Enigma Part II

The third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, sat silently in his office, pondering the current situation or more precisely, the person that was the reason for his current headache. Akahana Uzumaki. She appeared out of nowhere and attacked Jiraiya... there were so many mysteries surrounding this girl that he was hard pressed to answer even the most basic questions about this girl.

He sighed as he read as the report from Inoichi. The teen had written down everything he had seen in her memory, going into as much detail as he could in his descriptions. The things he had seen were gruesome and unsettling... and he only saw glimpses, pictures without any background information as to what happened before...

Was this girl the harbinger of a new war? Or was she the victim of an old one? Inoichi described some memories to be from her early childhood, a time that would coincide with the last shinobi world war. Maybe she was just one of the countless orphans of the last war... one that could never escape the cycle of death and violence even after the end of the war.

Somehow he had a hard time seeing the girl as 'just' an unfortunate war orphan. She had considerable skill and strength. Jiraiya's report of their short fight depicted her as anything but weak. She could fight despite great wounds; even the fabled Uzumaki vitality had its boundaries, so she must have been used to continue fighting, no matter how much pain she felt.

The girl was an enigma. The question now was whether she was a threat to the village or not. Would she be hostile as soon as she had recuperated? Or would she be willing to cooperate and counteract any threat to Konoha, that she might possibly know of? Hopefully her rumored connection to the Uzumaki Clan would be helpful in keeping her peaceful.

Sarutobi shook his head in exasperation. Thinking about this topic just gave him an even greater headache. And thinking about the paperwork this situation would cause as soon as the village finds out about this... Sometime he really hated his job. Things had been that much easier when he was just a shinobi of the village.

He looked up with a miffed expression as he heard a knock on his door. Already fearing that his secretary would come to deliver even more paperwork. But he could sigh in relief, when it wasn't his secretary, but one of his students instead. Orochimaru, the snake sannin and one of the most gifted shinobi that Konoha had to offer at this moment. He also was Hiruzen's favorite student, something the pale faced man knew.

"Ah, Orochimaru. Good, I've been waiting for you." Sarutobi told his student in a friendly tone.

"Sure, sensei. How can I be of service." The snake sannin replied.

"I have a special mission for you. Due to certain circumstances I have come to fear that there might be another unrest in the region around Amegakure." The moment the Hokage spoke the name of the village, Orochimaru's eyes narrowed slightly, showing his opinion of that place. "I need you to go there and find out whatever you can about any possible threat to Konoha."

"May I inquire what caused this sudden … caution? Last I remembered we considered Ame pacified." Orochimaru asked with undisguised curiosity.

"What I am about to tell you, must be kept secret at all cost, Orochimaru. Only few know about it yet and I intend to keep it that way until we have facts and not just conjectures." This only increased the sannin's curiosity as he waited for his sensei to elaborate. "Yesterday Jiraiya returned with his Genin team from a C-Rank mission to Kusa. On their way back they encountered a young woman who was later identified as Akahana Uzumaki. She was badly wounded and attacked Jiraiya, believing him to be an enemy due to her delirium. According to Jiraiya's own report, she was extremely skilled and would have posed a serious threat to him had she not been nearly dead before the fight even started."

This sparked Orochimaru's interest in this Akahana Uzumaki. Only few would engage a sannin these days and live. To hear about someone giving a sannin a hard time despite prior wounds... that was nearly unheard of. No matter what he personally thought about his former teammate, Orochimaru knew that Jiraiya was no pushover.

"Sensei, how does this relate to my mission to spy on Ame?" Orochimaru asked with barely disguised impatience. He wanted more information, he needed to know more about this situation and about that girl.

"I am getting there, don't worry. Jiraiya eventually defeated the girl and brought her back to Konoha with him to have her wounds treated. The girl would have died had he left her behind. Once the girl was no longer in danger of dying I had a Yamanaka examine her memories to get answers... well to tell the truth, that did not work as expected. The Yamanaka only saw a few glimpses of memories. Snapshots of her past experiences. But what he saw was unsettling. Death and fighting; the girl had fought constantly since she was very young. And he saw the hitai-ate of Amegakure... together with someone who had a Sharingan."

"The Uchiha are involved in this?" Orochimaru asked with a skeptic expression. It was unusual for the Uchiha to bother with anything outside of the village. They had their eyes only on Konoha... for the moment at least.

"We can't rule out that they might have had a hand in this. This is one of the reasons why I want to keep this situation as secret as possible until we have some facts and hopefully proof for our concerns." Sarutobi replied with a weary sigh.

