Confluence

By Violet Garnets

Chapter Fifteen: Shifting Winds

o-x-o-x-o

Kakashi looked up as Yamato stepped out of the wooden compound, stretching his arms, his dark eyes searching the tops of the forest. Their eyes met, and Kakashi nodded his acknowledgment before returning his gaze to the fire he was tending.

Yamato's footsteps drew nearer, and finally the kouhai sat down a few paces from the flames, continuing to observe the surroundings.

"Naruto still asleep?" Kakashi inquired, his voice even and nonchalant.

He could almost hear Yamato pout. "Shortened the awkward pause on purpose, didn't you?"

"What awkward pause? We didn't have any pause. I'm tending to the fire." He added a slender, brittle stick to the slowly growing flames. "Answer my question."

The Mokuton user sighed. "He is. I thought I'd have the pleasure of finding you two entangled in bed together."

"You wouldn't dare to spread gossip once we got back."

Kakashi made the mistake of looking over at Yamato, who had a meticulously crafted smile on his face. Despite Naruto and Sakura's fear of Tenzou's 'scary' face, the Copy-nin was pretty sure this grin was the most terrifying expression the man had in his arsenal. "Are you sure about that, senpai?"

His visible eye returned to the fire. Yamato didn't really have any evidence to work with anyway.

The night before, Naruto had kissed him, kissed him so fiercely, as if Kakashi were made of crevices and crumbling holes that needed to be patched before the flood waters broke through. No, Naruto didn't want to fix anything; he wanted the flood, the storm, the tempest. Kakashi felt it in every meeting of one set of lips to another, the insistence of those pressing hands, the warm body flush against him.

Then, just when Kakashi was just beginning to grab fists full of Naruto's shirt – when he was at the breaking point of pulling the boy close or shoving him off – Naruto just stopped. A single, slow kiss, where each part of that strong, lithe body flattened against his own broader frame...and then he pulled away, bit by bit. Before Kakashi looked to his left, face red from more than just embarrassment, he caught the genuine smile ghosting Naruto's small lips. He had always had particularly petite lips, the jounin realized, like his mother and father. From there, the blonde mumbled a rather quiet "Good night," and retreated to the compound.

Kakashi himself had slept...fitfully. He didn't dream. No, nothing from some previous life slipped into his mind. Only Naruto's fingers pressed into his neck and a lingering heat on dry lips haunted him that night. Jerking off had been an option, but not a helpful one. A few strokes in and he found himself utterly...disappointed. In the lack. And in himself.

Absurd, he thought, adding two dry sticks to the fire, which had reached a steadier point by now. Tokillandsleeplikeachild.Toloveandstrugglelikeasinner.Howabsurd. This was the world he had lived in for thirty-one years now. Who could blame a shinobi for wanting to avoid something as terrifying as love?

Even now, with the clarity of morning on his side, he still couldn't understand what made him give in. Not that this would all go smoothly. Not that he wouldn't go running in the other direction at a moment's notice. He didn't even know what Naruto wanted of him. Open up? He had responded to the words, but what did opening up really mean? Was it worth it? No, no, none of this could be worth it. He had made another mistake. This was wrong.

Yamato interrupted his train of thought with a clearing of his throat. "I usually don't interfere with the personal lives of others, Kakashi-senpai–"

"A good policy to keep, Yamato."

"You're creating problems for yourself. It'll affect you in the long run."

The silver-haired jounin shook his head. "What do you mean by that?"

"You've had a seamless track record because, for the majority of those, you've lived alone, senpai. Now you're involved, and you've been doing well because of your experience.

But...you're getting older. Our bodies break down faster than those of civilians. Our senses are acute, but only with constant vigilance. That's hard to do when we're internally struggling with something at all times."

"I've learned how to put emotions aside, kouhai. You know that." He put his hands out toward the fire, now strong. Not only were the flames flickering, he realized. His hands quivered in the light. He willed them still.

