You are allowed to move in the village with surveillance. My jonin will escort you there. " The Kazekage nodded toward a shinobi, who bowed and escorted the team from the office after they politely bowed to him. The leader followed them with stern and narrowed eyes as they were leaving his office. Slowly, he turned around and walked back to the window, fixing his gaze down to the square where the Konoha shinobi appeared after a short minute.
"Keep an eye on them. Especially Jiraiya and the boy with the fox mask." A shadow disappeared next to the window and leapt toward the nearest rooftop, then disappeared in the shadows.
Their room was also furnished austerely, and Toroku couldn't help when his thoughts wondered back to his first room back at Konoha in the heart of the Interrogation and Torture department. The continuous presence of guards and eyes on his back was also annoying. He let out a weary sigh and leaned flat on the hard bed. They were accommodated to the same room, without any private space. He could easily touch Kakashi on the next bed if he extended his arms. Not that sleeping below the sky was more comfortable but they at least had space. He let out another weary sigh and turned toward the sannin.
"Jiraiya. The Kage said that we are allowed to go out yes?" The white haired man nodded.
"You will get enough time to stroll in the village tomorrow."
"Please! I'm going crazy. I'll be good." The sannin turned toward the already snoring Kakashi, then Rin, who sent a soft smile and nodded.
"I'll take care of him."
"Okay, but not for too long. And don't cause any trouble!" Toroku sent a smirk toward Jiraiya and nodded. He straightened himself and grabbed Rin's wrist, almost dragging her toward the door. He slowly opened it and stuck out his head, and faced the guard in front their room.
"Jonin-san, we will need an escort to the village." The shinobi nodded, snapped his hands, and two men appeared beside him. Toroku opened the door, but before they could leave the room, he heard Jiraiya's shouting.
"If you do anything idiotic I'm going to tell the Sissy!" Toroku gulped and nodded, earning suspicious glances from the jonins. When they finally left the room, Kakashi opened his eyes.
"Why did you say that around the Suna jonins?"
"To keep some extra eyes on him." Kakashi rolled his eyes and crossed his arms behind his neck to enjoy his nap again.
Suna wasn't a place for sightseeing that was obvious from the first minute they stepped through the narrow alley which separated the village set inside a wide valley from the desert and the continuously blowing wind. Walking on the almost empty streets however felt very pleasant for Toroku. Signs of the low economy could be seen everywhere on the streets. While Konoha's streets were full with shops, street cries, even parks, the roads' of Suna were as bleak as their rooms. Most of the streets were filled with cobble, missing big chunks here and there. They passed some closed shops, their windows covered with planks nailed into the frame. Despite the difference in the welfare, Suna was the same as Konoha; Shinobi crossing the street with genin teams, civilians walking toward their own destinations and children ran across the streets playing and shouting at each other.
They finally spotted a small but nice restaurant and Toroku almost hopped inside as his stomach gave him away, earning rolled eyes from Rin. When he finally finished the meal, which could have easily been enough to fill three people, he let out a satisfied groan. The small girl chuckled and handed a napkin to Toroku, who raised an eyebrow behind his mask.
"Your mask if full of sauce you know."
"You should try eating with this thing on your face. I don't even know why he wanted me to wear this," he muttered while cleaning his mask from the sticky liquid as much as he could.
"I'm sure he has got a good reason for that. He never does anything without a purpose." Rin shrugged and stretched, arching her back.
"Rin-chan. Do you think 'causing trouble' means some training with bunshin?" Rin gave a wondering face before she answered.
"I don't think so, if we found a proper place for that, but no Kage Bunshins I think. It won't be too good for us if suddenly a hundred foreign ninja popped up in Suna."
Toroku nodded and grabbed the last two pieces of the grilled fish off his plate for later use than straightened himself and gave a hand to Rin, who chuckled and bowed at the gallant gesture. They stepped out together and almost bump into a woman with two small children. One of the boys eyed him curiously and the others green eyes fixed on the fishes stacked in his hands. The child slowly pulled on the woman's clothes and pointed toward the food in Toroku's hand.
"Can I also get one of those?" The woman slowly shook her head and a sad smile ran across her face.
"I'm sorry, maybe next week."
Toroku watched the scene as they stepped back to give the family space to pass by. Without a second thought, he slowly stepped closer and crouched in front of the children and held one piece of fish to each child. They eyed him curiously when one of them glanced up to his frozen mother and pulled her clothes once more, jolting her out of her surprise. She smiled and nodded toward the boy, who hesitantly grabbed the stick, but in the end his mouth was curved into a thankful warm smile. The smaller boy on his left also stepped forward and gratefully accepted the gift from the stranger.
"Thank you kitsune-san." Toroku only nodded, not sure what he should say. The woman bowed and gently grabbed the children's hands and headed toward their destination. Rin stepped next to the blond and they watched together as the cheerful children happily ate the fish, chatting and chuckling until they mixed into the crowd.
"You always surprise me." The teen just shrugged, closed his eyes and let out a thin layer of chakra around him. When he found what he was looking for he waved a hand toward a dark spot in a small alley. A frowning suna kunoichi stepped out from the darkness, and she slowly approached them.
"Sorry, for the inconvenience, but is there a place where I can train? Nothing serious, or destructive of course." The ninja raised an eyebrow and waved her hand to follow. Ten minutes later they reached an open space next to the village walls and sat down with crossed legs in front of each other.
"Okay, show me your progress."
The blond ran through the hand seals and an abstract form of a bunshin popped up next to him. It wobbled ten steps on its thin legs, before landing flat on the ground and popped out of existence. A snort and a loud laugh echoed in the training ground, but it immediately died down when the annoyed Toroku send a kunai toward the laughing shinobi in the shadows. The weapon passed his head within millimeters and precociously buried up to the metal ring into the hard stone behind him, still glowing with his wind chakra.
"No laughing, I'm trying to concentrate here you know." An annoyed, snort left the shadow and a man approached closer to lean onto a thick pole to observe him closer.
"The chakra was still too much." Rin made a wondering face and she suddenly snapper her fingers.
"Make more!" Toroku raised an eyebrow and a cheeky smile ran across his face.
"How many do you want? Around two thousand?" Rin rolled her eyes but she smiled at the amused humming voice at their back.
"Try first to make ten." The blond ran through the seals again and this time ten clones appeared around him, wobbling a little, but this time they are standing more confidently and looked much more like the blond in front of Rin.
