YES. xD another update~

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO! MASASHI KISHIMOTO DOES! I also do not own any of the OCs introduced within this fan fiction, except the following:

Tsukuyomi Clan

Nero

Ikiteiru Kage

Uzumaki Kaede

Mushishokan Gatsuki

… That Kumo Ninja who has no name… Yet.

A/N: Ruriko's POV at the beginning~

Chapter Twenty-Nine: So Many Questions, So Little Time. Gatsuki Hates Teenagers!

Boats. They had become my enemies as soon as we got aboard one that was headed off the port we arrived at. Just looking at the dark water underneath as had me staying toward the center of the boat, my knees hugging to my chest. I huffed.

"I hate boats." I retorted. Beside me, Roku beamed and patted my shoulder.

"Na, Ruriko." He snuggled his face against me. I smiled, relaxing just a little. I was still pretty sore from my fight with Kotaro. In fact, I still couldn't feel much in my right arm nor my cheek. It was all right, I guess, though. I had Roku back safe and sound. Sasuke wasn't mauling my face off for the mess back in that village. I had lost all that information, yea… But I could still vaguely remember that we should be heading west, somewhere into the Land of Earth.

Even with that little information, I think I could keep myself out of trouble for a while.

"Ruriko… Sasuke… Na ba?" Roku asked me with a light smile, tilting his head. I pursed my lips, then glanced over my shoulder and around the corner of the wall to look at Sasuke, who was leaning on the railing of the boat, watching globs of ice in the water pass by. He looked like he needed sleep, but wasn't about to sit down.

I looked back at Roku, laughing a little.

"Not that bad… He's still an asshole… Can you say that?" I asked with a grin. Roku pouted.

"Ba word." He stated. I blinked.

"Holy crap, you learn fast. And, it's okay if you're calling Sasuke an asshole." I pointed out. Roku seemed to ponder this, making me snicker.

"You'd be a terrible mother." A voice stated. I jerked my head up, glaring at Sasuke, who was leaning on the corner of the wall, frowning at me. I scowled.

"Would not."

"Would to. You're not even teaching him anything right."

"Am to!"

"You just taught him a swear word and he's what? Five?" Sasuke demanded, his foot tapping. I huffed. Roku beamed.

"Ba mah-mmy. Ba dah-ddy." He replied, pointing to both Sasuke and I. We both snorted.

"You don't know what you're talking about." I retorted. Roku raised an eyebrow at me. Sasuke smacked his forehead.

"You're arguing with a five-year-old."

"He's smart! He learned how you say your name the right way! Come on, Roku! Say Sasuke's name!" I insisted. Roku pouted, then folded his arms over his chest.

"Sasuke." He stated. I beamed. Sasuke's expression softened, but just a little. He got on his hunches in front of Roku, studying his face.

"It's too bad his mother's dead," He muttered, "Or else we wouldn't have to drag him around."

"Don't be mean." I protested, but Sasuke shook his head.

"Not like that… I mean, he wouldn't be put in so many life threatening situations… Ruriko, he's five-years-old."

"I thought you said you didn't like him."

"I don't." Sasuke deadpanned. I glared.

"Then why are you acting worried about him?" I demanded, taking Roku into a hug, making him yelp a little in surprise. Sasuke averted his eyes.

"I don't want my son at so young an age being put out into the ninja world." He replied, standing up. I blinked, looking up at him.

"Wait, what?" I asked. Sasuke ignored me.

"We'll be arriving in the Land of Iron soon. We'll have to rush through there as fast as we can to avoid wasting time. We've used up enough precious time already. That commotion is bound to have attracted the Raikage as well as other shinobi. The news will spread fast that we're traveling together… And if that happens. They'll put you on the list of Missing-nin." He explained. I stared at him, my grip tightening on Roku slightly.

"Missing-nin…? But, my village knows I'm not a criminal!" I cried. Sasuke frowned.

"Yes, but wouldn't it be suspicious that you're traveling with a gang of criminals? You're bound to be considered as one of us, having to move in the shadows in daylight and freely at night. You'll have to don disguises in big villages, like the Leaf or Suna." He informed, folding his arms over his chest. I looked down at the floor, tense now. Shit. I had completely forgotten the consequences back home of being caught with criminals.

