Revelations

Tsunade apologised to Uchiha Ichiru, and hurried he and his brother from the Hokage's office. Kin cursed at her under his breath, muttering something about 'old man Hokage' giving them a drink or two.
The fifth Hokage stood in front of the desk in the spacious room, looking down at her protégé, his eyes closed and his head lolling. A small snore came from his mouth, and he muttered inaudibly in his stupor. Tsunade could take no more. She reached forward and grabbed him by the collar of his robes, just as she would have done had he been 13 again. At first he protested loudly, and then saw the look on her face. Did Tsunade, the most ferocious and terrifying woman in Konoha (next to his wife), look scared?
"Hokage. Naruto… There is something I must tell you."
Naruto slumped back into his chair as she released her grip on his neck, and he gasped loudly. The blonde ninja took a seat in front of him, helping herself to his sake.
"Go ahead, baa-chan." He said, holding a hand to his neck, and rubbing the now tender skin there.
Tsunade sighed after she'd downed a small cup. She looked up, poured another, and sighed again. Where to begin…
"Naruto. You told me about Hyuuga Hoshi's mission to sound. And I took it upon myself to investigate. Uchiha Sumi died only a week ago. Of the same illness that Hoshi-san now has. This is no coincidence.
Naruto, I think it's time you knew where Uchiha Sumi came from, before she married Sasuke."

*

It was late evening, and the sun was slowly being swallowed up by the horizon. 5-year-old Sumi lay on her back, looking up at the clouds, now tinged with orange. Oshiro Kanaye, her father, would be returning home soon. She was sad that her family had been moved away from her village, but it was quite exciting being in a new place. Her mother, Emi, called to her from their small house at this point, and Sumi stood quickly, her hair cascading down her back, as if it were fluid gold.

Years later, Sumi began to understand the nature of the man her father worked for. He would be gone for days, and come back, injured but with no explanation. His hair would be covered in a fine dust. One day, when she was about 8, her parents argued. She heard a name, a name that sent chills down her spine, without even knowing who it belonged to.

"I don't care if Orochimaru-sama directly ordered it, Kanaye! I need you here, with Sumi and I!"
"I can't provide for either of you unless I do what he asks."

One night, when Sumi had just celebrated her 14th birthday, the rain struck their roof hard, and Sumi snuggled next to Emi in the bed they shared. Her mother held her closely, singing to soothe her. The door opened as if a gust of wind had thrown it from its hinges, and a man staggered into the building. In a flash of lightning, Sumi could see the whites of his eyes as he advanced towards them, holding something aloft.
As he got closer, Emi screamed, scrabbling towards the wall, pulling Sumi with her. The stranger held the object out towards her, getting nearer.
He aimed it right at Emi's chest.
Sumi did not think. She lurched forwards just as the man lunged.
The pain was short. She looked down.
A needle stuck out from her arm. Strange, it didn't look so menacing now that it was not held in the attacker's hand. A warm sensation filled her body.
Just as she felt sleep take her, she looked up and realised it had been no stranger.
Her father wept on the floor, his head held in his hands, as an icy voice told him he would pay for his mistakes.

