A/N: Last update about Wave for a few chapters. Up next, I have a chapter apiece for each of the other genin teams and one extra for some background on a certain important things. You could call it filler, but I prefer to think of it as the development of supporting characters and the setting. Truthfully, though, you could probably skip the next four chapters after this one and not be lost.
"THIS IS FREAKING AWESOME!" a cry from the front of the ship went up.
The Shuurai was proving to be a fast vessel. They were using the hidden engine right now as they chased after a diesel powered ship with 'Gato Shipping' plastered all over it. As such, they were smashing through swells, and Hotaka was enjoying his position at the front of the ship.
"DISTANCE?" Hiroto, at the tiller, shouted to him.
"TWO-HUNDRED METERS," came his students reply, followed by a whoop as they crested a particularly large wave.
Close enough for Hiroto, "Stormy, hold this course please."
I will do as you say, the spirits voice resonated in his mind. Masaru's seal tag on his arm was allowing him to communicate with it directly, Though, I wish you would stop using that simplistic moniker.
Hiroto ignored the spirit's grumblings to hop up to the port side railing. He had a decent view of the back of Gato's ship, so he began a series of signs for one of the few offensive Suiton he knew.
"Suiton: Hahonryu," he incanted due to his rare use of the ability.
Instead of producing water with his own chakra, he pulled a mass of it up from the sea. The water swirled above his hand for a moment before shooting in a high pressure jet at their target. He aimed the jet below the water line where the screws and rudder were. His aim was good enough as the ship began to turn to port sharply.
"GOOD SHOT, SENSEI!" he heard Masaru shout from his spot in the crows nest. He had been the one to spot their current prey.
The Shuurai moved parallel to the enemy ship, and the three shinobi leapt the gap. Taking down Gato's sailors as they made their way down to the hold. What they found there disgusted them. Stuck in chains were people from all over the continent. The ship was a slaver.
XxXxXxX
Dozing in a tree, Osamu's mind drifted. It had been two days since the rest of the team had left, and he was waiting near the road to Shun for Gato's inevitable response to its liberation. It was Yancha's turn to watch, so he felt fine catching a quick nap since the past two days were spent working hard to prep his killing field.
The plan was simple really. Get whoever was coming into the kill zone and cull them out one by one until one or two were left. Once he had them parred down, scare the living shit out of the last few so no one would want to come back. The only issues were the number of men Gato chose to send, and actually getting them where he needed them.
He didn't want to use the road as once Wave was out from under the rat's thumb normal people would need to use it again. They didn't need to see the gruesome remains of the coming slaughter. Osamu didn't really much want to see it either, but he was honor bound to protect these people after getting them stuck in the cross-hairs.
Osamu honestly disliked killing. He didn't feel much guilt for people like Gato and his thugs, but his gifts allowed him to see in fine detail the emotions that went through someone as they died. He favored methods that resulted in near instant death as a result. The upcoming battle was going to be nasty, though. He needed to send a powerful message, and people were going to die in terror.
A silent warning from his feline partner awakened him instantly. It was around noon. Not the best time for what he needed to do, but it wouldn't matter all that much.
Looking through the trees, he could see a ragtag band of mercenaries ambling down the road. His sleep must have been deeper than he intended, because they were rather raucous. They still had a good ten clicks to Shun along the road thanks to a serious dogleg turn. The town itself was only about five kilometers through the woods.
He crept closer to his prey so he could get a good count. Thirty of them... more than he had hoped, but still not outside of his capabilities so long as he could get them in the forest. He knew just how to do it, too.
Summoning his chakra and sending it out in a stream, he spoke and coaxed it to carry his voice to a point amongst the thugs.
"We should go through the woods," he made his voice as gruff as he could, "Take em by surprise."
"Won't that be a fucking hoot!?" one of the thugs laughed, "The looks on their faces, man..."
With all the talking that had been going on, no one took notice of the extra voice, and with one of their own taking up the line of thought, they soon were trekking off the road into the forest. To be fair, it was a tactically sound idea.
Seeing that the first real hurdle to his plan had been jumped, Osamu began a long string of signs as his unusual chakra began to come off of him in waves to settle invisibly over his prey.
"Hakushin Koutai: Shingai," he intoned quietly.
The chakra began to seep into them, but he didn't let up. He took off ahead of them, continuing to push out his hallucinogenic chakra in their path. Once to his chosen ambush sight, he ramped up his chakra expenditure, causing the whole area to be covered in it like an invisible mist. They were entering his realm now.
XxXxXxX
As they walked, the forest began to grow darker. It was minor at first, easily dismissed as the bare branches blocking the winter sun, but soon many of Gato's men were looking around confused and worried. It was as if something had simply put out the sun.
Collectively they came to a stop, and looked around warily. The trees seemed closer than they should have been and were far more gnarled than any of them had remembered the trees elsewhere on the island looking.
"Where's Taro?" someone suddenly asked in a whisper that carried farther than he intended.
Murmurs broke out as the thugs attempted to assess whether or not one of their thirty large force was there. It was soon revealed that he was indeed missing. With that realization, a new sensation rippled through them: fear.
"Let's keep moving," another man said evenly, trying to keep their heads on straight.
He was met with assent, and the ragtag band of mercenaries began to move again. This proved to be a terrible idea, as they soon ran up on something that moved their fear into the realm of terror. The head of there missing friend lay in the detritus of the forest floor, his face stuck in a rictus of agony. There was no clean sheering of the skin, something had ripped it off.
