Tai: Well it's done; you might not like it and it is a bit rushed, but it's done. Yay!
Disclaimer: Don't own it if you know it.
Yuri awoke in a small dark room; no natural light filtering in nor any artificial light providing any sort of illumination. The floor felt stone and the walls seemed completely bare, save for a door on the far wall. Something cold was fastened tightly around her neck and wrists, the girl moving her hands to discover what it was. 'Chains. Brilliant; I'm being chained up like some sort of animal.'
"You know I resent those sorts of comments Yuri. Besides, they wouldn't have chained you up if they were certain you would stay." The wolf's calm voice echoed into the girl's head, the brunette sighing at the voice.
'So glad you're not too busy mating with that overly horny dog to talk to me Kuroi.' She shot back, almost able to feel the wolf wince through their connection.
"You know Kiba and Akamaru want us to stay; Kiba even said he'd follow you if you tried to leave now. It might be nice to stay; what other option do we have really?" the canine questioned, the girl settling herself somewhere somewhat more comfortable.
'Sensei was expecting us to meet up with him tomorrow night regardless of our decision; with everything he went through to get me in the first place Kuroi, do you really think he'll leave us in peace to finish our lives here?' Back to her meditating, she let out a sigh. 'It's more likely that those of us planning to go home would've been killed and those of us staying with him would be allowed to live. Hell, he probably monitored how we each got into our respective villages.'
"So what, you believe that he'll track us down and kill us within the village because we're planning to stay?"
'And if he fails to find us he'll do whatever he can to draw us out and kill us. Staying here puts Kiba and everyone who cares about him in danger; leaving now means that he'll still be in danger. He may have hurt me but he doesn't deserve to die because of that bastard.' The girl replied, earning a sigh from the wolf.
"So we have only one option then?"
'Indeed.'
"I'll kill Naruto if she ends up leaving!" the Inuzuka snarled, making the other males sigh for the umpteenth time. Although he'd managed to find the girl and speak with her, ANBU had since taken the girl to one of their holding cells to prevent her from escaping. The brunette had since returned to the small house all of the males had been hanging out in, the two canines following him.
"Kiba you need to calm down; if she decides to leave she'll probably have a good reason for it." Neji sighed, rubbing his temples. The black wolf had taken to sitting by the Hyuuga, clearly fond of the pale eyed male.
"He's right. Although I'd like prefer to stay, I do believe I'll require one of you to convince ANBU to release her. We have something urgent that must be done." The dark furred canine stated, standing. Her gaze turned to the Hyuuga, clearly deciding he was the most logical choice. "I believe they may listen to you more than any of the others; we must go now before we waste any more time."
The wolf stood to leave, Kiba moving into her path. "Whatever the two of you need to do you can do with me there." The Inuzuka snarled, glaring at the wolf. "I won't risk losing her!"
"I'm afraid you have no choice; you are physically incapable of keeping up with Yuri and she will not permit you to come with us. For your own safety stay here and wait for us to come back." The canine snarled back, following Neji as he headed out the door toward the Hokage tower.
"I'm guessing you won't tell me what it is the two of you need to do?" the Hyuuga questioned the wolf who was trotting easily along beside him as they moved through the village.
"You can ask Yuri that; if she wishes to let anyone know she will. However it's unlikely she will answer; as capable as you and your friends are, you will merely be in the way if you attempt to follow." The wolf replied, glad when they finally entered the tower.
"The Hyuuga boy is trying to convince the Hokage to release us; I've managed to convince him that we'll most definitely be coming back."
'That doesn't mean much unless we can get out of here within the next couple of hours. Even with my speed I'll be pushing it to make it to the rendezvous point in time. And if that happens…'
"If we're late he'll start coming this way, and that could end badly for the entire village. Especially if the others have decided to go back to him."
The brunette looked up as the door swung open, the bright hallway lights blinding to her after being kept in the dark for so long. 'Neji hasn't sorted out getting me out of here yet has he?'
"Not yet, why?"
'I have company…'
"Yuri, I need to speak with you before whatever you've got Neji trying to do goes ahead; I know how to get you out of here but I need your word that you'll answer my questions before taking off."
The voice was familiar, the girl taking a few moments before she finally managed to place it. "I'm fine with talking, although if I refuse to answer a question I expect you to respect that." She replied, frowning in the darkness at the pale haired male. "Though if you'd prefer you can question me here and then let me go."
"It may be easier…" the copy nin muttered, sitting down across from the girl. Her night vision was slowly coming back after the blast of light, allowing her to see the male more clearly. "What happened that night, after I set you down against the tree?"
