A/N: On Friday I have my leaving ceremony and I am officially not a school kid anymore. Feels pretty weird xD Anywho, thank you all for your reviews x3 I love my reviewers muchly :D Just in a friendly way though. My cliffy was evil, no? Gomen, gomen xD

Claimer: I don't own much T^T Only ickle figments of my overactive imagination.

Disclaimer: Gaa-kuns back in the manga x3 If Kishimoto kills him I will cry my eyes out and be mega depressed TT_TT

Kakokunashinjitsu

The Harsh Truth

And it was then she realised, in her misery,

Ignorance is indeed bliss.

-----x-----

"She's not here!" Naruto hollered.

"She probably jumped off the other side!" Sakura cried, trying to hide the dread that began to pool in the bottom of her stomach. "Sasuke-kun—SASUKE-KUN!!"

The Uchiha ignored her cry for his safety and raced into the mass of flames.

"Kari! Kari!!" he shouted, his voice barely audible over the flames, he pressed his collar closer to his face, feeling his eyes sting. Being an Uchiha he was used to fire, but this was on a huge scale, he could barely see through the smoke. It was spreading fast, and if he didn't find her in the next few minutes no doubt they would both die. Focusing Chakra to his eyes he activated his Sharingan. "Kari where are you?!" His eyes caught sight of a flash of Chakra and he immediately rushed over, trying to dodge the majority of the flames. He found her lying on her side, coughing violently. "Kari, Kari get up!" he shouted grabbing her shoulder and giving it a shake.

"S…sasu?" she murmured opening her eyes slightly to look at him. He pulled her arm around his shoulders and lifted her legs, trying to find a way out. He ran where the blaze looked thin and jumped off the side. Sakura and Naruto quickly swam over, Naruto quickly rambling nonsense to Kari, trying to see if she was alright.

"Daijoubu?" Sasuke asked, most of the ash being washed away. In reply, he got a smack to the back of the head.

"Baka! What were you thinking?! You could have died!" Kari croaked, proceeding to scold him for not thinking of himself first. Keeping her arm around his shoulder, he began to swim forwards in the direction Kita and Idate had left. Kari took her arm back and sank more into the water, relishing the cold temperature after the blistering heat. The four of them began to swim towards Nagi island, Kari able to go at a reasonable pace despite her coughing fits.

-----x-----

Idate and Kita soon arrived at the shore of Nagi island after swimming as fast as they could. Idate clung to the rocks, panting heavily, while Kita struggled to get a decent grip with her small claws.

"Now that I've come this far…" Idate panted, but stopped when a shadow was cast over him.

"It's been a while, Idate," the green haired rain-nin said.

"Y-you're…!" Idate cried.

"I taught you not to believe in others." He grasped the handle of his umbrella. "You're a real baka."

"Rokusho Aoi," Idate hissed while holding his shoulder. He'd managed to hoist himself onto land, Kita somehow managing to scramble up the rocks and land next to him.

"Didn't you run away?" Aoi asked, mauve eyes taunting. "Isn't running away your specialty?"

"Urusai!" Idate shouted. "I'm not like you!"

"Iie, you are the same kind of person as I am. A person who believes in no one… a traitor. Betraying your own brother, abandoning your village… The lowest kind of person who thinks of no one but himself. A person like that has no right to live...."

Kita felt her hackles rise but struggled to stay calm. Okaasan had always told her to avoid enemies as she was still little, and to hide and observe. But Idate was in trouble and the enemy knew of her presence, though not of her intelligence or skills. Similarly, she knows nothing about him, other than he has an umbrella which he seems to use as a weapon. Her eyes followed the umbrella as it was thrown into the air, but quickly snapped back to Aoi's hand where four senbon were.

"Die!" Aoi shouted flinging the senbon right at them.

-----x-----

"Sakura-chan, Kari-chan daijoubu?" Naruto asked. Sakura nodded but Kari just increased her speed, seeming to become suddenly worried.

"More importantly, those ame shinobi," Sasuke said slowing and beginning to wade the water. Kari concentrated, but couldn't pinpoint the ame-nin's locations. She knew they weren't too far, but couldn't tell where. Also, though she could sense their Chakra, she couldn't catch they're scent.

"Heh! Those guys aren't much of a concern dattebayou," Naruto said confidently as he and Sakura also stopped, continuing to kick to remain above water.

"No it's not that, if they've gone towards Idate-san…" Sakura said worriedly and Kari wanted to pull her hair out, Idate was in danger! They had to keep moving! She couldn't leave them unless they were ambushed by ame-nin yet they were just floating about! It just so happened that the smoke inhalation and made Kari's throat so sore she had temporarily lost her voice.

"Ah! Then Idate's in danger!" Naruto cried in realisation.

"That's what I've been saying!" Sakura cried. Naruto suddenly gasped as he was dragged underwater. "Geez, Naruto. Now's not the time to be playing around!" Sakura scolded as Kari dived under the surface.

