Leaves in the Wind
Chapter Thirty: Caged Birds Sing
A foam ceiling tile of the Konoha holding facility slid aside fractionally. "Here," came the soft whisper. Deep brown eyes flashed from within the darkness. Yasuo shifted slightly, allowing more room for Kakashi to slither forward. Both ninja waited in the recesses of the roof as a shinobi treaded silently beneath them, steps light and resolute. The man passed, stalked around the corner, and never detected their presence.
The boy dropped down into the hallway, instantaneously shadowed by his superior. They dashed down the length of the hall and around a corner, stopping abruptly. "The first guards we encountered were posted here," Yasuo said, pointing to a spot in the hallway in front of them. "It was dark, pretty hard to see, but Isamu-sensei didn't have a problem hiding us from them. One man spoke to his partner and they split up. That's when Isamu-sensei used his Bird Song Jutsu to trick the comrade and direct him out of our course."
"Bird Song Jutsu?" Kakashi's grey eye switched to Yasuo curiously.
"Mmhmm," he nodded, peering around the corner and finding it appropriately absent. The pair continued to slide along the deco yellow wall. "It gives him the ability to mimic any voice he's ever heard in his lifetime. He promised he'd teach me today, but since he's in such bad shape right now, I'm sure he'll have to go back on that word."
Both shinobi froze at the rhythmic clacking of sandals against tile.
Another posted guard stepped into the corridor, hands sheathed idly in his pockets. He hummed lightly, scratching his chin, gaze dutifully set on his path. He passed.
Yasuo dropped from the ceiling, and Kakashi stepped from around a corner. "Come on, we're almost there," Yasuo murmured, glancing cautiously over his shoulder. He resumed creeping forward, eyes scanning the passageway, and he stopped to briefly point at an entrance down the hall. "Tekki-san was held in the third holding room. There was no one else here, and it seems it has remained that way."
"Good work." Kakashi procured a small pick, and the lock was rendered useless with a deft flick of the wrist. Neither was undeterred by what looked decidedly like failure. With one sweeping glance, the room was deemed empty and Yasuo's eyes became trained on the fresh sealant blocking the ventilation chamber. The room had been predictably scoured for all remnants that would bear information. Whether any was found or not, there was no indication. Morino Ibiki and his team had cleaned it all.
The venture had, indeed, been a failure. Kakashi knew immediately, and after a few seconds of examination, Yasuo gave up. Shinobi had to be efficient; they both understood that. However, it occasionally got in the way of the ninja behind them….
They exited as stealthily as they had come; silently passing through the empty corridor until once again progress was deterred by a guard. The same man they had passed merely two minutes before. He ceased walking and began to turn. Kakashi vanished immediately, but the guard's eyes landed on Yasuo just as he was about to disappear from sight. The boy froze, and their gazes locked, one pair wide and expectant and the other, blunt and expressionless.
"Your friend's waiting on the roof," the man enunciated flatly. The guard's shoulder twitched, and then he quietly drifted past.
Yasuo's head turned as he watched the man walk away. "Friend on the roof?"
"Jutsu." Kakashi whispered in the boy's ear. "Come."
Yasuo jumped and whirled quickly. In an instant, Kakashi was gone. Yasuo disappeared after him.
---
The roof hatch cracked open an inch, and Yasuo peered from the shadows into garish sunlight. The bright rays flickered as the shadows of hopping and pecking birds pierced them. At the realization that he could not see beyond the avian life, the hatch popped open all the way, metal plate clanging against the roof. Yasuo ducked down cautiously. At finding no trap, no flying kunai or shuriken, and no jutsu cast in his direction, he peered over the edge. "No one's here, Kakashi-san…." He crawled up onto the roof and shooed away a few birds so he had room to stand properly.
Kakashi hopped up afterward, taking a close look at his surroundings. The latch flipped shut behind them, and both simultaneously jerked around. No one was present. Nothing struck them as unusual, dismissing the massive congregation of fowl. The harmony of Konoha's day business wafted through the atmosphere. The smell of cool, drying air loomed over them. The sun was still high in the sky, and the impression felt natural.
"Hello." A small, brown bird hopped by idly, pausing when it passed through Kakashi's shadow. It scratched at the tile roof a few times and pecked at something invisible, then stopped and glanced up at the imposing man. "I assumed you would be scouting around on your own, scarecrow."