"What the fuck!" the first man to spot it nearly yelled, causing the horrible surprise to come to the attention of all.
Without even discussing it, the group moved into a tight circle two deep, backs facing inward looking for their unknown enemy.
"Taro wasn't a pushover..." someone whispered, his voice breaking a little, "What could have fucking got him?"
"Shut up!" another thug hissed at him as they all strained their ears and eyes for any sign of danger.
The last one to speak was the next one to die. He went down suddenly, screaming in pain and terror, as four deep furrows were dug into his back, something that terrified them further, since his back was towards the center of the circle. The nearest thugs were covered in his blood, and when the next one went down, his arm coming off for no apparent reason, the whole group broke.
They couldn't know their fear responses were being heightened by a subtle twist of unique chakra or that the darkness that surrounded them was in their heads. They couldn't know that their assailant, dangerous as she was, was essentially an animal covered by genjutsu to make her invisible and silent. All they knew was that something hunted them, and they had to get away.
XxXxXxX
With their prey splitting up, Osamu and Yancha did the same. Their methods were wholly different, with Osamu herding small groups into kunai launchers and pungee pits with terrifying genjutsu and Yancha simply following her hunting instincts.
From time to time, the small shinobi would approach the thugs, silent as death, and use the metal claws he'd obtained from Takashi to mutilate his victims. Anyone who dared come back through here needed to think something awful stalked these woods.
His plan was working far better than he'd hoped it would. Soon there was only one man running for his life, going in continuous circles as the genjutsu he was under bent his perceptions. There was a heavy toll on Osamu, though. Every soul of the thirty strong group had remained well within his range of spiritual sight, and he could feel their terror gnawing at his sanity as he culled them.
XxXxXxX
Ryouta ran as far and as fast as he could, but the forest never came to an end. He never saw the trees thin out, or the light of the sun return. His panic stricken face was red and covered in sweat from exertion, but he continued to run, his yellow eyes darting around, looking for danger. He swore he'd run back the way they had come, but the sinister forest was never ending.
Finally unable to continue, he stumbled to a halt and caught himself on one of the twisted trees. As he panted, catching his breath, he caught the sounds of something nearby. There was an odd squelching, and then a low growl.
That growl sent a shiver up his spine, and he moved away from it as fast as his exhausted body would allow. No matter which way he went, though, the growling always seemed ahead of him. His final attempt to turn away from it, he caught sight of another person finally.
He was young, or at least really small. He was turned away from Ryouta, and the dark didn't do much to reveal anything about him.
"H-hey, kid," Ryouta had planned to see if he knew the way out of this hell his group had stumbled into, but his voice stopped when the small figure turned his head to look at him with a glowing amber eye.
"Kid?" his, no... its voice was like a deep growl, and when it laughed an awful feeling sank into Ryouta's stomach, "I am no child, human."
It turned to face him fully, and for the most part it did look like a child. The eyes, teeth, and clawed hands marked it as something wholly different, though. The worst part was how its clothing was soaked in blood across its front side.
"Why do you intrude on my lands, human?" it cocked its head to the side, much like an animal would do when curious or confused, "Not that I didn't enjoy the free meal."
"W-what?" Gato's man regretted asking as the forest lightened enough to see behind the frightening creature.
Corpses... at least five with deep furrows carved into their bodies or limbs ripped from their torsos.
"Their souls were quite tasty seasoned with terror as they were," the creature smiled at him, showing teeth better suited to some predatory mammal than a human child, "You are lucky, though. I require a messenger, and you shall be it."
The false child began to walk forward slowly, and Ryouta instantly wanted to run again, but found himself rooted in place.
His fear only grew as the childlike form in front of him began to change. Its body began to grow, soon topping him in height and putting on enough bulk to make a bear look puny. Its mouth and nose pushed out into a short muzzle, and the sharp teeth in the maw multiplied until row upon row of fangs filled its cavernous depths.
Its legs took on a far more bestial appearance with each step, until they resembled the rear haunches of a tiger. The arms lengthened and thickened, while its claws became like scythes. Its transformation ended with a coat of shaggy black fur sprouting all over its now massive body. It stood with its muzzle mere inches from Ryouta's face, its breath smelling of blood.
"This is the only warning you humans will receive," the beast growled out menacingly, "The shinobi who summoned me promised me Shun in exchange for covering their movement out to sea. You will tell your kind to leave this place be unless they too wish to suffer in my gullet for eternity."
Ryouta, unable to find his voice, nodded dumbly.
"You should be running now," the creature told him.
When he didn't move immediately, it roared in his face. Ryouta's paralysis finally broke and he ran as fast and as far from that creature as he could.
XxXxXxX
Osamu watched the thug vanish into the twilit forest and let out a tired breath. He looked down at his ruined clothing and sighed. It had been a small sacrifice to keep the number of illusions down, but his specially tailored outfits weren't exactly cheap.
He set off into the woods with Yancha, shrunk down to her normal size, joining him soon after looking as tired as he felt. They were both low on chakra, on the edge of exhaustion really, but the thoughts swirling in his mind were far worse than any physical discomfort he felt.
He had used his gifts to sow untold horror that afternoon. His victims had run, thinking only to escape. Some had even gone so far as to throw themselves on their own blades to end the maddening terror that refused to leave them. Osamu had reached deep within the souls of those men and drawn out an instinct meant for survival, and used it as a weapon against them. It made him feel disgusting.
It was one thing to kill in defense of oneself or others, but what he had done that day was reprehensible in his mind. Natsumi had once warned him and his friends that being a shinobi meant sacrifice, and now he knew exactly what she meant.