"That's the thing though. Emotions grow. We can only handle so much. You were willing to sacrifice yourself to Hiruko those years ago, when Naruto was still sixteen. He fought tooth and nail to save you."

"I haven't forgotten," Kakashi muttered through grit teeth. Yamato hadn't even been there. Who was he to lecture now? Never before had Kakashi ever been on poor terms with the Mokuton user, but now they were pushing it.

"Seems like you have."

"Do you want to tell me how, kouhai?" His eyes snapped upward, away from the fire. His hands dropped, clenched into tight fists. Maybe a spar would be a good way to start his morning.

Yamato only stared back, his dark gaze calm like the forest around them. "He won't forgive you for leaving him. Don't." It wasn't a threat. Just advice.

The wind passed them suddenly. Kakashi's hands released. His face flushed. His gaze faltered. "I–"

"I'm telling you this before you act recklessly and hurt him or hurt yourself. We can't afford that right now."

Kakashi recovered quickly. "And here I thought you were being romantic."

Yamato smirked. "Even if I were, I'm nowhere near your level of romance. Always making problems, expecting your prince to come save you, feeding him when he's injured..." He continued, counting each one on a finger.

The team leader choked. "Hey now! And how'd you know I fed him anyay? You weren't there!"

The other man shrugged and grinned.

A door opening and a loud yawn pulled the attention of both back to the compound. Naruto, his eyes shut, stretched his arms out as he walked towards them. "Sorry I slept in," he said.

Yamato was throwing more sticks into the fire.

"Good morning," Kakashi said. The words left his lips softly, hesitantly.

Naruto snapped his eyes open and the jounin found himself facing an endless blue gaze. The blond said nothing in response, but an almost shy smile (uncharacteristic but endearing all the same) graced his face. Naruto's jaw structure had become more defined in the past few years, yet this smile exemplified his eternally boyish looks. Kakashi found a similar expression develop on his face, subtly.

"So..." Yamato drawled, making the other two look at him and his wry expression. "Breakfast, and we're off?"

Kakashi nodded. The wind seemed refreshing this morning.

o-x-o-x-o

"We're a good two and a half days away from the target," Suigetsu announced as he stood on a large boulder, surveying the landscape. An endless, dense forest stretched out below them, a sea of dark foliage. Every now then, birds ascended, cawwing or chirping, but otherwise He yawned. "Since we had to check in or whatever."

"So they'll have more time to create defenses or escape," Juugo rephrased, letting the cogs in his head work through the plans.

"All the better!" The white-haired man leered. "Fun to let them think they've got a chance. We'll crush them, then we can find that stupid rapper and tear him apart. How dare he pull shit like that..."

Karin hadn't said a more than a few words in days. Juugo had asked her (quite) a few times if she was okay, but each time she had nodded and touched his shoulder before moving away. Now she stood like a stone sentry, her arms crossed, eyes on the closest entrance into the Akatsuki compound.

On their way to Lightning Country, Zetsu had emerged and summoned them to headquarters. Karin had never particularly felt a loyalty to Akatsuki, or even any sense of trust. But orders were orders. Sasuke had seemed annoyed, though lately the leader's emotions were growing more and more difficult to discern. The past three years had passed quietly for Taka; they grew into an almost..comfortable pursuit of Killer Bee. Madara and Akatsuki had never asked them to speed things up and now, thinking about it...it was almost as if they had been biding their time. Sasuke had been in a private session with Madara for a while now; Karin and the others were swiftly dismissed as soon as they stepped foot inside. What could the two Uchiha be speaking of?

She pulled her arms tighter to her chest. Three years of loyalty to Taka. Looking back, wasn't their aim to crush Konoha? Why were they stalling now? And, what was her aim? Three years ago, she wanted to follow Uchiha Sasuke to the ends of the earth. His chakra was so brilliant, so dazzling.

Or rather, it used to be.

A rustle, and Sasuke emerged from the depths of the compound.

"Took you long enough," Suigetsu grumbled, putting away the cloth he had been using to clean some dry blood off his sword. "What was so important?"