Kakashi shifted and his head tilted downward. His eye narrowed dangerously at the bird. "Still hiding behind that jutsu, mm?"
Yasuo grew alert at Kakashi's words. "Who're you talking to?" he murmured. The boy followed Kakashi's glare to the solitary bird before him. Yasuo's head crooked slightly.
"Of course." Sensei's voice continued echoing in the Jounin's mind. "I wouldn't dare present such a frail body to the Sharingan no Kakashi. You understand; as a Shinobi, the point is to hide one's weakness." Sensei laughed haughtily, though to Yasuo, the bird merely erupted into a sudden series of loud, cheerful chirping. "I was just on route to speak with my brethren." This, apparently, amused Sensei because if he wanted to, he could be speaking with the Harogami at the same time he was speaking with Kakashi. "But then, I saw you speaking with Ibiki-san, so I could not let you go without a greeting. And perhaps offering some information."
"Information?" Kakashi raised a skeptical eyebrow.
"Kuro and Kuro-kun are feeling rather lonely. If you could go visit them, I'm sure they'd appreciate such a gesture. After all, boys need to play."
Yasuo's attention shifted between Kakashi and the creature. "The bird's talking to you, right?"
A hand was raised to silence Yasuo. "What did you do to them?"
"Do to them?" Yasuo's heart suddenly leapt, and he stared at the brown bird as if expecting an answer. "What's going on, Kakashi-san? What's happened?"
"I did nothing to them," Sensei retorted unenthusiastically. "But if you would prefer to confirm this, my feathered companions are willing to show the way."
"Thanks, but no thanks." Kakashi nudged the bird away with his toe.
"Kakashi-san, what is-"
"It's nothing you need to know, Yasuo-kun." The Jounin's foot slipped to the bird's side and flipped the creature into the air. "We're heading back now." He pocketed his hands, stalking toward the edge of the roof. "Come." He cleared the space between buildings with a simple leap.
"Yessir," Yasuo reluctantly started after Kakashi, body tensed to spring as he reached the railing. The light breeze encased him and for a moment. Regardless of the strange birds behind him, Konoha's peace went undisturbed.
Sensei immediately switched objectives. "Kuro-kun would like to speak with you, Yasuo-kun."
Yasuo's breath hitched, but he allowed no other reaction. Instead, he obediently made another jump after Kakashi. The wind picked up behind him, goading him forward.
"Are you interested? It's purely non-confrontational."
He paused in his step and shot a single glance towards the bird. The boy looked back to Kakashi, who was still moving rapidly ahead of him.
Yasuo nodded.
"I will take you to them. Later, as it seems Kakashi-san would prefer you keep your distance. Just remember the little blue bird." Birds cried out and rose. At an unseen disturbance, the flock on the holding facility roof took flight, loose feathers drifting lazily in their wake.
"Yasuo-kun." A warning stole back the boy's attention. Kakashi was waiting.
"Oh." Yasuo blinked and shook his head quickly. "Sorry. Just worried is all."
---
"-nothing there," Kakashi finished, falling onto the couch next to Iruka.
Yasuo handed the strained academy teacher another glass of water. "Here you go, Iruka-sensei." His former sensei had been complaining about a headache and slight vertigo, so the boy had quickly taken to caring for him. This little bit of disorientation in Iruka couldn't help but create suspicious glances toward Tekki and Isamu.
"Ibiki would have swept the place clean." Tekki grunted, with a hint of approval in his words. "I'm not surprised."
Iruka held something akin to suspicion in his expression as he watched Isamu teeter around the kitchen. He could detect numerous types of poison and currently…that tea Isamu had served was not so innocent. "Was there anything outside they might have overlooked?" Iruka inquired.
"No," Yasuo answered for Kakashi. "Just a lot of talking birds, apparently." The assembled men turned various degrees of skepticism upon the boy, and suddenly, he found himself trying to save his sanity. "I didn't hear them. Kakashi-san did."
"Sensei is just playing his mind games again," Kakashi explained. "Apparently, the Kuro Brothers are trying to hide from him. So-called 'Sensei' offered to disclose their location, but you know how that is."