He had accepted Haru's death as something of a mercy. The pirates had attacked him. The thugs in Shun had essentially been slavers and had a chance to run. All of those he could at least justify, but now he truly felt unclean.
When he reached his hidden camp, he shucked his clothes and stood naked in the chill air. It felt good to be so exposed for once, after spending years hiding his freakish body. At one time he had felt his anatomy was a curse, but after his actions that day, he couldn't help but feel it suited him. A monstrous form for a monstrous person.
He cleansed himself with water from his canteen, and put on a clean set of clothes. He still had a job to do, and he would see it done. He could at least take solace in the fact that his work had protected innocent people.
XxXxXxX
Living with Takashi wasn't a free ticket to sit around and be taken care of. With the threat of severe consequences for helping Kaede gone, the old smith was free to house her without worry. The samurai from Iron was a kind man, but most certainly not above having his tenant earn her keep. Not that the farm raised girl was a stranger to manual labor. This was why, dressed in a set of coveralls and the tail of her hair drawn into a loose bun, the teenager was outside chopping firewood as the sun rose over the sea.
The rigorous activity also helped to keep her mind off darker topics, such as the day her father was killed and mother raped to death, or the fact that the only friends she had her age were off doing dangerous things to keep people they barely knew safe.
It was astounding to her that she so easily began to trust the three boys. It had taken Takashi nearly a month to be able to approach her when no one else was around.
"How much of that do you plan to chop?" she jumped when she heard the question and whirled around with her axe held up defensively. The people of Shun weren't exactly being civil recently. Many were terrified by the prospect of Gato coming back, and Takashi and Kaede were easy targets to take that fear out on.
She saw the speaker was Osamu trekking out of the wood line with his golden cat trotting beside him.
"Osamu-kun!" she greeted happily. She then looked down at the pile of chopped wood she had made that morning and realized she had cut enough for a few days. She was covered in sweat and her arms burned from the exertion, "Heh... I got lost in thought."
"Where's Takashi-san?" he asked, dropping his pack next to the door. He took his bow off his shoulder and began unstringing it next.
"He saw a buck in the woods and went after it," Kaede sat on the large chopping block and wiped the sweat from her brow. She looked over at her small friend and noticed his face was closer to the blank look he'd had when she first met him, "Is something wrong? Did anything happen?"
Osamu looked up at her and smiled, though it didn't reach his eyes, "I'm happy to say this town should be safe for some time."
She got the point from that. He had fought a battle, and he was experiencing the emotional fallout from it. She wished there was something she could do or say to help, but Kaede, no stranger to death though she was, had never had to take a life.
"That's a right mess you made out there, Osamu-kun," they heard Takashi call out from the woods. He was walking out with a small island deer slung over his shoulder, "What exactly did you do to them?"
"I did what I had to," the boy answered cryptically, shooting a worried look at Kaede.
Takashi nodded in understanding, "I get you, boy. No need to go into detail. How do you like your venison cooked."
"Umm..." he rubbed his forearm nervously, "Lightly seared and bloody."
Takashi gave him an odd look and seemed to be about to ask him something else, but Kaede caught his eye and shook her head. Shrugging, the old man went around the side of his smithy where he could dress his kill.
"Thanks," Osamu told her with a relieved sigh, "Explaining that is never comfortable."
She laughed and smiled at him, "You fearlessly go off to battle, but you balk at telling someone you're different."
"It does seem silly," he chuckled at himself mirthlessly, "Still... I appreciate the help."
"It's the least I can do," she stood and began to gather some of the chopped wood to take inside, "Help me out, would you?"
He did so without complaint, and between the two of them, they managed to refill the fuel boxes for both the fireplace and wood stove and stack the rest neatly outside in half an hour. Coming inside after they were done, they were treated to Takashi's booming voice as he sang while cooking. The language was strange and neither teen recognized it, but it was at once powerful and subtle.
"What language was that, Takashi-san?" Osamu asked curiously when he was done.
"It is the tongue of the Northern barbarians," the old man explained as he turned the venison steaks, "They are a violent lot, but also proud and honorable in their own way. What you just heard is one of their battle songs."
"They sing while they fight?" Kaede asked, confused by the combination, "That's weird."
"They are at their happiest in battle, Kaede-chan," he told her, "There is no greater honor for their men than to die in glorious battle. They are fearsome in that quest, too. I've seen one of their beserkers take down ten good men after taking a fatal wound."
"That's frightening," Osamu sat back to consider the thought of fighting such a tenacious foe, "How far south do they come."
"Iron sits on the best pass down into the Elemental Nations from their frozen tundra to the North-west," Takashi lectured on, a smile settling on his face as he taught, "They have tried for centuries to oust us from our mountain home, but we have risen to their challenge time and again."
"You sound as if you respect them," the boy mused with interest.
"I do," Takashi nodded his confirmation, "They are forward in their dealings, much like my people. Their method of fighting is closer to wild animals than anything you or I use, though."
"That actually sounds familiar," the young ninja considered the clans of Konoha, "One of the shinobi clans of my village fight like animals. They even use canine partners during battle."
"They sound like the Inu tribe spoken of in my land's history," Takashi pulled the meat from his stove and plated it. Osamu checked his and found it slightly overcooked for him, but it wouldn't cause any problems, "They used great warhounds as well. They disappeared from our battle records many generations ago. Probably scattered by inter tribe warfare."