Averting her gaze, Yuri wrapped her arms around her legs the best she could as she brought them up against her chest, the chains restricting her movements somewhat. "You set me down against the tree…my head was hurting and things were more than a little fuzzy. The others were being protected much like you were protecting me, but there was one more that wasn't already fighting one of the ANBU...
"He had the people he was with draw the attention of the ANBU away and snuck up to slit the throats of the others…he spotted me and smirked; I guess he took me because I was already injured. The others caused a distraction and he pulled me away and took off, the others came with us for a while. Halfway to the border he put me down on a tree branch, turned around and killed the others, then knocked me out completely."
Kakashi was shocked by the news; they'd found smouldering piles of ash come morning and had been searching for a group; knowing now that they were only truly chasing a single person made it much clearer as to why they hadn't caught up with them.
She gave a small shrug, clearly having come to terms, for the most part, with what had happened, even if she had only remembered in the last few days. "When I woke up the next morning I couldn't remember anything; he told me what my name was and introduced me to two boys around my age."
"And he trained the three of you?" the copy nin asked, receiving a nod from the girl.
"It was strange; he knew we were better than him at a variety of things. I was faster, one of the boys was stronger and the third smarter; in the end he realised we were eclipsing him with our talent and had us train against one another; it ended up in a draw always because we were all better at one thing." She informed the male, who frowned further.
"Why did he let you come back then? He must know that you'd learn what he taught you of your past was a lie."
"I'm sure he did; he sent us all home to where he said we'd come from and gave us each a time and place to meet him. He said he'd come to the village and drag us out if we refused to meet him." The girl muttered, her grip on her knees tightening.
"You're worried that he'll show up and start killing villagers if you don't make it to that meeting on time?" The copy nin questioned, a stiff nod his only reply. "A reasonable theory; he did manage to evade us all those years ago, there's little reason he couldn't do so again."
Without another word the male leant forward to remove the chains, the girls head snapping upright. "You might want to wait before doing that; Kuroi and Neji are still talking to Tsunade; Kuroi thinks she may let me go soon."
The white haired male stopped and waited, watching the girl closely for several moments. Finally she let out a sigh, shaking her head. "She's refusing to let me go; won't you be reprimanded for helping me escape?"
"Probably." Kakashi shrugged, undoing the shackles around her neck and wrists. "Get going; if you head out while Neji and Kuroi are still talking to Tsunade you might get far enough away that it's not worth chasing you once they notice."
Darting through the trees at high speed, Yuri somewhat regretted leaving the wolf behind as she ran for the meeting spot. However, with ANBU likely to be following it was best to leave the wolf behind until she was close to their intended destination; she could summon the canine later. The border of the fire nation was just outside of her field of vision and she still hadn't heard anyone following her, leaving her in the clear.
Passing over the border moments later she stopped to catch her breath, panting heavily. 'Well, lets just hope I have a few hours to recuperate before meeting up with sensei. You ready, Kuroi?'
"Ready and waiting; Kiba and the others still believe you to be locked up in one of the holding cells; Neji is the only one aware that you've left the village. ANBU left to start following you an hour ago; the Hokage finally noticed." The wolf informed her.
Sighing, the girl gathered her chakra and summoned the canine, glad she'd had the foresight to grab some supplies at the same time. "Yuri."
The voice made her jump and spin around; coming face to face with one of the two males she'd grown up with. "I take it you got the same quiet reception when you got to your village that Rai and I got from ours?" the white haired male questioned, looking intently at the girl.
"I did; though I don't see why you came back if the reception was so warm, Tadao. Wouldn't you have preferred to stay with your family?" she replied, eyeing the male warily. He was much stronger than she was when it came to fighting, but she could normally dodge him.
"Same reason both of us came back; sensei. He said it was our choice if we wanted to stay or not, but we all know that's not true. He wanted us to find out he'd lied and realise he still holds power over us, regardless of what we want. He'd kill anyone we tried to stay with, so we had to leave for their safety." A black haired male stated, dropping down to complete their triangle. "That is, of course, assuming that's why you came back."
"It's not. I came back to kill him." She stated simply, earning smirks from the two males. "And since the two of you are here as well, I'm hoping you'll help."
"Of course; Rai's thought through it hundreds of times and there's no way just the two of us can beat him; we need your speed. Just as if he were missing we'd need his brains or you'd both need my strength if I were missing." The pale haired male stated.
"You really think we'd be able to do it though? After all, he has us under his control almost completely. He told us he'd drag us from the villages if we didn't come willingly, but in reality he couldn't." Yuri reasoned, settling onto the ground. "He picked a point that's at a crossroads between the three that we could all get to easily and set us all to meet him tomorrow night; why do that if he thought we'd resist his orders?"