"That's not it! They've come!" Sasuke cried, following Kari's lead. Kari quickly swam after Naruto and was grabbed by another ame-nin and dragged after Naruto, deeper into the water. Her eyes widened when she noticed Mizu Bunshin appear. She grimaced, needing to cough; she slammed a hand over her mouth and nose. But two clones wrapped themselves around her arms dragging them away from her face. Looking up, she saw Sakura and Sasuke get grabbed too. A few bubbles escaped Kari's mouth and she began to struggle, yet another clone grabbing hold of her.

Naruto managed to elbow and kick his way free from the clone holding him and the two surrounding them. He quickly did his Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, but was caught again by more clones.

"How stupid of you. A Kage Bunshin is meaningless in this situation. Under the water, there is no technique superior to the Mizu Bunshin no jutsu. Even if you try to deceive us, the original is here in my hands," the ame-nin said. The clones landed at the bottom and put one hand in the middle. Kari smirked weakly, a small cough forcing more bubbles from her mouth. The salt water made her cough even more, making the last of her air escape from her mouth. Her lungs burned in desperate need of oxygen but she clamped her mouth shut, black beginning to appear at the edges of her vision. The Kage Bunshin all made a Rasengan, which they held in a circle, creating a whirlpool, causing the Mizu clones to dissolve into bubbles. It was an application of the first step in the Rasengan training.

Freed from their hold, Sasuke and Sakura immediately headed towards the surface, but Sakura lost her breath too soon and felt water enter her mouth. Acting quickly, Naruto grabbed hold of her and started swimming up. Sasuke took two deep breaths before diving back under. At the sight of him, the ame-nin holding Kari dropped her, and retreated after the others.

'Baka…' Sasuke thought, linking his arms around her waist and pushing off the bottom kicking as fast as he could to get to the surface. When he broke the barrier between water and air he hoisted Kari onto his back, climbing onto the waters surface, following Naruto's example with Sakura and piggybacking her.

"Hold on Sakura-chan! Hang tight Sakura-chan!" In his desperate attempt to get to the shore quickly, Naruto tripped over a rock and fell face first onto the sand. Sasuke pulled Kari off his back and laid her on the sand.

'Sasuke-kun…' Sakura thought as she opened her eyes slightly, seeing Sasuke not too far away. 'If it's with Sasuke-kun then I want him to do it… Artificial respiration…' Oh her heart was beating so fast! But when she dared open her eyes again, it was to see Naruto with a fish like expression, intending to do the job she wanted Sasuke to do. She screamed and imaediately punched Naruto over the head.

"Naruto what the heck do you think you were doing ahou!!" she screeched. She looked round at Sasuke and her anger immediately faded away. "Sasuke-kun?"

"She's not breathing…" Sasuke said his ear against Kari's chest, unable to hear a heartbeat or feel the rise and fall of her chest. "She's not breathing…"

"Kari-chan!" Naruto cried scrambling over and grasping her shoulder. She was terribly pale, her skin starting to take a blue tinge. Her lips were a purplish blue and her open eyes were dull, the pupils fully dilated. "K-Kari-chan!"

"Urusai usuratonkachi!" Sasuke shouted linking his hands and placing them over her heart, he gave a sharp press and then released, repeat, repeat, repeat.

"S-Sasuke-kun," Sakura began holding her arms to her chest in terror.

"Urusai!" Press, press, press. He stopped taking hold of her head and tilted it back. Pinching her nose, he released all of the air in his lungs into her. When he received no response, he started compressions again. Press, press, press, wait, no response, press, press, press.

"K-K-Kari-chan," Naruto said, taking hold of her limp hand. He took off her glove and grasped her hand, it was so cold, so cold…

"I told you to shut up!" Sasuke shouted and Naruto grit his teeth as Sakura began to sniffle. Sasuke forced air through her mouth, but again received no response. Swinging his leg over her he used more force with each compression. Press, press, press—CRACK! He jumped at the feel of a rib fracturing, his hands starting to shake. Sakura was starting to sob, and Naruto had silent tears sliding down his cheeks. "Baka, wake up, you need to wake up…" He went back to her side and tilted her head back.

"Sa-Sasuke-kun…"

"Quiet!" Sasuke hissed, his Sharingan flaring. "Kari, Kari listen to me, you have to wake up!" Sasuke said pinching her nose before exhaling into her again.

"Sasuke! Her heart! It's beating! Its beating dattebayou!" Naruto cried, his hand pressed against her chest, not daring to moves should the soft thumping fade. Sasuke leant back and sighed in relief as Sakura's hiccups began to ease. He turned her onto her side and she emptied the water in her lungs next to Naruto's leg. She then turned back onto her back. "Matte…" Naruto said, his voice quiet putting Sasuke on edge. "Kari-chan doushita?" Naruto asked.

She was staring blankly ahead, thick red tears trickling down her cheeks.

"We have no time to waste," Sasuke said remembering the mission. Naruto shot him a dirty look and wiped Kari's tears. The Uchiha pulled her to her feet, taking her arm around his shoulder to support her, the other around her back, his hand on her hip. "We need to hurry up and meet with Idate—Baka! Matte!" Sasuke cried when Kari suddenly shot forward, as the first drops of rain sank into the earth.