That was interesting, if seemingly meaningless, information. The Inuzuka of Konoha could have descended from a tribe of berserkers. It would certainly explain their hotheaded attitudes and wild form of combat.
They ate in silence for a while before Takashi spoke up again.
"Tell me, Osamu-kun," he said after swallowing a hunk of meat, "What are your plans now?"
"Scouting mostly," the boy answered after some thought, casually flicking his feline small chunks of meat as he ate, much to her delight, "If I can get information on our enemies, I will. I'll check back in every week or so."
"No more fighting for a while I hope," Kaede looked at him with concern.
Osamu shook his head, "Not if I can help it. I don't enjoy battle."
"You should rest for a day or two at least," Takashi told him seriously, "You've had a hard week. Give yourself some downtime."
The shinobi nodded in agreement. It would be nice to get some rest.
XxXxXxX
It had been pretty easy to secure the slave ship and bring it to a halt. The main problem they had was what to do with the now freed slaves. The Shuurai was half as large as the slaver and they didn't want to waste time towing it back to a friendly port. That left repairing the damage they had done to stop it.
"The screws are fine, "Masaru was shivering from his dip into the cold waters to assess the damage, "You did a number on the rudder, though."
"Can it be fixed?" Hiroto asked. That was all he really cared about.
The large teen shook his head, "The thing is mangled. I can get it off, though."
"What good will that do?"
"The ship has two screws with separate speed controls," Masaru explained, "It helps with tighter turns, but the system can be used to guide the vessel if the rudder is gone."
"How long?" the jonin asked.
"Half an hour to set up the charges properly," his student replied with some thought, "No less, though. I don't want to blow a hole in this thing."
"Get to it," Hiroto ordered, "I found some radio logs that will help us track down more targets, but the info is time sensitive."
Masaru forewent acknowledgment and simply left to carry out his orders. A moment later, Hotaka walked up with a burly woman with the darker skin common in Lightning, red-brown eyes, and a mostly shaved head with a long tail of deep red hair coming off the back.
"Sensei, this is Hoshi-san," he introduced his companion, "The people in the hold chose her to speak for them."
"First I wanna thank you, Shinobi-san," the woman bowed to him. After straightening she fixed him with a serious look, "Your student here tells me you're trying to get us back to the mainland."
"That's right," he nodded to her, "My other genin is fixing it so the ship can maneuver again. Is there anyone down below who can run this thing?"
"I've some experience with smaller vessels, and some of my crew are down below," she informed him, "We can likely get ourselves to a nearby port. I just need to know where we are."
"We're south-east of Bikou," he moved over to a sea chart with her following. He moved his finger to their approximate position, "Right about here."
"We could get to Wave pretty easy," Hoshi sucked on her teeth as she thought.
"I wouldn't if I were you," at her questioning look, he went on, "Gato, the owner of this ship, is set up there, trying to bleed the place dry. You'd be better off heading to Bikou."
She nodded her understanding, "Bikou it is. The harbor master's gonna ask some hard to answer questions."
"I'm going to write a letter of passage out for you," Hiroto answered her concern, "I have an effective rank of captain in the Fire Legion. They'll take care of sorting you all out."
"What about the remaining crew?" her eyes were hard when she asked that, "What are you going to do with them?"
"I would prefer they make it to Bikou intact," he told her, "I understand you may want your pound of flesh, but giving them over to the Legion unharmed will earn you some goodwill."
"I'll do what I can," she shrugged noncommittally, "But I can't guarantee that they'll all make it."
Considering the conversation over, the brusk woman left the bridge to collect her crew so they could run the ship.
"Think she'll turn over the crew?" Hotaka, who'd been quiet while his Sensei took care of business, asked, "The other slaves were kinda angry."
"Maybe," Hiroto shrugged as he and his student left the bridge for the upper deck, "She'll probably use them to keep the others from turning on her. Not all of those we freed are the upstanding type."
They made it to the rear of the ship in time to see a soaked Masaru climbing over the side of the ship. He was a full fifteen minutes ahead of schedule.
"Gave it a couple of kicks and a good portion fell off on its own," he explained as he pulled his shoulder length hair down from its pony tail and shook it out, "I'm ready to blow it."
"Take care of it so we can get out of here," Hiroto was eager to continue their piracy. He had a student in the hot zone right now, and he wanted Gato's eyes on other things.
XxXxXxX
Once he got past not using his eyes to look around, Sasuke had to admit that Jiheki was actually really useful. He could sense the metal of the gurdurs in the bridge, though the cement made them look fuzzy to his electromagnetic sense. Nearby he could make out Sakura using a small tub they had borrowed from Tsunami to practice her water walking. She was already close to mastering the exercise.
All over he could feel the workers going about the construction. It was hard to identify individuals with the technique. Sakura was made easy because she was smaller than anyone else there, but all of the burly men seemed like clones of each other.
"How goes it?" Kakashi asked from nearby. He'd taken to producing his own field to hide his presence from Sasuke to make sure he knew there was a way around the sightless detection.
"I'm out to a fifty meters," Sasuke replied, adjusting the frequency of his field to try and get a bead on his Sensei. The man was far better with the technique, though, and matched him easily. Using the sound of his voice proved fruitless as the jonin could simply throw it with his chakra., "How common is this technique?"
"Common enough in Lightning for me to teach you how to counter it," the jonin replied as they continued their sensory duel, "I'm surprised you're willing to learn it, what with the Sharingan."