Yasuo shifted away from Iruka and decided to join Isamu in the kitchen. Water splashed out of a broken faucet and he busied himself with some dishes he'd been putting off for a while.
"He was relentless while I was sleeping," Iruka added gravely. "It's difficult, trying to shut him out. It's…starting to affect me consciously now."
Isamu hummed cheerfully to himself from the kitchen, the tiny chime tied to the end of his long ponytail dangling noiselessly. He handed a cup to Yasuo to wash, which the boy silently accepted.
Kakashi's eye didn't leave Iruka. "You're getting visions in the day?"
Dishes crashed and clanged in the sink, and Yasuo jumped. "Sorry." He quickly worked to correct his error.
The Academy sensei nodded, pinning Yasuo with a concerned gaze. "It started yesterday…"
Humming escalated into a repetitive, enthusiastic folk song as Isamu finished scrubbing his tea pot; he wouldn't allow anyone else to handle it. Tekki glared at the man as the song dragged on, weaving its little tune around their heads. The ex-medical nin's eye twitched, he crossed his arms. A red glow slowly rose up his neck and into his cheeks until- "Dammit, Kazahaya sh-!"
"Isamu, please stop singing."
The tune abruptly ended. "Oh, I'm sorry, Iruka-san. I wasn't aware of it." He smiled brightly at the man and turned to Tekki with a thin brow raised. "Did you say something, Tekki-san?"
He returned the question with a stark, "No."
Silence fell upon the group of shinobi as they kept a naturally paranoid ear on their surroundings. A short 'tum' sounded as the tap shut off, and it was shortly followed by a clink of glass when Yasuo gently set a wet cup on the counter. The boy watched a water droplet slip down the slick side. "Isamu-sensei…." He felt eyes shift to his back. "I have a question for you."
"Oh?" Isamu wound a finger around a lock of black hair. He leaned back against the counter and watched his pupil intently.
Yasuo's eyes flickered to Isamu then returned to the cup. Another drop collided with the countertop. "When Kuro-kun tried to kill you…how did you escape him?"
Kakashi turned on the couch so he could peer into the kitchen area. He, with Tekki and Iruka, observed silently.
"Oh well, that was a combination of jutsu and," he paused, eyes flickering to the ceiling. "My kekki genkai."
"What happened?" Yasuo turned away from the sink, no longer able to stand the feeling of being watched from behind. He brushed back a strand of brown hair from his view, but his gaze strayed to his feet.
"Ahh, he strangled me." Isamu waved a hand flippantly. "But I used a jutsu similar to Shikon no jutsu. Consider it a reversal, if you will."
"So instead of a giving a corpse the pretense of being alive," Iruka piped up, "it stopped your own heart for a set amount of time, effectively creating a 'dead' man." The Academy teacher stared at Isamu with unveiled interest.
Isamu smiled widely and nodded. "Oh, yes, yes, yes. I've done it many times before."
"That would explain a lot," Kakashi murmured. He collected a chastising glare from Iruka.
"That's got to be really dangerous," Yasuo blinked, eyes shifting to his sensei. "I mean, the strain on your heart, and then cutting yourself off from flowing oxygen for that amount of time…" No wonder Isamu passed out twenty minutes after the initial strain. However, it probably saved Isamu's life on many occasions. Yasuo perked up and grinned. "Can you teach me that?"
"Y-"
Iruka shot Yasuo a sensei-warning-glare. "No, Isamu-san. Yasuo-kun has had enough right now."
Yasuo shrank at Iruka's expression. "Haha… yeah… I've got other jutsu I can learn instead." His eyes ripped away from his old teacher. "Are you still going to teach me Bird Song, Isamu-sensei?"
"Bird Song?" Iruka marginally straightened at the mention of a jutsu he did not recognize. This was, apparently, another Kazahaya original, and after seeing first-hand what he had later learned was called 'Mirror, mirror', he was enticed to know more.
"Oh yes, the capability to mimic any voice that has been retained by your memory." Isamu laughed heartily. Tekki glowered.
"Yeah, Iruka-sensei, it's really cool." Yasuo grinned, turning to Isamu. "So when will you be willing to?"
