I'm trying to do is survive and make good out of the dirty, nasty, unbelievable lifestyle that they gave me.
~Tupac Shakur
\( - _ -)/
~(Kirigakure)~
Chojuro didn't know what to think of his new "family". His Meizu-nii and Gozu-nii were twins but they were different. They're both short-tempered but Gozu is better at controlling himself, and Fuyuki was, without a doubt, his best friend.
He likes it when the four of them walk around the village, he likes it that he looks the same as Fuyuki, he likes it when they let him sleep in their side of the bed, he likes it when they smile at him, he likes it when Meizu angrily pouts at him, he likes it when Gozu carries him on his back, and he likes it when they all 'awkwardly' hug; Meizu would helplessly flail while the others laughed at his struggles.
He loves his brothers, he loves to be with them; rough-housing or playing. So it wasn't hard to shout at all.
"No! No! No!" Chojuro ran to Fuyuki's side and possessively hugged his waist.
"Ah, who is this?" the woman asked.
"That is Chojuro," Nanashi answered.
The woman went down to his level and gave him a smile. It's fake, her smile is fake! Even Meizu-nii-san would agree! He tightened his hold.
"Hello young man, would you like to come with us too?" Nanashi visibly stiffened.
"Ahaha, Chizuru-chan, I thought you only wanted one child," she nervously laughed and pushed up her glasses.
"The more the merrier, ne?"
"I'm sorry, Chizuru-san, but I don't want to go with you."
Chizuru's eyes widened in disbelief. A boy, a child, was rejecting her! "S-Say that again, Fuyuki-kun," she said, her sweet tone wavering.
"I don't want to go with you."
"You're... rejecting me?"
"Too much drama can kill you, Chizuru-san. Please don't take this personally, it's not you-"
"Then who?!" A tick mark appeared on her head. Men, really! She thought, but this wasn't a man, this was a child.
"I just don't want to leave this dump... sorry, I mean my dump."
"You choose this place over a perfectly good house with food?" This made her furious, how can he chose this over her?
Fuyuki sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry," he bluntly said.
His brothers will never leave him. Chojuro knows it. He hugged Fuyuki's waist to hide his smile. Mine.
Chizuru stormed off with Nanashi waving a handkerchief from the front door. "Come back if you change your mind, Chizuru-chan," Nanashi chimed. She wasn't upset but she wasn't satisfied either. She almost got rid of the pest but her little darling son was almost abducted by that woman.
Meizu went over to Fuyuki and slapped him on the back.
"What happened to code violet? I thought you don't like getting picked," Meizu asked.
Fuyuki giggled uncharacteristically. "What can I say? I'm just naturally charming, 'is all."
Gozu rolled his eyes. "Run like hell."
"What?" Meizu asked, surprised.
Gozu placed a hand on his waist and pointed at Nanashi before running outside.
Nanashi growled. "I... was... so close to getting... you... away from me!" She lunged at the three while they ran.
Chojuro knitted his brows at the scene before him.
"You brats almost cost me my precious son!"
"It wasn't my fault!" Meizu screamed.
Fuyuki laughed and blew a raspberry at Nanashi. "Not today, milady!"
Chojuro gapped. Fuyuki-nii-san did all that just to make Nanashi-san mad?
Suzume talked to Fuyuki about the incident. Kusaru, was the the name of the child Fuyuki attacked, was traumatised and his parents were, to put it bluntly, mad.
The short meeting went on smoothly, with Fuyuki profusely apologising and somehow explaining that it wasn't their son's fault, putting all the blame on him. Sure enough the couple fell for the trap and called off the meeting after a few curses were dropped, satisfied with what they had done.
Suzume couldn't help but give his student a smirk. The boy had everybody tied to his little fingers and Suzume knows it and he wants to know more. So, he stuck around Fuyuki's puppet show.
"Mind telling me where and how you learned that technique you used on Kusaru-kun?"
His student gave him a fidget. To the simple-minded, as Suzume likes to call them, it would seem believable but he was no fool, he's Uhara Suzume, a "retired" Anbu member. Although, he must give the boy credit his little show can and will work on an experienced chunin.
"L-Library... f-from a scroll."
Suzume raised an eyebrow. "They allowed you to take out a scroll?"
Fuyuki flushed. Suzume was impressed with how Fuyuki seem to change his personality with a snap. He was nine, the time when children are almost never in control.
"I read it inside the library, the librarian didn't even give me a glance, so I thought it was fine," his student said and pretended to look sorry for his mistake.
"I've always wanted to fix the security of that place, little scrolls like that are easy pickings nowadays," Suzume replied casually, trying to get his student to talk more.