"My dojutsu has yet to activate," Sasuke replied in annoyance, "It only makes sense to have different ways to detect threats, too. My eyes can only see so much."
"With that kind of attitude, you'll be a splendid shinobi," he could hear the smile in the jonin's voice, "Just don't let the Sharingan go to your head once you do activate it."
If I ever do, Sasuke mentally added with a hint of irritation.
Life or death situations were the name of the game there. That was supposing he even had the proper genes. It stood to reason he did. Both of his parents possessed the dojutsu. What worried him is that it wouldn't be enough to defend him from the dreaded Tsukiyomi. The lore he'd found on his clan's lands were a bit vague on that point, but they did suggest that a basic Sharingan wouldn't be enough.
He didn't know if he had it in him to go for Mangekyo. There was always the chance of suffering a great loss without him actually causing it, but it would still need to be someone close to him. He was deathly afraid of that. What did it matter if he brought justice to his brother if he became just like him in the process. He pushed people away for that very reason. He couldn't be tempted to attain the Mangekyo that way.
On the flip side, he was feeling more and more alone the more he watched his team grow. Both his teammates claimed they cared about him, and he would be lying if he tried to claim he didn't feel similarly about them. It had been easier to ignore them when they had seemed useless.
His disparate thoughts swirled about, fighting with one another for purchase in his brain. They finally settled into two solid groups. There was the 'ignore everything but getting stronger' camp and the 'no reason to do everything alone' camp. Both sets of differing thoughts always agreed that Itachi needed to die, but everything up to that point was up for debate.
You can't focus properly on getting stronger while worrying about them, A voice in his mind, his own, though hard and vicious sounding, reasoned.
They can help you grow stronger, another, this one softer and more reasonable, replied, Besides... Sensei was right. They are good for a chuckle.
He had the vague notion that hearing multiple voices might be an indicator of insanity, but he worry about it. A person didn't need to be sane to be a shinobi; they just needed to be stable.
Your goal has nothing to do with laughing, the first argued back vehemently.
What's the point of the goal if you don't actually live your life, too? the second laughed at the first, Itachi may as well have killed you otherwise.
The first growled at the name. It made to reply, but Sasuke was drawn from his musings by a nearby presence.
"Sasuke-kun," Sakura called out, sounding as if it wasn't the first time she had. When he opened his eyes and looked in her direction, she held up a pair of bento, "Tsunami-san made these for us. You should eat."
"Thanks," he grunted quietly, taking the box of food and unceremoniously digging in.
Sakura sat down close by and began to eat hers as well. She kept glancing his way with a concerned expression on her face. She seemed to come to some resolution after a time.
"How can I help?" she asked suddenly after the long silence. At his questioning glance, she explained, "You asked us to help you get stronger. How can I help?"
"You still plan to study medicine?" he asked. At her nod he grunted in approval, "Just keep doing what you're doing, then. Someone able to heal will be useful for training."
She nodded in understanding, "Let me know if there's anything else."
He grunted his assent and went back to eating. It entered into his mind moments later that she had offered her help freely and he hadn't even proposed a fair trade. That wouldn't do. Uchiha paid their debts in full.
"What's your goal, Sakura?" he asked. Looking up at her, he found she was beginning to blush fiercely.
"Well... ah..." she seemed unable to articulate, much to his annoyance. Finally she seemed to find the right thing to say, "It seems silly compared to what you and Naruto are trying for."
"Hmm..." he frowned at that answer. Not every goal could be world shaking, "Small doesn't mean silly. Thinking that way is stupid."
She blinked owlishly at him, completely taken aback by his attitude.
She shook it off a moment later, "I'm honestly not sure at the moment, really. Recent events have forced me to reevaluate my life goals."
He nodded his understanding, "When you find what you want to accomplish, I will do what I can to help you."
Again she blushed, but this time it wasn't as bad.
"What about Naruto?" she asked him curiously, "Are you going to help him, too?"
Sasuke frowned deeply at her question. The dobe was quite vocal on his goal. Sasuke didn't really see it happening, though, as the blonde was dense as a rock. He could attempt to steer him to something more attainable, but the Uchiha doubted the stubborn ass would ever give up on his pipe dream.
"Uchiha pay their debts," he said aloud by way of answering. So long as Naruto continued to push him to new heights, he would do what he could.
XxXxXxX
That evening Sakura found Naruto in the woods near Tazuna's home. He had probably been out there all day judging by how much dirt was on him.
"How's it going, knucklehead?" she asked as she watched him dip his right arm into the ground as if it were water.
"Pretty good, actually," he smiled in victory as he pulled his arm back out covered in hard packed clay. It didn't look ready for combat, though, as his joints were locked in the solid tube of earth, "Still got a ways to go, though."
"Naruto..." her demeanor changed as she thought on the conversation with Sasuke earlier, "Does Sasuke-kun seem different to you lately?"
"Seems like the same self absorbed bastard I remember," he shrugged after shaking off the sleeve of earth, "Talks more than he used to, though."
"I don't think he's self absorbed," she might have hit him for that comment in the past. Now she could see where the blonde could get that idea, "I think he doesn't know how to interact with others."
"So he's like... broken or something?" Naruto asked, squinting his eyes as he considered that possibility, "Yea... I can see that."
"No, not broken, you ass," she bonked him on the head, "Just socially inept. I mean... did you hear the way he was talking the other day."
"Yea, that was pretty freaky," Naruto scratched his head, further dirtying his normally bright hair, "He do it again today?"
"Yea," she hugged herself as she remembered his odd words, "He was talking about paying debts and helping with goals."
