Scroll 8: Blooming Rests

Yukari would have taken the black-haired Meko, but the cat was making it good, as Wydra was petting him over and over again. Yukari had much to think about, mostly the things that happened to her in the past two days.

As Yukari walked along, the pale ninja named Joma stepped up next to her. "Got much on your mind?"

"Huh, oh, yea I guess...I'm shaken up about that Darkness nin-kid. I've got a lot of training to complete if I'm to get stronger and protect those I want to…" Her red eyes turned towards Joma as she smiled. "It's a bit of cliché, but I'm a lot like my best rival, Naruto-san. But he's got more strength than I do. Otou-sensei just started me on my nature-based chakra training a month ago, so I've got tons more to learn. My element is earth and I'm also a rare wind element…Asuma-sensei, another chuunin teacher, is too busy at the moment to train me, because he's got his own team to think about."

She walked into the village further, seeking out the Med-Center to see who was injured or not. "I mean it's been two years since I had a team, but I got lucky with Otou-sensei, he's so strong!"

"Kid, however strong you may or may not be; don't compare yourself to whomever you might've fought today. If you need more help training, you could always find other people to help train you. And if you're good with wind-based chakra then why are you training much with anything else?" The pale-nin asked in a semi-confused tone.

"Hm…good question…wind-type chakra is, or so Kakashi-sensei told me, a good type for offensive battles…and huh?"

Haiko had appeared again and tapped Yukari on the shoulder; while giving a blatantly snotty look at Joma. It seemed Haiko was quite the asshole. The red-haired Nin spoke softly into her ear and smirked, as yet again, she was to report to the Hokage's office.

"Oh, for crying out loud…did Shozaku-san blow something up or what?" Yukari had to TURN around and walk back towards the Hokage's office and knocked on the door - if Joma-san followed her or not; was up to him.

"I'd watch your face Mr. High-and-mighty before I pump you so full you'd wet yourself. And no, he didn't die; he's just unconscious from putting so much chakra into a single jutsu for so long. I've gotta attend to something anyway." Joma said as he noticed Trydna and Skiminachi leaving the building. He walked up and asked, blatantly:

"So how tough is the Pentagenarian's stomach?" and then the conversation faded out from there unless somebody in specific listened in.

XXX

Yukari smirked to herself and entered the Hokage's office, thankfully Ton-Ton wasn't about to attack her, so it was probably serious business going on in there.

"I'm here, Hokage-sama, I heard you wanted to see me?" Yukari stood there and casually flipped her new pony-tail over her shoulder.

Tsunade looked up from what she was doing and set it aside. She knew Yukari would react badly to the news. The Hokage also wasn't one to try and sugarcoat this sort of thing.

"Yes, I did. I have some rather unfortunate news. Early this morning, I sent Kakashi-san and Sakura-chan off to gather intel and information for me. Earlier today, only hours before the attack, they ran into some resistance. Sakura made it back in time to warn us, but Kakashi…has been captured." Tsunade was ready to restrain Yukari if need be.

Yukari blinked once, before her blood froze in her veins. The same clan of ninjas that the ugly-boy she had faced now had Kakashi-sensei. Since the Hatake had rescued her from Kabuto during the chuunin exams a year and a half ago, she had fallen in a school-girl crush on the Sharingan user. Her emotions raged and froze out of control. The ANBU that was asked (it was Otou-sensei wearing his mask) to standby was standing silently on the left side of the room, ready to administer the seal-chakra jutsu on Yukari if it was needed.

Yukari glanced at the tiger-masked Anbu and let her arms dropped to her sides as her fists clinched tight as she fought to rein in her sudden, icy wave of despair, dread and fear. "Surely…you know where he was captured at? Where is he now?"

Her curse mark was beginning to stir, but it was far from a threat…as of now. The news had hit her like a train. News of the impossible like that had always been one of her weaknesses. Like Raikanami's disappearance, and Maso's death; Yukari was blind-sided when people told her things like this.

"He'll be home tomorrow, right, Tsunade-sama?" Yukari's voice shivered as her fear and rage battled within.

Tsunade took a deep breath, as she too, looked over at the quiet ANBU agent. She would have preferred a more violent reaction, or some sort of outburst. "Sakura-san says they were captured somewhere between here and Sunagakure. We haven't had a chance to find out where he is now yet, we will soon. We can only hope he will be Yukari-san. Kakashi-san is very special to the village, more so to some of us. If you need, you're excused of duties for the rest of the day."

Knowing where Kakashi-sensei was; was the dam that broke the tide. Otherwise Yukari might have exploded with fury and fear. She started shaking and exhaled a forced breath.

