There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are the messengers of overwhelming grief, of deep contrition, and of unspeakable love.
-Washington Irving

Chapter 30: Sacredness in Tears

Inochi rapped his fingers on the door before stepping away. The thought of the Kyuubi manipulating Naruto troubled him. There was no easy way to confirm when Naruto was speaking or when the Kyuubi was speaking. Was the one he had grown to know and love really Naruto? Inoichi shook his head. Of course it was Naruto. The Kyuubi would never be as kind as Naruto. "Come in!" The Hokage's voice called through the doorway, and Inoichi twisted the doorknob. He walked into the room and up to the Hokage's desk.

Hiruzen's eyes were half-closed and his face hung with tiredness. A pile of paperwork sat on the desk beside him, and Inoichi worked to prevent himself from taking a quick glance at the work. "What is it that you need, Yamanaka-san?" Hiruzen pulled open a drawer on his desk and rummaged through it before giving a lamenting sigh. That pipe of his was nowhere to be found.

"It's about Naruto-kun. A... complication has come up." Hiruzen's dark eyes lit up. He raised his hand, and Inoichi could have sworn that he heard the sound of wind coming from outside the room. Hiruzen beckoned Inoichi to continue his speech. "I believe that the seal on Naruto-kun is weakening."

"Why would you say this? It's a very serious claim you're making, Yamanaka-san. If the seal is weakening, we'll have to quarter Naruto-kun off for an indefinite period until he can be resealed. It could take months, if not years to make another seal strong enough to restrain the Kyuubi. And I would not wish another shinobi to die like Minato-kun." Hiruzen's voice sounded like gravel as he spoke. Inoichi held back a flinch. He felt bad for adding yet another trouble onto Hiruzen's shoulders, but knew that it was too important to ignore.

"Naruto-kun performed a jutsu that I had never heard of awhile back. I investigated and found no evidence of such a jutsu ever existing, and he is unable to craft jutsu on his own. I asked him to allow me into his mind, and he let me in. That was when I came into conflict with the Kyuubi." Inoichi looked away, hiding from the firestorm that was bound to come. Hiruzen did not disappoint.

"WHAT? You entered Naruto-kun's mind under such circumstances? You are lucky it did not cause your death! Be more wary, Yamanaka-san! I can understand your worries, but you should have never done it if any other routes were possible." Hiruzen thundered before grumbling and sitting back into his chair. Inoichi looked over at Hiruzen curiously, wondering what had caused the old man to quiet so suddenly. "Jiraiya, you can't ever hide from me. Stop your hiding and come out."

Inoichi looked over to the window where he saw a mass of white hair trailing down from the entrance. The sage dropped down onto the windowsill before entering the room. His robes were covered in dirt, making them more brown than red. Instead of his usual smile, a frown touched his face. "Yo," Jiraiya said in greeting as he sauntered over towards the table.

"Hello, Jiraiya-san," Inoichi said with a quick bow. "I suppose you heard..."

"I heard, Yamanaka-san," Jiraiya replied amiably. "I've heard quite a lot actually. Some of it here, and some of it there..." Jiraiya leaned up against the table and crossed his arms. "You'd be quite surprised about what can circulate around the countries. Not all of it is good though."

Inoichi glanced from Jiraiya to Hiruzen. The two of them were sharing a long look at one another, and Inoichi knew that Jiraiya meant more than what he had said. However, it was obviously not a conversation for him to be involved in. "What do you think we should do with Naruto-kun, Jiraiya-san? I trust that you have an opinion on the matter?"

"Ah, I do actually. Let me deal with him. I can evaluate whether or not the seal really is weakening if I spend enough time with him." Jiraiya jabbed his thumb towards himself before giving a cocky smile. It was as if the staring contest had never taken place. "Don't worry your little blonde head."

Inoichi twitched in annoyance, screwing his face up into fake complacency. "I see. That is very kind of you, Jiraiya-san. I do hope it will not be too much trouble though."

"Naw, it's no problem, blondie. Now can you leave? The old man and I have something to talk about." Inoichi was about to protest when he saw the look in Jiraiya's eyes. A shiver ran down Inoichi's back. Jiraiya was not to be contested right now.