"You fear that the Uchiha might try to silence her, should they really be involved."

"I simply hope that we do not have to deal with treason within our own village. And the girl is still somehow connected to Ame. We further questioned her when she woke up, but she denies any involvement with Amegakure and Hanzo."

"I will find the answers you seek, sensei." Orochimaru replied confidently. 'And I will find the answers to my own questions. Should this girl really be powerful, then she might be an interesting specimen' Orochimaru added silently in his mind.

"Excellent. Hurry, Orochimaru, we must resolve this entire incident as fast and as quiet as possible." Sarutobi said before Orochimaru quickly left the office to prepare for his departure.

After a few hours of sleep Akahana finally woke up once more, much to the delight to the fox kit that still persistently stayed with her. But luckily Kurou remained silent for the moment so she could process the information she had gotten from the fox. The damned demon had sent her to the past. All she wanted was to die, but the demon sent her back to the past, when her own parents were mere children... and now she was back in the familiar confines of the Konoha hospital. She absolutely loathed waking up in hospital without knowing how she got there in the first place.

What should she do now? She couldn't tell them the truth, they would believe she was insane... But she needed a very good excuse for her situation or else Kami knows what they would do with her. She was used to torture; she had endured the worst kinds of physical and mental torture to prepare her for future missions into enemy territory. But that did not mean that she enjoyed it... they would definitely send her to the Torture and Interrogation Force of Konoha if she had no good explanation for her presence and her wounds.

And then there was this small fox kit. How should she explain his presence? She tried and failed to dispel Kurou... another way the fox had found to torment her as it seemed. Even now that the fox was gone she could still feel the lingering remains of his presence inside her. She felt empty without the fur-ball, but at the same time his remaining Chakra in her system made her feel sickened.

Suddenly Kurou jumped up giddily and looked towards the door of the room. "He's here! I can feel him near us!" The fox exclaimed happily.

"Sit down and stop jumping around on my bed, damn fox. And who is here?" Akahana replied tersely.

"Kyubi-sama!" Was all the fox replied before it jumped off the bed. But that was enough for Akahana to gasp and look around in shock. The demon was here? Had it followed her to the past? No that couldn't be, she hoped that the demon had not decided to haunt her even here in the past. Not after he had denied her even the simple wish to die...

Then the door of the room opened, but instead of the demon a girl entered the room. For a moment Akahana actually suspected the girl to be the demon in a disguise before she scolded herself for being so stupid to believe that someone like the Kyubi would lower himself to look like a human. The demon had made it clear that it hated humans with a passion.

But Akahana was still stunned by the sight of the girl. The red hair, the blue eyes... this girl looked so much like a younger version of herself... that very thought brought back some painful memories from the time when she used to look like this.

"Uhm... hi." Came the cheerful greeting from the girl as she looked at Akahana with wide eyes. "I'm Kushina. Kushina Uzumaki."

Akahana's eyes widened when she heard that. This girl was her mother? This is what Kushina Uzumaki looked like when she was young? Akahana had never met her mother, but she was often told how much she resembled her. She never really believed it, seeing these words as nothing but a halfhearted attempt to give her some form of connection to her dead parent. But now this girl stood before her, this girl that would eventually be her mother...

When Kushina looked questioningly at her, Akahana finally broke her silence, much to Kushina's happiness. "I... am Akahana Uzumaki." She stated calmly.

A huge grin spread on Kushina's face. So this young woman really was from her clan. After so many years she finally got to see another member of her clan. "You are really a Uzumaki?" Akahana simply nodded to this question. "This is so great. I haven't met anyone from my clan for so long. This is so great, dattenbane." Kushina stated excitedly.

"It is nice to meet you, Kushina. But how did you get in here? I would have believed that the Hokage has placed several ANBU guards at the door to make sure that I do not flee. Surely they would not have let you enter this room. Or has the Hokage sent you?" Akahana asked with true curiosity.

At this Kushina looked rather sheepish. "I... well... I sneaked in while the ANBU had been distracted." She admitted, actually eliciting a small smile from Akahana when she saw the girl's sheepish expression. "But why would Hokage-sama keep you under surveillance? Have you done something bad?"

"I have no idea to be truthful. I'm missing more then a day of my memories... one moment I was fighting... and nearly dieing; and the next moment I wake up here, watched by the Hokage and two sannin, while a Yamanaka tries to browse my memories." Akahana said a bit apprehensively.

"But why? Uzushio and Konoha are close allies, especially our clan is important to Konoha! So why would they do that to you? Surely the clan elders will not like it when they hear how you are treated." Kushina replied peeved.