"Thanks, Hokage-sama…have…have you decided anything about this whole mess? I mean…those unicycle ninja…where are they going to go next? You didn't promise them my house, did you!" She stared out past the Hokage and through the window, seeing the outside world; pondering if she should go find Kakashi herself. Tsunade, as serious as the moment was; laughed.

"No, I didn't promise any of them your house. They had even offered to fix it for you. Letting anybody into your house is ultimately your decision. As for the rest of it, I have offered to stock them on supplies and that they may stay here for a few more days. The only few that will be staying are the three children you first met. Did you have anything you wanted to say about all of this?" She was referring to the kids, the battle, Kakashi and what would happen next.

"Yea, I do! WHO DO THOSE NINJA BRATS THINK THEY ARE! They scared the CRAP out of me! And just was attacked the village anyway! How strong is it to capture Kakashi-sensei like that! I'm SO going to kick its ass!" She punched her fist onto her other hand and growled. "They worked with shadows, and webbing…but I so kicked ass on one of them! Oh yes, I did…! Uh…" Yukari sweat dropped as she saw the Hokage looking at her very oddly.

"Sorry, I am just nervous and worried about Kakashi-san!"

"That's ok, Uzaruki-san. You are dismissed for now." Tsunade smiled warmly at her. Yukari and the Anbu both bowed and vanished.

XXX

"Where is Shozaku-san?" Yukari asked. "He is ok?"

"Yeah, he's over there having a meeting with Sheena's older brother." Trydna however, was lying next to them curled around a teddy bear. "Do you need to talk to him too? and are you okay?"

She, Sheena and Gilligan had been playing a game with blocks. It was an odd little game; it looked like they were building multi-colored forts with inch cubes. Gilligan transformed, and sat there looking like a plushie-fied version of Yukari. Sheena was just staring at the ground until Trydna reached over a hand and poked her. After that, her eyes tilted up at Yukari.

"Learn something new everyday, ne." Yukari had left the Hokage's office to join the Wheel-Nin. She squatted down and looked at the plushie-fied version of herself – the model was very impressive; and odd enough to throw her out of her panicky, nervous mode.

"Wow…I didn't know my bo- hehehehhee…so, you kids are called Wydra, the girl with the unicycle, and I'm so confused. I thought I had two boys and a girl?" Yukari ran a hand through her hair. "Wydra…what was the name of the ex village again?" Yukari would give that gambler a five minute break before she butted in.

Sheena, normally prone to more physically violent fits of rage, settled for verbal rage this time.

"I'm a girl damn-it!" Her arms, hidden within the chains, folded over themselves. Gilligan, now back in his normal form, pointed and laughed. Wydra laughed when Gilligan bounced into the air from getting stabbed in the butt with a chain from the ground. Wydra turned to Yukari.

"Village of the Wheel. Shozaku says we'll remake it someday, just not today."

Yukari would nod to Sheena and raise her hands up in apology. "Ok, ok, a girl, I get it! Hm. Those chains of yours look really cool…can you control them? Or are they a jutsu?" She nodded to Wydra and took a seat on a stump. "Village of the Wheel, huh, that sounds unique! Do you want to become a Kage for that village?"

"No. Kentarou was our Kage. He died stopping their Kage." Wydra pointed to both Gilligan and Sheena. Sheena started to say something that began with 'good f-' before Gilligan laid a hand over her mouth. Sheena just stared at him, then at Yukari. Wydra kept talking.

"Sheena doesn't really talk much to people she doesn't know. Or…not-attack them, but I asked her not to and her older brother said if she hurt anybody she'd be in trouble. So…she's just being quiet most of the time. She's nice…kinda…" Wydra smiled. Gilligan latched onto Sheena's side, trying in vain to tickle her.

"Ah, so you hang out with another village's kid-ninjas why? Did your land get earth-quaked or something?" Yukari chuckled as Gilligan tried to tickle Sheena. "You three look like a team already…who is your sensei?"

There were a few loud clinking noises, and as Wydra started to talk. Shozaku's voice interrupted Wydra. If one turned to see him, they'd see the tail-end of a black cloak dragging around a tree.

"They're not allowed to say that. Not because they don't know, but because she needs to get into the practice of keeping secrets like a good ninja should. So what's up bishoujo-Yukari?" Shozaku's voice had no tone jest or lust, but the way he referred to her made her think otherwise.

"Ero-gambler-san!" Yukari would laugh as she added the pervert title onto his name. "I understand. I must be tough not being at home. So I guess the Hokage offers one here for you guys, at least for the time being." She stood up and brushed off her shorts and sighed. She was getting pretty tired after all that excitement.

"So…the things that attacked my village…you know 'em or did your girlfriend hire them to track you down, Shozaku-san?" Her statement was ordinary, but she had needled Shozaku back with a retort – her tone was even, yet her words were meant in joke.