"Ohh, well, I don't know…" Isamu clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth, smoothing down his yellow kimono, generously patterned with orange koi fish. "Soon," he finished in a perfect imitation of Kakashi's lazy drawl.
Kakashi's eye twitched.
The boy sighed in near disappointment. The Chuunin scratched at the back of his neck and then nodded.
Yasuo's former teacher had taken to staring out the window. Iruka held a passive, vaguely troubled frown on his face. The visions could be intense, as they were now, and it acted as a veil over the world around him. He could see the clear blue sky over Konoha, but it was littered with rapidly moving phantom shadows. He paused, tracking one of the shadows with his eyes. It had a slightly blue tint to it.
"Yes, it is lovely outside isn't it?" Isamu had noticed the silence, the directed stare, and had followed it to discover a little blue bird flying by. Despite being harassed by these fowl and their masters, he still had a penchant for those of the feathered persuasion. "No rain."
Yasuo immediately perked up. "Yeah, it really seems like a good day." He wandered over to the window and leaned forward; looking to the right and spotting the blue bird perched on an electric pole. His gaze flickered to the street below. He turned to the others and grinned. "I think I want to take a walk. I've felt a lot of stress in the past few days, y'know?"
Both Iruka and Isamu grinned. Iruka nodded with understanding and approval, and Isamu nodded with a more mischievous undertone.
"Stay alert, Yasuo."
"Bye-bye!"
Yasuo shot Isamu a look that only the genjutsu user could understand. To others, it seemed to be one of near sarcastic wit towards Iruka's comment. "Of course I'll be alert." He laughed, dashed to the door, lifted a hand- "See ya," and slipped out.
Kakashi and Tekki, conjoined in silence, watched him go.
---
A low whistle rolled across the street from the adjacent building rooftop, and the bird's head swiveled in that direction. It had observed Yasuo's exiting of the building and escape out of civilian view to the rooftops.
It swooped low, diving and landing to peck at dust and particles of food on the street. As Yasuo passed, it chirped and took flight, wheeling through the air and turning to fly the opposite direction. The Chuunin, as a result, rotated his own course to match that of the bird's and eventually had to shift pace as it bird slowed and sped. He had not heard the stranger's voice in his head yet -or bird, or whatever- but that was something he could do without. The songbird was leading him toward the Harogami brothers, and that was all that mattered.
He tailed the blue streak through Konoha's streets to a cluttered, concentrated residential area. There were two apartment complexes adjacent to one another just a few blocks ahead, and it seemed that that was where the little bird was determined to go.
As he let himself in through a ground floor window furthest away from the lobby, he watched the inlays of glass for his feathered guide. Yasuo could feel no traces of the twins in this place, so he could either stake out each level of the complex or he could let the bird lead the way.
A flash of blue at the second window to his right forced him to move again. The bird swooped in and out of view across the glass, leading him toward the stairs. When he emerged and spotted the blue bird again, it was flying away. There were three hallways deviating from the point where he now stood. Each hallway contained eight doors on either side. Therefore, he had forty-eight possibilities.
"What kind of crap is that?" Yasuo muttered distastefully. A door at the end of the hallway to his right opened up. He looked over to see that a young woman was stepping out. She paused to lock the door behind her, and then she quickly neared him. He sidestepped so she could access the declining stairs.
Alright, so that left him with forty-seven possibilities.
Yasuo started to his right, slowing his pace at each door, listening intently as he passed. He was able to mark off four currently empty rooms and the rest with inhabitants, most talking, some watching television. None of them seemed to fit the criteria of high-class missing ninja.
He didn't turn at the corner and continued walking down that branch. Five empty, the rest buzzing with activity. Yasuo backtracked and started down his last option. Two empty, twelve active, two moderately subdued. The boy stopped at door 204 and he stared at it. He couldn't feel any significant presence, nor did he hear anything unusual. He placed his hand against the wood and remained silent. He estimated there were three people in this apartment. That didn't fit his needs.
Yasuo left that door and approached his final option. He listened carefully, waited for any noise, heard a soft murmuring, and his heart rate rose. This was the one. He had found them, or rather, he had been lead to them.
