AAANOTHER UPDATE. O:
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO! MASASHI KISHIMOTO DOES! I also do not own any of the OCs introduced within this fan fiction, save for:
Tsukuyomi Clan
Roku
Nero
Ikiteiru Kage
Uzumaki Kaede
Mushishokan Gatsuki
A/N: Ruriko's POV in the beginning~
Chapter Forty-Two: A New Plan of Action! The 'Bad Man' is Coming!
"You don't follow the rules, do you, little one?" The unfamiliar voice asked in my ear. It sounded slightly muffled by something and made me twitch as it belonged to someone considerably older than myself or Kotaro. The hand stayed on my mouth and whoever had me was pulling me as far from the ledge as possible. I lost sight of what happened below, however, I heard a loud explosion that shook the cave.
I stumbled a little and managed to twist away and whip around to face the opposite person. I blinked. The man was tall, to me at least, with short black hair and a bright orange swirly mask. He wore a black long sleeved shirt, matching pants and gloves, a dark green scarf falling over his shoulders as he undid it.
"You seem to like digging deep into everyone's business," He mused, his voice hinting that he was smiling, "It's funny. You're making quite a show for me and I thank you for that. It's been so boring watching everyone dance around. It's like a ball, everyone moving according to the music with their partners. I was just waiting for that one person to break the chain and take on a new dance step as well as a new partner. It seems Itachi's taken a fancy to you."
"Don't spew anything at me," I snapped, "Especially if I don't know who you are."
"Really? Take a guess." The man replied, folding his arms over his chest after gesturing his arm out. I frowned, studying him. He was definitely older than me, I could tell by his voice, but from his appearance, he seemed young and fit. I didn't know anyone like that… Or maybe I did?
I tried to think hard, biting into my lip and shutting my eyes. I went through a series of names and faces, but nothing seemed to fit. The man laughed, making me look up.
"I'm shocked. Maybe you need to do a little more digging around… Allow me to introduce myself… As Uchiha Madara." He said, throwing out his arms, taking on a pretty cocky pose in the process. I blinked and stared at him.
Unbelievable! How could he be the real Madara? Rumor said he had died in a battle against the first Hokage… I heard he was still around, but something in the back of my mind told me that it wasn't true.
My curiosity was confirmed as Madara was standing right in front of me.
"How…? Why are you…?"
"Can't come up with any solid questions? You seemed pretty talkative with Itachi." He commented, tucking his arm under his other, touching his knuckles to his chin under his mask. I blinked and clenched my fists.
"You're leader of Akatsuki, yes?" I asked. Madara smirked behind his mask, the sound of it clear.
"Who else would be smart enough to come up with all these plans? Certainly not Pein… He's smart, sure, but not enough."
"Why are you here?" I demanded. Madara sighed behind his mask, tilting his head to look toward the ledge, where an odd clang sound came from the fight below.
"I came to watch… Of course, I listened to your entire conversation with Itachi and it seems I have some troublesome children running about and putting tacks in my foot… I feel like a babysitter and it's starting to irritate me. One kid is enough." He said under his breath, then turned his face toward me, making me jump a little.
One kid? Did he mean Itachi? Or Sasuke? Or something else?
"So you know about Kotaro then? And Sasuke?" I asked. Madara nodded and reached up to adjust his mask, giving me a slight view of the right side of his face, revealing harsh dents in his face, like a scar. But even so, I could tell from that tiny glimpse that he probably hadn't been bad looking at one point in time. Madara laughed a little, as if he had heard my thoughts.
"You're funny, girl. I'm surprised at your popularity… It seems Itachi doesn't mind speaking with you, Sasuke wants to kill you, and Kotaro wants to torture you." He said, making me twitch and sweat drop.
"And you? What do you want from me?" I asked. Madara paused, turning his face back toward the match going on between his cousins before he turned back toward me.
"Not much… Except maybe another pawn."
"Great. Someone else who wants to use me than kill me. Sorry, but I think I'm going to stick to my old plan." I retorted. Madara gave a slight nod before laughing a little again, but this time it was quiet.
"I understand your weariness. If I were you, I would probably refuse as well… If there wasn't so much at stake that is." He added seriously. I frowned.
"Quite frankly, I'm having an issue with thinking you actually care about everyone. From what I've heard, you're just as selfish and disobedient as any other criminal." I responded flatly, putting my fists on my hips. Madara shrugged, gesturing his hands up and out.