"I'm in current need of a girlfriend; would you like to fill the position? Because the big guy over there…" He pointed into the distance to a large group of tables Skiminachi had set up. "…already has his eyes on the Hokage. I'd never believe either of them was over fifty if it wasn't for these babies." Shozaku tapped his eyes. "And yeah, I know all about what happened here today. BaRoKenDo and I are probably the only ones that have a full grasp of the situation. Kids, go bug Skiminachi for food. Trydna, follow your sister and make sure she doesn't try to kill anybody." That last statement should be a joke: should be was the key word, sadly. Shozaku walked up next to Yukari. "So what's going on, babe? We've got a little time to talk before all the food is ready."

This guy certain kept Yukari on her toes socially, and she stared wide-eyed as the kids walked away.

"Uh…girlfriend…they like Hokage-sama! EEEEWWWW!" She would blanch in jest and blush. "Well, she is pretty…inspiring I guess…but it's a jutsu she uses, or so Naruto-kun told me." She laughed a few moments, before continuing. "So who is this…BaRoKenDo guy…have I seen him yet? I'm guessing not…" Yukari was a bit razzled at the moment, so she couldn't think of anything intelligent more to say.

"No, Skiminachi does. He's fifty-seven, and it is a jutsu, so I can see right through it. Kentarou always said I could make some girl happy, but I'm more of an every-girl kind of guy. BaRoKenDo is Sheena's second older brother. Trydna is the oldest. He's also one of the scariest looking people you'll ever see. He's behind that tree over there." He nodded his head to a tree only ten feet behind them. "Listening to our every word. I could tell you were a bit intimidated by size just from meeting Skiminachi, so I asked him to wait around a bit because I'd rather not scare off potential allies. I'm a confusing guy, ain't I?"

Yukari would nod and cant her head sideways and blushed. "I guess so. I've never seen somebody so big. I wasn't scared…REALLY I WASN'T! I was just surprised to see such a tall person!" She shifted her weight from one leg to the next. "So…speaking of allies…those shadow ninjas have my sensei…"

Here she was again, worrying about Kakashi Hatake and if he was ok or not. "I'm an inch away from going out there and kicking their butts for hurting him and Sakura-san!" Her fists clenched at her sides as her Akashingan eyes flared red. "How dare they do that!"

Shozaku nodded. "I can understand how you feel. My sensei, all of ours actually; because it was a small village with a lot of people that needed beginning and advanced training, died recently. We all wish we could just run off and kill them. A few people have tried, they haven't been heard from since. I have nothing against you coming along with us, but that's something you would have to discuss with your Hokage first. Before you do, I think there's something interesting and alarming that you should know." His stomach was audibly growling.

"It THAT what you're talking about!" Yukari pointed and laughed. Here she thought that Naruto's stomach was a contender. "Shozaku-san's hungry! HUNGRY is Shozaku-san!" She sang softly. "Have I told you the story of the Hungry-Nins before?"

"That ninja you fought today, he was ten years old." Shozaku continue on, in seriousness.

"Uh…he was ten! Oh great Leafs of the Sky, A TEN YEAR OLD! I swear I was fighting at least thirty years old, what's up with that?" Yukari followed Shozaku and now she was astounded. "Things just keep getting weirder and weirder: let me guess, he was a Shadow Ninja person…not a pleasant ninja, eh. You just keep bringing the fun…" she sat down next to him and, in the back of her mind, knew she was eating out here for the night.

"Hungry-Nin, right…well the story goes, that is Nin, from some obscure village wanted to challenge the Five Great Ninja Nations and become the strongest ever. But whenever he was on the brink of challenging the Kage of the village; his stomach pained him so much that he had to eat…a LARGE amount of food. He repeated this several times until, one by one, the Villages banished him from their sight, until one day he came to a small, ninja-less village…there he met his match in the ninja some people call the Yellow Flash. It turns out that Ninja taught him that chakra consumes energy. The Hungry Nin did not know that! So the Hungry-Nin begged the Yellow Ninja to train him; but the Yellow Flash refused, saying that the Hungry-Nin must work hard to repay his food debt to the villages that he visited. So the Hungry-Nin promised that he would and to this very day, rumor has it that he is a roaming Ninja for hire, using only nin-jutsus to plant things." Yukari told her story.

"Yes, he was a darkness ninja. Long story short: their leader's an evil son of a bitch; and also the father of seven unfortunate children. Sounds like Skiminachi in his youth. Except for challenging ninja for strength, he challenged chefs to cook-offs. He didn't lose often. So, Yukari, do you crave anything in particular? He can make pretty much anything." Shozaku said as he sat down at a table amongst the various ninja from the Wheel village. Here and there was a few ninja that had the Darkness symbol. Gilligan, Wydra and Sheena were clinging to Skiminachi's legs and all talking up to him at once.