"Dismiss and then make twenty." Toroku frowned but he performed the exercise obediently, only to repeat one more time. In the end forty clones stood still in the small training ground, without wobbling, and perfectly copied the caster. Rin nodded with satisfaction and moved closer to a clone, eyeing it curiously.
"Okay. Perfect. From now on, dismiss them and consecutively make one less."
The blond nodded when he finally understand the method and a smirk ran across his face. Rin moved next to the suna jonin and sat down to eye the process from a distance. After an hour, and thirty clones less, Toroku heard the soft breathing of Rin. He glanced toward the sleeping girl and the still guarding jonin who moved back into the shadows and let out a weary sigh.
Suddenly he heard a soft chuckling from the shore of the training ground and he felt the jonin stiffened in the shadows and more shinobis appeared around the ground. A blond girl stepped inside the training ground, slowly approaching the blond. She wasn't more than maybe four. Her green eyes curiously run over his sitting form. She walked until she stood only a meter from him. Toroku slowly tilted his head, examining his new companion and he felt as the shinobis' muscles tensed and their heartbeats rose. He turned toward the hiding ninja behind him who received his kunai and shook his head slowly in annoyance.
"I won't eat her you know." The girl narrowed her eyes and Toroku shook his head once again and a sigh left his lips, muffled by his mask. The tension of his guards didn't ease down, rather it increased.
"Who are you talking to?"
"My babysitters." Green orbs looked onto his cerulean blue ones with a raised eyebrow.
"I saw your training. You are pathetic. Even I can make a bunshin." Toroku raised an eyebrow, then narrowed his eyes.
"I'm not pathetic. I'm actually quite strong…"
"You are pathetic. How could you be strong if you can't even do something which I can?" He snorted and folded his arms in front of his chest, eyeing the small child in front of him with a pout behind his mask.
"Your team mate also weak. What shinobi fall asleep in enemy territory?"
"Shinobi who trust in their comrades." Toroku stated coldly and narrowed his eyes on the girl.
"I don't like you." The girl shrugged, but she sat down next to him, eying him curiously.
"You are ill?" Toroku glanced down the girl next to him with confusion.
"No."
"Then you are ugly." Toroku snorted.
"I'm not ugly. I'm handsome."
"Then why are you wearing that mask?"
"I'm in incognito." The girl narrowed her eyes, measuring him up from head to toe.
"I don't believe you. Only strong shinobi travel in incognito. So you are pathetic and ugly." A frustrated groan left Toroku's mouth.
"I'm not pathetic. I'm strong."
"Prove it."
"I'm not going to prove anything to a little girl." A victorious snort left the girl's mouth and she smirked.
"I know it." Toroku ruffled his hair in annoyance and let out a frustrated groan.
"Fine. Look." Toroku lifted his palm, concentrated chakra into it, and a shadow clone popped out from nowhere next to him who let a satisfied smile run across his face when the girl yelped in her surprise, while the muscles of his guards tensed until the breaking point.
The clone moved his hands toward his raised palm, where a small mini tornado already formed. The technique was small, but it already started to pick up sand under him, mixing it together with the wind chakra. The clone closed his eyes in his concentration, mixing another element into the swirling wind, and the increasing amount of sand mixed inside the whirling tornado. It started to glow with bright orange color, emitting heat when the fire chakra activated. Another clone popped up on the other side, channeling another chakra element into the mix. Water started to pour inside it, steam ran out from his palms and the flowing tornado started to slow down, until it stopped and Toroku jerk his hand under it, before it could touch his skin. A small glass statue of a tornado lay at their feet, still glowing with a faint yellow light, with a small mounting at the base. The girl leaned forward slowly, but Toroku raised a hand.
"Don't touch it now." The blond moved his two palms toward the small statue, and razor sharp wind chakra blades started to swirl around the small statue, cutting down the glass here and there at the mounting, and in the end soft wind started to flow out from his palms, cooling down the small statue slowly until he could touch it. The two clones watched it with satisfaction and finally popped out from existence with a small amount of smoke. Toroku grabbed the statue, and swept down the remaining sand from it and handed over to the amused child.
"A small souvenir."
The blond child slowly turned it, examining the still tepid glass in the last beams of the settling sun and yelped with excitement when a beam reached its surface, fashioning at the mountain to millions of colorful sparkles. Toroku let out a satisfied smile and a weary sigh and folded his arms once more. He was very satisfied with himself and the improvement in his chakra control.
"How did you do that?"
"That is a secret." The girl frowned, but he continued to look at the statue.
"I don't understand. If you can do that than why you failed before?"
"I got a lot of chakra, and picking up this tiny amount is hard." The girl shook her head in confusion. Toroku tapped his chin and snapped his finger. He leaned forward and picked up a very small amount of sand with two fingers, then let it fall down to his palms.
"Pick only one grain of sand from my palm." The girl gave a confused look, but after the second try, she successfully separated one grain in her small palm. Toroku nodded and now he scooped his palms into the soft sand and held them out toward the frowning child.
"I can't. I can't even see the grains." Toroku nodded and watched how realization appeared on her chubby face.
"Oh…"
"See? That's why I can't do a bunshin properly."
"But you do two before." Toroku slowly shook his head, ran through the seals and a still unsteadily standing, but quite similar clone of him appeared next to him. He waved his hand toward the clone, watching and feeling as his palm ran through the compressed chakra in the air freely without any resistance.
"It's just an illusion as you can see." Another Toroku appeared behind the girl and ruffled her blond hair and sat down next to her, poking her softly with a finger and the clone started to speak.
"Shadow clones are solid. Not like normal clones. This means we can hit, and fortunately we can't be hit more than only just once, that goes to the boss." The girl frowned and poked back the clone. Toroku rolled his eyes and nodded to the clone who smirked under his mask and disappeared in a puff of smoke.
"Teach me that." Toroku let out a small chuckle and shook his head.
"No way. That is a dangerous technique and you are just a brat. You would die if you even tried it." The small girl folded her arms in front of her small chest, sulking silently, and turned away from the chuunin.
"So, am I cool?" The girl made a wondering face and looked up. 'At least she acts and looks like a normal child, not a premature kid like before. She is even cute.' Toroku smiled under his mask, eying the small child in front of him softly.
"Okay, maybe. But you could still be ugly under that mask." The teen narrowed his eyes and an angry snort left his mouth. 'I withdraw my last statement. She is a harpy.' He let out a weary sigh and waved a hand to the girl.