He swallowed hard, recalling the previous spat between them. His hand subconsciously lifted to his upper arm, and he gently felt the bandaged wound. Yasuo had been terrified and torn then. What would he say once he saw them? What excuse could he possibly give for locating them? Of course, if all he wanted to do was merely identify their location, then he would have technically completed his self-imposed mission. He could turn around right now and not look back. No one ever said he had to confront the brothers. No one said that he had to have found them in the first place. Kakashi had obviously advised against it, thinking that it was a high chance that there would be a trap, or if a fight broke out they would be in a highly populated area of Konoha.
And yet, here he was, standing outside their hideout, only a knock away from seeing them. Hell, they probably knew he was standing out here right now. They probably felt him coming ever since he snuck in on the ground floor.
What did you do to them?
What was their Sensei's intention for leading him here anyway? He had thought through all of this once before, but he had followed despite all logical fallacy. Iruka had warned him when he was a child at the Academy, 'One day, that'll get you killed, Yasuo-kun.' He would not let that time be now…
… Kuro… he had no intention of killing last night. Yasuo remembered the pained look on the man's face. Neither of them wanted to fight each other- for slightly different reasons, but the non-confrontational truce was there. That truce had been made before either shinobi had fully comprehended, when Yasuo met Kuro in front of the hospital that day….
"I'm going to get myself killed one day," Yasuo silently scolded himself.
"I wouldn't like that," came a muffled reply from beyond the wooden door. "I'm sorry; Kuro-kun is out right now."
"Kuro-san…" Yasuo instinctively took a step backward. God, he had to stop doing that. "Are… Are you Ok, Kuro-san?"
"Are you really asking that, Yasuo-kun?" The voice was strained and subdued. "No…is Isamu-san-? Is he…?"
"He's…" Yasuo hesitated, briefly considering his response. "He's injured, but alive...Is your brother there?"
"No. I said Kuro-kun wasn't here. He's out. How is Iruka-sensei?"
Yasuo stepped towards the door again and leaned against it. He pressed his forehead to the wood, and his hitae-ate clicked accordingly. "He's not feeling well most of the time. Kakashi-san does what he can for him, but I can tell that he's strained… tortured even."
"He is…a very nice man…" Kuro murmured sadly. There was rustling of cloth and Yasuo could envision the pale man leaning into the wood.
"How are you doing, Kuro-kun? You and your brother." Yasuo shifted slightly, frozen against the door. Compassion for his enemy- how pathetic. And still, he knew that they could have been good friends.
"Yasuo-kun," the man's soft voice lowered to a whisper that only a shinobi could hear through the thickness of the wood. "I believe Sensei knew we would fail…I really think that…he set us up. Kuro-kun and I…"
Yasuo's gaze flickered. "Set you up? For what reason- to face off against Isamu-sensei?"
"Perhaps." He heard Kuro's erratic breathing. "We've murdered our kin, Yasuo-kun. I believe he wanted Isamu-san to die because we are kin…"
"You don't think perhaps…" Yasuo paused as a resident passed the end of the hallway, stepping down the stairs. He waited until their presence faded. "You don't think perhaps you're on his list, do you?"
"We have followed him loyally," Kuro whispered. "But Suien followed us and he followed Sensei. Sensei has left Suien and he has left Tekki. I fear for my brother…Sensei has become…odd, lately."
"Odd? How so?" Another person passed by, and this time, they bothered to spare him a glance. "Kuro-kun, can I step in? It's getting busy out here…"
A palpable pause lingered. "Ah….this isn't our apartment. It would be good to avoid attention…" Reluctantly, the door was left slightly ajar. There was enough space for Yasuo to slip in, and then the door was shut and promptly locked. Kuro slid against the wall, watching Yasuo through tired golden eyes. His white hair was down and matted to his slick skin and the long locks lacked the chime Yasuo had always seen him wear. His pale skin was tinged a faint pink and a light sheen of perspiration covered its entirety. "Sensei used to be quieter. He was subtle about operations…he didn't like attention; he wanted things done covertly. Then, Iruka-san and Kakashi-san got involved, and he changed."
Yasuo looked down at Kuro with worried eyes. He crouched in front of him, and then leaned against the opposite wall of the entryway. "Do you know why Iruka-sensei was pulled into this?"
