Sorry that the first part is sort of… Not as good. O3o I got attacked with an awesome idea after I took a break from writing due to cramped hands. xD
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO! MASASHI KISHIMOTO DOES! I also do not own any of the OCs in this fan fiction, except the following:
Tsukuyomi Clan
Nero
Roku
Ikiteiru Kage
Uzumaki Kaede
Mushishokan Gatsuki
A/N: First part is Akira's POV. -3-
Chapter Twenty-Six: Betrayals Left and Right! Gotta Come Up with a Plan!
The last time I saw Ruriko, she looked so happy to be back in Konoha and see her friends… Her face was still stuck in my mind as I stood in the corner of the Hokage's office, listening to Kazuya pleading with the Hokage to send Anbu Black Ops to find Ruriko.
Beside me, Nero was practically shattered. He hadn't slept at all since she left, so his eyelids hung sleepily over his dull, aqua green eyes. He looked a little pale too. I think he slowed down his eating habits too because he looked a bit thinner. His arms were folded tightly over his chest as he leaned on the wall, a cigarette sticking out of this mouth.
It was the second one in an hour that he had put in his mouth. I gritted my teeth and jerked my head up, stomping my foot.
"Lady Tsunade, you said it yourself that Ruriko was an important asset to researching criminals. We can't give up on her now!" I protested, coming forward a step. Tsunade glared at me.
"For all we know, they could have extracted her information and killed her. You have to look at all the assumptions, Akira." She snapped.
"If I know Ruriko, I know she'd never open her big mouth to criminals!" I argued.
"Akira's right," Kazuya agreed firmly, "You have to have confidence in Ruriko. She takes her job seriously. If Hioshi were here, he'd tell you himself as Ruriko's boss!"
"And where is this Hioshi?" Tsunade demanded. I grimaced and shoved my hands into the pockets of my beige coat, looking the other way.
"Hioshi's agoraphobic. He refuses to leave our home." I muttered. Tsunade glared at Kazuya for this, who flinched.
"Lady Tsunade, please." He tried again. More yelling and arguing. I looked at Nero again.
"Nero… We shouldn't be here… Let's go get something to eat-"
"Not hungry." He snapped, then looked at his feet. I sighed, looking down at my boots. For some reason, I remembered Ruriko telling me that they were girly and it made me smile faintly. I missed her humor… I flinched when Nero pushed off the wall.
"I'm going into town."
"I'm going with you." I stated. He didn't argue or anything, just walked right out the door with me at his heels. His boots clomped on the floor in the hallway as he walked in silence, sucking on his cigarette and flicking the ash to the floor. I sighed.
"Nero, we can't sulk. We have to go looking for Ruriko. If we don't…" I didn't want to finish that sentence. Nero lifted his eyes, his expression stricken at the thought. Wrong words to say.
"Nero, if Lady Tsunade won't let us do anything nor Lord Gaara. We need to do something ourselves. We need to send out teams ourselves. We both may not have that much power. Me, just a medical Jounin and you just a sensei-in-training, but if you really loved Ruriko… You would go looking for her."
"… You're right," Nero realized, stopping to smack himself in the forehead, "All this time, I was just having a pity party and getting mad… Telling myself to kill Osamu and Kin for not doing anything…"
"It's not their faults. They had no way to get in there in time from their positions. In fact, I think Osamu and Kin should be one of the ones to join us."
"All right, whatever…. But we have to do this without getting caught by the Hokage or the Kazekage." Nero muttered as we continued walking now. I nodded.
"Try and convince Koyuki's team. Daisuke's too. I'll talk to Osamu's team and Ayaka's… Hopefully I can find Kin as well and inform him of the plan. If you can't get the entire team, it's fine, but we need as many as we can get." I explained.
"On it." As soon as we stepped outside, Nero flicked his cigarette down, but spat on it before shooting off. From the looks of it, he was very angry, but I didn't bother to try and calm him down. Instead, I took off running down the street to find Osamu first.
I pushed off the ground and shot into the air, landing on a rooftop. I hopped along them, peeking over the edges in order to find Osamu faster. However, I spotted Kin first. He was walking down the street, hands in his pockets with a grim expression, a senbon poking past his lips. I did a flip and hopped off the roof, landing on the ground in front of Kin, making him jump back with a wince.
"Akira? What-"
"Kin, I need your help. It's very, very important." I stated. Kin frowned, studying my face.