"I'm sorry," Fuyuki said with a jumpy voice, he bowed deeply and winced. "It won't happen again, Suzume-sensei."
Suzume frowned. "Sensei?" Suzume knitted his brows, a small scowl started to form on his face. His emotions are perfectly organised, ready to be used when needed, ready strike without hesitation. Everything he says is scripted, rewritten and revised within seconds. How did he manage to do this at such a young age? Self-control, a weapon stronger than jutsu, perfected by a mere child!
Thoroughly vexed by the truth, Suzume growled.
"Sens-"
"Go home, Fuyuki-kun," Suzume said, forcing a smirk, with a hand pulling on his hair to prevent his voice from getting louder than usual.
"Yes, sensei," Fuyuki immediately complied, bowing deeply and running out the door.
When Fuyuki was out of earshot he punched his table, permanently denting it. An academy student, a nine-year-old, a child is succeeding at something I struggled with for years.
"Fucking bullshit these days," he pulled back, his muscles relaxing. He sighed, boredom overcoming his rage as he sagged. "Aw, now this table needs replacing."
Suzume crouched down on a branch, the cold air and small dewdrops bothered him but he stayed planted on the wood. He remembered the events from last week and scowled. How?
"Chojuro, you really need to keep your feet apart," his student, Fuyuki, said to another child who he assumed is Fuyuki's brother. With the colour pallet, who wouldn't?
"B-but it's hard, and this b-bamboo stick is h-heavy," the smaller boy answered, almost whining.
A sigh of disinterest filled the clearing. "Keep your hands up and don't slouch. Having a signature pose is cool, but it's not practical and it's useless."
"I-I'm not posing, I j-just want to get a n-nice angle," Chojuro countered.
"Is this what it feels like to be a sensei? Patience is the key to success, but how the hell do I teach a four year old what 'patience' is?" Fuyuki said scratching his head.
There it was again, the "language" Suzume referred to as "Half-Empty, Half-Full", it makes sense but at the same time it doesn't.
"Sorry," Chojuro said. Suzume narrowed his eyes. Does he understand? A dark feeling filled his stomach. A child knows and I'm completely clueless.
"Let's take a break, Chojuro," Fuyuki said, glancing around the clearing as he did so.
Suzume smirked at this. I expected nothing less from someone taught by me. His smirk quickly dissolved to a look of shock when he saw Fuyuki glance at his direction but turning away in an instant, as if nothing had happened.
"U-um... can we please walk around the village again? I want to see..." Chojuro asked, pulling on Fuyuki's sleeve. The Chojuro kid stabbed the end of his stick to the ground, gradually digging up dirt.
Fuyuki nodded. "Let me fix our items first. Kiiro, were going to walk around the village, do you want come?" Fuyuki asked his dog; he hugged the animal to his chest. Kiiro barked and wagged his tail.
Suzume watched as the scene unfolded before him, baffled by the carelessness and lack of response. He saw me but didn't bother to scream for help! Suzume frantically ran a hand through his hair. Maybe he didn't see me.
Chojuro likes to take strolls. Nanashi doesn't let him walk around without his personal "bodyguard"; Fuyuki is a spy in her eyes. She thinks the other boy is helping with "properly shaping" Chojuro to become a ninja.
Like hell, I'd help her. Fuyuki thought tasting disgust in his mouth, or was it the spoiled milk?
"We can stop by the sushi stand if you like," Fuyuki offered, feeling obligated to do so. He wanted to get away from the clearing, it wasn't safe, and there was something there.
Chojuro gave him a small pout. "I like sss-ch-sh-shrimp more."
"You're really cute, you know that? Like Kiiro," Fuyuki said while lifting the dog near the other child's face. There's little effort in carrying Kiiro, he's a little dog. If Rin were here, she'll treat you like Kabuto. Hehe, little Kabuto has a crush on Rin-Rin, how cute. Everything has rainbow glitters on them... I wonder what happens after everything crashes down.
Chojuro's face flushed. He loved his new family but they could be such a tease at times, especially Meizu. It wasn't his fault he got stuck with the nickname Mei-Mei-chan! Chojuro gave unofficial older brother an angry look, or in this case: a very cute pout.
"I'm not cute."
"Ok, kid," Fuyuki said. In all honesty, Fuyuki thinks Chojuro wanted attention, which was understandable: children. Kiiro has been his playmate since day one, but Fuyuki knew better than to count on the little dog. Kiiro's nearing death if people would go by dog-years standards, his size doesn't help either and the cold weather also pulls him to his grave.