"Come closer." She moved toward the boy obediently and Toroku ran his fingers fast in the soft sand, creating a fine design with every stroke of his finger into the golden soil. The girl frowned until he finished it five minutes later.
"Hey, jonin-san, don't be scared, we will be here." The jonin frowned in the shadows and Toroku channeled some chakra into his fast seal. His surroundings immediately become foggier and the voices around them muffled. The child shook her chubby head from side to side, and a small amount of fear ran across her face.
"Relax. That is just a privacy seal. We are still on the training ground, but our picture is foggy from the outside. " Toroku moved his hand, pushing his mask onto his blond locks and sent a wide foxy grin toward the girl.
"Satisfied?" The child examined his face for a long moment, and nodded. Toroku immediately put back his mask.
"So, this is our small secret. What do you say?" The girl nodded and a warm smile ran across her face.
"Then I remove the barrier before my babysitter has a nervous breakdown outside." He nodded toward a foggy man, standing next to the barrier and he channeled some chakra into it, dismissing the seal around them. He turned toward the angry jonin and waved an apologetic hand toward the nervous ninja.
"You really aren't ugly. But you still look funny." Toroku had leaned back on the soft sand and let out a beaten sigh and waved a hand toward the child.
"I'm finished with you. I don't care anymore about my reputation. Think what you want. You are too troublesome." He slowly shook his head and glanced toward the slowly breathing Rin from the corner of his eyes. He sat up with a groan, and tilted his head from side to side.
"What's your name?"
"Temari." The blond girl gave him a small bow, and after a shrug also mimicked the gesture.
"So, Temari-chan. I think it's time for me to gather my comrade and put her into a proper bed. And by the approaching footsteps this is also the plan for you." The girl frowned and turned around to see her mother cross the corner. Toroku carefully eyed as a shoulder-length, sandy brown haired woman approached them with a worried look on her soft features and a definitely round tummy.
"Oh-oh." Toroku glanced down to his small companion and let out a small chuckle.
"You are in trouble aren't you?" The girl only nodded and waved a hand to the blond before she ran toward the woman. Toroku let out a weary sigh and turned around to gather Rin and move back to their room.
Fortunately the night was uneventful and peaceful. The team needed the rest and none of them would argue with it. They were weary by the continuous walking, dry from the harsh wind, and their skin somewhere burned by the hot beams of the sun. Toroku put down privacy seals on his bed, so finally he was able to get rid of his mask at least while he slept, which was only minutes after he finally laid down on his bed.
The blond shifted in his hard bed and an unconscious moan left his mouth while he was sleeping. His head jerked to the side and he suddenly stopped breathing. Jiraiya frowned at the next bed, and after half minute without a breath, he sat up in his bed, ready to shake the teen back to reality. Before he could move to Toroku, the blond jerked up, with wide eyes, painting heavily for seconds, then he crunched his head into his lap and stayed still, waiting to catch his breath. He stayed in that pose for a long minute while his breath settled down to a more pleasant level. He slowly leaned back on the bed, his palms rested on his eyes to ease away the remaining bits of his nightmare. The empty passages and that dam door, the sheer panic and that…Thing… with every night that Thing became stronger and stronger. This time, he could even smell its scent, but he couldn't identify any familiar part of it. It was greasy, heavy, disgusting but still…somehow also inviting.
"I'm not going to freak out Jiraiya. Just a nightmare."
"About what?" The blond shook his and let out a weary sigh.
"Drowning." The sannin raised an eyebrow but didn't answer, only waited patiently for him to continue.
"I don't know, it comes back sometimes. The first one at Kumo, when I was knocked out. After that it comes out sometimes." The blond let out a weary sigh and rubbed his forehead, while the sannin eyed the blond curiously. 'Sometimes…Bullshit. He was jerking in his dreams ever since we put our feet into the sand.'
"Do you want to talk about it?" Toroku let out an irritated grunt and turned his head toward the sannin.
"I didn't know you were a psychologist or good with mind jutsus." Jiraiya only chuckled quietly not to disturb the other's dreams and leaned back into his pillow.
"Sorry but I'm tired." Jiraiya didn't answered only eyed the teen curiously as he turned around, showing his back to him.
He let out a weary sigh. He didn't need a subconscious analyst about that dream. 'I don't want to know what's behind that door. I don't want to open and face that…Thing. That is definitely not a human.' Toroku glanced up, out of the window, up to the ink black sky, spotted with faint yellow stars. He slowly closed his eyelids and forced his brain to settle down, to sink back into his well determined dream. Hopefully very far away from narrow passageways, canals, ink black oily water and from that thing at the other side of the door.
The negotiation was dry, boring and they actually didn't talk about anything particular, just hovering around each other's option without even approximating any consensus. The Kazekage was tough nut to crack, even for Konoha's envoy when he finally spoke. The Kage concentration on the envoy only broke for moments when his eyes traveled to Toroku. That first time when their eyes met, the blond visibly flinched by the cutting glance.
After the first hour of speaking about nothing, Toroku felt his eyelids become heavier, and only a painful hunch from Jiraiya restrained him from falling asleep while he was still standing at the wall in the background. He was weary and his muscles were sore. He did slept last night, however it wasn't reposeful. In the third hour of standing still, without any movement, he felt himself more weary than yesterday night, and his mind slowly became heavier and foggier. His chakra flow slowed down and the voices in the office started to drift away and sounds muffled like he was submerged underwater. He had heard something in the back of his mind. Than he heard it one more time. A cracking voice. Someone cleared his throat. Something forcing him out from his mind, and his vision slowly became clearer and clearer, to meet the stern look and the narrowed dark eyes of the Kazekage. He blinked fast several times and turned his head around in confusion to realize that he was standing alone next to the wall, the remaining of his team waiting for him at the door looking at him. He scratched the back of his neck nervously and made a deep bow to the Kage, before fleeing out from the room with a hard snap on the back of his head by Jiraiya.
"You are unbelievable. You were able to almost fall asleep in front of the Kazekage." Toroku only shrugged and let out a weary yawn before he made one last quick glance toward the door. He still felt the leader's eyes on his back and that forced a shiver down his spine.