"You'll find out," Taka's leader responded curtly. His answers were always brief nowadays, or they seemed even shorter than before, if that were possible. Karin narrowed her eyes; he seemed troubled. The chakra kept shifting erratically, pushing into a dark killer intent. Sasuke looked up. "Let's go."

For a second Karin thought she made eye contact with him. Her heart skipped, like it had all those years ago at the Chuunin exams. But she realized that, while she was looking straight at him...Sasuke looked straight through her. East, toward the ending, the only aspect of the world he still understood. An end she had no place in.

As he brushed past her, she thought she heard him mutter "Foolish tale", but it was too low and too quick to be sure. She watched his retreating back for a moment, until Juugo touched her shoulder and ushered her to follow.

Karin shivered. The wind was cold today.

o-x-o-x-o

"This forest is very old," Yamato remarked, as they slowly crept through the woods. "Not only in age. It's crackling with ancient power. Yesterday when I pulled up the compound, there was something strange about it. Not that the wood resisted, but it seemed aware. I can see why people choose to live further away from here."

"All the better for the Hei, I'm sure," Kakashi said, his voice low.

Naruto stopped, making his companions pause as well. Kakashi looked over to see the Uzumaki's bright blue eyes alert, his ears almost pricking.

"D'you hear that?" The blond asked.

Yamato turned his head to the side a bit. "The water?"

In the ensuing silence, Kakashi heard it. A consistent plopplopplopplopplop! Then it paused for a moment, a sudden crackle, then the plops started up again. Plopplopplopplopplop!

Naruto's eyes asked, "Should we investigate?"

Kakashi shrugged but moved towards the source in silence, ever vigilant. Easing his way through the reeds, the thrushes hardly noticing his presence as they tottered around the river, he found a strange sight. A small amount of water had formed into the blob-like shape. A glowing light within the water looked like an eye. Cautious, but detecting little threat from it, Kakashi bent down to examine the blob.

It bobbed in the river, and suddenly shot upstream, zig-zagging across the breadth of the river with ease. Kakashi followed it.

Yamato's voice called out to him. "Are you sure?"

"Is this a trap?" Naruto added, his voice coming in closer than Yamato's.

Kakashi made a noncommittal noise. "Chances are, yes. The Hei are secretive. They'll want to test us."

The blob and the trio of men approached a thundering waterfall. The light shot up the waterfall easily. Identifying the footholds, Kakashi pushed forward, and reached the top.

Only to narrowly dodge a trench knife crackling with lightning chakra. He rolled off to the side, performing a number of hand seals in moments. "Naruto! Yamato! Watch yourself! Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu!" A monstrous wall of water fell upon the assaulter, and then washed down into the river below.

Naruto and Yamato bounded to his side, defensive stances ready.

When the water subsided, a dark figure still remained. A masculine form dressed completely in black wore a white mask, similar to that of the ANBU. A red horizontal slit composed the mouth, and a purple lightning bolt cut through one of the painted, black, almond-shaped eyes. But part of the bolt was shadowed by a head of messy, soaking black hair. With a gloved hand, dripping with water, the man motioned for them to follow.

"A Hei operative," Yamato noted. Naruto nodded.

Slowly, carefully, they followed the figure, who split the river in half with a strike of lightning. In the open space, a stone monument arose with a door embedded in it. It opened and the man slipped inside. Kakashi, the last to enter the monument, closed the door behind him before descending the long, winding passage. Around them, he could hear the entire structure creaking downward so the top was level with the riverbed once more. The operative had disappeared. They followed him, Kakashi leading the way.

"Well, that was long," the youngest of the team commented when they finally reached a door at the end. He turned the knob and entered. Strangely, Kakashi felt no fear here. They somehow had already passed the test.

"Welcome," a gravelly voice called out to them. "You must be the Konoha-nin."