"No. Tekki-san doesn't, nor do I. The only man who knows is Sensei." Kuro's brows furrowed. "I thought it was revenge, Yasuo-kun. I started to believe this was revenge against our clan…"
"Started to? What do you think it is now?" Yasuo brushed bangs out of his face. The brother certainly was gone. Only God and Sensei knew to where.
"Vengeance. It is still vengeance. But whom I do not know. Or what. Perhaps it is vengeance against Konoha." Harogami Kuro lifted his gleaming avian eyes to Yasuo's level. "That is the most logical theory I have."
"Vengeance against Konoha?" Yasuo inquired quietly. "But what could we have possibly done against the Kazahaya. We've been allied with Bird Country for some time now. Not to mention that Ibiki's team hadn't even heard of Kazahaya until they forced the information out of Tekki-san."
"I have few answers." Kuro murmured, which wasn't technically true. He had answers, but not to Yasuo's questions and not for Yasuo. "I am…very tired…" The man rested his chin against his chest. "Sensei is focused on Iruka-san and Isamu-san now. That is all I'm certain of."
Yasuo stood up and ventured further into the apartment. The boy disappeared and reappeared with a damp cloth in his hands. He pressed it to Kuro's flushed cheeks and forehead. "You look sick," he finally murmured.
Kuro smiled faintly. "Punishment." He responded, gently taking the cloth from Yasuo and patting himself. "Ah, Yasuo-kun, this is all so unfair…."
The Chuunin grinned, sitting and crossing his legs. "Tell you what. When this all gets sorted out, I'll still watch the birds with you."
"How wonderful…" Kuro seemed to be nodding off when suddenly his head snapped up. Birds. Reminded him of his brother. Out with the birds. "You should leave before Kuro-kun returns. He won't be pleased."
This warning made Yasuo suddenly alert. That's right, he had almost forgotten again. The boy stood up quickly and nodded. "Take care of yourself, Kuro-kun." He would retreat the way he came. It was less suspicious that way. He unlatched the door and cracked it open. Brown eyes widened and he gasped. The boy slammed the door shut, quickly stumbling away from it. "Shit."
He heard a faint 'I should have suggested the window…' beneath the brother's louder, "You can open the door, or I can open it. Your decision, Chuunin."
Yasuo dashed towards the window and threw it open. He leapt down to the busy street below, henged, and attempted to loose himself in the startled crowd.
Younger Kuro was directly behind him as he ran. He wasted no time in trailing the boy as he attempted to loose him. His elder sibling was safely behind where he could rest as he should have been doing. Coming back as Sensei had directed and detecting the aura of this brat inside the apartment left him feeling irritated and overworked. When the door opened just as he was about to open it and he was faced with Yasuo, he was angry. He was absolutely livid when the door was slammed on him two seconds later.
Kuro slid effortlessly through the crowd, choosing at one point to track the boy from the roof tops. He could use the birds if he so chose, but he normally preferred chasing his prey without external aid.
Yasuo, meanwhile, had taken the guise of a middle-aged man in civilian clothing. It made him less suspicious to others, but left no advantage over Harogami Kuro. He slipped into shadows, disappeared under awnings and behind walls. When the pursuit continued just as persistently as ever, he decided to go for large crowds, attempt to slip into bars or stores.
Apparently, it wouldn't work this time. Kuro was determined to exterminate him; he could feel murderous intent pulsing around him. He had to draw Kuro away from the people, and he had to do it fast. The Chuunin dropped the henge, it only served to hamper him at some points, and he dashed through the shadows of a back alley way, heading in the direction of the only place no civilian ever trespassed: the training grounds.
Kuro knew the immature shinobi's thought process; it fueled his anger that the fool was so obviously leading conflict away from potential collateral damage. He could feel his brother's mind at the edge of his own, urging him to abort his chase. He ignored. If Kuro-kun wanted to stop him, he'd have to come to stop him himself.
If Yasuo risked a glance back to visually monitor Kuro's position, he would see only a white blur among the trees; flashes of brilliant white that seemed like it could have simply been the sun glinting off leaves. The gentle rustling seemed to increase in volume as the boy's heart pounded painfully in his chest. He could hear the leaves and his own life rhythm, but no matter how hard he strained, these were the only sounds.
A feather shot past Yasuo's head, lightly grazing his cheek. If his pace did not change, more would follow.