"True. Why believe me? Although, I was never officially listed as criminal now, was I?" He asked. I blinked and averted my eyes, folding my arms over my chest tightly, frowning.
"No."
"Exactly. Come now, there's really no such thing as 'criminals' if you think about it."
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"It's like separating good guys from bad guys. Everyone's got a little bad in them and a little good… The good guys think the opposite side are the bad guys, the bad guys think the opposite side are the bad guys. So technically, there's no real good or bad. I'm sure you've had some spells where you felt like slaughtering people." Madara explained calmly, flicking his hand at me. I twitched. He was smart and pretty manipulative and that bugged the hell outta me. He went on, however, pretty confident in his argument.
"Everyone seems to have their goals in mind, most of them revolving around power, something that everyone craves, deep down inside. As soon as someone's fed it, they want more and more. It's like a drug… Let me cut to the chase. I have a goal of my own in mind, but due to the detours of the younger generation, I'm going to have to lengthen it out a bit. This'll be very entertaining as there are plenty of criminals out there willing to work with Akatsuki. Kotaro, for example. He wants to make his army strong to start a war and conquer villages."
"So what do the hell do you want me for?" I demanded, taking a careful step away from him. Madara reached up to his mask and easily removed it, using his gloved hand to dust off the inside. I stared at him. I was right about the right side of his face being the scarred, the other half pretty much okay, save for lines dragged out under his eyes from lack of rest. It almost reminded me of Hioshi's, but more pronounced.
"It's simple," Madara said, looking at his mask casually as he brushed at its front, "I figured my explanations would have given it away, but I suppose not. What I want is for you to carry out this nice plan of yours… However, you are to lead Kotaro to Konohagakure. Take the brothers with you, seeing as I can tell there is going to be no death of either of them…"
"What? If I bring Kotaro to Konoha, he's going to kill everyone! He's got a pretty good knowledge of jutsu and torture in case you haven't noticed!" I protested. Madara smiled sweetly at me, but it still had a very bitter look to it.
"Oh, I know. I've seen Kotaro fight, take over villages. He's got some very powerful jutsu… But will that stop the Konoha shinobi? Nooo, they rely on a force they call the will of fire… It burns hotly in each shinobi in that village. They'll fight to defend their pathetic village… As much as I hate complimenting that worthless village, they will easily take down Kotaro's army, leaving him alone. He will fight until his last breath and die. After that, stick around a little bit… Wait until I call on you again for some adventure. Something to make your little heart pound out of control." He drawled, looking pretty damned pleased with his whole plan. I glared at him, clenching my fists.
"If that's your plan, what about Itachi and Sasuke? It's obvious they don't get along. Sasuke won't accept working with the guy who killed his clan for power."
"Oh, you don't know?" Madara asked, raising an eyebrow. I blinked, frowning.
"What do you mean?"
"… Ahh," Madara cooed, "That doesn't surprise me. Konoha's probably keeping it all locked up and safe, to prevent anything from staining its image. Sounds about right, those old hags sitting back and enjoying luxuries while the rest of you work your butts off to keep them safe…" I frowned.
"So-"
"I'll give you a hint," Madara said, putting his mask back on snugly and dropping his arms to his sides slowly, "… Itachi didn't kill the clan for power. A man named Danzo is pretty much as troublesome as the rest of you. Do me a favor and tell Sasuke that Danzo's at fault, won't you?" With that, he vanished. He seemed to be sucked into some kind of vortex right in front of me in a flash, making me leap back in surprise, my eyes flickering wide.
I cannot believe what just happened. I felt like someone had smacked me hard across the face. I grimaced a little, then yelped as the structure I was standing up rumbled as well as the entire cave. I darted out of the way of a falling stalactite before whipping around.
"Sasuke! Sasuke, you asshole! There could be fucking spiders in here!" I yelled. I knew Itachi was going to be mad that I had blown my hiding spot. There were a couple more crashes before I made my way to the ledge. I watched just in time to see Sasuke skid back. His shoulder, right where that odd black mark had been, was bleeding pretty heavily and his shirt had been ripped off. He looked like he was going to pass out, but as soon as he skidded to a halt and saw me, the life came back to him, but not for the better.