-----x-----

"Hm, Fukusuke should be arriving at Todoroki shrine about now," Aoi said. "There is no way you can win now, you can no longer stand, let alone run. By the time the poison circulates through your body, you will arrive at a different goal… A goal called the otherworld." Idate reached forward, trying desperately to reach his knife. "What do you intend to do with such a dirty knife?" He bent down to pick it up but Idate slapped his hand away and grabbed it.

"Don't touch it!"

"Hm, you don't quite understand your status yet do you?" Aoi asked, stamping on the hand clutching the knife.

'I'm sorry boss… I couldn't keep the promise I made…'

"All you need to do is run away forever. You are not allowed to even have the slightest pride—Eh?" As Aoi had gone to stamp on Idate a girl had shot forward and shielded him.

"IDATE!!" Naruto cried as he Sasuke and Sakura caught up. Idate was lying on his back, thoroughly beaten. Kita lay a few feet away, from the look of it, kicked into a rock. "Temee! Temee are you the leader of those ame shinobi?!" Sakura ran over to Kita and picked her up bringing her over while she checked on Idate.

"Yappari, it was too much for them to handle. Even though both sides were Genins it seems Konoha's Genins are indeed tough."

"How terrible," Sakura said, looking at Idate's injuries.

"But as a Genin, will you be a match for me?" Aoi asked.

"Urusai!" Naruto shouted and he and Sasuke immediately sprang forward, but their Taijutsu was easily evaded.

"Above!" Sasuke shouted. Kari shot forward and pulled Naruto and Sasuke down, wings sprouting from her back as high pressure water struck them all.

"Yappari, weak. I will send you to your deaths, the same was as Idate" Aoi said pulling out sixteen senbon, two between each finger. "There is no reason for me to waste any Chakra."

"Duck!" Naruto shouted, but it was too late, and all of them were hit and fell to the cround. Naruto was hit with four, two in his left knee, two in his left shoulder.

"Those are Amegakure's special poison needles. No matter how strong your body is, you'll leave this world in a few minutes."

"Don't take us so lightly," Naruto said forcing himself to his feet, but falling immediately after. They could hear cheers in the distance, and tilted their heads to the sound.

"It appears Fukusuke made it to Todoroki shrine. Die, gasping for breath. It's the perfect way for a Genin brat to die," with that Aoi jumped away, disappearing into the rain.

-----x-----

"Is it the Wagarashi Family's victory again?" one man asked disappointed as Fukusuke ran up the steps.

"Is there no justice in this world?"

"I remember those good times when Jirochou was the leader…"

After collecting the stone, Fukusuke headed to the cabin sitting down on the porch.

"Man, its bad. I'm soaking wet," Fukusuke whined.

"It's just as we expected of you Fukusuke-san," a man said handing him a towel. "Please run all the way to the goal and make boss happy."

"Don't underestimate me you hooligans!" Fukusuke snapped. "Who do you think I am? My victory is already decided. Let me take it easy for a bit." He took off his shoes and walked inside.

"You arrogant bastard…"

-----x-----

"K'so," Naruto hissed, pulling out the last two of his needles. Sasuke had managed to pull out his three, and helped Sakura with the two in her back. Kari gently removed the one that had caught Kita, reassuring the small cub.

"Kari-chan, you need to take yours out," Sakura said gently. The wolf-kunoichi had seemed highly on edge, almost wild, making Sakura feel a little wary of her. "Sasuke-kun?" Sasuke had stood and walked towards Kari, ignoring the soft growl directed at him. He bent down in front of her and she hissed at him.

"Naruto, hold her still," Sasuke instructed as Kari started backing away. Naruto, surprisingly did as he was told, somehow knowing he was the only one she would voluntarily let near her at the moment.

"Ne, Kari-chan it's okay dattebayou," Naruto said softly as he gently took hold of her arms. "They've got to come out or you'll hurt more." Sasuke went to reach for the first needle but she lurched back, baring her canines.

"You need to hold her more securely, don't let her move," Sasuke said and Naruto's arms wrapped around her small form, trying to avoid the needles. As Sasuke grabbed hold of the end of the senbon, Kai started hissing trying to thrash away from him. He pulled it out quickly, he eyed the other five that needed to come out and tried to figure out the best course of action.

"Sasuke-kun, do you want me to…" Sakura began.

"No," Sasuke said cutting her off. "Something's really bothering her and until she decides to talk about it she's just going to wind herself up more and more," he glanced at Sakura for a moment. "She'd never forgive herself if she hurt you." Kari seemed to calm down slightly after that, and went somewhat limp, allowing Sasuke to remove the rest of the needles, including the two in her back.

"Naruto, Sasuke-kun," Sakura said holding out a small container. "Use this."

"Sakura-chan, isn't that…?" Naruto asked.