Naruto shrugged helplessly, "Maybe his brain got scrambled when his clan died."
It was blunt and insensitive, but still a decent possibility. Sakura hadn't really thought about it that way, "I used to just think he was being cool. Now I think he was staying quiet cause he wasn't sure what to do or say."
"That would explain his shitty attitude," Naruto frowned in thought, "I guess I could cut him some more slack..."
"I'm worried about all those girls that are after him," Sakura's eyes grew wide with realization, "What if he actually starts talking to one of them and they get the wrong idea."
Naruto cocked his head to the side, "Weren't you one of those girls?"
"Idiot!" he was suddenly rolling on the ground holding his head as a good sized lump formed atop it where she had hit him, "Even if Sensei hadn't made a rule against it, I wouldn't be chasing him anymore. It probably makes him really uncomfortable."
"Sure made me uncomfortable," Naruto snarked from his position on the ground, earning himself a kick in the midst of his laughing.
"Get up, idiot," she hauled him up after he'd had a moment to nurse his new hurt, "Dinner's gonna be ready soon and you need to wash up."
Despite the pain she had given him, he was still giggling to himself. She had a sneaking suspicion he found her temper funny.
XxXxXxX
As the sun set on the fourth day after Team Five had split up, Osamu sat in Takashi's living room giving his feet an extra wrapping. He was going to begin scouting the island, and unlike his friends who could channel chakra to enhance their cold resistance, he had to rely on more mundane means.
"You're sure you don't want to wait till morning?" Kaede asked as she watched him, stroking a purring Yancha as the cat paced around her crouching form, "Takashi-jiisan said he smelt a cold snap coming."
"I have less chance being seen at night," he smiled at her. He saw fear in her aura, but it wasn't because of him this time, it was for him. That was salve for his ailing soul, "My eyes are made for darkness, too. I'll be fine."
"Well I have something for you," she moved away from Yancha, who darted in front of her legs in an attempt to recapture her attention. Kaede had to hop over the animal to keep from tripping, and she let out a halfhearted curse. She managed to make it to a trunk that the old smith used to store various odds and ends.
She pulled out a bundle of cloth and snapped it out to show him what it was. She had fashioned a cloak out of a pair of winter blankets, one dark brown and the other pine green, by quilting them together. Each side of the cloak was a solid shade, and it looked completely reversible so that he could make use of either color depending on his environment.
"That's awesome Kaede-san," he stood and moved forward so she could tie it about his shoulders, brown side out, "Warm too."
"Takashi-jiisan put something on it to waterproof it," she informed him, obviously happy he liked it, "He said any soldier would be glad to have it."
Osamu had to agree. This far south, things never got too cold, but getting caught in one of the many winter rains without protection could cause serious problems. He had a poncho for such occasions, but it wasn't near this warm.
"Thank you, Kaede-san," he gave her a quick hug as a sign of his gratitude. She had started to pick up on his discomfort with close contact and understood the meaning of the gesture.
"I'm happy to help," she smiled brightly at him after he backed off.
Osamu moved to his pack and checked it over to make sure he had what he needed for his week long trip. He stopped short of shouldering it and seemed to be considering something seriously. In the wake of his recent battle, he found the desire to help someone, anyone, overpowering.
"Hey, Kaede-san," he ventured after coming to a decision, "Have you decided what you're gonna do once Gato is gone?"
That was a good question; one she hadn't really considered. Takashi had already expressed his desire to leave Wave once the general threat was gone. She didn't have any ties to this place other than being born there. She supposed the old man might not care if she tagged along with him, but he had mentioned being in the wild for some time.
"I really don't know," she finally answered with a hopeless shrug.
"Well... Nee-san is thinking of going active shinobi, and we don't really have anyone to look after our land if we're both gone," he explained his situation at home, "I was wondering if you would like a job taking care of our estate."
She blinked in surprise at the offer, "W-what?"
"Well you can cook and clean," he answered simply, "You're not afraid of work, and I'm sure the cats will like you. Konoha is about as safe a place as you could ask for, too."
"I..." she was taken aback. A week ago she was homeless and unsure of what tomorrow would bring. Osamu was offering her a secure future, "I don't know."
He didn't seem put off by the answer. He just nodded and shouldered his pack, "Think about it. It would be nice to have someone else in the house."
He left through the front door quietly. She was still standing there in surprise when Takashi came out of his workshop.
"The boy already head off?" he asked when he saw her alone.
"Yea," she shook off her stupor and smiled at Takashi, "You were right."
"Hmm?" her quirked a snowy eyebrow at her words.
"You told me a year ago that things would get better eventually," she had been fresh from the attack on her town at the time. Suicide hadn't been far from her mind, "You were right. Things did get better."
She might have reconsidered her words if she had seen Osamu's mask fall away once he was out the door. Only Yancha could sense his grief at the moment, and she had no idea how to deal with it.
XxXxXxX
Things had fallen into a somewhat predictable pattern in Tazuna's household. They would rise shortly after dawn for breakfast, after which the architect and most of Team Seven would head to the bridge. Naruto would stay behind and look out for Tazuna's family while he worked to improve his ability to use Yamahagosha and his chakra control in general.
In the evening, they would have another meal. Invariably, Inari would eat almost nothing and excuse himself from the table early to go sit on the roof and brood. This night brought a bit of excitement when the boy came running back downstairs, fear in his eyes.
"Kaa-san!" he cried, throwing himself at his mother, "There's a monster outside!"