"YOU? I thought I killed you!" He yelled angrily, clenching his sword in his fist tightly and tensing up. Oh, yea. He was pissed. I glared at him.
"Yea, I never thanked you for knocking me off that cliff, you asshole! Nor did I thank you for totally trying to kill me several other times!" I shouted at him, my voice echoing off the walls. Sasuke was seething, but he winced and clasped a hand over his shoulder, shaking a little for the usage of all his strength.
"Didn't I tell you to be quiet?" A voice demanded. I yelped and jerked my head up to find Itachi standing beside me, his cloak pretty much shredded and caked with blood. I noticed a few dribbles down the sides his mouth too.
"Itachi, don't fight anymore! I talked to…!" My voice trailed off and Itachi frowned before moving fast. He grabbed me up around the waist and tore me back just in time to avoid a blast of lightening from Sasuke.
"Will you stay the fuck out of my way?" Sasuke yelled at me, wincing in pain. His voice sounded hoarse as if he was using it too much. Probably, the bastard. I squirmed out of Itachi's grip, careful not to hit any of his wounds.
"Wait, wait! WAIT! Don't do anything yet!" I tried, but Sasuke just spat blood out in my direction.
"Shut up! I've waited way too long to stop now and nothing you say is going to make me stop! I'll kill you both! Itachi for being a selfish bastard and YOU for being so goddamn annoying!" Sasuke yelled angrily. I twitched and scowled at him.
"Oh shut up, you hypocrite! Who's the one always talking 'me-me-me'? You're so contradictory it's not even funny! You don't even know the full story, just what HE told you!" I snapped, throwing a thumb at Itachi, who stared at me, showing the first sign of true shock I had ever seen on his face.
"Ruriko-"
"I talked to Madara," I told him quickly, "He was here just a couple minutes ago and he just- I don't know how to explain. All I can say is he gave me a few hints as to what happened with you and your clan. He wants me to take you and Sasuke back to Konoha, lead Kotaro there, and cause like this huge mess-"
"You actually listened to him?" Itachi demanded. I grimaced.
"He made a few good points…"
"That's just what he does, Ruriko… Madara is manipulative and cruel. There's no way he's telling you something that'll have good results."
"But it makes sense! We can get rid of Kotaro by tricking him to Konoha. Kotaro's definitely got something against Sasuke and I. He'll gladly torture us, but he has to get his hands on us first. Besides, it's just what he wants anyway! He wants war and he'll be glad to attack Konohagakure!" I explained.
"Ruriko-"
"For fuck's sake, will you quit babbling?" Sasuke barked at me and started up another jutsu. Itachi grabbed my arm and whipped me out of the way and smacking into him, making him wince a little.
"Itachi…" I started, but he coughed into his hand. Sasuke moved and so did I. I made hand signs as fast as I could, wincing at the pain in my shoulder. The Genjutsu was set and I was completely drained as I fell back. Sasuke collapsed, his jutsu slamming right into the catwalk and causing it to explode. I felt my body shaking as I looked up.
Sasuke seemed to be pretty annoyed by the Genjutsu and frantic to get rid of it. He released it, only to yell in frustration.
"What the hell did you do?" He shouted at me. I managed to use a shaky hand to wipe blood from the corner of my mouth.
"The only real Genjutsu I'm good at… My brother taught me. The one that killed my parents and the one that I still love. Akira. The jutsu is meant to distract you, at first… And the side effect is blindness, however, it's only temporary, so don't have a fit about it… You just have to sit still for a little bit and listen to the big people talk." I explained, mentally cursing myself as my voice was shaking too. Itachi frowned and got on his hunches beside me.
"I don't know what you're planning-" He started, but I managed to bring my hand up in his face.
"Ssh, ssh, please… Not so loud…" Even though I knew he wasn't that loud, but my ears were ringing and sore. Itachi averted his eyes for a moment, glancing at Sasuke, who was cursing loudly at me.
"Ruriko, you're disrupting everything, you-"
"I'm doing what Madara said," I managed past the ringing as I covered my ear with a hand, "From what he's said, it's going to be better this way…"
"If people of the village die?" Itachi asked quietly. I frowned.
"Madara said Konohagakure was a strong and confident village. A pretty good display of that is shown in the friends I have made there as well as you and Sasuke… Although, I think Sasuke's confidence is a little too high for my tastes." I added with a huff, looking at Sasuke, who was pressing the heels of his palms against his eyes.