Chojuro is Fuyuki's favourite, the kid puts up with his shit and appreciates his language (broken English slang), what more could a guy like him ask for?
The weather is starting to get in Fuyuki's non-existent nerves, literally. Clothes helped a little but sometimes it's just not enough; he regrets making himself too realistic. Darn, my amazing skills!
Fuyuki held Chojuro's hand to keep him near while they took their bi-weekly stroll. Kiiro jogged beside for a while before sprinting ahead to look for other dogs.
"Fuyuki-nii-san, will I stay in the orphanage forever?"
Fuyuki couldn't tell if his hands were sending out fake sweat or not. "That depends. If someone wants to adopt you then you go with them."
"What?! I-I won't have a choice?" Fuyuki felt Chojuro's hand shake, so he gave it a squeeze; that's what he's supposed to do, right?
"Of course you do. Whenever a couple walks in, half of the orphanage either activates code yellow or code violet. Code yellow means act nice and code violet means throw stuff around like lunatics."
Chojuro blinked and stared at his feet. After a while was mesmerised by the repetitive motion. Left, right, left, right...
"You mean I should act like a good boy, code yellow, if I want to get adopted."
"Mhm," Fuyuki nodded.
Chojuro's grip tightened as his eyebrows creased. "I don't want to leave yet, I want to stay longer."
Fuyuki internally smirked. Chojuro chooses him over food and a nice house, how cute.
"In that case, it's code violet for you."
Their talk was interrupted by a barking Kiiro. They glanced at each other then ran to the scene.
As they got closer, Fuyuki could make out an image of Kiiro barking at a tall man with huge muscles and another man who is tall but shorter and more slender than the former.
Their faces are still blurry but Fuyuki could make out the colour blue from one and long hair from the other. As their gap between the group got smaller, Fuyuki noticed another figure, a kid.
"Chojuro let me do the talking, all right?" Chojuro nodded as he trailed behind his big brother.
When they got there Fuyuki wasted no time, he grabbed Kiiro. Despite Kiiro's aggressiveness, he recognised Fuyuki. The little dog stopped and gave the unfamiliar men a glare. I didn't know dogs could glare. "Hush, Kiiro."
"Please, keep your dog on a leash."
Fuyuki glared at the ground. How dare he suggest such a thing? "I-I'm sorry, shinobi-san."
"Now, now, Kisame-kun, it's fine. No harm done, see?" said the slender figure.
Fuyuki's eyes widened almost disproportionate to his face. "Oroch-" he stopped myself, burying his face on Kiiro. Orochimaru is here!
Fuyuki felt something appear before him. He followed it and came face-to-face with two yellow, snake-like eyes.
"Do you need help, boy?" Orochimaru asked with a smirk. "Would you like me to escort you back home?"
"Orochimaru-san," Kisame called with warning.
"Kisame-kun, do you mind if I do a little sight-seeing around the village?"
"The Mizukage won't like that, we need to keep you within our line of vision. So, yes, we would mind," the kid, Zabuza, half-snapped and half-answered.
Orochimaru's hand stayed outstretched while he smiled at Zabuza. "If you follow me like you're doing now, then escorting the boy and his little brother back home is possible, right Zabuza-kun?"
Zabuza shivered but kept a stern expression and kept his eye on Orochimaru, studying him before nodding hesitantly.
Orochimaru turned to the blue-haired duo and smiled, he had the same smile; the smile that sent shivers down Fuyuki's spine the first time he turned twelve.
"Well?" Orochimaru said. Fuyuki grabbed the waiting hand and got pulled up. "What's your name, boy?"
"F-Fuyuki, m-my name is Fuyuki," he answered.
Kisame eyed Fuyuki skeptically, as if he knew who he was, but Orochimaru beamed once and the shark man's suspicion was erased from the blue-haired boy's mind.
"Well, 'Yuki-kun, where do you live…? And who are you?" Orochimaru asked, looking at someone behind him.
Fuyuki gulped, he felt a tug on his sleeve, and it was Chojuro. Chojuro looked relaxed compared to his big brother, Fuyuki's hands were stiff and so was his posture. Despite the sudden loss of self-control he felt the need to guard the little guy.
"H-His name is Chojuro," Fuyuki said. "It's a pleasure to meet you, ninja-san, but we really need to go."
"Is that so?"
Fuyuki nodded. "We don't want to bother you."
"You wouldn't be, I'm waiting for my friend. He's still busy speaking to your Mizukage."
Kisame frowned, this wasn't something the snake-sannin should be sharing with random children, for all they know he could be an enemy in disguise. But, then again, this is the snake-sannin he should know if this child was pretending or not? The kid is shivering, but Kisame sensed that something was seriously off.