*

"Oshiro Kanaye had betrayed Orochimaru, and he knew it. He had decided to kill his family before anyone else did, and then he would take his own life. However, that night things did not go according to plan. He had stolen a syringe from his group-leader's medical pouch. That leader was Kabuto. The syringe contained an experimental virus Kabuto was working on. Lets call it his 'baby'. He'd been conducting tests on people, with the aid of his minions. Kanaye had been in charge of taking people from their homes at night, to be used as test subjects. Eventually, he was sent to his own home-village, to take people away. When he said he couldn't do it, Kabuto laughed. He told him he had to do it, or Orochimaru would kill his family. Or worse. Kanaye ran away that night, taking the syringe with him. His intentions were to use a little of the disease on his wife and daughter, and the rest on himself. Sadly, he was so worked up that the entire syringe was injected into his daughter, Sumi. Kabuto caught up with him.
After killing Kanaye, Kabuto noticed that Sumi was still alive. This last syringe was a newer version of the virus. Keeping this girl alive, and monitored, could be useful to developing this illness even more. His 'baby' would live on, in this girl."
Tsunade paused for breath, and to take a sip of her sake. Naruto seemed to have sobered up quickly, and was pale-faced. He'd had no idea that Sasuke's wife had been involved in all of this. Tsunade continued.
"To conclude, when Konoha and Suna overthrew Orochimaru, and liberated the village of sound, we thought that we'd killed Kabuto too. Now I'm not too sure. I think we severely weakened him, yes. But killed… I don't think so. Sumi and her mother were moved to a village not far from here, along with many other families attached to Sound. They have been watched, but seemed to do well. Sumi had no memories of life before the new village, and so did not know about Orochimaru, or her father. Her mother kept those secrets well. Sumi's illness became bad after marrying Sasuke. Once Kin was born, she was beyond help. It had lain dormant for quite a while, but then finally, it took her life.
Now it seems Kabuto is strong again: Strong enough to have created more of this disease, and made it much worse… Much more devastating, and much deadlier.
And injecting Hyuuga Hoshi with this virus is proclaiming war on us.
Naruto, the peace Konoha has enjoyed for so long is over.
We must call upon our allies. Now!"

Ichiru struggled with his t-shirt, before finally giving up and throwing it across his room. He grunted with pain as he touched the raw scratches covering his skin. The rain had drenched him, and peeling his soaked t-shirt from his wounds had been excruciating. He didn't want to have to put more clothes on them. His whole body ached horribly as he slowly lowered himself to sit on the bed, and reached for the remote. A knock on his door made him turn. Focusing the last of his energy, he tried to sense who it was. Today, Shikamaru-sensei had taught them about sensing a person's chakra. The chakra from the other side of the door felt soft, like a fleeting touch, or like silk. He shook his head as the knock came again, a little louder now.
"Come in, Akane…"
She blushed a little as she entered. How had he known it would be her? She then blushed even more when she realised he was just in his training shorts and nothing else.
Then nothing seemed to matter when she saw the cuts across his chest and back. The first thought that came to her mind was that her father had found out about last night. But then she realised he'd been training today. She perched next to him, almost reaching out to touch him.
"Would you like some salve for that, Ichiru-kun? My mother has some, she makes it herself, you know! I'll get some."
She was gone little more than 5 minutes. When she returned, in her hands was a small white pot, containing a fragrant cream. Akane closed and locked Ichiru's bedroom door and instructed him to turn his back to her. He did as he was told, trying to concentrate on the TV as he felt her edging a little closer. Her hands were cold, and it made him gasp a little. She apologised quickly, breathing on her hands to warm them, and then dipping them into the salve, rubbing it between her hands so that it would be warm too. Ichiru sighed a little as he felt her rub the healing cream onto his back. It stung only a little, and then began to melt into the wounds caused by the training. His eyes closed as he felt the cream get to work. Akane's hands smoothed the cream onto his back, slowly and gently. He thought how small her hands felt, how delicate.
She asked him to face her, so she could do the same to the cuts on his chest.
He was glad that only the bedside lamp was on.
I like it to be dark when she's around, so she doesn't see me blushing like a girl. He thought.
As she began to rub the soothing salve into his chest, he dared to open one eye, only slightly. Akane sat in front of him, her own eyes closed as she traced her hands across his body. He snapped the eye shut again, feeling as ashamed as if he had spied on her in the bath. She sighed a little when she was done, and reached behind her to the desk. There, she had placed some fresh bandages and gauze. Ichiru opened his eyes finally, as she began to wrap the bandages around him, carefully pinning them into place. Finally, she was finished, and sat with her back to him as he dressed himself. A few times, when he winced, she would almost turn around to help him, but stopped herself. It would not be right for her to help him dress. She had already touched him enough.
Ichiru sat behind her once he was fully clothed. She still had her back to him.
"I must go. My father wants to talk to the family. I will see you at dinner."
Before she could move, he reached out, and hugged her. She stiffened a little, but then seemed to relax as he wound his arms around her, his chest against her back, his face nuzzled into the back of her neck.
Her hair smelt of flowers.
"Arigato, Akane."
She smiled, and slowly moved away, leaving Ichiru alone.