"All right," I muttered, "Well… There's no point in worrying about…" Sasuke frowned at me, looking a bit curious. I glanced up at him.

"I gave you my word. I'm not going to break it… Even if it means becoming a criminal." I replied. Sasuke's eyes flickered lightly before he turned his back.

"Good luck keeping up…. I can see the port from here. Come on." He went below deck to grab his cloak. I sighed and got to my feet, Roku running to the edge of the boat to peek over the rails at the port.

I grabbed my cloak from below deck, coming back up to join Roku at the rails. I avoided looking down into the dark waters that could be home to freaking several different kinds of sharks! I shuddered, then focused on the port.

It was pretty small, having one building for the boat rentals, a tower, and several little homes squished into two buildings. We docked in a few minutes, our shoes thudding on the wood. I held onto Roku's hand tightly as we walked, seeing as he kept pointing at the water.

"Na! Ruriko! Sasuke! Wawa!" Roku cried, waving frantically. I rolled my eyes, jerking on his hand a little.

"Come on, Roku. We know there's water." I muttered. Roku pouted.

"Na! Na! Wawa! If a… If aah!" He whined. I ignored him, but I really wish I hadn't as we walked along the dock. Sasuke seemed to ignore him altogether, leading us onto land, thank the gods. The snow here wasn't as fluffy as the snow back in the Land of Snow, so it crunched under our feet as we walked.

"Ruriko! Sasuke! Aahh! Wawa!" Roku complained.

"Not now, Roku." I scolded, then pulled him up into my arms to avoid him stumbling through the hard snow. We kept walking through the town, Roku still whining about the water.

"Why does he keep complaining? Shut him up!" Karin wailed, covering her ears over Roku's whining.

"Seriously! If someone was there, Karin would have felt them by now!" Suigetsu agreed with a snort. Juugo averted his eyes the other way.

"Not unless it's that shadow guy… From before." He added. That made us all stop. Sasuke whipped around, frowning down at the path behind us. The sun was just coming up, making the snow glow a creamy orange. Long shadows were cast across the snow, but none of them looked like they were about to come to life.

"If we ever get attacked by him," Sasuke warned us, "Kill him. He's obviously a tracker ninja and I don't want him following us everywhere we go. Understood?" We all nodded before Sasuke whipped back around, his cloak billowing as he continued to lead the way.

We picked up speed soon, me having to carry Roku on my back as we shot through the pine trees and past ice caves. Even as we moved swiftly without trouble, I still got this weird feeling that someone was close by. I frowned suspiciously, glancing around.

The place seemed pretty desolate, save for a few birds and some other little animals. I even noticed an animal that looked suspiciously like a tanuki. Despite that, there were no signs of the enemy anywhere.

I knew we were probably moving in the right direction into the unknown country that was home to Takigakure, the Village Hidden in a Waterfall. We were moving pretty fast and hopefully would make it there before nightfall. I know Sasuke said traveling at night was better, but it was probably also better for Kage, that shadow shinobi. With darkness and the moon casting tons of shadows, he could be hiding right next to us and we would never notice it.

"Naaaa! Bye-bye fishy…" Roku sighed at last, giving up on his wailing to relax. I frowned.

"What?" I asked. Roku beamed.

"Fishy."

"It's an ocean, Roku. There's always fish."

"Naaa, fishy." Roku pouted and wouldn't speak anymore, snuggling against me as we continued on. I rolled my eyes. He was such a weird kid. Smart, but a bit odd.

Akira's POV

We'd gotten word that someone had attacked a small village on the shore in the Land of Snow, so we were there as soon as we heard the news. We figured it'd have some kind of lead, not to mention, Nero was eager to see snow since he'd never seen it before.

He reminded me of a little kid, staring at the flakes of white that were fluttering down slowly to earth. I sighed, then glanced around the small village that had been almost completely wiped out.