"Sure. Make sure you tell me about your sessions with Naruto-kun though. We should know as early as possible so that it doesn't interfere with the Exams." Inoichi turned and walked away from the desk and exited the room, leaving the two alone.

Jiraiya watched the door close behind Inoichi before turning towards Hiruzen. The sparkle in his eyes dimmed as he asked, "Hey, Hiruzen-sensei. Why did you decide to keep that thing a secret?" Hiruzen sighed and took the Hokage hat off of his head. He laid it down on the table and laced his fingers together.

"If Konoha knew that their former Hokage's son was the demon, then Naruto-kun would never be given the chance to prove that he was more than just Minato-kun's shadow. Minato-kun would have wanted Naruto-kun to be able to prove himself a hero without relying on the Namikaze name. The only way to prevent everyone from seeing the resemblance between the two of them was to claim that Naruto-kun became more like Minato-kun because of the sealing," Hiruzen said solemnly. His head was already beginning to ache in preparation for the turn this conversation would take.

"And what do you think has come of it now? Your story has made him out to be one of the shape-shifting demons depicted in all of the awful horror novels. Now it is easier to compare Naruto to a demon than it ever could have been before. Naruto has suffered too much to make it worth it, Hiruzen-sensei. You might have wanted to give Naruto the opportunity to make himself a hero, but couldn't you see this was bound to happen? The people of Konoha had to place their blame on something, someone. Naruto is the Kyuubi's container. It's obvious that they would turn to him as their scapegoat. He needed to be protected, not left alone," Jiraiya said, turning his head away.

"What would you have done, Jiraiya?" Hiruzen demanded, slamming his hands on his desk. "What would you have done if your successor's last words were to let Naruto-kun be a hero? Minato-kun would not have wanted Naruto-kun to have an artificial love. He would have wanted Naruto to earn his respect like he did. If I had told them all that Naruto-kun was Minato-kun's son, then they would have worshipped him for being the son of their beloved dead Hokage. They never would have looked at him as if he was anything other than Minato-kun's son!" Hiruzen leaned back into his chair and looked up at the ceiling. "Konohamaru is a perfect example of that. Asuma only managed to escape the grasp of the name 'Hokage's child' because he was born before I became Hokage." Hiruzen closed his eyes and whispered, "Really, what was I supposed to do?"

Jiraiya lowered his head and murmured, "I would have told Konoha that Naruto is the hero that sacrificed his own future to stop the Kyuubi from destroying the city. Every day he saves the city, no, the country, from havoc because he keeps the Kyuubi at bay. It's true, isn't it? Naruto will never truly be normal with that thing inside of him."

Hiruzen gave a choking laugh and shook his head, "This is why I hate writers. There is always another way out for you, isn't there? I wish you were there when I had to make the choice. Then maybe," Hiruzen smiled sadly at Jiraiya, "then maybe none of this would have had to happen."

-TSUME-

Kei ran her hand through her hair. She groaned and rested her forehead down on the table. Why wasn't there anything that she could use? The library, despite being filled to the brim with books, had next to nothing on the topic she wanted, Bijuu. Everyone knew about the demons, but no one seemed to write about them. There was no such thing as a history based primarily on the Bijuu. There were little bits about the Kyuubi in the most recent Konohagakure history tomes, but not much else.

Kei supposed that information on the Bijuu was supposed to remain a secret. Was it even possible to learn about the other countries' Bijuu? It was possible to theorize that all Bijuu were sealed in containers such as Naruto, but there was nothing written about them. It was a bloody nuisance in her opinion. Ninja books were made to inform people about important information that could be used in a time of crisis. So why wasn't there one on such an important subject?

She covered her head with her hands and grumbled into the wood. She has spent the past few days in the library, and she didn't doubt that she'd be in there for quite a bit longer at this rate. Her golden eyes flicked up to see a shadow looming over the table. Kei sighed and sat up slowly. She crossed her arms and asked, "What are you doing here, Shikamaru-san?"

"I'm on the run, obviously," Shikamaru said with a shrug of his shoulders. "Father wants me to train more after my failure in the semi-finals, but there isn't really a reason for me to train right now. That, and it is my general preference to stall training as long as I can. It's too troublesome. You on the other hand," Shikamaru walked around the table and took a seat across from her. "You should be training like mad for the finals. Instead, you've locked yourself up in here. Why aren't you training? Something has to be wrong."