"It's about Ruriko, isn't it?" He asked. I nodded. Kin sighed, then agreed to listen to what I had to say. I saw him grimace once, nod twice, then finally look away, plucking the senbon out of his mouth to sigh again. He looked at the ground quietly, then lifted his eyes again.
"When do we go?" He asked. I grinned. Perfect. We shot off to find Osamu's team as well as Ayaka's. I just hoped Nero was having good luck convincing everyone. Doing this was probably putting them at risk of being arrested or just plain screamed at by the Hokage… Which I really rather not have. That's why this mission was top secret, as far as I knew…
Hioshi's POV
I needed to get out of here. Ever since Ruriko's disappearance, files and information were coming in late. I was stressed out, digging my nails into the arm of my chair before I stood up. Sitting around here doing nothing was aggravating me. I had to leave, go to Konohagakure, talk to Lady Tsunade. I had to have Ruriko back or else my information wouldn't reach its owner in time.
I turned and headed for the door, only to have it open before I could catch it. I leapt back, surprised at who stepped in.
"Kuromura Kotaro." I managed. Kotaro stepped into the room with authority, his black sandals barely making a sound as he stepped in. Behind him, three others appeared.
The first subordinate, a dark-gray haired, smoky eyed shinobi, molded out of the shadows of the room, stepping forward to reveal that he wore a black cloak that touched the ground, the hood of the cloak cringed with gray fluff and a buckle holding the front shut, hiding away his black jumpsuit. His gloves, save for covering his two middle fingers, were torn at the index fingers to reveal long, black painted nails.
The next subordinate was a girl, the same age as the first subordinate. Her neon orange hair was tied back in a long ponytail with fishnet. A red shirt with no sleeves, gold straps leading to dog collar around her neck, adorned her top while the left leg of her shorts red, the right as gold as her tall boots with bandages tied into a knot at her knees. She had bandages wrapped around her waist, containing a variety of objects. She had stepped into the room after Kotaro, a cruel smirk spread across her face, her deep purple eyes taunting.
The third and final subordinate seemed to be smiling behind a green bandana that tied at the back of his neck, his snow white and pale green tipped hair hanging over it in a straight, choppy fashion. He wore a high collar white shirt with long sleeves that were bandaged to his wrists, long flaps connecting his sleeves to his torso. The bandages on his wrists went around his hands, save for the tip of his fingers. His teal pants covered his dark green boots, bandages adorning the top of said boots.
The three subordinates I recognized immediately as Ikiteiru Kage, Uzumaki Kaede, and Mushishokan Gatsuki.
"Hioshi," Kotaro spoke calmly, "I like keeping things in order. I like having a plan and letting it flow as intended…" I leaned on the monitors at my desk, grimacing.
"I know." I answered numbly. I had a strong feeling I was in big trouble. Kotaro was one of those guys who had to have everything going according to plan. If it was ruined, he had to come up with a new plan, which really took no time at all, but it was viewed as a waste of time as well as those who had altered the plan.
"If you know, how come I haven't received an update in the last week and a half?" Kotaro asked, his black eyes flicking up at me. I flinched. As if on cue, Kaede leapt forward, flinging a kunai through my hand and pinning it to a monitor. I jammed my tooth into my lip, drawing blood as the monitor smoked and crackled, the kunai jutting through it as well as my pinned down hand.
"I'm sorry," I snapped, "I would have gotten it into you, but Ruriko's been missing!" Kotaro frowned.
"Your sister…"
"I sent her on a mission to gather information on Konohagakure as well as Akatsuki that I planned on sending you within the week, but someone attacked the shop she was in. She's missing." I explained as calmly as I could. Kotaro averted his eyes, narrowing them as thought.
Meanwhile, Kaede smirked at me as she walked up to peek down at the kunai in my hand.
"Bet that hurts, huh? That'll teach ya to disobey Kotaro-sama, kya~" She cooed, sticking out her tongue and pulling down her left eyelid with her finger.
"Kaede, don't be a pain," Gatsuki sighed, "Just sit back like a good little girl."
"Hmph," Kaede whipped around, folding her arms over her chest and puffing her cheeks a little in a pout, "Jerk!" Gatsuki rolled his eyes, looking the other way.
"Enough," Kotaro ordered, making Kaede jump a little, "We're finished… Hioshi." He turned to me, my eyes flickering.