"I doubt that the elders will care about me. I have grown up far away from Uzushio... you are in fact the first other clan member that I have met in my life. I've been an orphan, so I never knew much about my lineage except that one of my parents was an Uzumaki that had left Uzu." Akahana replied truthfully. There was no reason to lie and somehow she couldn't bring herself to lie to Kushina. It was weird thinking of this girl, that is actually younger then her, as her future mother. But there was still this connection that Akahana craved, even if it was only subconsciously.

"That's so sad..." Kushina replied with a downcast expression. "But surely they will accept you as soon as they find out that you are a Uzumaki like us 'ttebane." Kushina said with even more excitement.

"Maybe..." Akahana answered unconvinced. What would it be like, to belong to a clan? The only form of belonging she had ever experienced was her time in Root.

A short silence fell on the room as neither girl knew what to say next, but that was the moment that Kurou decided to remind the girls of his presence. The fox kit suddenly jumped on the bed and sat down in Akahana's lap. Kushina looked at the fox with great interest.

"Oh is that your pet?" Kushina asked with a giddy expression as she grabbed the small fox and shook him a bit roughly.

"I am no damn pet!" Kurou exclaimed exasperated. That the fox suddenly spoke surprised Kushina, but she still held the fox firmly, not letting him down. Akahana wondered why he did not struggle, but then she remembered one little fact. Her mother... Kushina was the Kyubi Jinchuriki before her... that meant the girl before he was the current jailor of the most powerful demon in this world. Kurou did not try to get away from her because this was the closest he could hope to get to his real master.

"Oh you are a summon. Such a cute little fox, I have never heard of anyone being able to summon foxes. This is so awesome 'ttebane." Kushina said excitedly.

Akahana couldn't really find an answer to that. She wasn't a fox summoner... she had only signed the toad summoning contract... but she remembered Kyubi telling her that he had replaced her toads with something to keep her in line... did that mean that the demon had replaced her toads with foxes?

"Oh I wish I could summon foxes, too. They are awesome." Kushina stated happily.

"I'm sorry, but I don't have the summoning scroll for the foxes... I just somehow... I was suddenly able to summon them. Though I somehow can't unsummon that particular pest you hold there." Kushina looked a little saddened when she heard that, but her good mood came back just as quickly.

"I wonder why I can't summon them with the... Oh." She suddenly stopped herself before she blurted her secret out in front of a person she had just met. She wasn't allowed to tell anyone of her status as Jinchuriki.

"You mean with the Kyubi sealed inside you?" Akahana asked with a raised eyebrow, shocking Kushina in the process.

"You know? How?"

"Kurou can sense him for some reason. Don't worry I won't judge you badly for being a Jinchuriki." Akahana said soothingly as she saw Kushina getting worried because of this.

"Please don't tell anyone. The Hokage said it is of utmost importance that no once knows that I am the Kyubi Jinchuriki. Enemy nations would come and try to abduct or kill me if they found out about this."

"I promise I won't tell anyone. But you must promise that you are careful with that demon. He is evil and corrupted beyond reason." Akahana cautioned the younger girl. She remembered all too well what it was like to live with the demon sealed inside herself.

"Okay. Do you know a lot about foxes? Being their summoner and all must mean that you know and like them like no other. The other shinobi with summoning contracts have very close ties to their animals." Kushina asked the older girl.

"I know a bit about their behavior..." 'at least if they are all like Kyubi' she added mentally. "When I was much younger I even had markings on my cheeks that looked like the whiskers of a fox." Akahana said with a small smile.

"Really? That is so cool. What happened to them?"

"My... mentor had them removed." Akahana replied slowly. That wasn't a very happy memory, she could still feel the burning pain on her cheeks from the removal process just by thinking about it.

"Why?"

"Because they would have been a hindrance for certain missions." Akahana said, but Kushina looked at her questioningly. "Those kind of missions that only kunoichi can do." She elaborated. Kushina made a surprised face before she blushed when she understood which kind of missions Akahana meant. Akahana merely laughed lightly when she saw the reaction of the younger girl.

Akahana enjoyed talking to Kushina. She had never found out much about her mother, but being able to talk to her now, even if it was a much younger version of her mother, made her happy. She could easily talk to Kushina, the things that interested the younger girl were easy to tell and seldom required Akahana to lie. It had been so long since Akahana had spoken to anyone this freely.