Kei glanced around the library, making sure there was nobody around. When she was sure that the area was clear, she leaned towards him and whispered into his ear. After telling him all that had happened a few days ago at the training grounds, she moved back into her seat. Shikamaru rubbed the side of his head and said, "Ahh... That... that is very troublesome." He bit the inside of his cheek and glanced down to the books that were scattered around the table. "So that is why you've been locked up in here. Have you found out anything that could be useful?"

Kei leaned back into her chair and threw her arms up in the air, "No, I have not! There's no data in this entire library about the Bijuu! Sealings don't happen very often, and there used to be a clan dedicated solely to the purpose of keeping the Kyuubi sealed within them. That clan is now gone, and all information about sealing went with them. When the Kyuubi was sealed the last time, the sealer had the bad fortune to die as he performed the seal. In fact, everyone within a few meters was dead after that. No one knows anything about how that seal was performed." Kei groaned in exasperation.

"Bijuu aren't talked about much, but apparently there are apparently quite a few of them. If Sabaku-san has one as well as Naruto-san, then it would be safe to say that the Bijuu are spread throughout all the countries. I assume that human containers are the only containers strong enough to hold the Bijuu which is why no other methods have been created for sealing yet. But..." Kei sighed and rapped the book she was reading with her knuckles, "Books hold no information about the stuff that really matters. I can find books on medical treatments in the library, but since there are not that many Bijuu there was never a reason for a book to be published. All the records on Bijuu and their effects on a human container must be sealed away into the hospital database."

Shikamaru hummed in thought. "What if you are looking in the wrong place?" At Kei's confused face, he explained, "All Bijuu are sealed, correct? If you are looking to find something that will help you strengthen the seal on the Kyuubi, then you might just want to look in fuuinjutsu books. There are probably notes in there about resealing powerful demons and the like. It might not be specific to the Kyuubi, but there should be something in case of emergencies."

Kei pushed around the tangle of books on the table before grabbing a large brownish red book and dropping it in front of Shikamaru. "I have looked there already. This is all that they have. Someone named Jiraiya-sensei wrote it. He's really the only big name in fuuinjutsu save for the select clans that mass produce seals for a living. After the Kyuubi containing clan died, Konoha lost its last fuuinjutsu based clan. There aren't any in the rest of the fire country if I remember correctly."

"Jiraiya-sensei?" Shikamaru blinked before saying, "He's come back to Konoha recently. Perhaps you can find him later. He's supposed to stay around for the rest of the chuunin exams."

Kei's head whipped towards Shikamaru. "How do you know that while I don't?" Had she messed up somehow with her information network? She prided herself on knowing next to everything, but how could she miss something as important as that?

Shikamaru shook his head before flicking her on the forehead, "You've been spending too much time in the library. I asked Inoichi-sensei, and he said that he hasn't seen you for a while now. When was the last time you left the library to eat anyways?"

Kei tilted her head over to the side before saying, "I don't quite remember actually. The library doesn't close, so I might have been in here for a while... Maybe two days give or take a bit?" Shikamaru sighed and shook his head wearily.

"That can't possibly be healthy, Kei-san. You have to go eat." Kei opened her mouth to protested, but Shikamaru raised his hand to shush her. "You might see Jiraiya-sensei while you go out. You're not going to get anything done here, so come with me." Shikamaru stood up from the table, walked around to the other side, grabbed Kei by the hand, and pulled her out to the library.

-TSUME-

"You have to relax more, Tenten-chan!" Ino snapped her chopsticks at Tenten. "We haven't gone out to eat together in ages, and you're always gone whenever I try to visit your dad. I know you're missing Hyuuga-san, but that is something that the investigative division should handle. I don't want you to get yourself hurt, dearie!" The blonde smiled amiably before picking up a piece of beef from the barbeque in front of her.

Beside her, Hinata rested her hands quietly on her lap. She looked over at the girl across the table and said, "I really do appreciate what you are trying to do, Tenten-chan, but I'm worried too. You're going to run yourself ragged unless you take a break. Neji-nii-sama wouldn't have wanted for you to make yourself ill over him." She brushed her hair out of her face and smiled softly at Tenten.