"I expect information. I'm heading north to a town called Yūgure in the Land of Snow… I have another obstacle in my way thanks to your lack of efforts." I didn't dare snap back at him by the annoyed look on his face, but I was so tempted to. Was it MY fault that Ruriko got kidnapped? No! Not at all! I prayed that whoever kidnapped her was dead and she was trying to get back…
"Understood." I answered instead. Kotaro nodded, glancing at my hand for a split second like he was going to smirk before he turned, heading out the door. Kage easily followed behind him, slinking along with the shadows as an inky mass. Kaede flashed me a toothy grin before sweeping after her master, Gatsuki rolling his eyes as he followed.
As soon as the door shut downstairs, I gasped out loud and swung around, tearing the kunai out of my hand and chucking it across the room. I looked down at my hand, grimacing. The kunai was poisoned.
I wouldn't expect anything less of Uzumaki Kaede, aka Kitsune, as her dog collar had said. I could feel my hand growing numb, my finger unable to move.
At least it was only paralyzing my hand. Even so, I went for a medical kit.
Great. Now I really needed Ruriko back.
Ruriko's POV
If there was one thing that made this trip a whole lot better, it was the snow. White blankets, huge heaps and mountains were everywhere in the Land of Snow. It was really cool, even if there was no sunlight at all today. The sky was grayish and wind was whipping around, making our thick gray cloaks billow around.
But, if there was anyone who knew how to make a trip suicidal, it was Suigetsu.
"It's so fucking cold! Damn it, this sucks! Ack, my feet are totally frozen, no joke! I'm gonna fucking slaughter you, Ruriko, for taking us up here!" Suigetsu ranted at the top of his lungs. Suigetsu was wearing the most clothes, by the way. Two pairs of thermal pants, five pairs of socks with boots, an undershirt, a t-shirt, and two jackets.
Roku was only wearing his little cloak over him, but he wasn't complaining at all.
That was the proof that a five-year-old was way more mature than this sixteen-year-old.
"Shut up, Suigetsu," Karin shrieked, "If you don't be quiet, I'll tear your tongue out and feed it to the kid!"
"GROSS! I'll rip your head off and throw it in the river so it'll become an ice cube!"
"I'll rip off your-"
"Shut up." Sasuke muttered. They went silent, but only for a little while before Suigetsu started back up again. I sighed irritably, glancing down at Roku, who sniffled a little, his nose pink.
Crap, he had a cold?
"Roku, are you all right?" I asked. Roku looked up at me sleepily, yawning before sneezing and holding his gloved hand over his nose, whining a little. I frowned and bent down, letting him hop on my back for the rest of the walk.
"Ruriko," Sasuke began, making me jump since it was the first time he'd talk to me in three days, "We better be getting closer."
"We are," I muttered, walking beside him now, "I'm sure of it… If he's not there, he might have meant more west."
"I'm going to kill you." Even so, Sasuke looked like he wasn't even in the mood to fight. I noticed that his face looked a little pink, kind of like Roku's. I blinked. Was he getting sick too?
"Are you all right?" I asked, although, deep down… I really didn't give a crap. Sasuke glared at me, then looked back up ahead.
"I'm not cold, or sick…" After he said this, he pulled the collar of his cloak up and coughed into it. I rolled my eyes. Idiot… Roku nuzzled my shoulder, sniffling and coughing before whining.
"Ruriiiko," He whined, having learned the better way to pronounce my name, "Na…"
"I know," I sighed, "If you want, I'll just give you my cloak…"
"Na." Roku pouted and buried his face into the hood of my cloak. I smirked, then looked up as we continued trudging through the snow. Unfortunately, as we kept moving, the wind was picking up more and the snow was being whipped around into a flurry of white, causing a pretty bad blizzard.
Sasuke ended up pulling us off to the side. Being the jerk that he is, however, he sent Suigetsu, Roku, and I out to find something to eat. I took Roku with me, walking along side a mountain of snow, some of the trees protecting us from the harsh wind.
Roku plopped down at the base of a tree, sniffling and coughing. I sighed and walked up to him.
"Don't wipe your snot on your sleeve! That's gross… Here, use this." I said, handing him a handkerchief, which he gratefully took and wiped his nose on. I laughed lightly, then stood up to glance around. What would there be to eat in a desolate place like this? I frowned and looked at Roku.
"You stay put. If you see ANYONE, you run and find me, even if it's Suigetsu or Sasuke or any of those others, okay?" I asked. Roku's lower lip trembled a little, but he nodded and snuggled down in his place, holding the cloth over his nose. I nodded back, then turned and headed through the trees, pushing off the ground to land on a tree branch.