"Sasuke," I called, making him jerk his head up and spit at me, "Shut up over there! We're going to sit down and discuss this like adults, unless you want to be tied up and left for Kotaro to pick the meat off your bones!" Sasuke scowled at me, but he didn't move anymore, sitting still on his knees. I looked at Itachi, who sighed quietly before coughing harshly into his hand.
"Itachi! Hey, are you all right?" I asked worriedly. Itachi nodded a little, covering his mouth as well as bit of the pink in his face.
"I'm fine… Let's just get down from here…" He murmured. I nodded and forced myself on my feet, trying not to fall over. I felt like a heavy weight was holding me down and I really just wanted to sleep for a while, but I knew that was impossible. Itachi and I hopped off the catwalk that was mostly destroyed, except for the part we had been balancing on.
Itachi kept a considerable distance from Sasuke, who did the same in return, although, he was still blinded from the Genjutsu. I sat between them, folding my legs and leaning back on my hands, glancing between them, then straight ahead.
"Jeez, talk about bad bonding," I muttered, "The least you guys could do was say hi." Itachi just sighed, putting a hand to his head. Sasuke scowled and said nothing. I rolled my eyes and looked at the ground, resting my hands on my knees.
"What happened to the others?" I asked Sasuke. Itachi looked at Sasuke as well. Sasuke frowned, tilting his head to the side and letting his blind eyes wander aimlessly.
"I left them behind… They're bait for Kotaro."
"You jerk!" I accused. Sasuke scowled in my direction.
"Oh, shut up. They'll probably abandon their posts anyway… Karin made a fuss about me shoving you off that cliff…"
"Remind me to thank her."
"Remind me to smack her."
"Shut up, asstard." I muttered. Sasuke glared at me the best he could, missing me by a centimeter. Itachi just sighed quietly and looked down at the cave floor silently. I frowned, glancing between them before rising to my feet.
"Where are you going?" Sasuke demanded first. I raised an eyebrow at him, even if he couldn't see me, putting my hands on my hips.
"What do you think? It's obvious that I won't get anywhere sitting here with you guys… Maybe you'll both converse if I leave. I'm nosy, but if you guys want to sort out your family business, go right on ahead." I replied and headed out of the cave, the only sound was my boots sifting through the sand. I stood out on the shore, averting my eyes away from the cave. Hopefully they talked, not screamed or killed.
I sighed and stepped into the water, watching the fish. Might as well eat while I'm out here. I bent down, watching the fish scatter frantically at my shadow. I dunked my hand under the water, catching a fish by its tail and lifting it out of the water. It squirmed and wriggled. If it had been a mouse, it'd probably be shrieking. I bit into it, watching the other fish swim away in a panic. Ugh, I just hoped that Kotaro was far behind us or at least still on the mainland. If he had made it to the island, he could easily use whatever jutsu he had used to destroy his hideout to destroy the entire island. I bit into the fish again, but a weird sound reached my ears. It sounded like… Bells?
I looked up at the top of the cliff, just over the cave to see the little memorial structure standing all by itself, the bells jingling gently. I frowned. Weird. I looked back down at the fish, finishing it off before tossing it back into the water. I stood up and walked down the shoreline, away from the jingling bells, which began to fade as I walked on.
The water hardly made a sound, just shifting gently onto the sand before pulling back. I hoped the guys were actually talking and not just staring at nothing until Sasuke could see to fight again… I kept walking until I heard a weird noise. I stopped and glanced up, listening to the trees rustle and water murmur. There was a weird sound coming from the trees, though. Like… Shoes hitting tree branches.
I flinched and whipped back around, bolting back down the shoreline. Looks like the bonding time had to end. I winced at the ach in my legs, but I kept moving. If that was Kotaro, they were going to catch up and fast. Not to mention, Kotaro probably already sent Kage up ahead to check if we were there.
I wanted to stop when realization hit me. That's right… My shadow in the water. My shadow wouldn't have been that long. I cursed and picked up the pace, my boots kicking up sand as I made it to the cave, breathing hard. I heard Sasuke's voice snapping angrily, but I had to burst in, making Sasuke jump and Itachi look up.
"Hey," I greeted quickly, "I'd really love you guys to keep talking and catch up on old times, but we, like, really have to go. Like, NOW."