Tenten sighed and poked one of the pieces of meat on the grill. "Thanks, Hinata-chan. I'll try to rest a bit more... I guess." It was obvious that Tenten's mind was not with them at the moment. She was too busy thinking of other things. She leaned back against the cushioned chairs and looked up at the ceiling. It had just been a few days when Naruto had approached her to talk.

"Hey Tenten-chan!" Tenten looked over her shoulder to see the blonde dervish scuttling towards her. He pulled to a stop before spluttering hurriedly, "I'm glad that you're still here! I need to talk to you quickly. But uh... Can we do it in private?" Tenten looked at Naruto curiously before nodding.

She had never even thought of the possibility that Konoha would have an underground rebellion brewing. The town just seemed so... peaceful. People were still going about their everyday business. Children were laughing and playing in the streets. Merchants were trying to snag the attention of all that passed by. If Neji hadn't died, she probably would have never believed what Naruto had told her. But since Neji died, she had begun to suspect almost everyone around her.

Guilt sat heavily in her heart. Naruto had told her about why Neji had died. Maybe... maybe he wouldn't have died if she hadn't gotten so badly injured. He might not have changed sides if she was injured very superficially, but if she hadn't fallen unconscious, then maybe things would be different. Tenten bit the inside of her lip. No, she couldn't think about how it was her fault. She had to think about what she could do now.

Tenten looked down at the two girls sitting in the booth across from her. There was a chance that at least one of the girls was a part of the rebellion. Her grip on her chopsticks tightened. If they were a part of the rebellion, then they were also culpable for Neji's death. The wooden sticks snapped in her grip, and splinters fell down onto the table. "Tenten-chan! Chopsticks are not senbon! You can't handle them so roughly! You're never going to find a man if you can't even hold chopsticks properly." Ino clicked her tongue before turning towards a passing waiter. "You there! We need another set of chopsticks. The ones you brought before were obviously too flimsy. Get them right away!"

"Oi, Ino-chan." Tenten lowered Ino's hand and said, "You don't have to say it like that. You could have just asked you know."

Ino huffed and pulled her hand away and crossed her arms. "That's the only way to get things done around here. If I knew where the chopsticks were, then I wouldn't have even asked. The only way to get anything done is to do it yourself."

"What kind of things, Ino-chan?" Tenten asked quietly before taking a sip of her water.

"Oh, you know. Things," Ino waved her hand flippantly with a sugar sweet smile on her face. She didn't even notice Hinata's white eyes boring into her as she picked up another piece of meat.

-TSUME-

Anko pulled out another stick of dango from her box and chewed on it. Eating helped her think. Or at least, she liked to think that it did. It was a nice way to rationalize the copious amounts of dango that she ate every day. The gravel crunched underneath her feet as she made her way back into the town. She had been thinking a lot about what had happened in the second part of the exams. She had made a promise to help Sakura, but she hadn't seen the little pinkette much. Anko sighed. This was going to be a bit harder than she thought.

Anko closed her eyes and wandered down the street for a moment before bumping into a figure. "Watch where you're goi-" Anko complained until she realized who it was. Sakura was on the ground in front of her, rubbing the back of her head. Anko was somehow relieved at the occurrence. Even if she had just bulldozed a genin to the ground, it was an opportunity to talk to the girl! "Hey there. What do you think you are doing?"

Sakura silently got up onto her feet and brushed herself off. She looked over her shoulder, and Anko followed her gaze to where Ino, Tenten, and Hinata were eating in the restaurant window. The trio of girls were smiling and laughing with one another. Anko's eyes glanced down towards Sakura who had wrapped her arms tightly around herself. Anko twitched slightly. The image was familiar to her. She remembered being like that after first returning to Konoha after being with Orochimaru. It was the feeling that she felt when she was on the outside looking in.

"Do you feel lonely, girlie?" Sakura didn't answer. Anko scratched the back of her head before saying, "Hey, how about I treat you to dango? I know a nice little place up the road where we can visit. It's really awesome, ya know? So come on!" Anko looped an arm around Sakura and wheeled her away from the other genin in the barbeque restaurant.