"N-No thank you, we need to learn how to handle things on our own, anyway," Fuyuki bowed. "Thank you for your offer though… um."
The snake man laughed. "My name is Orochimaru."
Chojuro grinned from ear to ear, then beamed back. "Orochi like a big snake!" Chojuro realized his mistake then flushed before hiding behind his brother.
"Yes."
"Nice meeting you, Orochimaru-san!" Fuyuki then turned to bow to Kisame and Zabuza. "Sorry for the intrusion, ninja-san," his voice changed from perky to placid.
It bothered Zabuza, he hated seeing this "freak" get away with things so easily. The Blueberry of the Ninja Academy, Matsuda Fuyuki. Once, just once, the stupidity affected him so much he rolled his eyes. Zabuza scoffed at the younger boy-girl… something. That seems to satisfy his need for the revenge for the mean time. The most he could do was cross his arms and give the "freak" a look of disgust.
"Just don't let it happen again," he heard Kisame's gruff voice say. Fuyuki could feel that Zabuza was trying to resist the urge to send them to the Mizukage and the only thing holding him back is his senpai. Fuyuki shivered, grabbing Chojuro's arm he dropped Kiiro and jogged, adjusting his pace from too slow to too fast. He panicked, he didn't know if he was running, jogging or leaping.
Meeting Kisame and the crazy killer was bad enough, meeting Orochimaru was making him sick, he wants to completely dissolve back to leaves. He knows! He knows! He knows! He knows!
"Fuyuki-nii-san, do you know him?"
"Chojuro, not now."
~(Konohagakure)~
Kids are awesome lab rats; adults are exceptional guinea pigs.
Now that that's aside, how does hacking work?
It's not simple, I'll say that. I drowned myself in the computer and listed the errors: wrong keys, messed up files, and a game that didn't work (like Pong); they must've experimented with the screen. The thing is I don't need to learn how to hack since I have some authority over the technology, but that's not a good enough reason to leave it be.
As I my fingers semi-rapidly clicked the mouse and typed on the keyboards, to test another "experiment", my clone from outside knocked.
"The monkey's here," he said.
I turned to the door with black spots dancing before my eyes. Am I about to faint or have I been staring at the screen for too long? "Which one: bathrobe or masky?"
"Masky."
I paused before pulling out my mask. I put it on before opening the door, which was a good idea, if I didn't I would've been temporarily blinded by the brightness of the small bulb.
"Tori, you are needed at the training room," Saru said with a firm tone. "I have forced you to work on that thing for too long, you need combat and endurance training, or else you'd end up looking like an uncooked noodle in the battle field."
Uncooked noodle? "Yes, sir," I said. Tough-looking but easily broken. The nerve of some people, really. They don't know who they're dealing with, and what hypocrites... not that I'm not a hypocrite.
As we walked down the hall I contemplated on my destroy-the-leaf mission. I wish someone would tell me why I'm doing this in the first place? How did I agree to all this? I don't-
To my surprise, anger swelled inside me. To get rid of Konoha! They are the devil, this is the Hell they rule! Don't you remember, idiot! You're supposed to kill them to fix everything, start a new picture! For crying out loud, remember this you imbecile!
But wouldn't it be easier if I just let it go and live normally? The rational part of me shot back.
Stop that normal bullshit! We must fight for the people who died! Sakumo died because of them!
If that's what you believe, then why don't you just kill Kakashi?
I stopped. What?!
It's his fault. Sakumo could have lived if Kakashi supported him; nothing like a son's love to convince the father that life is still worth living. Kakashi acted ungrateful, Sakumo cared for him, right? Why didn't he support his father? Are his pride and reputation more important than his parent's well-being? If he can't support his father then what difference does it make to you?
He regrets it; he was young.
So?
"Tori, keep up," Saru sent me a sneer, obviously annoyed by me.
"Yes, taicho." I relaxed my posture and walked. My mind returned to Loonie Land but before it completely did, I thought: eh, who's in my brain? Kill Kakashi? How will that solve my problems?
If he finds out you joined Madara he'll immediately cut all his connections with you, better start early and just kill him off. The plot will move on.
. . .
I don't think so.
Consult Madara first.
Fuyuki, what have you been doing?
Does it matter? Maybe you should release him.
I'll consult Madara first… you're insane?
But you're me too, idiot.
No one asked for your opinion.
Subconsciously, you did.
I should shut up.
I should be paying attention to the wall of flesh waiting for me to follow him.