"Because he trained us himself; he knows what we're capable of and what we're afraid of. He wouldn't have given us those instructions with the empty threat attached if he doubted his control over us. We didn't know we'd all been told the same time and place; not until now." Rai sighed, dropping to pet Kuroi. "He should've calculated we'd meet up as a group before seeing him, so what is it he really wants from this meeting?"
"Control? To remind us that we need one another more than we need him?" Tadao suggested, flopping back against the ground. "Maybe he wants us to kill him."
"What does that achieve? Nothing; we kill the man that stole us from our families and raised us like soldiers; we feel nothing and he proves nothing by doing it." The black haired male argued back, sighing. "No, it's something more than that."
"…were you guys followed when you left?" the brunette questioned, looking up at the reddening sky. "They didn't realise initially so I was long gone by the time they left, but the Konoha ANBU squad is still following after me. No doubt the Hokage wants the one responsible for so many deaths tried and imprisoned in Konoha."
The white haired male frowned at the girl, unsure of just what point that would make until Rai spoke up. "I had to time my escape strategically to avoid notice that I'd left for a few hours so I could get here, but none the less there are Kirigakure shinobi trying to track me, at the orders of the Mizukage of course. I wouldn't hesitate in betting the Kazekage sent someone after you also, Tadao."
"The point we're meeting him at is a perpetual no-mans land; none of the three villages holds any power over it. We're all being tracked and if nothings done all three villages will have shinobi reaching the village at approximately the same time." Tadao finally stated, the gears clicking together for him finally.
"You think he's planning to start a war between the three?" Yuri questioned, looking between the duo. "They'll all want retribution from this incident and won't be able to agree on who gets to carry it out. We're still his soldiers too…"
"So he'll have us kill them for our own escape and we'll be unable to return; he's set everything up to ensure he comes out with three soldiers who have no one else to turn to, nowhere else to go." Rai concluded, rubbing his eyes.
"Unless we kill him first."
"What do you mean she's gone? How? When? What the hell were you doing to stop her!" Kiba snarled at the blonde woman, making the Hokage sigh. The Inuzuka was the last one to find out about the girl's disappearance, and for good reason. His temper wasn't helping things at all. "Where is she?"
"We don't know; Kakashi helped her escape several hours ago; we only realised when one of the ANBU officers went to check on her and the room was empty. Apparently she has something to do for the safety of the village, but regardless she will be brought back, Kiba." The woman stated, earning a growl from the boy.
"There's nothing we can do Kiba; ANBU will be lucky to catch her before she crosses the border." Neji stated, sighing. He'd figured something was up when the wolf had gone quiet during their walk home, and when she'd vanished from in front of them a few hours later it was confirmed. "They'll come back when they can Kiba."
Daylight broke through the trees, shining on the unlikely group of siblings and the large black canine, curled into a pile to sleep. The trop awoke at the same time, moving apart with a practised ease that only came with time; they normally slept in such a group when together. They'd spent hours the night before discussing what to do, and had finally come up with a plan. There was no time to practise, but they shouldn't have needed it; they'd trained together more than enough times to know how one another moved.
They ate something small for breakfast before heading out, none of them in a rush to reach their destination. It wouldn't help them to be exhausted when fighting against their teacher.
They arrived at the remote location around noon; their sensei was already present and unsurprised to see them arriving as a group. "Well now, it's nice to see all three of you. I take it you've had some time to think about why we're here?"
"You want to start a war." Tadao accused, the male laughing at the notion.
"A war? Now why would I do such a thing? I care nothing for the villages; though wiping them out would be a good idea, and having them wipe one another out is a very effective method. No, it's much simpler than that." He smirked, his three toned hair waving slightly in the wind. "With all I've put you through in your short little lives, all the torment and pain, I want to know if you can kill me."
Yuri frowned at the notion. "Why would we hesitate? You killed our friends and told us our families wanted us dead; why would we hesitate in killing you?"
"Human attraction and emotion; I want to know if you're capable of being the heartless killing machines I trained the three of you to be, or if you're still clinging to that emotional notion that family and friends should be protected."
"He was like a father to us…" Rai finally clicked onto the male's thought process, his eyes widening. "He wants to see if we can kill the person who raised us as easily as we analysed and killed a stranger on the road."
The hollow laugh was all the confirmation they needed, the trio stunned for a moment. The dark haired boy let out a sigh and dropped his gear, weapons and all, as he jumped into a nearby tree. His emotionless mask fell into place as easily as it ever had, turning to his companions. "Well then, we have a job to do."
Allowing their own masks to slip into place, both Yuri and Tadao dropped their bags, retaining their weapons. The white haired male charged first, his attack slow and easy to dodge. However his was a simple feint; Yuri moving to strike at the male's blind spot instead. As her blow struck, she called out to the male in the tree and moved, informing him as to where the male was armoured.