But their easygoing conversation quickly came to an end when the door of the room opened and both Jiraiya and Tsunade entered the room. The two sannin looked at Akahana and Kushina as both turned their heads toward the door to watch who was coming. But what they saw surprised them; neither sannin spoke before Jiraiya suddenly turned around and pulled Tsunade with him out of the room. The girls both watched the scene with confusion, hard pressed to understand that sudden behavior of the two sannin.

Outside the room Jiraiya looked pointedly at the two ANBU that were supposed to guard the room. He couldn't believe that they would fail this easy task. "Just what have you two done the entire time? You were supposed to guard this room, to let no one enter or leave except for Tsunade, the Hokage and me. You are completely useless, get lost and sent some reliable men to take your places." Jiraiya barked angrily. The ANBU looked unconvinced at first, only the Hokage had the power to order them around, but the idea to be at the receiving end of a sannin's wrath was less then appealing. In the end both ANBU quickly left their post.

"I wonder how she got in there. Kushina sure is one resourceful kunoichi. But what surprises me more is how she has found out that there is another Uzumaki here. I thought that sensei wanted to keep this a secret at all costs." Tsunade stated with a thoughtful expression.

Jiraiya though knew who had most likely told her about Akahana. "Minato! Shit, I haven't told them to keep this to themselves." Jiraiya said with a frown.

"Idiot. Hopefully they haven't told anyone else. Sensei will have your head otherwise." Tsunade stated with a dry tone. "But there is something that is more troubling then Kushina being there."

"Yeah... I have seen it, too. Those two look a lot alike. Do you think they are..." Jiraiya did not even dare to finish that question. This would only add even more problems to the mysteries that surround the girl.

"I will make a test to find out." Tsunade stated immediately.

"At least this would explain why she knows about the certain things... and where she might have heard it." Jiraiya mused with a contemplative expression. "But for now I will continue with my interrogation. Sensei wants this entire situation resolved as quickly as possible."

Moments later the two sannin reentered the hospital room, just to see the same sight again. Two girls that greatly resembled each other looking at them with a small fox sitting in Akahana's lap.

"Wait a minute. Where did that fox come from?" Jiraiya asked suddenly.

"Just where do you think foxes come from, genius? Do you think we are growing on trees or something?" Kurou sneered at the toad sannin.

Jiraiya looked annoyed at Kurou while Tsunade and the two Uzumaki's snickered at the fox's response. "Akahana-san, please dispel your little 'pet'. We need to talk." Jiraiya looked condescendingly at Kurou when he called him a mere pet, much to the fox's displeasure. "And you better leave, Kushina, you shouldn't be here in the first place."

Kushina did not really wish to leave now that she has met the first Uzumaki since Mito Uzumaki's death years ago. But Akahana knew that some things had to be said now and that it was better for Kushina to be somewhere else while she talked to the sannin.

"Kushina, it is alright we will talk again later. There are still some... formalities that Jiraiya and I have to take care of." Akahana said with a benevolent smile as she dismissed the girl.

"Alright, I understand when there are secrets that I should not be privy to. Maybe one day you will tell me your secrets, just like you know some of mine." Kushina said before she left the room.

Jiraiya looked suspiciously at both girls as he heard Kushina's words. "What secrets is she talking about?" He asked with narrowed eyes.

"Jinchuriki." Was Akahana's only answer.

"She told you?"

"I knew beforehand."

"How?" Jiraiya asked impatiently.

"Little Kurou here can sense the demon fox. And as you have seen before the little fur-ball can't keep his mouth shut." Kurou looked peeved at her words and decided to jump on the window sill and looked at village outside. "And don't worry, I have no intention to tell this to anyone. I know what kind of hard life Jinchuriki have to lead because of human bigotry and senseless fear."

"I hope for you that you don't lie about this. Else I will bring you down myself. This is not just about Kushina but also about secrets that could put our village at risk." Jiraiya replied sternly.

"Get to your questions, I am not in the mood for any games today." Akahana replied tersely.

"First comes your checkup." Tsunade interjected as she stepped next to the bed. "Any more pain, nausea or any other problems since you woke up?"

"I fainted once... but I think that was mostly due to exhaustion. I still feel like I could sleep for a whole week straight." Akahana replied softly. She always liked Tsunade, no matter how much her former master disliked the Godaime Hokage. Tsunade had always treated her normal and fairly. Much unlike the other sannin in the room who tried to use her for his 'research' during their entire training trip.

"After that kind of wounds, severe blood loss and near death Chakra exhaustion... just be glad that you are alive. The wounds have healed nicely... and unnaturally fast. A few days of rest without straining yourself and you should be clear to leave hospital." Tsunade said at the end of her examination.