Toroku was sitting in the middle of yesterday's training ground alone, his mind was blank as he spaced out during his training. After he dismissed his last group of three perfect bunshin, he felt as the weariness finally reached him, but he didn't move from his spot. He was struggling to stand up and walk back to their crowded room, but it felt nice sitting on the soft sands in spite of having his company hiding around him. He closed his eyes and slowed down his breathing, trying to lock out his tiredness, when he felt a soft tug on his clothe. He let out a sigh, but he didn't open his eyes.
"Hello Temari-chan." The blond girl made a surprised look that Toroku couldn't see, but he could still sense the increased heartbeat, her tensed muscles on her chubby face and the sudden hick in her breathing.
"How do you know it's me?"
"I can smell you, hear you and feel your chakra signature. Those are better identifications then even your eyes. Your vision could be tricked easily, but it's much harder to trick your other senses you know." Toroku finally opened his eyes and turned toward the small child and smiled at her amused face.
"For example, if you look around, you can't see anybody can you?" The child slowly shook her head and her big green eyes sparked with curiosity.
"Beside us, there are three more people in this training ground. A guy next to that pole stinks by the garlic he probably ate yesterday. There is a kunoichi hiding behind you underground, but her chakra flow jumped when you appeared, and the third shinobi's heartbeat also increased on that tree when you arrived next to me." He slowly closed his eyes and let out a thin, almost invisible layer of chakra and nodded to himself. Temari looked around carefully where Toroku pointed, but she couldn't see anyone.
"You want to learn something?" The face of the child almost sparkled, her eyes begged to the blond and he couldn't help the warm smile that appeared on his face.
"I take it as a yes." The blond chuckled softly and tapped the ground next to him, signing to the child to sit down which was immediately done. She glanced up at him with curious eyes, waiting for him to continue.
"I take it you can channel chakra well if you already can do a bunshin." The small girl nodded in response, fixing her gaze on her companion.
"Then, channel some chakra into your nose." Temari frowned, but did as he asked. Toroku watched the process with curious eyes.
"A little bit more…Okay, good. Now, remember this level. If it's done you can release it." The small child nodded and turned toward Toroku with curious eyes.
"Now, close your eyes and sniff into the air a little. Can you smell something sweet?" Temari frowned in her concentration and squeezed her eyes shut, forcing her nose to look for the scent. After five minutes she gave up and looked back at her temporary teacher.
"Nothing. Sorry." Toroku smiled beneath his mask.
"Now try it once more, but this time, channel the same amount of chakra into your nose. Try to push it into the flesh of your nose and not into the opening." Temari frowned, than nodded and did as he said concentrating with every bit of nerve on the task for minutes, until her eyes popped open in her surprise.
"It's chocolate!" A proud smile appeared on Toroku's face and he ruffled the blond locks of the small child next to him. He dug his hands into his left pocket and placed a small amount of the named sweet into her tiny hands.
"Exactly. Your reward." A wide grin spread on her face and she immediately unwrapped the paper. They stayed in silence for several long minutes before her eyes travelled to the azure blue orbs between his mask and the small girl frowned.
"You look tired."
"I'm tired actually. How do you know?"
"I could see the bags around your eyes through the holes in your mask." Toroku ruffled his hand through her hair earning a displeased groan from his small company.
"You're really a smart girl. You will become an excellent shinobi." Temari smiled at him, almost grinning.
"You can't sleep?" Toroku only nodded and glanced up to the flawless blue sky without a cloud.
"You are missing your home?"
The blond chuckled. 'Home…I don't even know where I could call home.' He closed his eyes and his mind traveled back to the green forests around Konoha which warmed up his heart. 'Maybe I know after all.' Temari gave a knowing look and she started to play with the sand in front of her, making small piles, digging holes.
"When I can't sleep, mother or father tells me a story." Toroku turned his head toward the girl, his eyes sparkling with curiosity.
"Do you want to hear a story from me? Maybe you will be able to sleep after that. It's a story my mother used to tell me when I got a nightmare…." Toroku blinked at the unexpected kindness of the girl, then nodded without a word.
"There once was a great shinobi, someone who was feared and honored all over the lands. He was the nephew of the lightning god you know. He traveled all over the world, teaching all kind of techniques to anyone who wanted. But he actually traveled to hunt down the monsters of the world and bring peace to the lands by defeating every demon. He fell asleep one day under an oak tree, and when he opened his eyes, he saw a fox looking for food in his bags. He watched the fox and in the end, he offered his last piece of dried meat. Years after that, when he faced with a demon near a village and he was about to die from his wounds, a fox appeared and sat down on his stomach to protect him from the demon. The fox couldn't help the shinobi, but he gave a final gift to the man and placed him onto the sky. If you look up at the night sky, you can see him in the stars watching over us and fighting with the monsters of the night, which don't let us sleep. This is how in the end he brings peace to the world in our dreams…" Toroku stayed in silence for several minutes, eying the young child carefully.
"This isn't a bedtime story I think, but it's still nice." Temari shook her head.
"No, but I like it. My mommy tells it much better. Father once showed me where he is. He called him Orion I think." Toroku blinked and looked up to the blue sky, where he knew the constellation would appear in a few hours.
"Thank you Temari-chan. I think I will be able to sleep tonight." The child smiled at him and felt as his inside melted away, but he didn't dare to even move a finger. The child chuckled and turned back to her almost-ready sandcastle. Toroku smiled at the pleasant scene and he couldn't avert his gaze from the happy face.
He suddenly froze as he felt a familiar presence, at a nearby house. He slowly turned his head to the side and looked up at a balcony to meet two dark and stern orbs. The eyes didn't avert from him when the man slowly approached them, floating in the sky on a golden cloud, to land gracefully on the sand in the center of the training ground. The Kazekage stood behind them, his arms folded in front of his chest, and his gaze sent a cold chill down his spine as the power of the man crested above his sitting form. The child didn't notice his presence as she continued creating another tower for her sandcastle. Toroku finally braced himself and straightened, attracting Temari's attention as he bowed to the leader. A soft yelp left Temari's small mouth and the dark eyes of the Kage travelled toward the child.
"Temari. We agreed on something last night." The voice of the Kazekage wasn't even similar to what Toroku already heard. It was hard, somehow still soft and the child looked down to the sand in front of her in shame.
"I'm sorry father." The child nervously closed her small fingers around the edges of her clothes.
"Go home. We aren't finished." The girl had bowed lightly and fled from the ground as fast as she could, but in the end, she still waved a hand toward Toroku. The blond didn't even dare to blink, as the Kage moved his eyes back to his blue orbs, watching him suspiciously.