"Tsunade-sama gave this to me before we left Konohagakure," Sakura explained.

"Tsunade no Obaachan ne?" Naruto asked. She placed one in Idate's mouth before taking one herself.

"Sasuke-kun, Kari-chan, Naruto, Kita, take these too," she instructed, holding out four pills. The boys immediately took theirs. "We need to find shelter or we'll get hypothermia out here," Sakura said, glancing at Kari who seemed to have become unresponsive, though still conscious. Naruto was the one who helped her take her pill, and then helped Kita, before scooping Kari up into his arms. Sasuke and Sakura went to support Idate.

"Ne, there's a cave not too far from here," Kita said as the rain started coming down heavier. She motioned with her paw and the others followed until they came to a medium sized cave. Naruto placed Kari against the cave wall, concerned at her blank expression while Sakura laid Idate down gently.

"Kari," Sasuke said crouching in front of her. "Doushita?" He scowled slightly when he received no response. "Oi, baka."

"Leave her be Sasuke," Naruto said, sitting down on the opposite side as Kita buried herself into his lap when thunder grumbled above them. She shivered at the strange noise and pressed herself against Naruto's stomach.

"We wont be able to complete the mission when she's like this," Sasuke said, fixing her with a hard stare.

"Just leave her alone dattebayou," Naruto said with a scowl. She was upset and needed space, she'd tried to rip his hand off when he pulled out the needles.

"Not until she talks."

"Sasuke! Just leave it!" Naruto shouted making Kita flinch slightly.

"Do you know what's wrong?" Sasuke snapped back.

"Naruto, Sasuke-kun…" Sakura began.

"Stay out of this!" Sasuke said shutting her up immediately.

"Don't talk to Sakura-chan like that!"

"Don't tell me what to do!"

"Uru—Kari-chan! Matte! MATTE!" Naruto shouted as she suddenly sprang to her feet and raced out into the rain. "Now look what you did!"

"Me? That was your fault!"

"Yamero!" Sakura shouted as lightning flashed through the sky, making Kita scream. "Just… Just stop. Someone needs to go after her before she gets sick. Naruto--"

"I'll go," Sasuke said standing up.

"Like hell you will! You just make things worse!" Naruto said. Lightning and thunder struck simultaneously making Kita shriek and whimper.

"Just stay here usuratonkachi!" Sasuke shouted turning and racing into the rain.

"Sasuke-kun…" Sakura said sadly.

"He doesn't understand her," Naruto mumbled, pulling Kita up into his arms, his fingers coming through her damp snowy fur. "He doesn't know her like I do…"

"Naruto?" Sakura asked.

"Kari-chan doesn't like showing her pain, she doesn't share it, she doesn't talk about it, she hides it and tries to deal with it alone," Naruto said and Sakura wondered if he was talking to her, or simply talking to himself. "She scared of showing her pain, so she lashes out to keep him away. But he just keeps pushing and she feels like she's being pushed into a corner…"

"Naruto, what are you saying?" Sakura asked, not understanding.

"Kari-chan doesn't like feeling trapped…" Naruto murmured so lowly Sakura couldn't catch the end over the storm. "She doesn't like being trapped physically or mentally."

-----x-----

"Kari!" Sasuke yelled. He looked around trying to keep his sopping wet bangs out of his eyes. The rain was creating sheets of water, lowering visibility. He growled slightly, looking around. He had to be the one to go, he was fastest compared to the other two, he could deal with her if she lashed out. "Kari! Doku ka?!"

He activated his Sharingan, glancing around in search of Chakra. He managed to catch sight of some faint Chakra and followed it, pushing himself to run faster knowing if he stalled he'd never be able to catch her. His brows furrowed as he was seeing more and more Chakra. He finally caught up to her, seeing her standing in a clearing, Chakra softly radiating off her body.

His instinct told him to keep quiet, as though any movement would alert her to his presence and like a wolf she would lunge and kill him. But that was preposterous, this was Kari, not some monstrous predator.

"Kari," Sasuke said, stepping forward. She ignored him so he continued towards her. "Kari you've got to go back to the cave, you'll get sick."

"You'd think so wouldn't you?" she murmured airily, as though remarking on the weather. "But would I?"

"Of course you would baka," Sasuke said confused, his pace slowing as he approached her from behind. "Anyone would get sick standing out in the freezing rain and you're already naturally cold."

"Hai… samui. What do you think the reason for that is?"

"Poor circulation, you said that before," Sasuke said stopping behind her. "You said that's why you're hands and feet were cold."

"And didn't you say, back in Nami, 'no living being feels this cold'?"

"I thought you were dead," Sasuke said starting to become nervous by the simple way she was speaking. He stepped around going to her side.

"But was I ever really alive Sasuke?" she asked simply, turning dark eyes onto him. They were almost as dark as his, and so horribly empty. They almost appeared blind, had she not been looking directly at him.

"What are you getting at?" Sasuke whispered, feeling a sense of dread.

"I have no parents, my memories are faded images that make little sense, I'm cold…"

"Kari?"