"Thank you for your care." Akahana replied honestly. "I owe you my life, Tsunade-sama."

"Right, right. So now that you are at least fit enough to talk without breaking down, why don't we continue our conversation from earlier." Jiraiya said.

"Then ask your question, toad sannin."

"We already know that you have at least some form of connection to Ame and you stated yourself that you fought against Akatsuki. Why don't we start from there. So tell me girl, who are you working for?"

"I was working... for an organization... but that doesn't matter anymore. I am the only one left." Akahana said with great sadness. Life wasn't easy as a part of Root, but it was a place she truly belonged to and loosing them was not easy. Not even being an official shinobi of Konoha for some time could make up for that loss.

"Is there a name for that organization?" At that she only shook her head, much to Jiraiya's exasperation. "What did you do for that organization?"

"Spying, assassinations, infiltration, fighting, protecting... the same jobs any normal kunoichi would have done. Only that I did the bidding of one man instead of village."

"What about your family?" Tsunade asked from the other side of the bed.

"I've been an orphan for all my life. The only thing I ever knew was that one of my parents was an Uzumaki. The closest thing I had to a family was a father figure... though I doubt that anyone would call that man a father... He was more like the man I was working for. Do your job right and you get treated well, fuck it up and you get punished... at least he was fair to me, unlike other people."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I was raised to be a weapon. And that was all that most people saw me as. Most people I met only felt contempt for me. But at least I was merely shunned because of my affiliation." Akahana never really liked to recount that part of her life. But at least she could be honest about that and by showing honest emotions she would hopefully win over the two sannin and the Hokage once he hears about this.

"Are you or were you ever an enemy of Konoha or the land of fire?" Now that was the one questions that Jiraiya wanted answered and he would most definitely find out if she lied about this.

"No. I have never done anything to harm this village or this country. I am not your enemy." She looked directly in Jiraiya's eyes, proving her sincerity as he searched her eyes for any sign of lies. But he couldn't find any deception in her words or her eyes. At this point he finally relaxed a little around her.

"Let us hope that it stays that way. I dislike killing when it could be avoided." Jiraiya stated. "There are still some questions that I need answers for, but those can wait until you are out of here. We will discuss the rest with a little Sake to lighten the mood." Jiraiya said much more jovially. It wasn't that he trusted her yet, but at least she seemed to harbor no ill will towards Konoha.

"As long as you don't try to use me as research material for your next book everything will be fine. Should I catch you doing that... let's just say that Kurou has some very sharp teeth that can hurt really bad when he hits his mark." Akahana replied with a mocking grin.

"Ah so my reputation has already traveled far and wide! Soon my books will make me the most famous author..."

"For porn..." Akahana deadpanned.

"What!" Tsunade exclaimed when she heard that. "You are writing smut in your next book?" She looked dangerously at Jiraiya who suddenly paled drastically. Before Tsunade or Akahana could say a word he had already excused himself from the room.

"He won't escape me for long." Tsunade growled.

"Try the hotsprings. That is the most likely place to catch a pervert." Akahana said with a giggle.

"Yeah, I will do that later. But you will rest now. No more guests or any other distractions until I deem you fit. Get some more sleep, it will do you good." Tsunade ordered the girl with a friendly expression before she left to tend to her other patients.

Only mere minutes after the sannin had left Kurou decided to retake his place on the bed next to Akahana. "That went well. Be on good behavior and you will gain their trust in no time." The fox said with a yawn.

"Jiraiya and Tsunade maybe... but I doubt that the Sandaime Hokage can be won over that easily. They have just ended one war and the world is still in turmoil. It is his job to be distrustful towards strangers like me... Hopefully I can at least get him to give me a chance." Akahana sighed deeply. The Sandaime from her time was a kind old man, at least towards her. She always knew that he was ashamed that he had allowed for her to be turned into a weapon. So he tried to be there for her to lessen for his guilt. The younger Hokage she has met here was a whole different person. There was no caring in his expression when he looked at her, only suspicion.

"If Konoha does not want you, then there are a lot of other villages out there, that would gladly take someone with your strength." Kurou said.

"The Sandaime might send me away to Uzushio... I don't like the idea of serving another village that might end up fighting Konoha. I was raised to protect this place..." Akahana looked sadly towards the village she could see outside the window of her room. "But there is no way to find out what happens yet. All I can do is show patience now... and I don't like sitting by and watch when I know what will happen to Konoha..."