"I'm very interested why a shinobi of Konoha would teach anything to a child of Suna. Especially to the Kazekage's daughter." Toroku blinked in confusion and bowed once more, forcing his muscles to move despite the enormous killing intent flowing continuously from the Kage. He felt as two of the shinobi nearby started to shake by the feeling. The cold and threatening tone of the man sent chills again down his spine.
"I didn't know Temari-san was your child. I apologize, Kazekage-sama, if I caused trouble or my actions made you worry. I haven't got any malicious pretense toward your child nor to your village." He narrowed his eyes. He himself didn't know why he did that. Before his awkward silence could treat the Kage's tensed nerves, he felt a familiar chakra signature and relief flow across him. He never ever was so glad for the presence of the sannin. The man slowly approached them, seeming to be aware of the situation.
"Kazekage-sama." He bowed to the Kage, who narrowed his eyes as a response.
"I demand explanations about your attendance in Sunagakure and his purpose. Immediately." The sannin turned to Toroku and raised an eyebrow at the teen.
"What did you do?" Toroku raised a hand behind his head and scratched his neck nervously.
"I just…"
"Immediately remove the mask. I won't tolerate unknown and seemingly powerful shinobi around my children." The sannin let out a sigh and shook his head in defeat.
"Kazekage-sama, allow me a short discussion with my Hokage. I didn't receive authority to reveal his identity." The Kage narrowed his eyes and nodded. The sannin bit down his fingertip and ran through a chain of hand signs. Toroku immediately recognized the jutsu, and when a small yellow toad appeared in a puff of smoke he felt his mouth curved up in a soft smile behind his mask. The small toad looked around and stiffened when he felt the Kage's angry gaze on him, and immediately turned to Jiraiya.
"Tell Minato that the Kazekage demands to see under the fox's mask. It's urgent, no wondering around okay?" The toad rolled his eyes and disappeared in a puff of smoke without a word. The Kage stayed still with folded arms, eying Toroku with narrowed eyes, until within a small puff of smoke the yellow toad appeared on the shoulder of Jiraiya again in five minutes.
"Hokage-sama agreed until it is necessary, but only within six eyes." Jiraiya nodded in response and the small toad immediately disappeared with a small puff.
"Kazekage-sama if you agree, would we please be able to continue this in a more private place."
The leader nodded and turned around to head back inside his office. When they reached the building, the Kage snapped a finger and Toroku felt as every guard disappeared from the room, however not very pleased to let their leader alone with two enemy shinobi. Especially not with one of the sannin. Jiraiya showed a privacy seal to the Kage, who nodded his agreement and the blond felt the same way like yesterday on the training ground.
"Lower your mask Toroku." Jiraiya stated calmly and the teen obediently took down his mask after a moment of hesitation. The Kazekage eyed him from head to toe, without showing any emotions, only his right eye twitched almost invisibly at the sight of the young man.
"Who are you?" The blond blinked and bowed.
"Odoroki Toroku, Kazekage-sama."
"What is your purpose here?" Toroku gave back a confused look and turned toward Jiraiya.
"To escort Konoha's envoy." The Kage narrowed his eyes and moved his orbs toward Jiraiya. Understanding flashed through his dark eye when he connected the dots in the small puzzle, but his faced stayed calm.
"I see. Than we should still clear one more question. Why are you wondering around my daughter?" Toroku blinked and answered hesitantly.
"Actually it wasn't me who was wandering around her. She was the one who found me twice and didn't leave."
"Why did you teach my daughter?" Toroku only shrugged.
"Because she asked."
The Kage narrowed his eyes, and confusion ran across his mind, however it wasn't visible on his face. He widened his senses at the very moment they stepped inside the office, to sense every twitch in his chakra flow, every tense in his muscles, even the changes in his smell, but the boy stayed calm and honest. 'What the hell…' The leader narrowed his eyes, his cold glazed almost stabbing through the azure blue orbs of Toroku. The three men stayed in complete silence for a long minute, waiting for each other's reaction. The Kazekage finally turned around and he slowly stepped to the large window.
"You can put back the mask. Leave. I want to ask Jiraiya-san to stay for a little longer. And from now on, avoid my daughter." His voice was calm and tempered. Toroku put back his mask and he left the room after a bow without a word. The Kage let his eyes dwell on the village below his feet, and finally turned around to face the sannin, who stood motionless in the middle of the room.
"Your Hokage is a fool. Do you think I will tolerate that he sent a shinobi here, who need the surveillance of you? You brought possible danger to my village without my knowledge. To start a peace talk." Jiraiya's face stayed completely calm, and his tone made the same impression.
"My apologies Kazekage-sama, but I don't think Konoha's home affairs are considering you in any aspects."
"He put his foot inside the Land of Wind, inside my village. At this moment, he isn't a home affair. He is a threat to my people." Jiraiya narrowed his eyes and stepped next to the Kazekage and glanced out of the window, to catch as Toroku turned at a corner, heading back to their room.
"I know you made strict security preparations because of our arrival. Especially for me, and Toroku-kun. Tell me, what had your shinobi seen when they watched the boy? What were their reports about? Because I don't think they were about a possible threat." The dark eyes of the Kazekage visibly twitched.
"He is someone like you and I were once, before we lost ourselves in the shinobi world. He still carries and gives goodwill to anybody without considering who he gave it to."
"Goodwill isn't a value of a shinobi."
"No. That is true. It is a value of a person"
Jiraiya slowly turned around to face with the Kazekage, whose expression stayed the same, only his eyes mirrored some foggy emotions. Jiraiya bowed and left the room without a world, leaving the Kage alone with his thoughts.
A young blond girl was sitting on the windowsill, looking up to the darkening sky. She had already spotted the Vesper, and waiting patiently for more stars to appear. She wasn't aware of a man, leaned onto the doorframe of her room, watching her carefully without a word for a half an hour now.
"Temari." The girl flinched at the sudden voice and looked back at her father.
"Yes, father?"
The small child glanced up toward the darkening sky, desperately looking for something, and she felt as her father moved closer to her small form, and also sat down on the stool next to her.
"What are you doing in the widow?"
"I'm waiting for the stars." The Kazekage frowned and glanced up to the sky.
"You can't sleep?" The girl shook her head slowly.
"I wanted to stay awake until he could sleep."
"Who?"