"I was never born Sasuke. I am not a reincarnation. I'm the twin that died both times, as the sacrifice in the Torai-Kenshi sealing."

-----Ame-nin Attack, The Sea, Kari's perspective-----

The crushing pressure disappeared, and I no longer felt the need to breathe. I felt as though I was floating in this thick darkness. I was just… there. I didn't understand why I felt so numb, as though I had been trapped in an iceberg for a long period of time. It felt hauntingly familiar. But then again, I had passed out underwater, it was cold after all.

When I managed to open my eyes, it was still relatively dark but I could pick out the familiar Chakra's of the Torai-Kenshi. I supposed that I was here because my life was in danger, and they were tied to my soul. But I knew it was more than that, a feeling of dread and loss.

"I say we put the brat out its misery," Kumouri had said, with a throaty chuckle. Her voice still had that familiar growl, the vicious mix of feminine and masculine tones that sends horrible chills down your spine. But this time, I felt nothing…

"You want to increase her misery Kumouri-san" Kokoro corrected, her voice like the wind, a soft breeze that could increase to a stormy gale. Ah yes, a storm had been coming hadn't it?

"Does this feeling feel familiar?" Kumouri said, her deep growling a mocking coo. "The feel of death?"

Death? I was merely passed out wasn't I?

"You're heart has stopped Kari-chan, you no longer breathe, you are classified as dead," Kitai gentle voice said, like that of nightingale song. But it was soft and sorrowful, as though she was explaining that someone close to me had died. But then again, hadn't they said I'd died?

"Stop your blubbering kitsune," Kumouri snarled, but that mocking coo was back far too soon. "You're used to this feeling aren't you little pup? This darkness, my darkness is familiar to you, no matter how mild it is due to the fox's shelter. Do you know why this feels familiar?"

"Kumouri-chan don't—"

"Silence! This child is mine, and you took her from my depths because the last one died! Sweet little Kirei, she knew how to kill well…"

Kirei? Wasn't that Kitome and Kaizo's daughter that died in the last part of pregnancy, stabbed through head and heart?

"Oh yes, she was the child of the angel and the beast. Kirei was a good girl and destroyed everything in her path under my power. But that STUPID fox got to her, poisoned her with sweet regret and guilt when she was a little younger than you. She used her power to go back in time, and killed her unborn self with her own hand."

She killed herself? But why?

"She was born with us, and at such a young age was influenced so easily. Kumouri-chan managed to control her more than us, and shaped her into a bloodthirsty monster. For the most part, she ignored my pleas, but when she passed her tenth year, she began to hear me, began to listen. The world was in tatters, almost destroyed. After many months she finally had enough light in her to go back, and stopped her birth, stopping the destruction and horror," Kitai explained while Kumouri growled.

"I am influenced by balance, Kumouri-san's strength converted me into darkness," Kokoro explained. "For her painful life before, Kirei was reincarnated into another dimension without war and shinobi. The small memories and visions you had come from her reincarnation 'Kara'"

So I wasn't the reincarnation? Then who was I? How was I born? I felt Kumouri's laugh and glee, and I knew, somehow I just knew…

"You are the sacrifice! You, my little ko, were never born. You were our sacrifice, sold to us for your sisters lives! Kirei and Kara were allowed to live, while you were cast to me, your spirit kept neutral and unaware, never allowed to experience life!"

I… I never lived? But then, then how? How am I here now?

"Kara was Kirei's balance. She was to live life as a civilian, a simple, pain free life." Kitai explained. "Kirei was so tainted by pain her reincarnation was born pure. Kumouri could not be a part of her."

"And so, you were pulled out of the depths of death after twelve years and were forced into a life of suffering," Kumouri cackled with glee and I became aware of a crushing pressure in my chest.

"It hurts doesn't it ko? You were never born, never loved, never missed by those you thought you'd left behind… Your mother and father never loved you, your friends were never yours, and now, you're merely a Chakra filled ghost, a child of fate and a container for the need of balance. You never even existed."

-----x-----

"What do you mean?" Sasuke asked as her eyes began to leak ruby drops a smile spreading across her face as her sanity began to crack. The Chakra began to thicken and lightning struck one of the trees, flashes of orange and gold sprouting from the leaves.

"Everything was a lie, everyone I believed loved me, everyone I worried missed me, everything was a lie."

"Kari we've got to get out of here, the fire!"

"Everything was a lie…"

"Kari, Kari listen to me!" Sasuke shouted grabbing hold of my shoulders.

"I was never born… I'm meant to be in the dark…"

"Kari!"

"I'm not supposed to be alive…"

"KARI!"

"I'm merely a Chakra filled ghost, a child of fate and a container for the need of balance… I never even existed…"

"KARI!!" The sound of the slap seemed to echo and the back of his hand stung from the force of the hit. She'd stopped muttering and simply stared blankly to the left, her right cheek reddening from the hit. Her Chakra settled, simmering beneath her skin. " G-gomen…" Sasuke found himself stammering. "Kari I didn't mean to…" he caught her when her body gave out, sinking to his knees. "Gomen…"

He just… He couldn't bear it. Watching her break in front of him and look as though she was loosing her mind. Didn't she understand the people she had now? That he and Naruto, and everyone else cared about her? He picked up her knees and she lay still against him, the rain pelting them relentlessly. Wordlessly, he turned back, going back to the cave.