"You have no idea who could have done this?" I asked the shinobi that was sent by the Raikage. He shook his head, adjusting his headband, which rested with the metal part on the side of his head.

"Lord Raikage believes it may have something to do with that global character… What was his name? Kuromura Kotaro?" He tried, lifting his teal eyes to look at me curious. I frowned, folding my arms over my chest to think about this.

"Wait, what was his name?" Nero asked suddenly, looking right at the Kumo shinobi, who jumped a little at Nero's glare.

"Uh, Kuromura Kotaro?" He tried. Nero frowned, averting his eyes.

"I know someone with that surname… Kotori?" He asked. The Kumo ninja blinked, standing at attention slightly.

"Uh, yes. Probably his sister. He had a pretty big family. He was originally from Konohagakure, but he defected a while back, becoming an international criminal." He explained, his voice kind of shaking. Poor guy sounded like he was going to have a heart attack. Nero flicked his cigarette into the snow, shoving his hands in his pocket.

"Great. We have a psycho global criminal on the loose." He muttered.

"Don't you have anymore information on the attack here?" Kasumi asked at last, seeming to think hard about this situation. From what I had seen, she'd grown up a lot since our battle in the Chuunin Exams. And not just mentally either!

"All we know is that this Kotaro character had taken over an inn, just outside of town… Apparently, he got into a battle against a group of shinobi, probably Uchiha Sasuke's group. He's been traveling with a big guy, some guy with sharp teeth, two females, and a little kid." The Kumo ninja explained. I frowned. Little kid?

"What would he be doing, traveling with a little kid?" I asked. The Kumo ninja frowned.

"Well, I managed to get that information from a shop owner. He said one of the young kunoichi walked in with him to buy supplies, just twenty-four hours before the village came under attack…" He mused.

"What did the kunoichi look like?" Kin imposed, taking his senbon from his mouth. The Kumo ninja blinked and looked down at his clipboard, adjusting his prescription goggles.

"Well, it says here that she was a dark haired female, eyes comparable to lavender and pretty obnoxious-"

"Ruriko." Nero interrupted automatically. The Kumo ninja jerked his head up, surprised.

"You mean Tsukuyomi Ruriko? I didn't know they were sending a search team for her!" He exclaimed.

"They're not." Kin said, giving the Kumo ninja a little nudge in the back of the head with his knuckles.

"Please don't say anything," Daisuke laughed a little, rubbing the back of his head, "We're just kinda doing this without telling the Hokage." Daisuke, having grown his hair out and braided them into cornrows, had volunteered for our group right away. I was surprised, although, Nero said he wasn't.

"Don't say that," Ryuuko told him, then looked at the Kumo ninja, "Did anyone see where Sasuke's group was going before the village was destroyed?"

"Uhm… We have one report saying they were heading through the mountains toward the port about several miles from Kumogakure. Another report says they were heading just plain west." The Kumo ninja informed. Ryuuko frowned, glancing at me.

"Sound like something she'd do?" He asked. I paused to think about it, but Osamu cut me off.

"That's it," He announced, "Ruriko's probably taking them somewhere and from the looks of it, she's trying to buy time. We went through a valley village a while ago and reports said they were moving east, but now she's heading west? She's got to be doing something to buy time. She's practically dragging Sasuke all over the globe."

"But why?" I asked. Osamu shrugged, folding his arms over his chest.

"Who knows? We'll ask her when we find her!" He replied confidently.

"If they're going east," Ryuuko pointed out, "She's going to run into Koyuki's team. She's already headed in that direction. Standing around here and talking isn't going to allow us to catch up to them."

"Agreed," Daisuke nodded, "We need to move as fast as we can. You! You got any ideas?" The Kumo ninja adjusted his goggles, shifting.

"Ah, if you go around the mountain, along the shoreline, it's faster to get to the port. Just pray that you don't run into any storms on the way and you should be good to land in the Land of Iron."

"Thanks," Kasumi nodded, "You have no idea how helpful you've been."

"Yea, whatever." Nero muttered and shot off. I sighed and the rest of us shot after. Nero was way too excited to find her. I could tell by the way he had slowed down smoking. He'd only used up three cigarettes our entire trip.