"Genin are really strange aren't they, girlie? No offense intended, but you're all really just kids. Kids have hearts like a snake's, so I wouldn't worry about them. I mean, friendships come and go when you're a kid. If you really think you're going to find your best friends for life as a kid, there's a pretty high chance you're going to get cheated. You have to just go with the flow, girlie!" Anko rambled on as she dragged the girl back out towards the dango store.

"Just because you're having a hard time now doesn't mean it will always be this way. Heck, hardship is what changes us. If we're always happy, then we'll never be forced to evolve into something better! Plus, is it really that fun laughing at someone else's crappy jokes? Not really. Trust me. Even the jounin I know now tell some pretty awful jokes that I have an obligation to laugh. You're almost better off not getting involved with all the kiddoes." Anko looked down at the pinkette who was quietly walking alongside her.

Sakura really was a strange one. Anko vividly remembered considering Sakura to be one of the groupies that were like the plague, but now Sakura seemed so different. She was incredibly quiet and meditative. It was an improvement, yet it wasn't. Anko huffed as they turned into the dango store once again. She led Sakura to one of the booths and said, "I'll be right back once I get some dango for us, okay?" Without waiting for Sakura's reply, for Anko knew better than to expect one, Anko went to the store owner.

In a few minutes, Anko returned with a few plates of dango. She set them down on the table before settling into her own seat. The jounin picked up a stick before pointing it at Sakura, "You had better eat up too! Don't listen to what anyone says about dango. I swear there has to be some sort of healthy junk in here otherwise I would never be able to walk properly. The people who say it makes you unfit have no idea."

Anko chewed on her dango stick for a few moments before Sakura finally spoke. "Why are you talking to me?" Sakura's voice was soft like a mouse. Her head was bowed low, and she was hunched down low. She looked so defeated. It depressed Anko.

"We're practically sisters, so this is sisterly bonding time! On that note, it's the older sister's duty to preen the younger one." Anko leaned over the table and flicked Sakura's chin before poking her in the back with the stick, "Chin up, back straight, eyes looking forward! You're going to make yourself smaller unless you sit up and stretch yourself out!"

"What do you mean, 'We're like sisters'? We're not even related!" Sakura squeaked as she was prodded. She clasped her hands tightly together on her lap and shuffled awkwardly in her chair.

"We share some of the same DNA now," Anko leaned back and nodded at her handiwork. She placed the dango stick on the table before sweeping her hair away from her curse mark. "Don't you think that is pretty special, girlie?"

Sakura clapped her hand on the side of her neck when she saw the mark. She glanced at the three swirling dots on Anko's neck before looking down at the dango on the table. Anko noticed Sakura shake slightly and sighed. "It's nothing to be nervous about, girlie. You just need to be able to control it."

"But I don't think that I can!" Sakura burst out before hiccupping. She rubbed her hand against her face and said, "There's no way that I can."

Anko frowned and asked, "Why do you say that?"

"I keep on hearing voices in my head. They never leave me alone, not even when I sleep! Whenever I go to bed, I know I'll hear them again! They..." Sakura bit her lip, "They keep on telling me to kill Uchiha-san and Inuzuka-san. Then I see all of these images of all the ways I could kill them. Over and over and over again." Sakura raised her hands to the sides of her head. Her voice held a hint of panic to it as she said, "Then... Then they tell me to go kill everyone else who has ever tormented me."

Anko looked at Sakura, her eyes flashing. "Come on, girlie," Anko said, reaching across the table. "We're going to get you some help."

Author's Note: I have finally gotten over my recent sickness! It made it so for the past few days, all I could do was sit in sickness. It was not fun at all. It appears to be over now, so I'm greatly relieved. I wasn't even able to eat Thanksgiving dinner properly because I was feeling sick at the time! –snaps fingers- Oh well. Anyways, that is the long excuse for explaining why I didn't update on time. Sorry about that! It's longer than my recent chapters, so I hope that makes up for it.

Thanks for reading Tsume, and I hope you enjoyed the chapter!

Also, to the anonymous that dislikes ocs: I do understand that you may not like original characters, however, please do not insult them. I created them for important plot developments, and this story could not have developed properly if I did not create them.