-----x-----

"Sasuke-kun you're soaked!" Sakura cried, ushering him towards the fire. "Are you alright, you look like you've seen a ghost!" He glanced back at Kari, whom he'd left at her previous place at the wall. Naruto had immediately rushed over, wrapping his jacket around her. Naruto was the best person for hr now, he was the only one who would be able to get through to her.

If… If Naruto had gone… Would it have been better? He wouldn't have hit her, he knew that much. Sasuke had noticed how Naruto had eyed the bruise spreading across the side of her face, and was almost certain the blonde boy had shot a glance his way immediately after. Naruto pulled her into his lap and began to murmur something to her, and to the Uchiha's surprise, she responded.

He couldn't hear their hushed tones, but noticed how she replied and curled closer to Naruto, possibly starting to cry. Why hadn't she opened up and clung to him while he was there? Did she think he would push her away? Sasuke wouldn't lie, he had little knowledge when it came to comfort, but… he would have tried.

After a while Naruto carried her closer to the fire, wrapping his jacket and then his arms tighter around her. That tight lipped glare let Sasuke know Kari had told him where that bruise had come from, yet he hadn't acted, probably at her request.

Oblivious to the tension, Idate decided to awake.

"He's awake!" Kita said, the thunder sending shivers and whimpers through her, but she had calmed considerably since Kari's return.

"Daijoubu?" Sakura asked. She hadn't missed the tension between her team, and was worried by the awful state Kari seemed to be in. But she knew she couldn't help, so turned her attention to Idate.

"Where is he, what happened to Aoi?" Idate asked.

"He disappeared. So that ame shinobi is called Aoi?" Sasuke asked, putting his emotionless demeanour back up, not wanting their charge to see his messed up state.

"Idate-san, do you know him?" Sakura asked.

"He was my teacher when I was in Konoha," Idate said.

"You're from Konoha?" Naruto asked, also seeming to try and act normal. He wasn't succeeding like Sasuke who was used to it, Naruto cheer seemed to have temporarily died.

"Aoi betrayed Konoha no sato and became a Jounin in Amegakure," Idate explained.

"What exactly do you mean dattebayou?" Naruto asked as Idate tried to sit up.

"Aah! It's still too early," Sakura cried eyeing his bleeding leg. "You need time to rest a bit more. Can I bandage your arm?" Idate lifted his hand, seeing his knife. "Your hand was clasped such this whole time."

"Tch, after I came all the way here…" Idate said. "I'm such a…!"

"It's still too early to give up dattebayou!" Naruto said. "More importantly, you're a former Konoha shinobi?"

"I've completely forgotten Konoha, ever since that day, I threw away my home country," Idate said.

"Thrown away your home country?" Sakura repeated.

"I failed the first Chuunin exam and didn't know what to do…" Idate began.

-----Three years ago-----

"That was close Idate," Aoi said apologetically. Idate looked away from him. "Now, now don't be so down. There are ways other than taking the Chuunin exam to become a Chuunin."

"Hontou desu ka?!" Idate cried.

"Aa, hontou. Do what I tell you to do."

"Hai!"

And so Idate did what he was told, and met Aoi later that night where they had arranged.

"Aoi-sensei?"

"Idate."

"I brought it just like you told me to," Idate said, holding out what he had.

"Aa, that is indeed the sealed scroll and the legendary Raijin no ken the Nidaime Hokage supposedly used," Aoi said. "You did well Idate."

"Now I can become a Chuunin right?!" Idate asked excitedly.

"Aa, you can. In Amegakure no sato that is. You will escape with me from Konoha no sato with this as a souvenir. It's obvious, there's no way they'll let you go after you stole one of the village treasures."

"Did you deceive me?!" Idate cried angrily.

"To survive in this world, one must never trust another. Remember that. Saa, what will you do Idate? Either way, you're now an exiled ninja. At best, you'll be locked up in jail for the rest of your life."

-----x-----

"And since that day I haven't been back to Konoha no sato. I am a half-willed guy who can't do anything right. But boss Jirochou trusted me! I still haven't done anything for him in return. The boss believed in a guy like me, who hasn't been of any use to him. But, I…!"

'He… He's just like me…' Naruto thought, remembering when Mizuki used the same trick to get Naruto to steal a forbidden scroll of techniques, promising he'd become a genin. That was the night Naruto found out about Kyuubi, and realised Iruka-sensei cared about his existence. He felt Kari's cold fingers interlace with his, remembering him, even while lost in her own pain.

"I'm really a good-for-nothing guy…" Idate said, as his tears came. "I run around in circles, never finishing what I start. It's just as Aoi said, I don't have the right to live!"