I got an eerie feeling in these woods… Like someone was standing right by me and it unnerved me. I jumped up to a higher branch, hoping that maybe I'd see a town nearby. I finally landed on another branch, high in the trees. I peered through the green pine needles and found myself staring at a small little town, perched right on the side of the icy shore. It had a lot of dark clouds around it, though. I sighed with relief, frowning a little despite that. I was dragging Sasuke everywhere and I really had no idea where Akatsuki was.
I scanned the terrain, seeing nothing, but snow forests on the way to the town. I leapt off the tree top, sailing toward the ground. I landed on my hunches, snow swirling up at my impact before I stood up and headed back to where Roku was.
However, when I found him, his eyes were wide and he was staring at something. I frowned.
"Roku, what's wrong?" I asked. Roku pointed.
"Bad!" He cried. I whipped around to stare into the woods. At first, I didn't quite see what he was pointing at until it moved. A shadow that was cast across the snow by the tree, irregularly. I stepped back as the shadow seemed to pull itself up off the ground, rising like an inky mass before becoming a human.
A male shinobi with smoky eyes and dark grayish black hair in a heavy cloak with a furry hood.
"Who the hell are you?" I demanded angrily. The intruder frowned a little.
"I was watching him. Sorry."
"That still doesn't tell me who you are." I muttered. Roku jumped up and grabbed onto my arm, jerking on it.
"Bad! Bad!" Roku cried desperately, but I ignored him, glaring at the shinobi, who tilted his head slightly.
"Ikiteiru Kage… Tsukuyomi Ruriko." He stated, pointing at me. I jumped.
"How the hell do you know me?" I demanded. Kage's smoky eyes shifted a little before he turned half way away from me.
"I just do… I was told to investigate the intruders in this part of the woods… I'm finished." He replied and without another word, he practically sank into he snow, vanishing just like that. I blinked, then glared.
"Come on, Roku. We need to warn Sasuke." I told him. Roku glared at me.
"Saaas-kayy… Die." He muttered. I sighed.
"I wish." I took his hand and led him racing through the snow back to where Sasuke was sitting with Karin and Juugo, Suigetsu not having returned.
"Sasuke!" I barked. Sasuke glanced at me, annoyed.
"What now?"
"We have a problem," I muttered, "It looks like you're not the only criminal scouting out this area. Ikiteiru Kage, a man known for working under Kuromura Kotaro, showed up back there… It's dangerous if we're even seen by this guy."
"What are you talking about? I didn't feel anyone!" Karin protested. I glared at her.
"That's because they're probably good and concealing their chakra. As for Kage, he's a well known criminal because of his jutsu. He's practically a living shadow. He probably doesn't even have chakra." I mused thoughtfully. Karin blinked in surprise. Sasuke was on his feet.
"Karin, go find Suigetsu." He ordered. Karin whined a little, but shot off eventually.
"I saw a town a ways up ahead on the shore. We should rest there before continuing and so I can gather some facts." I explained. Sasuke glared at me.
"… Fine, but the kid stays with me." He stated. I blinked, then clenched my fists.
"Hell no! How do I know you won't hurt him?"
"I won't. Not unless you give me a reason to." Sasuke responded coldly. I glared at him, but it was no use. Sasuke's mind was set. After Suigetsu and Karin rejoined us, we shot off toward the little town on the shore.
Which we later found out was called Yūgure because of the fact that there was no day, no sun in that village. It was weird.
We arrived around three in the afternoon, but still no sun. Only darkness, except for the bright lights that the townspeople had put up. Roku made a big fuss about being left in the same room with Sasuke, who made a big fuss about me roaming around the town. We finally settled it, though. Roku wouldn't go anywhere near Sasuke, though, and glared at him when Sasuke even came close to acknowledging him. Even if Sasuke did buy him a good dinner, Roku hated him.
Good for him! I was glad, even though it was dangerous to have Sasuke as an enemy.
I walked through the town, my boots crunching through the snow. I was supposed to stay alert, just in case I saw Kage or Kotaro here. Even so, my mind was stuck on the fact that I knew absolutely NOTHING about Akatsuki by this point. I hadn't seen Itachi at all since I ditched him back in that valley town.
I stopped by a small shop, going instead for some hot tea and warm dango. I took a seat in a far corner, a booth behind another one with three people sitting at it. I sat down, sighing a little, almost jumping, though, when one of the three people in the booth in front of me scared me. It was Kage.