"What the hell are you talking about?" Sasuke demanded, annoyed. From his glare, he had regained some of his sight back and was standing on his feet. I took a step away from him a bit uneasily.
"Kotaro's here." I stated. Sasuke blinked.
"How the hell did he know where to go?" He asked. I sweat dropped and averted my eyes, twiddling my fingers.
"Oh, hell if I know. Definitely had nothing to do with me." I added, waving my hand out, making Sasuke glare.
"You stupid-"
"This isn't time for pointing fingers," Itachi cut in with a frown, "We need to get moving… If you've met up with Madara, that means he's alerted the rest of Akatsuki to steer clear of the area… I guess we really don't have a choice, but to follow what he said."
"Great! Now, does anyone have a piece of paper and pencil by any chance?" I asked. Sasuke scowled.
"We're shinobi, not teachers."
"Well, excuse me!"
"Here." Itachi took out a torn tag from his weapons pouch and a small pencil. I smirked at Sasuke, sticking out my tongue and making him roll his eyes in aggravation. I took a kunai from my holster and slammed it into the paper after writing on it, keeping it stuck to the side of the opening, right where Kotaro could see it. Sasuke glanced at it, then smacked his forehead. Itachi sighed.
"If I had known you were going to antagonize him…"
"The mission is to lure him to Konohagakure where he'll arrive with an army, then what better way than to make fun of him and claim that I ruined his plan to meet Akatsuki?" I asked, shrugging.
"I see why he wants to kill you." Sasuke muttered. I huffed.
"If Kotaro's headed this way, we should probably go now. And fast." Itachi advised, glancing outside the cave.
"Good point."
"Come on, there's a back way out of here." Itachi said and led us toward the back of the cave. We moved fast, but quietly so that our shoes didn't even make a sound. We ended up slipping through some wet tunnels that were almost half submerged in water before we made it to the other side onto the shoreline.
"Hopefully one of you know the way to Konohagakure from here because I don't." I muttered, earning a glare from Sasuke.
"It's fine. I know the way." Itachi replied. I nodded and we took off down the shoreline.
"Sooo, how do we know if Kotaro found that note?" I asked as we stepped onto the water to head across to the mainland. Itachi frowned and Sasuke opened his mouth, probably to spew some insults when behind us there was a crackling sound. I flinched.
"Never mind." I mumbled.
"We'll need to move faster… Which is know is hard for probably all of us." Itachi added under his breath. I averted my eyes and just at that moment, my foot lost its balance and went through the water. I yelped, but Itachi caught my arm and jerked me back up.
"Exactly." He said as if I just proved his point. I sighed and bit into my lip, trying to keep up with them. Sasuke rolled his eyes.
"Useless."
"You're one to talk, you asshole!" I spat. Sasuke scowled at me, but we kept moving on anyway, touching the sand at the same time before we kept moving. The village that I had gone through before was ruined. Buildings still crackled with flames, blood splattered on the sandy streets and ruined buildings. I grimaced. Itachi kept his eyes off the actual village, watching mostly his feet. Sasuke didn't seem to pay attention as his mind was off on other things. I wondered what Itachi had told him back in the cave, but it really was none of my business what happened with their family, although, the curiosity was killing me.
We shot through the trees at the edge of the village, taking to using the branches to move faster.
"He's practically the leader of any village in the Land of Rivers," I started, "That means he'd have to make a pit stop before coming to Konohagakure, unless he has his army at hand somewhere close by."
"What if Kotaro suspects it's a trap?" Sasuke asked, frowning at me. I raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, what's it matter? His little plot to take over everything will eventually lead to Konoha, so why not just follow the trail of bread crumbs? He'll pick off villages on the way too. He's practically at a kage status already." I pointed out.
"This is so aggravating…" Sasuke muttered.
"Could be worse!" I tried, but Sasuke just glared at me, so I shut up.
"I'm just concerned on how Sasuke and I are even going to get into the village." Itachi admitted. I frowned, then winced.
"Shit, that's right. You're both listed as criminals…" I murmured. Sasuke shrugged.
"I don't think they'll be worried about us if they have Kotaro."
"Whoa, is that you admitting someone's stronger than you?"
"Shut up, Ruriko!"
"Ruriko," Itachi said, making me glance at him, still smirking at Sasuke's comment, "You're part of the criminal squad from Sunagakure, right?"