"Baka!" Naruto shouted, he hadn't missed Kari's flinch at the end of Idate's sentence. "There's one person that believes in you, right?!" His hand tightened around hers, and he worried that he was hurting her, but she squeezed back, silently telling him it was okay. "One is enough!"

"The race isn't over yet! You never know until the very end! Get up!" Naruto said grabbing hold of Idate's arm.

"He can't Naruto! Idate-san's body is still…" Sakura said.

"If he can't run then I'll carry him and run!" Naruto said stubbornly.

"And what of Kari-chan? She's hypothermic Naruto and that rattling in her lungs is a sign of pneumonia!" Sakura cried, knowing she was hitting a sensitive nerve.

"Kari-chan will be fine," Naruto said, supporting her as she stood next to him. "Kita-chan will help her!" he said as Kita trotted over, having transformed into a larger wolf.

"My opponent's probably at Todoroki shrine by now," Idate said.

"Don't give up!"

"Naruto!" Sakura scolded by Sasuke grabbed her wrist, stopping her from interfering. "Sasuke-kun…?"

"Leave this matter to Naruto," Sasuke said.

"Boss Jirochou's waiting for you, right?! Put your spirit into it! If you give up here, you'll be a loser for the rest of your life! For the sake of the person who's waiting for you… show me your true strength dattebayou!"

"I can sense him," Kari said speaking quietly. "He's still waiting for you Idate."

"Naruto… Kari… take me there!"

"Aa! Leave it to us!" Naruto cried and Kari put his jacket back on him before he hoisted Idate onto his back. Kita went between Kari's legs, lifting her Momma onto her back before following Naruto into the rain.

-----x-----

"Eheheheeee! Come! Drink up! Sing!" Fukusuke squealed to the two girls keeping him company.

"Yare, yare, you've partied a bit too much for a pre-emptive celebration," Aoi said.

"Did you finish him off?"

"Aa. More importantly, the rain has let up. Why don't you hurry and finish this farce of a race?"

"Heh! Alright, I'll run!"

-----x-----

"Up there?" Naruto asked.

"Aa."

"These are some really high stairs dattebayou," Naruto said, not able to see the shrine at the top. Kari slid off Kita's back and sprouted her wings.

"There also known as the 'heart-breaking stone stairs'," Idate added.

"Interesting, I'll run all the way up in a single dash!" Naruto cried enthusiastically while Kari propelled upwards. Naruto running below her.

"You've got to be kidding me," Sakura said, looking at the impossibly high stairs.

"What stamina they have," Sasuke said.

"Say you," Idate said.

"Huh?!"

"Just to clear up any confusion, it's not like I'm trusting you yet."

"Aa, hai, hai, I don't care," Naruto said and kept on running.

"During the Chuunin exam… You said there was a tenth question they asked right?" Idate asked.

"Aa, it was a strange question asking if we really wanted to take the test or something," Naruto asked.

"Three years ago when I was taking the exam, they asked a similar question. Where you had to choose between staying, where one of your team would fail and never be able to become a Chuunin, or to leave and retake the exam in six months. Yourfuture or your comrades."

"Sou ka. Kari-chan would have left saying we were a team, and if one of them had to fail, she would leave then so we could pass," Naruto said with a small smile.

"What kind of exam was it for you guys?" Idate asked.

"Hmm… I completely forgot, more like I didn't understand his explanations dattebayou."

"I remained, believing in the words of my brother, yet I failed! There was no way I could agree with that, so I approached my brother and asked him about it. He told me that if I didn't know I should quit being a ninja, and find out the answer with my own power. Even now I do not know the answer to that question."

"So after that you were tricked by Aoi?"

"Aa."

"We made it to the top dattebayou!" Naruto cheered as the Wasabi family all cheered at Idate's arrival. Naruto fell over, exhausted by the climb and Kari landed next to him, wings folded.

"From here on I will go by myself," Idate said standing up. "You rest."

"Aa?! You're still saying things like that?" Naruto cried.

"I can no longer accept any help. There would be no meaning if I couldn't win with my own power!" Idate cried running forward.

"Eh? Oi! Idate!"

Idate ran forward and grabbed the blue sphere.

"Starting now, I'm taking back my lead!"

-----x-----

"So across this bridge is Oouzu Island," Fukusuke said.

"You'd better hurry up, Idate has arrived at Todoroki shrine," Aoi said, appearing next to him.

"NANI?"

"It appears we underestimated the Konoha Genins."

"Temee! Didn't you get rid of them?!" Fukusuke shouted.

"Now is not the time to be saying that. Hurry and cross the bridge please," Aoi requested.

"Geez you're a useless ninja."

"Oi." Aoi got him in a chokehold. "I'm only helping you because its my job. If you don't keep your mouth shut, next time I'll kill you."

"S-sumimasen…"

"If you get the idea then get moving."

"H-h-hai!!"

-----x-----

"I see him, it's Fukusuke!" Idate cried, rushing forwards but he was thrown back by a charge of electricity.