"Kitsune-san." The leader narrowed his eyes and leaned closer to his child, watching her carefully. He spotted a small statue in her small arms.
"Don't go near him." The girl turned toward her father with confused eyes.
"Why not?"
"Because he is an enemy ninja from another village." The child frowned in her confusion.
"I don't think he is a bad man. He looks funny, but he isn't mean." The kage frowned.
"You saw his face?" The girl nodded, slowly, not sure whether she should have told this to her father.
"He told me that I can't talk about what he looks like, because he is in incognito." The man frowned in his bewilderment. 'Why on earth would an enemy ninja show his face to a child?'
"You asked him to show it?" Temari give a wondering look, tapping her small chin, then shook her head.
"No, I just told him that I think he is ugly under his mask and that's is why he wore it." The Kage rested his dark eyes on his daughter's chubby face, wondering what this could all mean.
"Temari, why do you want to wait for the stars?"
"Because he didn't tell me why, but I know he can't sleep well. So I told him the tale you used to tell me when I couldn't sleep, about the Orion."
"Why did you tell him that?"
"Because he helped me, and I thought it might help him." The Kazekage's expression softened as he eyed his daughter.
"You really want to wait because of that? It will be more than an hour until they appear."
The girl only nodded, and turned toward his father with determined eyes. A soft smile ran across his face as their eyes meet. Strange. Temari wasn't that kind of girl who cares too much for others. Actually, she didn't even like her brother. They were always fighting, arguing, but somehow in the last two days it suddenly stopped. The Kage opened his arms and moved her daughter into his lap.
"I'll stay until you go to bed okay?" Temari smiled back at him and nodded, then she tumbled herself into the soft fabric of her father's clothes, averting her green orbs to the darkening sky, looking for the Orion together with the leader of Sunagakure.
A blond man was lying in his bed, glancing outside the window of their small, crowded room. It was an hour since the first star appeared in the ink black sky, but he was still waiting—waiting for a group of stars to finally appear in the left corner of the window. He was waiting for the Orion, in the hope to finally sink into a dream without the endless sewer. When the stars finally appeared on the sky, a soft smile spread across his face and he let out a weary breath, and sank into a dreamless night.
The Kazekage rested his eyes on Toroku for several moments when they entered the small office, but he didn't show any emotion. Neither on his face nor in his eyes. In the end the preparation for the final peace talk with the Hokage himself was successful, however the Kazekage made boldly claims in case of a future alliance, unlike Konoha's more moderate requests. The teen carefully watched the sannin from the corner of his eyes. They didn't talk after he left the Kazekage's office yesterday, however he was prepared for a rocket. Maybe he was bequeathing it to Minato. He unconsciously gulped when he remembered the threatening cold blue eyes of Minato the day before they left for Suna and it forced a shiver down his spine.
When the envoy finally finished and bowed toward the Kazekage a loose sigh left Toroku's mouth. It's over. They would head home in minutes. He closed his eyes and a small homesickness ran through his veins when he thought back to Konoha. Their team also bowed to the leader, while Jiraiya thanked their accommodation and hospitality before they left the room, followed by the dark eyes of the Kazekage. The small team left Sunagakure right after the last glance from the Kage of the sand village.
The travel from Suna was so uneventful that it was a pain in the ass. Toroku let out a relieved sigh when he finally spotted the great walls of the village with the two enormous wooden wings. He cheerfully hopped inside the village, and sniffed into the air to finally feel the familiar, sweet scent of Konoha, the mixture of wet soil and the freshly cut grass. Jiraiya tapped his shoulder and sent a smile to the blond and nodded with his head toward the Hokage tower. The soft smile under his mask immediately melted away. He gulped, anticipating his execution by the blond village leader. However, he still didn't quite understand what he did that was so damn wrong back in Suna. He could only think of the daughter of the Kazekage, and that only happened because he didn't know who she was. He let out a moan, but finally he nodded to the sannin. They slowly approached the tower and Toroku hesitated at the door of the office before he stepped inside to face his destiny.
Minato held his head in one of his palms as he frowned at a large scroll rolled over the desk. He blinked and finally turned his head toward the small group, a soft smile on his face.
"It took you long to finally arrive. I expected you earlier."
Jiraiya only shrugged and handed over his report about the mission, which he'd already carefully prepared last night. The envoy also handed over his own scroll, bowed to the Hokage and then left the room without a word or even a nod toward the four shinobi who he'd lived with more than two weeks. Minato rolled his eyes at the scene, and waved toward Toroku.
"You can get rid of the mask from now on." Toroku blinked in confusion. He had forgotten that he was even wearing it, he was so used to doing everything with that thing on his face. He hissed in his annoyance and a muffled curse left his mouth, but he happily lowered it from his face.
"That is much better. Thanks." Minato smiled gently and held his hand toward Toroku, who placed it into his brothers opened palm. 'It's a shame. I had plans with that.'
"Kakashi. I got some news for you." Minato made a cocky smile which forced the jonin's only visible eyes to twitch, and in the end he raised a curious eyebrow.
"The beast is back and already looking for you." A defeated groan left the jonin's mouth and palmed his forehead in irritation.
"When he will leave?"
"Next week, so you will have some time together." The jonin let out a weary sigh and nodded. Toroku's eyes were fixed on the Kakashi, wide with curiosity.
"Team meeting at my apartment at six. What do think about that?" The Hokage asked cheerfully, and received nods and willing sounds from every member of the team. Before they turned around to left the room, Minato hollered out, "Toroku, Jiraiya, a moment please." A soft moan left the blonds mouth, but he turned around and closed the door behind the sannin.
"I really didn't do anything. I swear." Minato gave a confused look to the blond and to Jiraya, who only shrugged, but nodded.
"He really didn't do anything." Minato sent an apologetic look toward the blond and smiled.
"Actually I wanted to thank you. You made quite a big impression on the Kazekage and that was also my intention besides some additional reasons." Toroku gave a confused look, and a raised eyebrow, than in the end he folded his arms in front of his chest, waiting for some explanation.
"Because of Kitsune's pressure, he wasn't playing poker during the preparations. The Fourth Kazekage is a hard nut to crack if we are talking about diplomacy. He has got quite a unique view of the ninja world. And I also counted that in the end when you had to remove your mask."
"You used me as a distraction?" Minato make another apologetic smile and shrugged, while the teen's eyes narrowed to a dangerous level.