"Akira," Kasumi said suddenly, running beside me, "She's traveling with Sasuke… What if he won't let her leave?" I frowned at the thought, my eyes scanning the fluffy snow at my feet as we ran.

"If Sasuke won't let her go, we'll attack him. All of us against him, he doesn't stand a chance."

"Even if he is an S-ranked criminal?" Kasumi asked, raising an eyebrow. I laughed a little.

"S is just a letter. It has nothing to do with how strong Sasuke is. We just need to keep our guards up. Hopefully we'll catch up to them soon." I added under my breath.

"I'm still uneasy about that Kotaro." Ryuuko admitted, keeping his position beside Nero behind us.

"Why? He's just another Orochimaru." Nero snorted, kicking up some snow as he sprinted. Ryuuko frowned.

"Not exactly. Kotaro supposedly goes to a lot of different villages, uses one jutsu, and the place is his for good. Not to mention, I think he has more followers than Orochimaru did… I'm a bit curious, though. What connection is there between Kotaro and Ruriko and Sasuke?" He asked.

"… You're thinking too much…" Kin mumbled past his senbon as he kept his pace to Nero's right.

"I'm only putting it out there," Ryuuko replied, "There could be more than meets the eye… Just expect the unexpected."

"You're scaring me." Nero murmured honestly.

"But he's got a point," Daisuke sighed, running along side me, "There could be more to it than just a kidnapping and buying time. The questions are why is Ruriko buying time? Is Sasuke the one who kidnapped her? Why isn't Ruriko ditching them? And who's the kid with them?"

"This is turning into a bigger mission than we thought." I groaned.

"But we're not giving up," Kasumi said quickly, making me smile at her, "We have to keep going. Who knows? We might find something that's of vital importance."

"I just hope that we can find them all on time." Osamu said quietly, sprinting on Kasumi's right. The rest of us murmured in agreement before shooting off at a faster pace to make better time.

Ruriko's POV

We finally stopped to rest, the sun disappearing behind the tree line. Sasuke lit a fire, which we all sat rather close to. Suigetsu had finally stopped nagging about the cold after Sasuke slammed his cloak into his face. Karin let me bite her again, since she could only use her healing once a day.

"Che," She muttered, pulling her arm away, "You're getting way to close to Sasuke. I hope you know he's taken." I rolled my eyes.

"Keep him. I'm not interested in him." I replied, annoyed. Roku beamed.

"Ruriko! Taa-chi." He exclaimed. Karin's eyes flashed, widening a little. Suigetsu spewed his yogurt at the fire. Juugo glanced up, the fire casting shadows on his face. Sasuke looked at me. I winced.

"Uh… Ignore him." I stated, then patted Roku on the head. Roku just huffed.

"You're not going to stop me from killing him," Sasuke told me after everyone had gone to sleep, "He killed my clan and he's not getting away with it. If anyone's a heartless bastard, it's him." I gritted my teeth and glared at him.

"Killing another family member makes him evil? Totally heartless and cruel? If that's what you think, then you'll hate me even more for forgiving my brother… My third oldest brother, Akira, killed my parents." I stated, unfazed. Sasuke glared.

"Then you're weak for forgiving him."

"No, I'm not," I snapped, turning to face him fully as we sat on the ground, "Akira was scared… He heard something our parents were talking about. He was really little then, so he didn't understand what they were talking about. Being a scaredy cat, Akira killed them because he thought they were planning on killing us. Me, my two other brothers, Kazuya and Hioshi… And himself."

"…" Sasuke frowned. I shrugged, looking the other way now.

"I forgave Akira. He was scared. People do stupid things when they're scared…" I thought about my first confrontation with Kotaro when he had blasted me out the window. Normally I would have jumped right back in after him, but something about him made me want to keep running, despite being sore.

"He may have done it from fear," Sasuke began, his voice icy, "But who said Itachi did it out of fear? He killed them because he thought it would test his limits. He figured killing them all and leaving me alive was fun. That's why I'm killing him. He played with everyone he's ever met. He probably even screwed you over too." I glared at him.