"What?" she asked curiously, but without too much worry. They lived on the edge of the woods. It was likely he had just seen one of the island's predators and got spooked.
"It looked like a kid, but it had orange eyes that flashed when he looked at me!" he was obviously very frightened.
A knock sounded on the door, causing him to clutch at Tsunami even more. His voice came out in a frightened whisper, "Don't answer... It's the monster."
Kakashi, cautious of a possible attack, but recognizing the description went and opened the door.
"Hello, Osamu-kun," he drawled in a bored tone, "What brings you to this neck of the woods?"
The boy in question stepped into the house when the jonin made way for him, who closed the door behind him. His pupils were big and round from the darkness outside, but they quickly contracted to slits as he looked around the well lit room.
"Kakashi-sensei," he greeted politely. He turned and nodded at the rest of Team Seven, his eyes lingering on Sasuke for a moment, before addressing the still frightened boy, "It's rather rude to call a person a monster for no reason."
Inari seemed stricken that he'd been heard, but the slight smile on the newcomer's face slowly eased the tension from him.
"Who's this then?" Tazuna asked before taking a swig from his jug, "He one of yours?"
"Tazuna-san, Tsunami-san, Inari-kun," he waved to each of them in turn for Osamu's benefit. He then placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, causing him to flinch slightly, "This is Sakibou Osamu. He is a student of a colleague of mine. Speaking of which... where is your team?"
"Yancha is outside chasing a rat," the boy informed him, "The rest of Team Five are out at sea attacking Gato's merchant fleet and stealing his goods."
"Nii-san's a pirate now!?" Naruto cried out with excitement, "Oh, I'm so jealous!"
Sakura looked at him weirdly only to see Sasuke was nodding his agreement. Must have been a boy thing.
"He just left you behind?" Kakashi asked with a frown that could be read through his mask.
"It was necessary," was all Osamu said, "I was going to radio a report to you, but I decided to scout the area between here and Shun."
"Anything of interest?" Kakashi asked the boy. Hiroto had mentioned to him about the boy being a damn good sensor. They made great scouts.
"I sensed a couple of signatures deep in the woods about a day ago," the boy answered, "Nothing else."
"You didn't investigate?" Sasuke finally spoke up for the first time that night.
"I figured it might be your attacker," Osamu shrugged helplessly, "I'm good at stealth, but I'm not crazy enough to think I can sneak up on someone like that."
"You did the right thing," Kakashi assured him.
"Would you like to join us for dinner?" Tsunami offered graciously, setting down the now calm Inari.
"I've already eaten," the boy lied smoothly. He didn't see anything on the table he could easily stomach, "But if you don't mind, I could use a warm place to sleep tomorrow. I've been traveling at night."
"Of course," she smiled at him with only a hint of unease. It wasn't unusual from those who weren't accustomed to him.
"What's wrong with your eyes?" Inari asked after working up the courage to address the strange boy.
"Inari!" Tsunami scolded. The boy's grandfather stole most of the bite by laughing at his bluntness.
Osamu fixed his gaze on the boy and blinked slowly and deliberately, "What do you mean? My eyes work just fine."
"You looked at me and they flashed!" the boy nearly shouted back, not liking being mocked.
"You must have been seeing things," Osamu replied, earning a chuckle from the other genin in the room. They knew exactly what Inari was describing, but they were all pleased to see someone get something out of the boy other than fatalistic decrees of death.
"I know what I saw!" the boy ran up the stairs to his room to get away from everyone.
"That wasn't very nice," Kakashi retook his seat, and Osamu occupied the spot next to Tsunami Inari had vacated shortly after dinner had started.
"Neither was calling me a monster," Osamu replied with a smirk, "I even gave him a friendly wave."
"Why do your eyes flash sometimes?" Naruto asked curiously. He'd grown so accustomed to weird eyes, he never really thought that much about Osamu's.
"He probably has a tapedum lucidum," Sakura offered knowingly, "A lot of nocturnal animals have it. It causes light to reflect back through their retina. If they look at you the right way, you can see the reflected light."
Osamu just pointed at her, "What she said."
"What's your team been doing?" Sasuke asked. The explosion that had gone off about a week ago was a good indicator that whatever it was, it was interesting.
Osamu looked up at Kakashi questioningly, who just shrugged and waved his hand in a dismissive manner.
"We liberated a fishing village turned smuggling hub from a bunch of goons," Osamu answered with a hint of pride, "I stayed behind to make sure Gato's retaliation would fail."
"You're not much for fighting, though," Naruto mused, his face scrunched in thought as he imagined Osamu in glorious battle. It just didn't fit his image of the small ninja.
"I didn't fight fair," Osamu explained simply, without emotion, "Only one of them ever saw me, and I made sure he was so scared no one would ever want to come back."
"I heard some rumors at the market today that there's a monster haunting the forest along the east coast," Tsunami looked down at the boy, amazed that he had gone against Gato so directly.
"That would be me," the boy replied to her.
"That must have been one hell of a genjutsu," Kakashi looked at the genin, impressed.
"Took almost all of my chakra," Osamu admitted, "I need to refine it, but it worked really well."
"We've been doing nothing but training," Naruto hung his head sadly, "We haven't seen any action since Zabuza."
"That's a good thing, idiot!" Sakura bonked him on the head, "What is it with you boys and liking to fight?"
"I don't actually enjoy it," Osamu told her with a frown.
"I just wanna see some action!" Naruto pumped a fist in the air. The look on Sasuke's face said he agreed.