Yasuo maneuvered adeptly to the right, a textbook attempt to throw off a pursuing enemy. The boy increased his speed, choosing to keep to the ground. The increasing amount of tree trunks, branches, and leaves would hamper the deftly thrown weapons. He was now far enough from the main city that collateral damage no longer remained a problem, but that did not keep him from running.
At this point, he realized his only chance at escaping Kuro's wrath was to slip away unnoticed. Yasuo decided that now was a good time to pray to every god Homo Sapiens had decided to acknowledge, and then he would worship the deity that responded first. Luck was what he needed, and he needed it now.
All traces of the boy's chakara vanished. The leaves stopped rustling, his footsteps halted, and not a single shadow gave away his location. He was deep in hiding.
Kuro vanished as well, leaping up into the blinding light of the sun, assimilating himself completely with the forest.
Yasuo lurched as soft skin burned against the back of his neck. He felt the hands grip at him from behind but not the presence to which they belonged. "I strangled Isamu-san like this," Kuro's hot breath hissed in his ear. The pressure intensified. "What a hopeless child you are."
Yasuo gagged and cringed, hands automatically jerking upward to grip at the pair now clenched around his neck. He suddenly snapped his elbow backward, knocking Kuro hard in the side. The grip remained tight. Yasuo's feet shifted in the grass with a second attempt. He suddenly threw himself backwards, neck painfully wrenching past the weak thumbs, and his body smacked into the twin with the force of the movement. The boy ducked low as hands lashed again. He slipped around the tree.
Lilting laughter followed him. "Oh Yasuo-kun, foolish boy. Hopeless child." It sounded like a mantra the way he repeated it, drilling it into Yasuo's mind. "Hopeless child, foolish boy." He…somehow…could not shut it out…
Yasuo twitched at the teasing words, yet he refused to fall prey. He had changed locations already. 'Hopeless child.' It was almost kind in comparison to what his father had already taught Yasuo about himself.
'Foolish boy.'
Yasuo's teeth gritted together and his body instinctively tensed. The words meant nothing; it was that patronizing tone of voice that he couldn't bare. That twisted sneer hidden beneath the speech that he knew so well. It was that voice that he couldn't fight back against. The tormenter. Yasuo's breath rattled. He gulped, pressing his lips tightly together, trying to regain control over himself.
Slender arms suddenly twined around Yasuo's torso, one hand brought a kunai to the boy's throat, pressing down ever so slightly. "Foolish boy, little child. I have questions, and I want answers. Will you give them to me?"
Yasuo squeaked and pushed against Kuro. "No."
The knife sliced through flesh and the bunshin went up in a cloud of smoke. He offered a non-committal shrug. "Your mind is open, child. I can feel you." The man tilted his head to the side. "You've been infected, foolish boy." Again he disappeared into the world around him and again hands lashed out at Yasuo before the boy could see or evade. The grip wrapped around his ankle from the branch below, and he was violently jerked downward. Yasuo shouted as he was violently thrown to the ground. The missing ninja laughed and vanished as Yasuo rolled to his feet.
For the second time, hands abruptly encircled his neck from behind. "You will answer me."
Yasuo made short gasping motions as his breath was reduced to a dangerous wheeze. The boy struggled against the grip, pulling every trick he could remember, attacking the strangler, back stepping, twisting the fingers and pressing against the thumbs. However, apparently Kuro was going to make it very clear to Yasuo that he would not escape. The boy didn't speak until he felt his muscles weaken and his head grow light from lack of oxygen. "Wh…wha…?" he rasped.
The grip relented only to allow sufficient oxygen for speech. "So what did he tell you? My Kuro-kun."
Yasuo took in a sudden, deep gulp of air. He blinked heavily, and his hands clenched into fists. "Nothing I could use," he replied.
"What did he say to you?" Kuro repeated softly, squeezing firmly.
"A-" he gagged and began to struggle again, "-'ight… Alr…" The grip loosened enough for him to speak coherently. "He told me that he didn't like what you two were doing." Yasuo's breath was strained. Kuro could feel his rushing blood beating through the pulsing veins in his neck. "It mostly turned out that I was telling him things, not the other way around."