"Yea? They probably just listed me as kidnapped. Why?"
"If you can, try and grab the criminal files that Konoha has. Get rid of our names for the time being."
"For the time being?" Sasuke and I asked in unison. Itachi said nothing, which made me frown. Was he seriously going to go back to the idea of having Sasuke kill him? I thought he'd told Sasuke something that would keep them both alive, not something that'd keep Sasuke docile for 'the time being'! I rolled my eyes, but shot off faster, kicking off the branches.
Boys. Sometimes I wondered if they thought about anything other than death, sex, and training.
Wait, that's right!
"Hey, Itachi, did you know Sasuke and Sa-"
"Shut up, Ruriko." Sasuke snapped. I huffed. Itachi glanced at me, as if waiting for me to continue, but when I tried again, Sasuke told me to shut up.
"Oh, come on. Itachi has the right to know."
"It doesn't matter if he knows or not. Now shut up or I'll shove a kunai down your throat."
"Touchy!"
"You guys bicker too much." Itachi sighed. I shrugged and Sasuke rolled his eyes.
"I just thought you'd like to know that Sasuke's repopulating your clan." I said quickly and Sasuke glared daggers at me. Itachi blinked and looked at Sasuke, who the other way immediately. They were quiet for a while and I sighed. At least that secret was out! Time for more.
"Her name's Sakura," I started, earning deadly glares from Sasuke, "She's a medical ninja back in Konohagakure. She's the pupil of Lady Tsunade. She's okay… Not a bad girl."
"I see… How old is she?" Itachi asked casually. I grinned.
"Itachi!" Sasuke protested angrily. We ignored him, Itachi looking at me expectantly.
"She's a bit younger than me, about fifteen. She's tall-"
"To you!" Sasuke cut in, making me aim a punch for his face, but he managed to avoid it before I went on.
"She's pretty obedient. She's nice. I think she'd make a nice sister-in-law. She's pretty too."
"Ruriko, stop talking!" Sasuke ordered, but I went on. After all, he wasn't my boss anymore! Ahh, freedom~ How I missed thee~
"She's got nice green eyes and pink hair, which is about to her shoulders. She's thin and smiles a lot…" I mused. Itachi glanced at me, then back up ahead.
"She sounds nice… Are you just telling me all this because it's making Sasuke angry?" He asked, taking a peek at Sasuke, who was yelling curses at me and hinting that he was on the verge of blushing! I shrugged, flashing him a quick smirk.
"A little. I just thought you might want to know."
"Oh, I did… I'm always interested in what happens with Sasuke."
"I'm fucking fifteen!" Sasuke yelled.
"Yea, he's been causing a lot of trouble," I went on, getting rewarded with a tinge of a smirk from Itachi as I ignored Sasuke's angry protests, "I say this whole ordeal is good, maybe it'll beat some sense into him…"
"You're one to talk!" Sasuke barked. I rolled my eyes, but I pretty content that I could keep up the conversation. Staying quiet too long was awkward and unsettling. Although, I was mostly picking on Sasuke, who cares? It's not like he knew who I liked…
Konohagakure (THIRD POV)
"Ecchio, don't flip your noodles everywhere!" Akira protested, smacking the three-year-old's hand with his chopsticks. Ecchio yelped and clasped and over his own, pouting. Akira sighed, then glanced at Roku, who sat beside Ecchio and behaved pretty well.
"At least he's eating," Kasumi pointed out from her spot beside Akira, "He was pretty thin when he came to the hospital. He needs some food."
"I guess, but he doesn't need to eat like a pig." Akira huffed, raising an eyebrow at Ecchio, who slurped up his noodles. Roku smiled a bit and pulled the meat of another skewer, which he stuck in the little holster Akira had gotten for him to put on his left shoulder. It saved him the trouble of stringing them all on the scarf around his waist.
"When is Nero coming from Lady Tsunade's?" Kasumi asked with a sigh, leaning her elbow on the table. Akira shrugged, munching on his food.
"Soon. Then he can take the kids somewhere to play, so we can get a hotel and-"
"Stop right there, you pervert," Kasumi accused, jabbing Akira in the nose with her chopsticks, "I am so not going anywhere alone with you!"