They entered a surprisingly well-lit room, inundated with books and scrolls from top to bottom. In the spaces, Kakashi could see that the walls were lined with metal, presumably to support the compound under the pressure of the river. A trio of individuals were waiting for them. The gravelly voice belonged to an old man with a gruff build. He was by no means good-looking, well past the prime of his life. His face looked like it had taken more than a few hard punches. He wore a large overcoat and a hat.

A young woman sat to his side by the wall, her hands hovering over a basin of water that seemed to connect to some elaborate system in the walls. Her eyes were glassy and light red, nearly pink. Her white hair, tied back in a high ponytail with a violet ribbon, seemed to glow like the moon. She did not look over at them or acknowledge their presence.

The last one was the masked figure from earlier. By now he had taken off the mask to reveal a simple face, so average it was attractive, in a way. His dark blue eyes were his only particularly striking feature. In fact, they were so dark, they seemed darker than black. His expression, while serious, did not seem to betray any ill will or poor disposition.

"Ga– excuse me, the Kazekage sent word of your arrival. Li here–" the old man pointed to the younger one, who nodded. "when he 'attacked you', his blade actually had drops of water on it. Yin simply did an identity check on your chakra."

"Where is he?" A soft voice interrupted. It was Yin, the young woman. "The one Li checked?"

Three things caught Kakashi's attention. First of all, why did she want to know? And secondly, Li had stiffened his shoulders for just a moment, as if caught off-guard. Finally, Li's eyes had lightened, almost. Nowhere near the clarity of Naruto's sky-blue eyes, but they definitely were not as dark as before. Odd. He spoke up. "I'm the one."

Yin turned to face him, but clearly she did not see him. Rather, she couldn't see him, being blind. For a moment, only silence. "Ah," she finally said and turned back to the basin, which rippled with light for a moment.

"That's it? 'Ah'?" Naruto squawked. "Sounded like you had more to say than that."

"Ah. You too." She responded.

The blonde raised an eyebrow. "Weird."

"I'm Huang, head of this branch of the Hei," said the old man. "I keep all these young ones in check. Our last associate will join us later on. What you're here for won't be ready until tomorrow morning. In the meantime, we can give you rest and food, and a history lesson or two. We Hei keep the oldest records of history for every village, nation, clan, any individual who was of significant importance. This is one reason why the Kazekage sent you."

"There are other reasons?" Yamato asked.

"That reason you will find tomorrow."

Kakashi leaned against the wall. "You all have a strange identity check. I could have been killed."

"If you were killed, then you wouldn't deserve the information you will receive. Besides, Li, being a historian more than a shinobi, may not be as talented as the rest as his sister or others in our clan, but his control is nothing to scoff at."

Li's disposition at this time had transformed entirely. Now he smiled at them. Kakashi felt a bit perturbed; it reminded him of Sai's blank smiles, although this one fell more into the grey area, between sincere and false. You knew straight out that Sai didn't know how to smile at all; Li seemed to have forgotten how. This bothered Kakashi even more. What an odd man. "It wouldn't kill you to explain what they're here for now, Huang. You were never one for theatrics anyway."

"This is true," the white-haired girl added.

Huang harrumphed. "I don't need to tell them more than they need to know."

"Well, we need to know," Yamato supplied, walking over to a bookshelf. "May I?"

"Sure, sure," Huang said with a wave of his hand, and Yamato immediately pulled off a few thick volumes. "Those are just histories of each nation. We keep pre-nation history stored in the back anyway."

"Why did you agree to see us?" Naruto asked. "Why are you guys so secretive anyway?"

"You're one to cut to the chase, aren't you? We Hei are unparalleled in battle skills. Throughout history, we have been assassins and mercenaries, the best of our kind. To keep a profit, we hold allegiance to no nation and that has proved favorable for us in most cases."

"I can imagine. It keeps you guys out of major wars, where there is no benefit but some so-called glory," Kakashi added.