He was sitting there with hot tea in his hand. I noticed that his fingers were molding with the shadows cast across the cup by the lanterns in the shop. He looked like he was sulking, actually. The other two I remembered from their files as Uzumaki Kaede and Mushishokan Gatsuki.
"You found her already?" Gatsuki mused behind the green bandana over his mouth and nose. Kage just gave a little nod. Kaede giggled, waving her hand in her face.
"Oh my! So fast! Kotaro-sama's gonna be interested. Maybe she'll have more leads than her stupid brother… But he was kinda cute, kya." She added with a blush.
"You say that about Kotaro-sama too. And Kage. And-"
"Shut up, Gatsuki!" Kaede barked, huffing as she slammed her elbows into the table, making their cups and plates bounce. I frowned and sat up straight, listening carefully as I sipped my tea.
"I'm so excited, kya! You think Kotaro-sama will let us attack them? I heard Sasuke was one of those tough cookies, kya! I wonder if he's really as smart as his brother!" Kaede sang, clapping her hands.
"Actually," Gatsuki mused, "I wouldn't mind putting those brats into place myself… It seems they're causing more trouble than they think. Not only with Kotaro-sama, but also their villages and some networks in between."
"Kya! This is awesome! Finally, we get to some big drama! Maybe Kotaro-sama will let us start a war, kya!" Kaede shot her fist in the air, the corner of her mouth flipped in a half smirk. Gatsuki waved at her, his eyes closed.
"Settle down, kid. You go around yelling that and people will get suspicious. Besides, Kotaro-sama isn't a rash man. He wouldn't go running into a war with the army he has now. He needs more subordinates." He added. Kaede narrowed her eyes, puckering her lips up in distaste, waving her hands near her cheeks comically.
"Kya, Kotaro-sama has us! And not to mention, he's super strong himself! He's one of the top dogs now since Orochimaru's been wiped off the planet! I bet you ten thousand ryo that Kotaro-sama is now at the top of the most dangerous criminals list, kya!" She announced, thrusting a finger in Gatsuki's face. Gatsuki's eyes glowed.
"Deal." He stated, shaking hands with her. Kage averted his eyes, bringing his cup to his lips.
"You're fools… A war, as Gatsuki said, is not probable at the moment. Kotaro-sama needs more pawns on the chessboard… He knows this. It's why he didn't kill Hioshi when he had the chance. Hioshi's just one of those pieces that gets to live a bit longer than the others…" He explained quietly in a mature tone. Kaede and Gatsuki stared at him for a moment before Kaede squealed, clasping her fists to her cheeks.
"Kyaaa! Kage, your voice is so hot when you make long speeches like that!" She wailed, blushing. Gatsuki averted his eyes.
"Pssh. Kage's right… Kaede, did you even hear a word he said?" He demanded. Kaede giggled and flipped some of her bangs.
"Course I did! Something about Kotaro-sama playing chess, kya." She replied with a smile. A comically heavy black cloud seemed to hang over the males of the table in annoyance as Kaede laughed, almost crazily actually.
"And what you said earlier," Kage muttered, "Kotaro-sama probably has more leads than Ruriko does on Akatsuki."
My eyes widened as I tilted my head to listen better.
"He's right," Gatsuki agreed, "Ruriko's probably been on arrest by Sasuke. I heard she caused him some trouble back in the Land of Fire. Something about blowing up a hotel."
"OH! Sounds like fun, kya! I can't wait to meet these people! This is gonna be so fun! I am so begging Kotaro-sama for a mission to eliminate them, kya!" Kaede was standing in her seat now, making a big scene by knocking everything on the table over and throwing her fist up in the air, her other on her hip.
What an aggravating girl. She reminded me of her cousin, Naruto. But what stuck with me was what they said! If Kotaro had more information on Akatsuki than me, then I could use it to lead Sasuke in the right direction!
Now all I had to do was steal some important files from one of the world's most dangerous criminals!
… Ugh! Easier said than done…
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A/N: WOO! I have a good idea for the next couple chapters… Mostly the next one, though. lol. I need your help, though, for the… Uh, something-spiffy-named-Ruriko-rescue-brigade. O-o; If your characters are going on the mission to help, please mention it in a review, if not, please mention that! Thanks, cuz I don't want people getting mad saying, "OMG! My character could get in trouble with Lady Hokage! D:!" So, just putting that out there. Anyway, thanks so much for reading, hope the OCs are in character, and your reviews are greatly appreciated!