"Aww… I just wanted to take you out on a little date, just the two of us. I promise there'll be no hotel… Unless you change your mind." Akira added with a grin. Kasumi rolled her eyes and looked back at her meal, taking a few bites before glancing at him out the corner of her eye.
"Oh, all right, but just one date! If you screw it up…!" Her voice trailed as Akira took her hand gently, giving her a genuine smile.
"I promise to make it the best night ever for you!" He replied confidently. Kasumi blushed a little, then glanced at Ecchio, who was grinning at them and Roku staring in complete, innocent confusion.
"What're you two looking at?" She demanded, making them jump and twitch.
"Love birds, ugh." A voice muttered. Kasumi jerked her hand away from Akira, who sighed and glanced up with a bit of a pout as Nero approached them, his hands in his pockets.
"What's this about a babysitting job?" He asked. Akira beamed and pointed at Kasumi, who huffed.
"We're going on a date! Have fun babysitting the kids!" He exclaimed, changing the direction of his finger toward Ecchio and Roku before he got to his feet, holding his hand out to Kasumi with a grin. Kasumi sighed and took his hand, yelping a little when Akira whipped her to her feet, keeping his hand clasped with hers before they headed down the street. Nero watched with a flat expression.
"Asshole." He muttered, then blinked and looked at Ecchio and Roku, who both looked back at him expectantly. Nero shifted his eyes a bit thoughtfully, then looked back at them.
"Uh, I don't have any money… But come on anyway." He said. Ecchio and Roku shared looks, then hopped off the bench, following Nero down the street. Roku knew Nero didn't like kids hanging on him and as much as he wanted to hold onto someone, he restrained himself. Ecchio didn't seem to give a crap and tugged on Nero's arm, yelling about how happy he was to have people to hang around him all the time. Nero just rolled his eyes, sighing.
"Kids…" He muttered. Roku glanced up at him and dared to grab Nero's arm. Nero flinched at first, then looked down at him a bit tiredly. Roku looked back up at him and smiled.
"Happy… Roku is happy too." He replied. Nero studied his face for a moment, then looked away.
"Good. Kids are supposed to be happy… And try saying 'I'." He added. Roku tilted his head.
"I?"
"Yes."
"I is happy?"
"… You're happy. Am."
"I am happy?"
"Yes. That's enough for lessons today." Nero mumbled, averting his eyes as if embarrassed. Roku beamed and hugged Nero's arm.
"I am happy! Very!" He added. Nero sighed, tilting his head a little and wincing when Ecchio jerked on his fingers.
"Ugh, my gods, you're going to rip my hand off…" He complained.
"You have strong hands! I wanna have the same ones!"
"Keep jerking on them and you will." Nero muttered, making Roku laugh a little as they walked out on a comfortable grassy hill that looked over a thin blue creak. Ecchio ran down to it first, almost tripping in the process due to his weak feet. Nero collapsed in the grass, huffing as he leaned on his knees, watching Ecchio splash around in the water.
"Be careful, brat, you still have… Oh, never mind." He grumbled. Roku looked down at him and smiled, giving Nero a pat on the head that made him blink in surprise.
"Okay." He said. Nero shrugged in response, watching Ecchio run around. Roku watched, not so much in the mood to get wet. He yawned a bit sleepily, but a weird smell filled his nose, making him blink and touch his hands to his nose. He sniffed the air a little more.
"No more food," Nero told him before wincing when Ecchio threw a rock across the creak, "Don't throw those things, kid! You're gonna get hurt and I will laugh at you!"
"Nuh uh!" Ecchio yelled back stubbornly and threw another rock. Roku ignored them and only stepped back when Nero rose to his feet, looking pretty annoyed at being talked back by a kid. Roku sniffed the air, crinkling his nose a little before he blinked and grabbed Nero's arm, making the Jounin jump.
"What?" Nero demanded. Roku pointed his finger frantically toward southeast, whining a little.
"Nee-ro! Chaa… Erm… Uh." He stopped to frown. Nero raised an eyebrow, curiously now as he looked down at Roku.
"Chakra?"
"Yes! Chakra! Ruriiikooo!" Roku beamed. Nero stared at him, then glanced up in the direction of Roku's finger, frowning.
"You smell chakra? Well, I'm not gonna ask how that's possible…" He muttered, averting his eyes. Roku just smiled proudly, but stopped when another scent hit his nose. He frowned, letting go of Nero's arm. Nero gave him an odd look before glancing up with Ecchio yelped in pain.