"Indeed. The Hei kekkei genkai is a strange one. Unlike the Sharingan or other bloodlines, ours does not show up in a uniform way. Some of the Hei can merely use their chakra affinity without any hand signs needed, like Hei with lightning. Another uses his own blood as an explosive–" At this Li scoffed. "Little Li here isn't very fond of that one. And still others have powers we must keep absolutely clandestine, for their own sakes, and for humanity's sake.

"Essentially, each Hei member has a different talent. Our bloodline allows each to develop a unique power. However, it also carries a curse. We call it an obeisance. A payment, if you will," he added, seeing the confusion on Naruto's face. "Hei's sister must sleep after her use of her bloodline. Another girl pulls out a bit of her hair."

"Ouch," Naruto said, wincing.

"Yes. The bloodline manifests around puberty, easily identified by the sudden lack of emotion. Or rather, it's as if the kekei genkai has reset you as a person, and puts rationality before all else. Then it usually takes what the individual has loved and turns it into the obeisance. If you hated smoking, because your father smoked, when the bloodline kicks in, chances are you'll start smoking right after the use of your power. For this reason, we call those with the bloodline Contractors. They receive power, with a stipulation. Although we are, on one hand, a fearsome clan, the curse of our bloodline severely hinders us. It's to our best advantage that we work in secret and keep away."

"What do you mean by 'resetting you'?" Naruto seemed disturbed by this, already anticipating the answer.

Huang sighed. "To survive in this dirty world, only the best shinobi will prevail. If someone falls behind and saving them will fail the mission, they will that person behind because it's the most logical reason."

Kakashi could feel Naruto's eyes boring into him. He said nothing, but the blond did.

"What a shitty bloodline," he muttered.

"It takes a while, but some recover," Li surprised them by jumping in. Even Huang didn't seem to expect it. "They remain logical and cold, but they relearn their emotions."

"What about you?" Kakashi asked. "What's your obeisance? Are you rational?"

"I don't have an obeisance. I'm not sure why. Perhaps it's because my twin already carries one."

"Li is a strange one. He gets more emotional than others, on top of not having a curse," Huang muttered.

Li smiled. Kakashi noticed that Naruto smiled back, and he felt a strange flare of anger rise inside him.

"Anyway, why don't you three go off to bed. We'll send you to the catacombs tomorrow."

"Catacombs?" Naruto, Kakashi, and Yamato asked in eerie unison.

Li answered them. "They'll help you find what you're seeking. The catacombs will conjure the past for you, under the rushing of this river. You'll be able to recall bits of your past life. If you gave the Kazekage correct information, and our hunch is correct...then you two started the first War of the Clans."

"Holy shit," the blond whispered. Kakashi couldn't do anything but agree with him.

o-x-o-x-o

Hi team! I will apologize profusely for the delay, but I've just been. Well, many excuses but also many valid reasons. My friend committed suicide a few months back, and to be honest, after a strong bout of depression, the grief has, at many points, crushed me entirely. Lots of other unexpected situations have arisen as well, so my stress levels have just compounded. It's been terrible. Writing has always been a comfort for me, and it still is, but I've been writing more original poetry than fanfiction. I was worried my grief might make me add some terrible plot twist to this anyway, so I think it was good to work on it in bits.

I hope you guys like the beginnings of this Hei clan. If you've seen Darker Than Black, I've pretty much lifted the cast and given them a special appearance in this. So I guess you could say this is a crossover, but Hei and his friends from Darker Than Black are really just giving cameos. I apologize for the info-dump, but I think it's valuable to give insight into the family and their reclusiveness instead of just saying that they're loners. Plus the concept of Contractors and obeisances in DTB is so cool I didn't want to pass it up. If you all haven't seen the show yet, I highly recommend it and its spin-off/sequel, Darker Than Black: Gemini of the Meteor. In fact, it doesn't hurt to watch the sequel first, because I think that watching it after the original is a bit of a letdown.

All right, enough fangirling. I'm doing a lot better, and I just want to thank you all for your support all this time. Please keep reviewing, and more importantly, please keep reading.

Ja ne,

Vi