"Impressive," Aoi commented, landing in front of him. "I didn't expect you to make it this far." Seeing Fukusuke was safely across the bridge, he cut the bottom part free.

"Yamero!" Idate cried, but was thrown back.

"Quit doing useless things," Aoi said. "There is no way anyone can withstand the very sword that the Nidaime was said to have used, the Raijin no ken. You should know that very well, since you were the one that stole it." Aoi opened his umbrella to shield him from the surprise attack. "A mudball? That's how a kid would fight."

"Well sorry I'm a little short on kunai," Naruto said grinning.

"Naruto?! Kari!"

"But the next one you won't be able to avoid with something like that," Naruto said. "Kage Bunshin no jutsu!" He sent three Kage Bunshin forward while he prepared his Rasengan with another clone, but the Raijin no ken sliced through the clones like butter and blocked the Rasengan with ease.

"I don't know what you're trying to do, but…" Naruto was thrown back. Kari clenched her teeth, her Chakra low from her emotional breakdown. "Ninpou, Jouro Senbon!" Kari rushed to shield him, but he still got seven in his legs. "Too bad, the Raijin no ken will cut through anything, even a ball of Chakra."

"Naruto! Kari!" Idate cried in alarm, but froze when the sword was directed towards him.

"I suppose I should be certain about it, to prevent any further trouble," Aoi said.

"Your opponent is me! Don't lay a hand on Idate!" Naruto cried.

"You're still saying such things? Helping one another, defending one another, trusting one another, such things irritate me. Weak people can only live with the support of one another, that's why they believe in one another so easily, and that's why they are easily betrayed. Weaklings like you should of run away for safety. Ne, Idate? Just like the time you stole this Raijin no ken."

-----Three years ago-----

"I can see it, just ahead is Amegakure no sato," Aoi said, he paused and then jumped into the trees.

"Aoi-sensei?" Idate asked and he started when a chain wrapped around his ankle. "Aoi-sensei!"

"Idate."

"Aniki?" Idate asked, seeing his brother and two ANBU appear.

"Baka! Hurry back to the village and hand yourself in!" Ibiki shouted while Idate shook his head fearfully. "Do you have any idea what you've done?!" The two ANBU were struck down, and Ibiki looked up to see himself surrounded by Ame shinobi.

"As always you are strict, despite the fact he is your own brother," Aoi said, hanging upside down. "However, it is very convenient for me that you came here. This forbidden scroll cannot be interpreted by anyone below Jounin level. I'll have you both betray Konoha."

*

Ibiki cried out as electricity surged through his body.

"Ibiki-san, interpret the scroll already," Aoi said simply, the Raijin no ken in his hand. He had tied both brothers to a chair and had tried to beat the information out the Jounin who now sported a black eye and a cut across his face.

"I refuse."

"Are you going to choose death with Idate?"

"He is also a shinobi, he does not fear death."

"It doesn't look like it," Aoi said. "This expression is one that has been taken over by fear."

"I quit being a ninja! I'm going to quit being a ninja! So don't kill me! Please!" Idate cried.

"Please interpret it already. You don't want to see your kawaii otouto die now do you?"

"My otouto? That fool?"

"Aniki…"

"A threat of that calibre is useless against me."

"Oi Ibiki, is Konohagakure no sato that precious to you? Even if you protect it with your life, you're merely a pawn!"

"Heh, is that why you betrayed us? What a pitiful man you are."

"You bastard!" Aoi cried, but was caught off guard when Ibiki use his legs to trip him, and then followed it up with a head butt sending Aoi crashing face first into a pot. He started screaming covering his bleeding forehead. The fall had managed to loosen Ibiki's strings enough to free one of his arms and he pulled a blade from his sandal and threw it at Idate's binds setting his brother free.

"Idate, run!"

"What about you aniki?"

"I'll take care of things here first."

"In your dreams!" Aoi screeched. Ibiki spat out an ember into the oil the pot had been holding before it broke and flames erumpted.


"Aniki!"

"Hurry up and go!"

"Demo aniki!"

"Go! You'll be a burden if you stay!"

"Like I would let you," Aoi hissed.

"GO!"

Ibiki turned and ran looking back at the house. He flinched and covered his face when the house burst into flames his brother still inside…

-----x-----

"It's disgusting to think he'd risk his life for an idiot like you," Aoi said. "After that, you just ran and ran. You could've run back to the village and called for help. But you didn't. I won't listen to excuses like 'I thought he was dead.' In fact, he was alive. On the other hand Ibiki was a great man, not only bearing repeated torture without spilling a word, but escaping with that forbidden scroll as well. I can't believe all of that was done for the sake of his good-for-nothing brother. You betrayed your village, abandoned your brother and were only able to think of yourself. You don't even believe in your blood relative Ibiki who risked his life to save you. Afraid of your sin, you couldn't even trust your home village. You believe in no one and no one believes in you. For me, there has never been a student as great as you. As a gift, I will let you die in a split second," Aoi said as he raised his sword.