The street lamps of Konohagakure brought little to no light for the four figures standing before the Main building. One of them glanced at the academy, noting the structure of the building. A chunin by the front door. Moved closer to them.
"State your name and business," he said in an official tone, just like how he was taught.
"We are here to speak with your Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen," answered the man with dark hair. His face placid, his eyes drilled holes through the chunin's skull.
"Stop," ordered an elderly woman, "we are not here to wreak havoc in Konohagakure."
The young ninja gulped. "I was not informed of an arranged meeting," he said, then grabbed a handful of senbon, "leave now or I will be forced to take action."
"Genma, lower your weapons, I'm expecting them," ordered the voice of his Hokage. "I haven't gotten the time to tell you this, forgive me for that."
Genma quickly returned his tools inside his pouch, a senbon remained in his mouth in case. "No problem, Hokage-sama," his pockets were filled by his hands as he leaned on the wall.
The elderly lady acknowledged Hiruzen. "Sarutobi-san, such a pleasure to see you again after all these years."
Hiruzen sighed. He waved the group over, "Follow me, we will proceed with proper greetings later." He gave a small nod before continuing to ignore her.
Once Hiruzen reached his office he took a seat, the others followed him and sat at the chairs.
"It has been a while, Kinju-san," he said. "I'm glad that you're still alive, are there any other survivors."
The Kinju's eyes brightened but her face stayed emotionless. "Yes, less than a hundred and maybe a few more scattered around the world."
Hiruzen's eyes visibly widened, not bothering to hide it. "Kinju and Uzumaki?" he asked.
When he did, the two figures who stayed silent the whole time took off their hoods to show their bright red hair, much like Konoha's Habanero. A man and a woman, one with bright blue eyes and the other with green. They bowed, "Hokage-sama."
"Yes, and we want to live here," Takada said bluntly. "Three of our clan members live here, am I right?"
Hiruzen got over his shock quickly; he smoked his pipe, which made one of the attending members scrunch up his nose. "Actually, Takada-san, there are only two left," Hiruzen said, using the elderly woman's name.
Her anger showed in her eyes. "We know Uzumaki Kushina is very much alive, she's too precious to discard but who died Yukimaru or Seika?"
Hiruzen scowled, old friend or not, he will not let this go easily. "Don't insult Konohagakure, Takada-san, this isn't your territory, I have the authority over the citizens and visitors..." Takada sighed at Hiruzen, she wasn't afraid, she could die here and now, it wouldn't matter, and she's lived long enough. She nodded just to satisfy Hiruzen.
The Hokage nodded in return before answering Takada's question. "Both."
Takada's eye lids slowly fell and stopped once the half-covered her eyes. She gave Hiruzen a lazy gaze before saying, "I see... we demand to see their child at once."
"You can't."
Takada's clenched fist landed on the table. "And why can't I see my grandchild?!" Anbu arrived immediately.
Danzo's clenched fist landed on the table, the cups of tea clattered with the movement. "Absolutely not!"
"Calm down, Danzo," Koharu sneered, the elder lady licked her lower lip, "the decision hasn't been made yet. We were thinking of arranging a meeting."
"Doesn't he realise the danger of allowing those four people access into Konohagakure, and in his office? They're as sly as foxes," Danzo kept a straight face, his rage consumed in his tightly clenched palm.
Homura sighed, what a mess, Danzo spilled another cup.
"They will talk it over before us, there's no big deal. We will hear it as well so no worries. We are the council, are we not?" Koharu said.
Homura gave her a calculating gaze, his glasses recovering his eyes from the two. Sighing to himself again, he decided to side with his teammate. "She's correct, Danzo," he said staring and the spilled green tea as its aroma wafted its way towards him.
Danzo raised a brow. "Is she?"
Homura simply nodded while he bit the walls of his mouth, a bad habit of his, he stood up and excused himself from the rest of the group. What could Hiruzen be up to? He's not... taking them in is he?
When he returned his two companions disappeared, likely pacing back and forth or out to get a new bag of tea leaves. Shrugging, he proceeded to fix the mess. This shouldn't be a very long meeting, the answer "no" is already in order.
He pushed up his glasses. I might as well barged in during the meeting and yell "no" as if my life depended on it. He thought as he threw the permanently stained cloth.
\(- _ - )/
A/N: What on Earth just happened? Was it because of the Beta or something? We're still working on the chapters. I went away for three weeks... that is a huge number (for me it really is). Thank you bored411 for being the 60th to favourite and daydreamerAntihero for being the 70th follower. Now if only the review count could sky rocket as well... just kidding, have a nice day. It seems that I would be changing more of the events in Kirigakure than I originally planned.