"What the hell did I just get done telling you? For the love of…" He stomped over to Ecchio, who was whining and holding his foot. Roku frowned and sniffed the air, avoiding sniffing in Ecchio's direction as he had cut open his foot.
Weird smell, Roku recognized. He'd smelled that type of chakra before, but who? It wasn't Sasuke's… Sasuke's was mingled with someone else's chakra and following rather close to Ruriko's. Roku frowned.
The smell was strong and familiar. Roku closed his eyes to think, then yelped when Ecchio almost tackled him from behind.
"Nero's being mean, Roku! He likes you, make him be nice!" He complained. Nero came along and picked Ecchio up by the back of his shirt.
"I'm mean? You snotty little…!" Nero was cut off when Roku whipped around and wailed.
"Na! Na!" He whined. Nero frowned and dropped Ecchio, making him flail and yelp.
"What? What's up?" He asked. Roku was crying now, rubbing the tears away from his eyes desperately.
"Naaa! Bad…!"
"Bad?"
"Bad man," Roku sniffed, rubbing at his eye a bit angrily since the tears kept flowing, "Na happy… Bad with… Sasuke 'n' Ruriko…" Nero frowned, then sighed, taking the sleeve of Roku's shirt to wipe the tears off his face.
"Quit crying… You're too old to be doing that and besides, Ruriko's probably fine…"
"B-But-" Roku stopped when Nero twitched, as if he suddenly got the same bad feeling. Nero frowned and stood up, taking Roku by the hand quickly and grabbing Ecchio, hoisting him up against his chest.
"Come on, we need to get back into town." He told them. Ecchio blinked curiously, squirming a little in Nero's arm to get comfortable.
"What's wrong? Did I make ya that mad?" He asked with a bit of a pout. Nero frowned.
"No. Both of you need to stay with me until I say. Something's not right." He said as they walked back into town. Some people were beginning to file into their homes, as if they had the same odd sensation that was racing up and down Nero's spine, sending goose bumps across his skin.
"Quit squirming," Nero snapped at Ecchio and looked up as Kazuya came toward him, breathing a little hard, "Kazuya-sensei?""Nero-I-… When did you have kids?" Kazuya asked, perplexed. Nero twitched, turning a bit pink.
"They're not mine!" He spat. Kazuya sighed, then glanced around at the village before looking back at Nero.
"Lady Tsunade's ordering everyone to get inside their homes… She said she's got this weird feeling. She thinks it might be a freak storm or something… Who knows? But take those kids back where-"
"Can't. Probably wouldn't be safe to leave them alone. Look, I'm taking them to the Hokage's residence with me. I wanna talk to Tsunade about something weird."
"What do you mean?"
"This kid says he can smell chakra… Chakra doesn't have a scent, right?" Nero asked with a frown, tilting his head away from Ecchio, who was squirming to climb over him.
Kazuya blinked and touched a finger to his lip thoughtfully, tilting his head.
"Erm… I don't know?"
"OW!"
"What?"
"The brat jerked on my earring," Nero cursed as Ecchio laughed, "Never mind, take these brats somewhere so I can talk to the Hokage." Kazuya yelped when Nero shoved Ecchio at him along with Roku.
"Nero…!" He tried, but Nero took off down the street a ways before shooting up and taking to the rooftops. Kazuya sighed, then looked down at Roku, who was nibbling his thumb.
"You're the one that can smell the chakra?" He asked. Roku looked up at him and nodded quickly before pointing.
"Ruriko… Sasuke… K-Ko… Ko… Koootah-roo… Kotaro!"
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A/N: I had a little trouble at some point with this chapter, but thankfully I got help with it, so I'm back on my feet. :D I was also in a bad mood, which didn't help, but yea, I'm feeling a whole lot better! The next couple chapters are going to be pretty dramatic and action-ee. Most likely third person too… From what's being planned so far, the end of the Shippuden is not that far away, in fact, maybe another few chapters before it'll end? Please be aware that if you want your OC in Part III, you must send me a new bio again. The time skip is a pretty big gap, I think about 12 years? So, yea! Be thinking! If you want to send the bio in early, I'm fine with that. :) I love reading bios! Well, I think that's all for this author's note. Thanks so very much for reading, hope the characters are in character, and your reviews are greatly appreciated!