"Sorry, but if I told you about my plan you wouldn't play your role. You are an awful actor Toroku." The named teen turned to Jiraiya emitting a proper amount of killing intent toward the sannin.
"You knew about this the whole time don't you? And you left me in the thought that I ruined something after I had to remove my mask. For a full week while we traveled home." Jiraiya smirked and shrugged cheekily.
"If you may pardon me. I think I have to leave now, or I will try out one of my jutsus on the pervert in your new office Minato." The blond chuckled and waved a hand and the blond left the room across the window without a word, with a twitching eye, but a still forced stoic face. However Minato was sure, if he found a report tomorrow about a wiped out training ground he would know who to blame. Minato let out a sigh and turned toward his sensei.
"So? Anything interesting news not included in your report?"
"I had contact with every last of my spies, instructing them to watch out for someone with a sharingan, but until now nothing." Jiraiya frowned and moved his thoughts toward Toroku.
"He definitely had been in Suna before, even in the Kazekage's tower. At some part he led the way, then he suddenly stopped and became confused, however the Kage didn't recognize him. Actually he almost killed him when he found out his daughter was befriending him. Maybe he was somehow connected with the third one. "Jiraiya shrugged and continued.
"Since the night we stepped inside the dessert, he got nightmares. Drowning. At least he had sad it was about that, and he seemed quite honest and disturbed enough when we spoke about it. But they suddenly stopped the night when he removed the mask, however I don't think it was connected with that event."
"So we still can't completely rule out Suna." Minato sighed and massaged his forehead. Jiraiya moved closer and sat down on the chair.
"I also travel a lot, I had already visited every big shinobi village and I didn't leave all of them with pleasant memories. We could assume that Suna was an important place for him. I told him Nagato's name. He reacted, however he said he wasn't sure what he felt, but he told me that it was respect. Everything still points much more toward Ame than Suna." The sannin shrugged, then he narrowed his eyes and fix his gaze on the desk.
"I think you can relax. He won't do anything to harm you or the village. He will be okay under the continuous checkups with a Yamanaka. " Jiraiya frowned and didn't continue his report for a minute, while Minato narrowed his eyes, carefully observing his sensei's uneasy expression.
"He asked me a favor..." Minato raised an eyebrow and watched his sensei curiously, waiting for him to finally reveal something while he was definitely fighting with himself in his brain.
"He asked me to kill him if something goes wrong..." Minato's eyes widened with shock. He froze for a long minute while thoughts ran through his brain. Jiraiya slowly shook his head, to ease away the disturbing thoughts.
"You gained a really honorable relative Minato." The Hokage let out a sigh and dug his face into his palms, but a small smile still forced itself out.
"I know…"
Kushina made a feast for the gods and Toroku thankfully inhaled every last bit of the food after living mostly on ration bars for two weeks. The kunoichi watched him in awe as a third bowl of rice disappeared in his almost endless stomach.
"Who is this beast?" Toroku asked curiously, leaning toward Kakashi, who just let out a sigh while Minato laughed until it finally died down to chuckles.
"The green beast of Konoha, the eternal rival of Kakashi-kun." The jonin snorted and folded his arms around his chest.
"You will know him in time, I'm sure. He is a very…hmm…unique shinobi." Minato stated with a wondering face, looking up to the ceiling, tapping his chin until a cocky smile spread across his fine features, earning a confused look from the blond. Toroku glanced toward the annoyed Kakashi, but in the end only shrugged and continued inhaling his food.
The team meeting didn't last long, they chatted about Suna, the desert, the town, and in the end the obviously low economics of the village. Then Toroku proudly stated that he mastered the bunshin, earning a confused look from Minato and Kushina.
"You know, I asked Rin to help me with my chakra control, before that I wasn't able to make a proper one. I don't think I could have done it without her." The young girl blushed, but she looked back to her first student with obvious pride. Minato shared a look with Jiraiya and turned to Toroku.
"I want you to play with open cards from now. Show us the techniques you mentioned before you left to Suna." A cheeky smile ran across Toroku's face.
"Okay, but find a place which disappearance won't bother you." Minato raised an eyebrow, but nodded and noted the skeptical faces on the others. Only Kakashi held his always stoic expression.
"Then tomorrow after the team meeting." The young teen nodded, but his cocky smile never left his face.
The team left the small apartment and Toroku volunteered to see Rin home and Kakashi also tagged along. They slowly walked toward the narrow streets of Konoha, passing several civilians and shinobi. Toroku glanced up to the sky and crossed his arms behind his neck as they approached Rin's apartment. An irritated groan left Kakashi's mouth and Toroku tracked his eyesight toward a round mess of black hair and two…huge eyebrows and green spandex. A snort left his mouth as he realized he was facing the green beast of Konoha. The shinobi jumped in front of them gracefully and the blond had to admit that, despite his appearance, his every movement exuded confidence and power. A wide grin appeared on his face, and he burst out to Kakashi.
"Hello everyone! I haven't see you for weeks Kakashi. I had almost lost my youthful thoughts without my eternal rival!" Kakashi folded his arms and tilted his head to the side.
"I was out of town for a mission." The beast nodded and turned toward Toroku.
"And who is this youthful shinobi? Isn't he your new team mate everybody is talking about?" Toroku raised an eyebrow and glanced toward the chuckling Rin, who waved a hand to him, while Kakashi nodded.
"Yosh! I am Maito Gai, the beautiful and youthful Green Beast of Konoha!" The boy grabbed Toroku's hand and started to shake enthusiastically, and Toroku felt as his mouth fell open in his shock.
"Odoroki Toroku. Nice to meet you." He finally graced himself and closed his mouth, glancing toward Kakashi from the corner of his eyes in disbelief. 'Kakashi and this guy, together?'
"My rival, when will we encounter our youthfulness again?" Kakashi massaged his forehead and shook his head.
"Gai, we've just got back from a mission. I will look for you okay?" The green beast grinned toward the jonin and nodded then disappeared after he waved goodbye to the others with a sunshin. Kakashi let out a relieved sigh and turned to the chuckling Toroku.
"Well, Minato was right. He is really a unique shinobi." Toroku couldn't help it and he burst out laughing and tapped the shoulder of the jonin while they continued their trip toward Rin's apartment.
The Yondaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato felt as his knees started trembling and he forced his muscles to move as he sat down onto the soft grass next to Kushina, who's lips parted, almost reaching the ground under her, the blue orbs mirrored shock and disbelief. Jiraiya watched the scene in front of his eyes, leaning against a giant rock, blinking rapidly, next to his other two new students in complete awe.