"Well, I love chocolate-fish Ramen! Baka Nee-chan got me addicted to ramen. So I'd love chocolate-fish ramen. The Ichiraku doesn't serve that, but the stand near my place, the Gingko-Tora does; but only once or twice a month." She laughed to herself as she sat next to Shozaku. She was starting to crush on the Gambler and it made her head spin to see just how weird he was. It was like a fresh dose of cold water in the heat of summer. "The Yellow Flash was Hokage once…but he died too…" She stated as an after-thought.

And roughly a minute later, chocolate-fish ramen sat before her. Shozaku already had a plate of noodles and meat that he was scarfing. He had his sunglasses off, revealing that his eyes were brown and green. Skiminachi, a jolly man at heart, relented and just gave the little kids more ice cream. They scampered off to hang out by themselves and eat. A few seconds later, a large shadow passed over the table that Shozaku and Yukari was sitting at, accompanied by heavy footsteps. A deep voice spoke with the Jolly-Ninja-Chef.

"Thanks." It was hard for one word to sound intimidating without a face to match. The deep footsteps continued onward.

Yukari only paused to smile as Skiminachi spoke his one word. Other than that, she was too busy stuffing her face with that delicious chocolate-fish ramen, trying so hard not to make a fool her table-side manners as she slurped down the awesome broth. A few minutes later, Otou-sensei came poking around, looking for his student. He had quickly changed out of his ANBU suit and into his chuunin outfit.

Shozaku noticed Otou and poked Yukari, then pointed behind her. Shozaku was pretty sure he was just looking for Yukari. Skiminachi shouted over to the searching sensei.

"Yo, want some food?" He was starting to put up all of his cooking tools, which all had a place somewhere within his suit of many-plated armor. Joma and Trydna sat down on either side of Shozaku, both eating the same thing. Trydna was eating in that awkward using-some-sort-of-mist way. Otou-senshi smiled at the large man and politely shook his head no.

"Yukari-san, I've come to tell you that your apartment is fixed, and Meko is keeping the workers out. I've paid them already, but I just wanted you to know that your younger sister is looking for you as well."

"Oh, ok, thanks a bunch, Otou-sensei! I'll take care of Meko and Meiko-san." Yukari turned to Shozaku and bowed, straightening up with a smile. "I gotta go now, somehow Wydra-san let go of my cat and my cat is wrecking havoc at my place. I'll see you tomorrow!" She would run off towards the gate and went on into the village.

Joma reached into Trydna's arm, as though it were goo, and pulled out a folder. He just poofed and was standing next to Otou, walking along. He held out the folder to him.

"Could you give this to Tsunade? It has the maps she requested."

Otou-sensei smirked to himself as the energetic Yukari of his scampered off to face her younger sister's wrath. He took the folder and bowed to Joma.

"Thank you, I'm sure the Hokage will be please with this information." The brown-black haired ninja just calmly strode towards the center of the village, holding the folder tightly, so the papers wouldn't fall out. However, as due to his personality, he took out a pencil and started doodling on the blank folder, scenes and events, through his eyes, that had taken place today during the attack. He was no artist-level nin, but his art was clearly depicted and no mere child's doodle. It was almost Picasso-level art, as the shading, and lines were nearly like a highly defined photograph.

The ink began fading out on the folder, as though the folder was soaking up the ink. Disturbingly, what came back into view was another's point of view, as though from its eyes. It showed various parts of the village during the attack, as though following a specific trail. It had even seen Otou at one point, but passed him by as it noticed Yukari and Wydra. It stopped then, as not enough ink had been put down.

Otou stopped walk and looked at the moving drawings on the folder. This was refreshingly fun. His drawings showed not only his P.O.V., but others as well. The paper must have been really special in chakra to do that. He reached the Hokage's office and entered ninja-style: bending the rules of space and matter to enter through a closed door at extremely high speeds.

"Hokage-sama, I've brought a written info folder from the Wheel-Nin, and the folder itself is prone to show scenes if you draw on it."

"Interesting, thank you Otou-sensei." She took the folder and opened it, flipping through it. "I'll try that later when I'm…settling down." Her way of saying 'drinking sake and looking to gamble with somebody.'

"If there is nothing else, you can leave for now…" As she flipped through the folder, if he was looking Otou might see faint outlines of ninja profiles. The pictures themselves seemed to be shielded from his eyes though.

Otou-sensei just shrugged and left the Hokage office, tucking the pen back into his kunai pack and heading home. Whatever the folder contained, it was for the Hokage's eyes alone. If she wanted to share, that would be great, but he was no longer active ANBU; but an undercover agent to keep track of the curse mark on the Uzaruki heir.