"That may be, but I want to know his exact words, Yasuo-kuuun." Hot, moist breath assaulted the Chuunin's neck as Kuro purred out his words.
The boy gasped and squeaked, entire body tensing up with the single gesture. Yasuo-kun was so reactive. It excited the missing nin. "H-h-he said he thinks your s-sensei set you two up to encounter Isamu-sensei last night."
Kuro chuckled lowly. "Ohh, did he? And then?"
"He says your sensei has been acting strangely since Iruka-sensei became involved in the plot." His fingers were desperately prying at Kuro's grip, but his efforts were useless. It had become close to a methodical clenching and unclenching rather than any true effort at this point.
"He's always been strange," Kuro ran his tongue over the outside ridge of Yasuo's ear. "And?"
Yasuo's eyes squeezed shut and a short whimper escaped the boy. He tried to pull his head away, but the hands held him firmly in place. "He didn't tell me anything more. You came too soon." His shoulders trembled and continued to jerk every which way, but he was only gagged and snapped back like a disobedient pup.
"Oh don't try lying. I dislike that." Again he felt something sticky and wet on his ear. "I told you, little boy, you can't hide anything from us anymore. Now," Squeeze. "What else did he tell you?"
Yasuo cringed. "I told you," he murmured. "I don't know anything more."
"Don't press your luck, boy. ANSWER me." Kuro's grip tightened, crushing the boy's windpipes.
An incomprehensible groan in combination with a puff of air was his response. Yasuo's neck screamed with pain, and he could feel the skin turning swollen and tender to the touch. The boy kicked at Kuro and his fingernails dug into the man's hands. Blood trickled down his fingers, slipping down the sleeves of his shirt. "-eeengh… Ve." The grip loosened with his increase in struggle and volume. "Vengeance!"
Kuro's strangulation relented and he leaned back, staring at the back of the boy's skull with evident distaste. "Vengeance. That's no surprise. Vengeance aside from that against the clan? Is that what he said?"
The boy groaned, shoulders slackening slightly. "Vengeance against Konoha. Something like that. I don't entirely understand how it all pieces together yet, but you're next on the hit list, Kuro-san."
"Bullshit. I don't care what he did with Matsuhara; we're too valuable."
"S'not what I've gathered," Yasuo muttered lowly.
Kuro violently resumed his grip. "What are you feeding my brother, you little bastard?" The man hissed loudly, digging his pointed nails into flesh. "Sensei is a lunatic, but he's not going to kill us; not when we're his links to spreading the infection."
Yasuo cringed, feeling blood trickle down the front of his shirt from the punctures. "I'm not telling Kuro-san anything. I've just been gathering information, and I'm telling you now, you're not as valuable as you think you are. Take it as a warn-"
"Cock-sure Chuunin. Why did you get involved with this, Yasuo-kun? Because you're willing to bend over for anyone who is willing to give a shit?" Kuro started bending the boy's head back to expose his neck. "Are you? Are you?!" He jerked harder.
Yasuo let out an involuntary shout. He squirmed in Kuro's grip and fought against the movement. "S-stop!" he exclaimed. It was an automatic response that he knew would fall unheeded. "I-I don't know! I don't know why!"
"I would snap your neck," Kuro twisted Yasuo's head to the side. "But I'll let you have a chance at an honorable death." He was forcefully tossed aside, hitting the ground hard. Kuro towered over him and grinned down with a manic gleam illuminating his eyes. "Oh. Remember to listen carefully to your sensei, Yasuo-kun."
Yasuo coughed, hands clenching hold of the dirt and grass as if it would offer him some stability. His eyes flickered across the ground, then upon Kuro's feet, and then up to the man's face. Harogami was going to kill him slowly. The boy pulled himself to his knees, leaves crunching and shifting with his movement. Optimistically speaking, it would buy him time to think of a plan. Yasuo laughed lightly as he stood, facing the homicidal maniac. Being optimistic at a time like this…. Only he could do something so ridiculously insane.
Yasuo immediately produced two kunai, one in each hand. His feet shifted apart and he crouched slightly. "Fine." He would have to make some noise to attract more shinobi to the location. He'd have to accept that he might be killed in the process, but he had created an opportunity that his fellows could follow through with - the brothers were finally separated. Yasuo would raise hell.
Both men vanished.