"And this is what is called Uzu no Naraku (Whirlwind of Hell)." Two clones popped into existence, holding out their hands, and a great tornado appeared from Toroku's palms, mixing with fire chakra and glowing a blindingly bright orange color. As the wind chakra reacted with the fire, its heat increased to an unbearable level. Toroku released the technique into the air without hitting anything, being sure to avoid a possible forest fire. He forced his breath to settle down and wipe the sweet on his forehead with the back of his hand. He showed everything that was in his mind from his arsenal. He made a satisfied grin when he looked over the faces on the side of the clearing and his heart twitched when he met the awe and pride in Minato's blue orbs.
"I worked on a smaller form of this during our trip to Suna, but I didn't try it out since I trained with my bunshins, so there is a chance it won't work." Toroku extended his left palm, and a clone hovered his own palms above overtop, just like three weeks before on their trip. The small tornado immediately appeared and started to become thinner until it reached a thickness of a razor blade, while the clone started to channel his fire chakra into it slowly. This time, it didn't wobble when it finally started to glow in bright orange, and Toroku nodded to himself in satisfaction.
"I don't think I could throw it. At least not now," he muttered and frowned. "But I could still use it as a blade, or something like that until I figure out how I can do that."
"You made this in two weeks? You have developed a new technique?" Minato blinked in disbelief and Toroku released it and scratched one of his whiskers, thinking.
"Well, not exactly. I tried it only five or six times. However I didn't try it out with other elements. Maybe it could also work with water and lighting."
A wondering expression appeared on his features and nodded to the clone who just shrugged and repeated the movement before. Toroku concentrated water chakra into his palms and forced it into a thin line while it circulated in his hands. The clone started to channel the lighting element into it slowly, when the form suddenly started to wobble and a muffled "Shit…" left the teen's mouth. When the technique collapsed in his palms, it sent lightning chakra through his body and the clone puffed out from existence with a yelp.
It knocked him hard to the ground, forcing out the wind from his lungs as his muscles in his chest squeezed painfully, his limbs jerking unstoppably, and his eyelids and teeth squeezed together from the force. When the element finally left his body, his persisting jerking died down to almost continuous small twitching. He forced his eyes open and rolled his body onto his stomach. He distantly noted that the others were next to him, and someone was already touching his back, probably Rin, but their voices were muffled and he couldn't use his eyes. When he tried to focus, only perpetually dancing white spots appeared in front of the foggy picture of the green grass he was lying in.
He slowly moved his arms below his chest to push himself up, but his joints gave up, and he landed hard against the soil when his joints folded after another twitch. A harsh moan left his mouth as he was finally able to focus his vision to a blade of grass centimeters from his eyes. He finally wobbled himself to his hands and knees and shook his head to clear his foggy vision and brain. However that was a bad idea. He immediately leaned forward and clapped his hands onto his mouth, forcing back the feeling to let out his breakfast in front of everyone. He breathed hard through his nose, his eyes closed into a thin line and he tried to focus his brain on something else. Anything other than the feeling in his stomach. Finally it left him and he was finally able to push himself up to sit properly, leaning on his hands, his legs stretched out.
"I still hate lightning releases." He cursed under his breath with a muffled and harsh voice, blinked, and the picture of a worried Rin suddenly appeared in front of him, together with some dancing white spot. He shook his head again and blinked, forcing the annoying white spots to finally die down.
"I'm okay now." He forced a smile on his face to meet one of Rin's raised eyebrow and the disbelief on her soft face. A bright crimson tuft of silky hair dropped onto his shoulders and he realized that it was from Kushina, who lightly leaned above his head, grinning like a maniac and patted the crown of his head before she moved back to give him more space. He felt a gentle touch on his shoulder and when he turned to the other side, he found the couching Minato next to him, observing him with concern.
"I'm really okay." Jiraiya also stepped closer, his laugh filled the scarred lands around them while he ruffled the golden locks of Toroku.
"You know, sometimes I think you two are twins. Minato looked exactly the same when he had showed me the first version of his Hiraishin. He even threw up. It was a nasty scene." The named Hokage mumbled something incoherent under his breath in response while rolling his eyes in irritation, but his reddening cheeks were evidence of his embarrassment.
Minato straightened himself and looked around on the devastated training ground. A great crack ran through the middle where one of the S class wind releases met with the soil. He moved his eyes toward a giant black crater, which was made by a Katon: Gōryūka no Jutsu (Great Dragon Fire Technique), then he rested his eyes on the several cracks, cuts, craters and charred part of the training ground. The destruction was overwhelming, however Toroku carefully reduced the efficientness of the techniques. He leaned down to the teen and lifted him by his arm gaining a thankful look from his brother.
"I think that was enough for today." The blond only nodded as he leaned on his still unsteady legs.
"I'm finished. I showed you everything that I've got and I'm out of chakra." Minato nodded and a soft, warm smile ran across on his face. 'Out of chakra hmm? He's still got more left than an average genin…'
"I'm proud of you." Toroku blinked and he couldn't hide the smile on his face or his slightly red cheeks.
"Thanks." Minato ruffled the blond locks and let the still smiling blond put an arm around his shoulder, to help support his weight on his wobbling legs, while they walked back to the village for his well-deserved rest.
Author's Note:
The story about Orion is inspired by JanieP's time travel fan fiction the "The Hardest Part". Despite I really didn't like that story in the beginning because how they're handling their identity so easily and I almost stop reading it, it become one of my favorite stories for how it ends and how the aouthor dig deep into their struggle to know or not to know about the future. I just can't get tired re-reading the last quarter again and again.
However it seems like a filler chapter, without it some further steps would be much harder for Naruto.
I want to say thank you once more to ImaginationJunkie1412 for her hard work as my Beta reader. She really deserves a big applause.
Next chapter: Legacy ;)
Answers for the Guest reviews:
Dear Anonymous Guest! Thanks for the long and constructive critique. I'll definitely take your advices. Unfortunately I accidentally deleted your review :(
Daisy: Thank you. Corrected.
Story recommendations:
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Looking Glass by Random Flyer – The village is being attacked," Sarutobi said against his better judgment, he was taking too long as it was, too long away from the front lines. "You are one of the goals of this attack, Naruto, so I'm going to send you somewhere I believe you will be safe." (AU and dimension hopping.)
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