"Shut up, Sasuke. When I met Itachi, I didn't see any of that… He looked like he was just a normal guy in a normal world."

"That's what I thought until I came home to find my family dead." Sasuke retorted.

"And you're basing that off one incident."

"They're dead! I'm starting to wonder who's more heartless now." Sasuke muttered in annoyance. I laughed and looked right at me, leaning in just a bit so our faces were just inches apart.

"Who's more heartless, eh? Who knows? Maybe I am heartless. Sure, I care for the kid, but that doesn't mean I have a heart now does it? I'm sure Itachi told you something about power, right? Hm?" I questioned. Sasuke glared at me, his Sharingan glowing hatefully now.

"Shut up."

"Oh. Come on. We both know what's the most important thing in this world… Power. You're not going to kill Itachi because you want to avenge your slaughtered clan. You just want to prove that you're stronger than your big brother, oh, but what happens after that? What'll you do then? Only two Uchiha left." I snapped. Sasuke shoved me hard onto my back, hovering over me, Sharingan glowing.

"I said shut up! You've got a big mouth… And you think Koyuki and I will be the last ones?" He demanded. I frowned at him.

"What're you talking about?" I muttered. Sasuke rolled his eyes, shaking his head.

"Forget it. I'm not talking you until we reach the Land of Earth."

"You can't just…! You asshole!" I barked, but Sasuke ignored me and went to lie down. I huffed and fell over on my side, muttering. WHAT AN ASSHOLE. I was about to try and fall asleep when I felt a strange presence. It was an eerie feeling and it made me uneasy right away. I sat up and opened my mouth to speak, but Sasuke spoke first.

"I know. Just lie down." He stated. I frowned, but I couldn't lie down. I glanced at where the fire had been, smoke billowing up. The moon up above was casting shadows and then I noticed it. Something that stood out against the rest of the snowy woods.

A moth. A lunar moth was fluttering its wings, positioned on a pine tree. It was huge. I gasped.

"Sasuke!" I protested. Sasuke was up now, flinging a kunai at the moth, but it burst into smoke before it could be hit.

"Get up!" Sasuke yelled at the others, kicking them. Suigetsu flailed a little, Karin leaping up, and Juugo just woke up on his own since he was actually the most well behaved. Roku was already up when I was up, so he was on his feet, pointing at where the moth had been.

"Pretty!" He exclaimed.

"You learned a new word!" I cried.

"Is that really the most concerning thing right now?" Suigetsu yelled at me. I scooped up a ball of snow, hitting him in the face with it before whipping around to find that Gatsuki was stepping out of the woods casually, a hand in his pocket, the other resting on a tree.

"Wow, you really are a bunch of teenagers… I'm starting to wish you hadn't beaten up Kaede so she could deal with you rats." The guy sighed, leaning on the tree.

"What the hell do you want?" Sasuke demanded in annoyance.

"You mean I didn't kill her?" I barked at the same time Sasuke spoke. I sweat dropped when Sasuke glared at me. Gatsuki shook his head, seeming to close his eyes in a smile.

"Oh no. She's still alive. She's part of the Uzumaki Clan. Those guys are pretty hard to kill off… And I'm here because I was sent to throw you off course… I just wish I wasn't sent to do this by Kotaro-sama personally, or else I would have rejected it." He muttered.

"Some loyal subordinate." Karin muttered. Gatsuki seemed to be smirking behind his bandana as he pushed off the tree, taking a step forward.

"I'm as loyal as Kage and Kaede is… I just don't like to waste my time doing things I don't agree with… Unfortunately, now that I'm here. You're all going to have to die." He stated, holding out his hands in a shrug.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A/N: … The title of this chapter makes no sense for the second part of it. xD I just felt that you all needed to know that Gatsuki really hates teenagers… He can't stand 'em, especially obnoxious ones like Ruriko, Sasuke, or Kaede… Haha, he reminds me sort of a teacher for some reason. 0o weird image. lol. Anyway, thanks so very much for reading, hope the OCs are in character, and your reviews are loved with a passion!