"You'll change your mind when that action leads to bloodshed," Osamu told him seriously. The look on his face killed Naruto's smile quickly and earned him a curious look from Sasuke, "Death isn't a pretty thing to watch, much less cause."
"You've killed?" Tazuna gaped at him, "B-but you're still a kid!"
Osamu shrugged, "I'm a shinobi. A warrior trained to strike from the shadows and do whatever is necessary."
The calm way he said it gave everyone but Kakashi a chill. He was impressed with the boy's disposition. He was capable of killing, but he didn't desire to. Maybe all genin should be made to perform an execution before they were allowed on a team. Hiroto's test was brutal, but his genin were obviously well ahead of their peers in their mindset.
"I'm going to get a feel for the immediate area," Osamu stood suddenly. Kakashi got the sense he was uncomfortable with the direction the conversation had taken. He met Kakashi's eyes for a moment before leaving out the front door again.
"Man..." Naruto gave a low whistle, "I remember when he was just one of the weird kids in the back of the class."
Sakura nodded in agreement, "He's kinda spooky now."
XxXxXxX
Kakashi waited for the rest of the house to fall asleep before he went hunting for the genin of his colleague. Osamu hadn't said a word, but the jonin knew the boy wished to talk with him in private. He spotted him on a rooftop in town observing some mercenaries playing dice in a bar. He hopped up to the roof and crouched next to him.
"Yo," he greeted lazily, "What did you want to talk about?"
"Sasuke-san," Osamu answered with apprehension. He was showing more emotion than he had in the house. Kakashi supposed it was because he knew he couldn't hide his feelings from the perceptive jonin.
"What about him?" anything to do with the last Uchiha was of serious concern to him. The boy was just on the right side of stable to be a shinobi.
"I want you to know I'm breaking an order from both my Sensei and Nee-san," he responded searching the jonin for a reaction. Despite Kakashi's impassive face, he seemed to find what he wanted, "I have the ability to see the spiritual aura's people give off."
"First, you shouldn't have gone against your orders," Kakashi reprimanded him in a harsh tone. His voice relaxed afterward, "Second, they explains a lot. Kurenai-san has been pulling her hair out for years trying to figure out how you kept seeing through her illusions."
"I wouldn't tell you that unless it was important," Osamu defended himself, "Most of the time, people have fairly regular auras. Some people are odd. Like you have a pure white aura."
"Really?" that was interesting to hear. It did line up with his odd chakra, though, "What's all this got to do with Sasuke, though?"
"His aura is unusual, too," Osamu bit his lip in thought, obviously unsure how to frame his words, "I've had experience with the possessed before, and I thought he was when I first walked into the house."
That did not bode well, "You thought..."
Osamu nodded, "It still felt like the same Sasuke I've known for a while, though."
Kakashi simply stayed silent waiting for the boy to continue.
"His spirit is... divided," he finally said, "It's like seeing both sides of a coin at the same time."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Kakashi asked, honestly out of his element for once.
"I've met people with all sorts of mental problems," Osamu replied with a helpless shake of his head, "Their auras never looked anything like that. The best explanation I can give is he's so divided on something its reached down to his very soul."
Kakashi sat back on his haunches and considered that. He trusted Osamu was speaking truthfully, but he did suppose the boy could be mistaken. Still, he'd seen too much weird shit in his day to just write the warning off.
Osamu obviously thought it important enough to give away one of his most important secrets. Kakashi would be sure to make sure to keep that nugget about the genin to himself. It was the least he could do in exchange for the information.
"I'll keep a closer eye on him," Kakashi finally said, "I want you to come talk to Hokage-sama when we're all back in Konoha."
Osamu nodded his assent, "I figured as much."
Kakashi considered asking if there was anything wrong with Osamu himself. Battle fatigue was more than just physical tiredness, and the teen was exhibiting some of the tells Kakashi had once looked out for in his ANBU teams. He decided against it. The boy wasn't his genin, and he looked closed off at the moment.
"Well I'm gonna go get some sleep," Kakashi stood up, "Stay safe."
He disappeared in a poof of smoke, leaving the genin to his surveillance.
This chapter vaults me over the 200k word mark for content. 207,739 to be exact. Kinda makes me wish FF didn't stop their word count filters at 100k.
Hakushin Koutai (Reality Shift)
Type: Genjutsu/Reiton (Visual, Auditory, Olfactory, Tactile, Emotional)
Rank: B
Effect: Osamu covers a wide area with his chakra. This serves two purposes. The first is to cause those in the area to hallucinate that their surroundings are more in line with the specific emotion Osamu is trying to evoke. The second is to enhance that emotional response. Osamu usually supplements this technique with other genjutsu or actions that will further evoke the desired emotion.
Shingai (Terror): The terrain becomes sinister looking. Ambient light darkens slowly until it is almost gone altogether, and objects take on aspects that are subtly disturbing. Shingai is often followed by attacks on the targets to activate real fear responses. Once their fear has begun to influence their actions, they begin a quick slide into panic as the technique causes that fear to snowball out of control.
Reiton (Spirit Release)
Type: Kekkei-genkai (Kononkyou)
Rank:Varies
Effect: Reiton is the name Osamu has given to his spiritually hyper-charged chakra. The chakra can directly affect the souls of other people, giving him a degree of control over their emotions. In addition, unmoulded for any specific technique, the chakra is naturally hallucinogenic. Osamu has learned to pump a small amount of this chakra into his genjutsu to enhance their effects, making them seem more real and thus harder to dispel.