It didn't take long for their Sensei to realise what they were doing and fight back, striking at the two moving as they came within reach or stopped moving for a moment. Drawing a kunai, he waited for the girl to strike again before grabbing her arm, sinking the knife deep into her side. The attack was met with a strike to his legs from the white haired male, his legs unguarded, and the girl was given a chance to fall back.
Moving to the tree next to their third teammate, she pushed the pain to the back of her mind, watching as the two wrestled on the ground. "Well?"
"Grab him from behind and stop him from using his arms; he has some heavy armour on his chest that Tadao should be able to break. Once he's done that release him and go back to what you're doing; I should be able to finish it easily with the armour gone." The male stated, his eyes not leaving their teacher.
"You think he has a metal plate in his head?"
"I'm almost certain of it."
Shaking her head to clear it, the girl jumped down and darted forward once more, shallow scratches already covering most of her body and a couple of deeper wounds on her arms. Tadao was faring no better; his legs covered in gashes and scratches littering his muscular form.
It took several attempts to get behind the male, even with her speed, but when she finally did she barely had the strength to restrain him long enough for her cohort to break the armour on his chest, the girl slammed back against a tree moments later. Free of the girl's grip, the male turned to Tadao, a wicked grin marking his features. Striking the male square in the chest, he winded the pale haired male, leaving him gasping for breath.
His gaze finally turned to the male in the tree who'd suddenly stood, their teacher finally understanding the plan. Standing, he charged at the male and knocked him to the ground, slashing wildly at the younger dark haired male. Rai was barely able to block the attacks from striking anything vital, taking most attacks against his arms and deflecting some away from vital organs.
All three of the male's former students were tiring and bloody, but none were willing to quit. Tadao stood with difficulty and withdrew a long needle from his tool kit, walking over to where the two were still tussling. With what strength he could muster he slammed it through the remaining armour and into his chest cavity, unsure if he'd hit anything vital.
Five years later…
"Dad come on! You promised!" the voice of a young male called, his spiky brown hair and tanned skin reminiscent of another young male from years ago.
"You did promise him Kiba; besides, Rai and Tadao are probably already waiting at the gate for you to meet them, since you won't let me go." Yuri smirked, her amber eyes sparkling playfully as she looked at the Inuzuka. "Now hurry up or you'll be sleeping out with Akamaru."
Sighing, the feral looking male walked over to his new wife, wrapping an arm gently around her swollen belly as he embraced her from behind, kissing her gently. "Fine, but only because it's you." He mumbled, nuzzling her neck.
As father and son took off through the village with Kuroi and Akamaru, the woman sighed, mentally recounting everything that had happened.
Flashback! (Yes I'm lazy but so what? It's my story.)
Their sensei lay dead on the ground, both Tadao and Rai collapsed in exhausted heaps beside the body as blood continued to drip from their wounds. "Yuri, we have company." The dark wolf called, trotting over to her partner. "Looks like the Konoha group are here first."
Sure enough a squad of ANBU appeared, looking over the scene with confusion. "Those two need help now; they'll probably die of blood loss if someone doesn't see them soon. They're from Kiri and Suna; friends of mine." She informed the captain, barely holding on to her own consciousness. "There's probably shinobi from each of their villages on their way here; they have very similar stories to mine."
End Flashback
They'd managed to kill their sensei as a team, although they were lucky to escape the scene with their lives. From what she knew the ANBU squad had allowed Kirigakure's hunter ninja to destroy the body, leaving no trace of their sensei's existence on the earth. Each of the trio had returned to their respective villages and settled somewhat, though they still enjoyed using their unique talents to help when possible.
Kiba had refused to leave her side once she returned; vowing that no matter what happened from then on, he would be beside her. They were married, much to the delight of Neji, Shino and the Inuzuka clan, only a few months later. Since then they'd had a son, Riku, who was now three and as hyperactive as his father.
Kuroi and Akamaru had remained together, the white canine now forced to sleep outside to prevent anymore 'accidental' litters being born between the two. They'd already parented three litters, and neither she nor Kiba felt like trying to house more puppies just yet.
Naruto apologised to Hinata a few months after their wedding; claiming drunken stupidity was to blame for his night with Sakura. The two were still dating, the Hyuuga heiress still having trouble fully trusting the hyperactive blonde, though there was definitely some improvement there.
As for the rest of the village? It was fairly peaceful. Well, as peaceful as it could be with Kiba and his son running around like a pair of sugar-crazed maniacs. Smiling at the thought, Yuri placed a hand over the rather large bump in her normally slender form, sighing. "Might be sons at the rate you're growing."
End~